Saturday, January 18, 2014

DETANGLING YOUR NATURAL HAIR



Detangling is a crucial part of all hair care. Detangling is simply using a hair-care tool to comb or brush through your hair. This helps to remove tangles and shed hairs that can cause matting, knots, and ultimately, breakage.

Many naturals have hair growth goals, but are struggling with retaining length. Learning to properly detangle natural hair will ensure that you are not just breaking it off. It will also help with overall healthy hair care, as improper detangling can result in split ends and damaged cuticles. Here are some tips on detangling your hair without ripping it out.

Wet and Condition Your Hair
Try wetting your hair thoroughly, then applying a generous amount of a slippery conditioner to your hair. When the hair is wet and lots of conditioner is applied, it is in a very ideal state for detangling. The water and conditioner provide lubrication and slip to the hair, which will make it super easy to detangle. your hair needs lubrication in order for your comb or brush to glide through. The more slippery your hair is, the more easily your comb or brush will go through it. Wet hair is also more elastic than dry hair, and will stretch under the tension of a comb or brush. Dry hair can easily break when combed because it has less elasticity and won’t stretch much before breaking. Wet hair with lots of slippery conditioner in it can make for easy, breezy detangling.

Detangle in sections

After  hair is nice and lubricated,  separate it into about 6-8 sections. Detangling your hair in sections can make life so much easier. Focusing on one section at a time is much less stressful than trying to detangle your whole head at once, and it ensures that you’re getting all of the parts of your hair. Detangling in sections also enables you to separate the hair you’ve already detangled from the hair that still needs to be detangled. You can use plastic hair clamps or duck bill clips to secure your sections, and make even smaller sections if needed. It is always a good idea to twist or braid the section after you are finished detangling it, to prevent it from tangling up again!


Use a Proper Comb or Brush

Combs and brushes are great for detangling, but some combs and brushes are better than others. I recommend using a wide-tooth comb or a brush with hard, wide bristles and a rubber base. Combs with tiny teeth are not as easy to detangle with as wide-tooth combs, and can cause more breakage than necessary. Invest in combs with teeth ½ an inch apart or wider.

Start From The Ends and Work Your Way Up

Don’t begin detangling from the middle or the root of your hair! You can’t detangle downward from the middle if the ends below it are tangled. Instead, begin detangling from the ends of the hair. Hold the ends of your hair with one hand and detangle with the other hand. Once the very end is detangled, begin detangling an inch above that. Continue detangling from a point higher than the one before until the section is completely detangled.

Try Finger Detangling Before Using a Brush or a Comb
Finger detangling is using your fingers like a comb, and separating strands of hair. Detangling with your fingers before using a brush or a comb can be great because you can feel major knots and tangles with your fingers and pull them apart gently. Take the section of hair and first pull the hairs apart gently with your fingers, separating any tangles. Then, comb your hair with your fingers! Finger detangling makes using the comb or brush much easier afterwards.

Detangle Before and After Shampooing
Shampoo tends to make the hairs stick together, so you should be sure that the hair is as separated as possible and has the least amount of shed hairs as possible before shampooing. You don’t want to have tangles in the hair and then add even more tangles by shampooing! You also want to re-separate the hair after shampooing. After rinsing out the shampoo, add conditioner to your hair and detangle!

Be Gentle

Always be gentle when detangling your hair. Rough detangling will cause nothing but pain, breakage, and damage. Detangle slowly and carefully, especially at the ends of your hair where it is the oldest and weakest. Your hair is awesome! Treat it like it is!




23 comments:

  1. Detangling my hair is such a nightmare, and hopefully some of these tips will make it easier to detangle my hair. Not really sure about the first tip because applying water prior to detangling my hair does not really work for me as it makes my hair more tangled. But, it really works for my sister. Dalu Ada Oma :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I was natural, doing this almost brought tears to my eyes. but I think these tips would make this a lot easier

    www.lapesbeautifulcreature.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Detangling could be a big task for me especially when I remove my braids...thanks for the tips..would use them

    Ujesta.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Detangling can be painful. But your tips would be very helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a wonderful article, hun. It looks like you covered everything. I used to comb my hair until my scalp hurt, but I am finger detangling now. Thanks:-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're tips are so helpful!
    Keep up the good work.

    x Lori
    http://fabeau-trends.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hate it when my hair tangles. It's just plain annoying and painful to detangle but nice tips.

    http://thinkworkandgo.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  8. Detangling in sections is the best advice ever. I have no issues detangling ever since I started doing this.

    Awesome tips!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have never thought of detangling my hair in sections but now I will. Mybe it will spare me the headaches I get after detangling my hair.
    Great tips love :)

    http://myfashioncabin.blogspot.com/2014/01/home-remedy-for-sore-throat.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. Detangling is. Great topic because it can be such an issue especially in between hairstyles like I experienced recently after taking down my braids. I agree with what you stated about being gentle untop of everything else. Being gentle and patient reduces the breakage!
    www.yvonnesloves.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a good subject my sister. I hate when the hair get to that stage - na wahala!! Love the tips hun :-)

    missymayification.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  12. seriously i have a problem when it comes to detangling my hair. I am so hoping that this tip would work.thanks dear

    ReplyDelete
  13. Am still on my natural hair journey and am following you tips dear. nice one
    www.fashionitazbybuiti.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I detangle once in a while because its not easy and most times painful. Will keep trying the tips I got from your post
    http://yuddyella.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Detangling my hair is a nightmare, haha!! The curls just knot themselves up. These are super very much needed tips that I will use. xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for this great tips!
    effortlesslady.blogspot.ca

    ReplyDelete
  17. I recently quit on the journey on natural hair thought my sister is still on it so I introduced her to ur blog. Ur tips are nice.
    www.realcilverly.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi dear!
    Your blog is amazing, as ever!

    I’m so excited to invite you and all your followers to my new giveaway, a lot of exciting prices are waiting for you!
    INTERNATIONALLY ELEGANT GIVEAWAY

    I’m waiting for you on BABYWHATSUP.COM
    FB | INSTAGRAM | BLOGLOVIN

    ReplyDelete
  19. I never used to bother with detangling my hair BEFORE shampooing. My hair is getting longer, at almost 11 months natural so I know detangling would be more a chore for me as time goes on. Guess I will give that a go now. Thanks for the post.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is the scary part of natural hair.Headaches huh?! Great tips babes.
    http://rock4less.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  21. My hair hates being detangled. As soon as I am done with a section, it seems to find a way to tangle back even when braided or twisted. I tire for the hair!

    ReplyDelete
  22. thanks for this tips, that is truly the painful part of growing natural hair.
    www.ethniques.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...