I am not African or of African-decent so I do not feel comfortable answering if they would be able to comfortably live without the hot comb, however from the research I have done, I believe they would not have been able to. The hot comb was a symbolic tool essential to African women. The hot comb gave them self-esstem and confidence to feel better about themselves. I believe the hot comb helped empower women to feel beautiful and more valuable to society, especially because it was first introduced in the time of slavery.