To comb the hair backward toward the roots to create volume and texture, especially for styling purposes.
From 'back' + 'comb' (to use a comb on). This is a beauty/hairstyling term from the 1900s combining basic words to describe a specific hair technique.
Backcombing creates volume by deliberately tangling hair slightly at the roots—it's controlled messiness, and it's why your grandmother's big 1980s hair looked so gravity-defying.
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