Completely frustrated with tangles!!

[jen5972]

Seriously frustrated here. My hair is on the thicker side, and wavy. Tangles have always been an issue for me once I hit around waist length. I always seem to be able to grow to classic, then have to chop back because the tangles are awful. The tangles have always been so bad that they mat. Here is a pic with an underneath section of my hair brought forward to show the intense matting:
http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd88/jen5972/tangles.jpg

Pretty, huh? :(. The crazy thing is that I was having a wonderful, tangle free time for about 3 months. I took Torrin's advice and tried Silk Drops. I had always been silicone free, but in desperation decided to try silicones for the tangles. I was amazed at how the Silk Drops made me go from massive tangles to no tangles at all. In the last week, the miracle ended, and now I am back to the same old tangles!! Does anyone have any idea why the Silk Drops worked great, and now stopped??? I am so frustrated right now. I am only about 1/2 inch from tailbone length, so I don't know if that is why the tangles are kicking in or not. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Tangles are SOOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATING!!!!

[spidermom]

I think silicone builds up. I've noticed that I can only use my much-loved CHI Silk Infusion about once every week or two, otherwise it makes the tangling problem worse. Used sparingly, it's wonderfully effective.

The best remedy I've found for tangles is to wear my hair up most of the time. I enjoy taking it down and combing it out. It's my end of the day ritual.

I also wear it down for special occasions when I know I won't be moving around a lot. I always pay the price in tangling and matting - just like your photo.

[SongofLove]

Yes, how do you wear your hair most of the time? Even though my hair is stick straight, I have lots of problems with tangling and matting too.

I'm at tailbone right now and I find that the best way to minimize tangling is to keep it in some hairstyle like a braid or a bun and to be sure to comb with a wide-tooth comb once a day (sometimes twice). If I miss my daily comb then I know I'll have to face lots of tangles, even if my hair is braided.

I also use a silicone serum (I like Garnier Anti-Frizz because it's more liquid-y than most--it evaporates fairly quickly so that my hair doesn't look visibly shiny for very long), but yes, sometimes even with the serum the tangles get pretty bad. Another thing that helps me is when my hair is damp; it seems to detangle more easily that way. Does wetting your hair help at all? It also is easier to detangle smaller sections of hair--less snapping that way.

[DinaAG]

moisturize moisturize moisturize

[Ashlbee]

Maybe try clarifying? It sounds like the silicone guilt up.

[jen5972]

Thank you all for your replies so far! I have been using a clarifying shampoo every other week (I only wash my hair twice a week). Should I be leaving the shampoo on longer, to ensure that I get the silicones out? I'm also oiling the ends of my hair often, and doing coconut oil treatments twice a week. I was wearing my hair down for about half the week, usually the first and second day after I washed my hair. Now I am having to wear it up every day in a bun or braid :(. The detangling is easier now that I have the Tangle Teezer, but it tangles nonstop.

[lunalocks]

Since I have been CWC and using a few drops of baby oil on the ends and length, I have not had tangles. Prior to that, I used MOP Pear detangler. It does contain dimethicone and several parabens but it certainly is a miracle. I used it for DD when her hair would be so tangled she would run away from me as soon as she saw the comb in my hand. One other thing that helped her greatly was cutting some layers.

[ravenreed]

My hair tangles all the time. It actually get dreads in my underlayer where it hits my shoulders if I wear my hair down for too long. I brush it a lot to keep the tangles under control. Have you tried a catnip rinse? Catnip makes my hair much smoother. In fact, it gets smooth enough that I have a hard time keeping my buns from unraveling. Also, if it is mineral buildup causing your tangles, perhaps a vinegar rinse might be helpful.

[gonzobird]

I swear my tangles are less (they used to get like yours too) when I do acv rinses, oil a bunch before washes for like two weeks, and use a detangler in the shower after my conditioner. I use john masters organics peppermint detangler. It doesnt weigh my hair down, either.

[longforthis]

I second the ACV and oil recommendations.

If I ever get a bad tangle, I massage coconut oil into that thing. I don't attempt to detangle until it is well saturated. (I use coconut oil because it's a freaking miracle oil. My other oils don't work well with detangling, from my experience.) Then I start tugging and pulling VERY GENTLY, and it seems to just fall apart. Spritz beforehand with ACV-water mixture (or straight up ACV) may help.

It has been a good long while since I've had a matted tangle like that. My hair isn't near your length though.

Good luck!

[melusine963]

I find coconut oil works very well for me as a leave-in conditioner/detangler. If your hair is fed up of silicones, maybe oiling it would help?

