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View Full Version : Super. Tangled. Hair.



jnnfrch
December 10th, 2013, 03:37 PM
My hair seems to be getting tangled SO easily!! and not just the odd knot in 1 place, it seems to be all over! I wondered if you guys had any tips? I feel like it's only me that has this issue!!

I wear my hair braided or twizzled up into a loose top bun when I sleep: tangled.

Throughout the day at work I wear it in a braid/down/ponytail, when I undo it: tangled!

I oil my hair with coconut or almond oil before every wash (2-3 times a week)

I also fingercomb it out everynight and put in an argan treatment before I "style" it for bed, it's tangled when I try to comb it and I wake up with it tangled!

I feel like this tangledness is really damaging and so want to sort it out asap, I have chest length hair that has a natural wave, I'm suffering from Telogen Effluvium atm so trying to be really careful with it, it's lightly coloured right at the bottom from a long time ago but the rest is virgin hair

Any help would be much appreciated :)

Madora
December 10th, 2013, 03:53 PM
Have you tried clarifying your hair? Perhaps it is just overloaded with stuff and that is causing the tangling. Your braid shouldn't be tangled when you undo it (unless the hair wasn't sufficiently detangled before you braided it).

Also, finger combing isn't as thorough as using a wide tooth comb. You want to spot and untangle all the little tangles or snarls that may be hiding in your hair, and using a wide tooth comb really isolates them easily so you can take them apart with your fingers (never the comb).

Good luck! ps. I recommend Neutrogena Anti Residue shampoo. It works great. Be sure to do a conditioning treatment afterwards!

jnnfrch
December 10th, 2013, 04:00 PM
Have you tried clarifying your hair? Perhaps it is just overloaded with stuff and that is causing the tangling. Your braid shouldn't be tangled when you undo it (unless the hair wasn't sufficiently detangled before you braided it).

Also, finger combing isn't as thorough as using a wide tooth comb. You want to spot and untangle all the little tangles or snarls that may be hiding in your hair, and using a wide tooth comb really isolates them easily so you can take them apart with your fingers (never the comb).

Good luck! ps. I recommend Neutrogena Anti Residue shampoo. It works great. Be sure to do a conditioning treatment afterwards!



That's a pretty good point now I think about it..

The only thing I use on hair are oils, could these cause the tangling?

I'll have a look out for that shampoo, thanks for your reply!

natt i nord
December 10th, 2013, 04:03 PM
If clarifying doesn't work, you might consider a treatment that provides your hair with protein? I had the same problem and an Egg-Oil-Treatment helped a lot. Slowly warm one or two teaspoons of your favorite oil (lukewarm), add one egg and mix it all up. Maybe add some conditioner as well to thicken it up. Apply on slightly damp hair, let it sit for 1-2 hours under a warm cap and rinse off with some shampoo.
My hair was MUCH better after that.

allycat
December 10th, 2013, 04:08 PM
jnnfrch, is this a recent change? I don't know where you live, but I'm in the northeast US and my hair gets just HORRID in the winter. It turned very cold and incredible dry about a month ago and ever since my normally cooperative hair has become a tangly mess. This happened last year, and I kept trimming because I thought the ends must be damaged. But it wouldn't get any better. Then I did a SMT and it improved drastically and I realized that it was the weather.

It basically started happening overnite this year too, so at least I know not to trim. But I've got to focus on more deep moisturizing treatments. And oils are not good for this for me. They're never great for me because they tend to make my hair collect dust, etc., but in the winter they just compound the tangling problem. I've seen a few other New Englanders complaining of dry hair and tangles recently at LHC. So I just have to kind of ride out the season.

However, if that's not the problem for you, a sudden change in weather towards dry cold air - then disregard my post! ;) In that case, I agree with Madora, and my go-to under ordinary circumstances is a clarifying shampoo.

Good luck!

lapushka
December 10th, 2013, 04:21 PM
Seconding clarifying the hair, especially if you use oil so much. I have to have harsh cleansers in my routine because of a scalp condition, and so my hair is conditioned twice after washing. You could give that a go, it's about the same as a deep treatment. Maybe even follow that up with a leave-in and some oil/serum. Often you have to pile a few things up. Do clarify often enough when you do that, though. Also, try a Tangle Teezer to detangle. This brush is seriously awesome and doesn't snag your hair, no pressure on the scalp when detangling either.

biogirl87
December 10th, 2013, 04:48 PM
That's a pretty good point now I think about it..

The only thing I use on hair are oils, could these cause the tangling?

I'll have a look out for that shampoo, thanks for your reply!jnnfrch, I think that when they overused oils can certainly cause tangling. I remember in the summer months at one point I started using mineral oil (baby oil) to help with detangling. At that time my hair was a little above BSL. By mid to late October, my hair was a little below BSL and I started noticing more tangles in my hair that had to be because of the mineral oil (and I was only using a tiny bit of mineral oil to begin with, just in case Madora starts thinking I was using too much).

stachelbeere
December 10th, 2013, 05:01 PM
seconding the egg treatment. However, just to be on the safe side, if I were you I'd only use only the egg yolk. I like to mix a yolk with honey and lemon juice (and a few drops of EO to kill the smell) and do an oil treatment before the egg yolk mask.

