Combs have been used to remove nits, straighten out hair, for ornamentation and to style hair and hold it in place. Answer and Explanation: Egyptians were among the earliest, if not the earliest, to develop combs circa 5500 BCE. Persians also developed combs around 3000 BCE or so.

Annie Malone (1869-1957) later became the first in the African American community to patent the hot comb, and her apprentice Madame C. J. Walker (1867-1919) later widened the teeth of the comb for better usage. The hot comb remained an essential hair styling tool well throughout the 20th century.