[Madora]

Thank you all for your replies so far! I have been using a clarifying shampoo every other week (I only wash my hair twice a week). Should I be leaving the shampoo on longer, to ensure that I get the silicones out? I'm also oiling the ends of my hair often, and doing coconut oil treatments twice a week. I was wearing my hair down for about half the week, usually the first and second day after I washed my hair. Now I am having to wear it up every day in a bun or braid :(. The detangling is easier now that I have the Tangle Teezer, but it tangles nonstop.

Heavens above, way too much clarifying going on!!

Your tangles may be caused by what you are putting on your hair. Too much stuff causes buildup. One coconut treatment a week is enough.

Your hair will continue to bedevil you unless you confine it some way. Wearing it up is the best deterent to tangles. If you wear it down, band it with soft, hair friendly ties down the length..or braid it.

I've found mineral oil is a super detangler, among other things. I used 4 drops on my hair and had wonderful results. It doesn't remove all the tangles, but makes it a lot easier to deal with the ones that remain. It also leaves my hair soft and shiny and better still, I don't have to wash it out.

[ravenreed]

It could be the coconut oil too. It causes what looks like protein overload in my hair and makes my hair extra tangly. Maybe try a lighter oil?



Thank you all for your replies so far! I have been using a clarifying shampoo every other week (I only wash my hair twice a week). Should I be leaving the shampoo on longer, to ensure that I get the silicones out? I'm also oiling the ends of my hair often, and doing coconut oil treatments twice a week. I was wearing my hair down for about half the week, usually the first and second day after I washed my hair. Now I am having to wear it up every day in a bun or braid :(. The detangling is easier now that I have the Tangle Teezer, but it tangles nonstop.

[spidermom]

All oils with the possible exception of mineral oil (haven't used it long enough to know) suck all the lint and dust right out of the air and into my hair, making tangling far-far worse.

Shampoo in and of itself removes silicones, so you don't need to clarify every two weeks. I do it maybe once every 3-4 months, if that. I do think that the effects of my CHI serum last through 2-3 shampooings, however. That's why I only use a small amount about once every 10 days or so.

[jen5972]

Hmmm, the coconut oil is a new thing I have been doing this past month. Up until this point, I had been using only a bit of oil on the ends every few days or so. Every other week, I would do a deep conditioning treatment with conditioner, not oil. Maybe I will skip the coconut oil treatment for awhile and see if that helps.

I will mention that for the past 3 months, I was able to wear my hair down all day without tangles. It was a first for me, as I have not been able to do that before! It has just been in the last week that the tangles have come back with a vengeance.

[jen5972]

All oils with the possible exception of mineral oil (haven't used it long enough to know) suck all the lint and dust right out of the air and into my hair, making tangling far-far worse.

Shampoo in and of itself removes silicones, so you don't need to clarify every two weeks. I do it maybe once every 3-4 months, if that. I do think that the effects of my CHI serum last through 2-3 shampooings, however. That's why I only use a small amount about once every 10 days or so.

I do CWC, so the shampoo never touches the length unless I am specifically doing a clarifying treatment.

[spidermom]

Hmmmmmm, CWC could be contributing to your problem. I used that method for years until I read a post by luxepiggy about the ionic action of shampoo being opposite the ionic action of conditioners, both in combination causing buildup (which they would be if you have conditioner on your length while rinsing the shampoo) that is hard to remove (something like that). Anyway, I was convinced and have switched to coconut-oiling the length before I wash my hair, using diluted shampoo to wash my scalp area, rinsing, then using conditioner on my length, letting it marinate a bit while I finish bathing, then rinsing. So far (and it's been months), the results are better than satisfactory.

But really, I think tangling has more to do with wearing hair loose than washing methods. At least it does for me. I also get bad tangles if I let braids swing loose. All those hairs that escape the braids tangle up. So my best method is to braid, then bun.

[harpgal]

Jen, unfortunately I don't have a "magic bullet" for preventing tangles. Everyone else has given you great ideas to experiment with. I have trouble with tangles, also. So I comb out in the morning, braid, and do some sort of updo with the braid. I do put a bit of coconut oil on the last 12-15 inches, or so, before I use the Tangle Teezer on my scalp (only) and then do the comb-out. Before I comb, I split my hair into 2 sections and use my fingers to straighten it out before I use a wide-tooth comb.

The 2 things which really help keep me tangle-free are soft water and humidity. However, I don't wear my hair down much anymore. When our furnace runs in the winter, I have more trouble with my comb-outs.