The hot comb is used by, placing the metal comb on a heated surface to heat the comb. Once the comb is hot enough, to nearly burn your hands, with a cloth you hold the edge and brush the hair by tiny little pieces at a time. When the hot comb was first introduced it was entirely made of metal, with time, the edge of the comb was made of wood so women can actually be able to hold it without burning themselves, however it was only seconds before the wood would heat up and be too hot to hold.
With time the hot comb later evolved into a hair flat iron that is used today by women of every ethnicity. There are also still hot combs being made today, except now they are made of ceramic, so woman’s hair is not burned off or damaged, and the edge of the comb is extremely protected for women to no longer burn themselves by holding the comb.