Tangle teaser + fine curly hair?

[Intotouch]

Hello everyone.
My hair tangles easily so I'd like to try the tangle teaser to see if this helps. But it breaks easily too. So far I use a bristle brush, brushing from the bottom up to gradually get out tangles. I don't want to try something that wrecks my hair.
Any advice?

[jeanniet]

Using a bristle brush to detangle curly hair is probably about the most damaging thing you can do, so I'm not surprised your hair breaks easily. Bristle brushes aren't meant to detangle any kind of hair. For curly hair, you should use a wide-toothed comb--many curlies only detangle in the shower, when their hair is soaked with conditioner--or a Tangle Teezer. TTs are meant for detangling and are very gentle on most curly hair, so would be worth a try. Definitely make detangling easier!

[lapushka]

The Tangle Teezer does well for my hair, and mine is F and wavy. I love it for getting the tangles and little knots out before washing. That's the only time it's used. After washing, we use a (seamless) wide tooth comb.

[Vrindi]

I have lots of stupidly fine hair that loves to tangle and crawl out of braids. (Some days it's super-straight, and some days wavy. It makes up its own mind.) I use either a bamboo wide-tooth comb or a tangle teezer. With fine hair, no matter what you use, you have to be gentle, but the TT lives up to the hype, in my opinion. I think it's too expensive, and try to find it around $10-$15, but I will be getting myself a compact one too.

[Anje]

Your hair's probably just a bit too fine and fragile to be detangled without some serious lubrication. I know that if mine curled, it would be breaking if I tried to brush it out, and my hair's in pretty darn good condition. Some of us just have delicate hair, and having curls is a complicating factor. Therefore, stick to detangling only when you've got your hair slathered in conditioner, like Jeanniet suggested. A Tangle Teezer would be ideal for this, since it's good for wet conditions (definitely don't use a bristle brush in the shower!). You'll get nicer clumps instead of a cloud of hair that way, too.

[lapushka]

Therefore, stick to detangling only when you've got your hair slathered in conditioner, like Jeanniet suggested. A Tangle Teezer would be ideal for this, since it's good for wet conditions (definitely don't use a bristle brush in the shower!). You'll get nicer clumps instead of a cloud of hair that way, too.

Yes, definitely, try the curly girl method (wet combing/brushing when fully conditioned) for your hair.

It can be found here:
http://www.wikihow.com/Follow-the-Curly-Girl-Method-for-Curly-Hair

[jeanniet]

I've never tried using a TT wet. Maybe I will next time I wash my hair.

[Helix]

I'm sorry, but I almost passed out when I read you use a BBB on curly hair.

Bit of an exaggeration there, but you get the idea :-) I haven't used the TT but it's probably a step up from the BBB.

[LadyCelestina]

^^^ I never truly understood the detangling while slathered in conditioner thing...If I did that,I'd have to wet my hair down twice a day and that's not gonna happen.

Do you fingercomb before brushing it?
It's a gentle way to get out the tangles and gives you more control than any brush or comb.You can brush your hair afterwards.It's a bit time consuming though,but over time you'll find a way to do it quickly and gently.

[Intotouch]

Hello. Thank you again for the feedback.

I use the evil bristle brush after I put oils in my hair to help distribute them and to smooth the hair. I went years without using a brush but since using oils it seems handy and smooths the hair nicely. But i believe you if you say I should avoid it altogether.

I have to finger comb to start de-tangling, then apply oils, then brush. I use the afro comb when it's wet to distribute conditioner.
The curly girl method left my hair weighed down. Given how thin it is this did not look good. However I was thinking just yesterday of trying again, starting today even.

I will definitely try the tangle teaser so. I saw a cheap knock off that I'm tempted to try. You're right, they're expensive. Is the compact one just as good or is it better to go for the large version?

[Tota]

I have both, the compact one and the large one and both work great. The compact one lasts longer though because the bristles are protected. I have F wavy hair and TT is the only thing that successfullly detangles it. I really reccomend you try it. The original one, not the cheap version. I tried it once and it just doesn't work as well as the original does.

[Neecola]

I have fine curly hair and I use a TT and love it. Also, I use a BBB to distribute oils the night before a wash... I haven't had any problems with breakage that I can see. And I examine my hair a LOT :)

[Intotouch]

Thanks Tota,
I will try the compact one. My hair is thin so I think this will do me fine.

Neecola, I'm after looking up bristle brushes on the curly girl forum and all I found was praise for them. I will experiment I think and give it a miss and see if I can detect any difference. Maybe if I use it after the tangle teaser to distribute the oils it won't break any hair.

[jeanniet]

You originally said you were using a brush to detangle--this is a big no-no and will break hairs. Using a bristle brush on already detangled hair is fine for straight to wavy hair types, and for some curlies. But if you're using a brush to distribute oils without completely detangling first--and I mean completely--again, you're going to get breakage. So it sounds like you still need something for detangling, and a TT will work great for that.

