How to Make a Hair Bump Using a Rat Tail Comb

Learn how to make a hair bump using a rat tail comb in this Howcast video, the first of a two-part hair tutorial featuring stylist Jacqueline Bush.



Hi, I'm going to show you how to get a hair bump today. Now there are two different methods. The first is using a rat tail comb that has the serrated edges, this is called a teasing comb. And what we're going to do, a bump is what we're going to put at the top of the crown that gives it that little extra bump as you say. Now a good rule of thumb as far as where to start that bump, there are a couple of things you can do. I'm parting Monica's hair in the center right now just so that you guys will be able to clearly see. I'm just going straight down the center so she's got a nice even part.

To start the bump you want to start about two inches back from the front of the hair line. So I'll just do a quick measurement. Okay my bump is going to be right about in this region. Another part is like you want the highest point at the very tip of the crown. Which, is if you measure that, is actually straight down to the back of the ear. That's about the highest point, a little but behind that. So, I'm going to section, I'd like to do it in a triangular section so that the bump has a little bit of a flow, so that it looks a little bit more natural. And again how much you tease this is going to be whether it's a more natural look or a more 60's costume-y kind of look.

So I'm going to take the hair about 2 inches back. I'm going to put the tip of the rat tail teasing comb, take that straight back to the crown. And I'm going to do the same thing on the other side. So as you can see I have my triangle section here, okay. Now that I have this in place, I'm just going to, because I want it a little more precise, just going to take this, we know we want that in, do the same thing to the other side. I'm separating this out because I want a little more control and I want a little bit more volume closer to this root. So now I'm going to take my rat tail comb, I'm going to start from the mid-shaft, comb down to the root. I'm going to do the same thing to the other side of the triangle, mid-shaft down to the root. Now we're going to take our next section that we had and do the same thing. And here's our last little guy. You always want to start from the top and then go to the bottom when you tease rather than the other way.

So now we have our little bump in there. You're going to smooth the bump out using either a toothbrush, the hard bristle tooth brush that I've shown you before or a Mason Pearson or just something to smooth out the tip of the hair. I'm going to use a toothbrush because we're working with a small section. I'm just going to smooth out the top of the hair. And there we have our bump.

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