Rope braids and tangling?

[gossamer]

I had my hair up in a rope braided vortex bun (http://x0e.xanga.com/29ae3167d4d35284396067/m226912567.jpg)today, which was lovely. :D

What was NOT lovely was the half hour or so I spent detangling my hair after taking it down.

At least I know how to start dreads if I ever decide I want them. :rolleyes:

Does anyone else have this reaction to rope braids? How do you deal with it?

[DakarNick]

I can't help but I have to agree with you; it is lovely!

[Gumball]

That's the primary reason I don't do rope braids on damp hair. My hair takes to shapes very easily so I end up with long super twisted strands when I take the rope down if it dried in that shape. It stays twisted mildly less if I rope dry hair, though, and is much easier to comb out if the ropes were done with oiled hair. I think about the pros and cons I'll have to work with before I do a roped style. :lol:

[gossamer]

I can't help but I have to agree with you; it is lovely!
Thank you!


That's the primary reason I don't do rope braids on damp hair. My hair takes to shapes very easily so I end up with long super twisted strands when I take the rope down if it dried in that shape. It stays twisted mildly less if I rope dry hair, though, and is much easier to comb out if the ropes were done with oiled hair. I think about the pros and cons I'll have to work with before I do a roped style. :lol:

This was dry hair. :/ Thanks for the tip about oil, I may try that if I really want to get the look of rope braids again.

[Ocelan]

I get some of the tangling aswell but mostly my hair just does a Houdini whenever I try to do a rope braid on it. So after 5 minutes it ends up being a very loose section of hair twisted around itself once held with a few tangles. I blame my layers mostly but it might just be that some hair types don't like rope braids.

[melusine963]

My rope braids always shred far more quickly than normal braids, so I don't do this style very often. I share Gumball's annoyance at hair remaining twisted afterwards, and I always have to be careful detangling from the bottom up when I undo my ropebraids.

[Lostsoule77]

I have that problem, same as Gumball, where it's worse when done on damp hair. It's pretty bad on dry hair too though, and worse the smaller the twist. I have the same problem with cinnamon buns, just not as bad as when I do rope or hauser (or is it hawser) braids. I just slowly finger comb them out from the bottom up. Takes awhile, but I don't do them too often so I don't mind.

[jacqueline101]

I've never tried rope braids but they sound neat.

[Coolcombination]

I jus learnt to do a rope braid and a fishtail in one day! And I'm totally unco!!!! Ahhh! Yippee! It's been a good day for my hair cos I just now called bsl too! (Sorry to hijack!)

[spidermom]

All my braids end up a tangled mess.

[Eniratak]

I've learned to never detangle a rope braid after you take it down. I always wait mine out until the twists are out because, otherwise, you will spend a lot of time detangling.
I always just throw mine up after taking it down in a knot bun or an orchid bun and leave it alone. After being twisted other ways for a while, my hair goes back to normal, and I can comb through it with no worries.

[gossamer]

I've learned to never detangle a rope braid after you take it down. I always wait mine out until the twists are out because, otherwise, you will spend a lot of time detangling.
I always just throw mine up after taking it down in a knot bun or an orchid bun and leave it alone. After being twisted other ways for a while, my hair goes back to normal, and I can comb through it with no worries.

This is a pretty good suggestion too. Thanks!

If I do a single rope braid, I may try this approach afterwards. With the double braids I somehow developed some matting in the hair near where they began (inexpertly starting them, I think) and really needed to take care of that first.

[piffyanne]

This is a pretty good suggestion too. Thanks!

If I do a single rope braid, I may try this approach afterwards. With the double braids I somehow developed some matting in the hair near where they began (inexpertly starting them, I think) and really needed to take care of that first.
Did you have a tangleteezer with you? That's really hard to get rid of using normal brushes. :(

I'm so sorry Gossamer. :wail:

I knew it would be beautiful, but not how bad the takedown would be for you!

[gossamer]

Did you have a tangleteezer with you? That's really hard to get rid of using normal brushes. :(

I'm so sorry Gossamer. :wail:

I knew it would be beautiful, but not how bad the takedown would be for you!

It was such a wonderful idea though! Please don't blame yourself - I'd forgotten how to do them and seriously messed up a few times before getting the hang of it again.

I don't own a Tangle Teaser - is that something I should invest in once I'm back in the US?

[Iolanthe13]

Funny, I do a rope braid in order to get curls! They do want to tangle a little, but they come out well. I use an oil/serum with dimethicone though.

[Madora]

That is one spectacular Vortex bun, Gossamer!! Very beautiful.

As far as detangling, you'd have to take it extra slow..not only because of your length, but because of the waves left from the bun. If I were you, I'd separate all the strands, then pick up each individual section and begin to work on it with a wide tooth comb..slowly, from the bottom to the scalp. Once you are through detangling one strand, double it up and secure with a scrunchie. Then tackle the next strand...and so forth, until all your hair has been taken care of.

[ScarlettAdelle]

Mine is very easily moldable, too. What I have to do is wet my hair down with a water bottle with a little bit of conditioner in while it's still tied (as in take the bun down, but don't undo the rope braid until it's wet, and this has to be done with a water bottle. Hopping in the shower will just make it worse) and then separating the strands about an inch at a time and combing them out as you work up the braid, keeping the hair very wet.

[gossamer]

That is one spectacular Vortex bun, Gossamer!! Very beautiful.

As far as detangling, you'd have to take it extra slow..not only because of your length, but because of the waves left from the bun. If I were you, I'd separate all the strands, then pick up each individual section and begin to work on it with a wide tooth comb..slowly, from the bottom to the scalp. Once you are through detangling one strand, double it up and secure with a scrunchie. Then tackle the next strand...and so forth, until all your hair has been taken care of.

I don't own a wide toothed comb yet, but the thought of buying one did occur to me as I was working to detangle. I don't often brush anymore, relying on finger combing, but a quality wide toothed comb would be similar, right?


Mine is very easily moldable, too. What I have to do is wet my hair down with a water bottle with a little bit of conditioner in while it's still tied (as in take the bun down, but don't undo the rope braid until it's wet, and this has to be done with a water bottle. Hopping in the shower will just make it worse) and then separating the strands about an inch at a time and combing them out as you work up the braid, keeping the hair very wet.

Aha, spraying it into submission to keep it from wrapping around itself again as you work? Smart!

[gossamer]

Last edited by Madora; Today at 12:21 PM. Reason: orthography

:heartbeat

[Seeshami]

I wear rope braids almost every day and I have never had bad tangles. I always start from the bottom and work my way up and generally the braids will shake out of my hair too without any help from me.

[lacefrost]

Hi! I wear my hair in rope braids nearly constantly and my hair loves to tangle. What works best for me is oiling my fingers and the way I unravel my hair. I undo the bottom most 2 inches first. Once that's done, I hold my ends with my left hand hand and with the right unravel from the root. By the time my fingers reach my left hand I have two taught locks. Then I let them go and they spring apart. Sometimes I just leave my hair like that. If not, I'll take one lock of hair and pull it apart. I generally start at the root but you can start at the bottom. It comes apart really easily, probably takes 1 or 2 seconds. My hair is always tangle free after this process. But the key is to make sure you have 0 tangles when you do rope braids. If you have even 1 they multiply. Also, the volume your hair has after rope braids makes it more difficult to come through, not because it's tangled, but because each strand wants to be with her sister-strand. They don't want to stand on their own. So if you were gonna do something different with your hair, I'd either leave the texture as is or start all over again by getting your hair wet.

Hope this helps!