[Intotouch]

Well I got the tangle teaser today. Hopefully it will go well.

Jeanniet, I appreciate the advice. I will give the bristle brush a miss for a while at least. I wasn't making it up about the curly girl forum though. I will see how things go.

[Neecola]

I think jeanniet was just saying that you shouldn't use a BBB to detangle, not that you shouldn't use it ever. If I used a BBB to detangle my hair, I would almost definitely have breakage. I think the BBB experience is hit or miss for curlies but in my case it works wonderfully on completely detangled hair to distribute oil.

Hope the TT works out for you!

[jeanniet]

I think jeanniet was just saying that you shouldn't use a BBB to detangle, not that you shouldn't use it ever. If I used a BBB to detangle my hair, I would almost definitely have breakage. I think the BBB experience is hit or miss for curlies but in my case it works wonderfully on completely detangled hair to distribute oil.

Hope the TT works out for you!

Yes, that's what I meant. Believe me, I know how bad bristle brushes are for detangling, because that's all I used for years and years and my hair would never grow past about BSL because it was always splitting and breaking--and that's with using a top quality MP brush. A good BBB has its uses, but detangling just isn't one of them.

[Intotouch]

Thanks guys. I'm dying to try this tt now. It'll have to wait a couple of days though. The bristle brush will stay on the shelf. I'll just use my hands to press the oils on my hair.

[chen bao jun]

I don't think boar bristle brushes break hair off, if used properly but the thing with them is, they turn curls into horrific frizz. I hope you find the TT works for you. It totally ripped my hair out from the root, I hated it. (I was detangling with it wet and soaked with conditioner though and maybe you aren't using it this way. I'm something like a 3c). anyways, if the TT doesn't do it for you, try the denman brush. That detangles my hair, especially when I remove half the teeth (instructions on how to do this are on the internet). The denman not only doesn't rip hair out from the root, in my case, but actually separates curls and promotes looking like a curly girl, rather than like someone who has put their finger into an electric socket.

[earthnut]

My daughter has very fine, wurly hair that tangles very easily. The tangle teezer is by far to most gentle and most effective comb or brush for her hair. If a one year old will sit through brushing without yelping, it's gentle!! It does break up her wurl clumps if I use it on her hair when dry, but ANY combing or brushing of curly hair when dry will do that.

I also find that using conditioner only on her hair, and smoothing down her hair with a small amount of conditioner after brushing helps prevent new tangles from forming as quickly and enhances her wurls.

[KwaveT]

I am with y'all on the BBB turning you hair into frizz. My hair is virtually ringlets from the ears down. I only take a wide tooth comb through my entire length now. I use the tangle teezer and BBB through just the scalp and not the length. I getting a lot less frizzing now. I am of the belief that your hair is most fragile when wet so I don't send anything through my hair while wet. I do everything with my hair dry and very carefully detangle.

[CurlyMopTop]

I have the regular version. There are curly girls out there that use a boar brush to distribute oils and do just fine. I prefer the tangle teaser on both wet or dry hair. It's great for distributing leave ins on wet hair or detangling dry hair. I've tried the curly girl method and didn't care for it. Too much effort for me and once my hair started getting longer, I wanted it to look fuller than the cg method left it. I hope this helps. Good luck.

[Suze2012]

I have quite fine curly hair and I never use a brush nor a comb, plus I always wear it down except or when I'm sleeping.
The only time a comb touches it is at the hair dressers and I always have to re wet it after a trip there as the comb wrecks my curls.

i only ever finger comb while slathered in co wash conditioner and then do the same again when I put my cone free leave in conditioner on.

I did attempt using a wide toothed comb to spread conditioner through soaking wet hair a few weeks ago and I frizzed up and lost my curl pattern.

[Intotouch]

I tried the tangle teaser and it's lovely. Very gentle. I'm delighted! Thank you all for the suggestions.

Years ago when I had classic length hair I used a bristle brush every day and my hair looked terrific. But the hair was less curly, mostly due to weight I imagine. Brushing from the bottom up, a little at a time worked fine for me then.

Curly mop top, I have just tried the curly girl method ish. Regular towel and no gel yet. I conditioner only washed twice now and after taking two full minutes to rub the conditioner into my scalp to make sure I clean it well it does look and feel good. It's not really weighed down but I am only into my second week and I took ages to rinse as well. I don't like the sound of losing fullness though. Why do you think that happened with your hair? Is this common? Could it be the type of conditioner?

[BreeTheBoss]

TBH ive tried a TT and it breaks my hair just as any brush would even though im being very very careful.

[grungy haze]

My little sister has very dense but fine, curly blonde ringlets. I've gotten the entire family to use the tangle teaser, and it works wonders on my little sister's hair, it's so prone to tangling, and since she's little, she hates having her hair messed with. She barely notices a thing when I use the tangle teaser on her. It also works great on my mom's thick, slightly wavy hair, and my chemically damaged, prone to breakage hair. c: