My Hair is so tangly and knotty

[Sarahmoon]

Are you trying to comb while it's still wet? You might want to wait until it's (almost) dry and then apply some coconut or jojoba oil before detangling. That helps for me. It can also help to let it dry in a braid and not loose, especially when you go outside.

[heidihug]

I never comb my hair when it's wet or even damp. That is a recipe for breakage for me. I wash at night, making sure my hair is absolutely tangle-free before hopping in the shower. In the morning I gently finger-comb before putting it up in my day-after-washing cinnabun.

A few suggestions for you:

Never wash your hair with it flipped forward - it tangles it quite a bit to do this. Also, don't flip it forward to wrap in in a towel.

When rinsing out your hair, run your fingers carefully through the length while the water is running through to reduce the amount of hair crossing over itself - I've found this really helps.

When drying your hair, don't rub it together between two layers of towel. "Scrunch" it gently, instead.

As others here have often said - treat your hair like you would a piece of fine silk.

[Philomela]

Other than CAREFULLY combing hair while it's still wet-to-damp, nothing in the world helps me with knots and tangles.

[Deborah]

You might want to consider buying a tangle teezer. Nothing I have used in all my life detangles more easily and with less damage. These are made and sold in England, so you must order from there. Here is the cheapest place I found:


http://www.afrocare.com/catalog/Tangle_Teezer_418.html


I got one for myself and love it! Just yesterday I received five more that I intend to give as Christmas gifts. I'm giving them to relatives and close friends, so I think I'll tell them something like, "And this did NOT come from the dollar store. It just LOOKS cheap."

[CopperHead]

LOL! If you saw a Tangle Teezer you would think it was the cheapest thing around, but it is fabulous! I love my bright pink TT. Afrocare is very quick at shipping and processing too. I got mine in a few days from England.

[Sissy]

This is good information to know as my hair feels smooth and silky in the morning but by the end of the workday when I get home there is a good sized tangle/knot mess underneath the back of my head, which I rip through everyday! I bet my hair needs clarifying as I found out that I do use a lot of 'cones. I am going to try an apple cider vinegar rinse as suggested.
Sissy

[heidihug]

when I get home there is a good sized tangle/knot mess underneath the back of my head, which I rip through everyday

That's definitely because you are wearing your hair down, or in a half-up, or a loose updo. If you have a hair type that's prone to tangling, and any of your hair is touching your clothing around the nape for an extended period of time, it will tangle. The longer your hair gets, the worse it will tangle, and in a shorter amount of time. The only solution for this is to wear your hair up at all times, which many of us who have this problem do, or to carry your wide-tooth comb or gentle-to-use brush around with you all day, and take frequent detangling session breaks throughout the day. Never rip through your tangles (I know how tempting that can be, though - the frustration of tangles!), that will only cause breakage and will thin out your length.

[vamq]

Dreaminglong, I noticed that we have the same hairtype, and I've had the same problem, especially after washing.

What I do to get tangles out of the way/prevent them

I put my hair up in a bun almost all the time. On the day before washing, I put a bit of conditioner or olive oil on my entire length, comb it, and then bun it. I found this helps for me. ACV rinse, as other here suggested might work as well. While I wash my hair, I use mostly conditioner and detangle my hair with my hands while leaving the conditioner in. Sometimes, combing makes me get more tangles than detangling with my hands, I don't know why. While getting the conditioner out of my hair, I always leave my hair hanging down instead of grasping it and squeezing all the water out. I never comb my hair when it's wet. I always sleep with a braid, or something like that

Last of all things; if your tangles are mostly at the bottom of your hair, take a good look at your ends. They might need a tiny cut. I have this problem when I wear my hair down more than I'm used too. Just a tiny cut might do the trick.

[Periwinkle]

I wash my hair upside-down (I kneel on the floor in front of the shower and tip my head over), then wear it up in a towel. It does not like to be detangled until it's only about 10-15% damp, but after that it's fine.

Have you tried oiling wet hair? It's great for me for a number of reasons but it does help with detangling.

I wait until my hair is about 25-30% damp, then take it down and arrange it as best I can with my fingers. Then I separate off the top half and clip it up out of the way. I squeeeeeeeze the bottom half with a towel to make sure I've got as much water out of it as possible, then carefully start combing with a wide-tooth comb, starting with the ends and carefully working up. Then I take down the top half in quarters, repeating the process with each. This makes my hair a lot easier to comb and I'm sure it's easier on my hair too.

[Pierre]

My tangles are mostly at the ends. If I find a tangle about 1 cm or less from the ends, I cut it off; usually there are several bent hairs in it. If the tangle is farther from the end, I pick it apart, or see if I can reduce it to a tangle at the ends, which I then snip.