Egg whites dry my hair out terribly; I suppose they have too much protein...? No idea about the scientific part here. I can't use them on my hair though.

turtlelover
December 10th, 2013, 05:08 PM
Some hair seems to love cones -- maybe your hair is like that. I like the cheap Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum. If I don't have cones, I have massive tangle issues, even if my hair is at APL. You also might oddly enough do better w/ a shampoo and conditioner w/ LESS protein. Some people have tangle issues when they get too much protein. I'd go w/ a clarify, followed by a deep moisture treatment, and follow that up w/ a cone serum.

natt i nord
December 10th, 2013, 05:17 PM
Egg white worked fine for me. If I remember correctly, the egg whites contain almost nothing useful at all, and it is recommended to only use the egg yolk because that's where the usefull stuff sits. The egg white only dilutes that. I used the whole egg, because I only had one left and one egg yolk wasn't enough for my waistlength hair, but I'll try with only yolks next time. Maybe the result is even better.

PrincessBob
December 10th, 2013, 05:27 PM
Have you tried clarifying your hair? Perhaps it is just overloaded with stuff and that is causing the tangling. Your braid shouldn't be tangled when you undo it (unless the hair wasn't sufficiently detangled before you braided it).

Also, finger combing isn't as thorough as using a wide tooth comb. You want to spot and untangle all the little tangles or snarls that may be hiding in your hair, and using a wide tooth comb really isolates them easily so you can take them apart with your fingers (never the comb)...



I get "braid shred" pretty bad; the "baby hairs" that escape the edges of my braids are upwards of five inches in some parts and tangle up pretty bad some nights.

I agree though that a wide tooth comb is more thorough than finger combing and may help reduce all those knots overall.

jeanniet
December 10th, 2013, 05:39 PM
The protein molecules in egg are too large to penetrate the hair shaft, so aren't really useful as a protein treatment (but can make a nice wash and give shine). Gelatin works better: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/p/recipes-and-projects.html. I use either the gelatin treatment or just spray Neutral Protein Filler in my hair before conditioner, but my hair really likes protein and will take just about all it can get. If you're not sure, I'd start with the gelatin mix and see how it goes.

stachelbeere
December 10th, 2013, 05:40 PM
Egg white worked fine for me. If I remember correctly, the egg whites contain almost nothing useful at all, and it is recommended to only use the egg yolk because that's where the usefull stuff sits. The egg white only dilutes that. I used the whole egg, because I only had one left and one egg yolk wasn't enough for my waistlength hair, but I'll try with only yolks next time. Maybe the result is even better.

hmmm... interesting indeed. Whenever I used whole eggs I ended up with dry, crunchy hair that would take days to recover.
I once did something extremely stupid - I mixed henna with an egg white - absolutely HORRIFIC results...

I guess everyone's head reacts differently to certain things.

Kimberly
December 10th, 2013, 08:59 PM
Have you just switched to flannel sheets and nightie/jammies for winter, or bought new flannel? It took me a while to figure out that my hair was a tangled rat's nest in the winter because tangles would start around teensy tiny bits of lint from my flannel bedding and gown. A good brushing will help, but switching to something other than flannel works better.

Madora
December 10th, 2013, 09:06 PM
Have you just switched to flannel sheets and nightie/jammies for winter, or bought new flannel? It took me a while to figure out that my hair was a tangled rat's nest in the winter because tangles would start around teensy tiny bits of lint from my flannel bedding and gown. A good brushing will help, but switching to something other than flannel works better.

Man, is this ever true!! My best friend gave me a beautiful set of flannel sheets for Christmas one year and they shed worse than a cat. My brush was blue with the flannel residue. I gave the sheets to my mom and went back to cotton.

Lirona
December 10th, 2013, 10:18 PM
My hair seems to be getting tangled SO easily!! and not just the odd knot in 1 place, it seems to be all over! I wondered if you guys had any tips? I feel like it's only me that has this issue!!

I wear my hair braided or twizzled up into a loose top bun when I sleep: tangled.

Throughout the day at work I wear it in a braid/down/ponytail, when I undo it: tangled!

I oil my hair with coconut or almond oil before every wash (2-3 times a week)

I also fingercomb it out everynight and put in an argan treatment before I "style" it for bed, it's tangled when I try to comb it and I wake up with it tangled!

I feel like this tangledness is really damaging and so want to sort it out asap, I have chest length hair that has a natural wave, I'm suffering from Telogen Effluvium atm so trying to be really careful with it, it's lightly coloured right at the bottom from a long time ago but the rest is virgin hair

Any help would be much appreciated :)

This doesn't directly address the tangling itself, but it could minimize the damage. I have found that using cones (Edited to add: coney conditioner as part of a shampoo/condition routine) makes less hair come out/break when I detangle. (I'm a 1a/F though.) I also use a Tangle Teezer, which helps as well. Maybe clarify to remove all the oil, then see if your hair likes cones? If there's one thing I've learned on LHC, it's that what's good for one person's (or even many people's) hair may not be good for yours. Cones have a bad reputation, but some hair types like 'em!

Eniratak
December 10th, 2013, 10:30 PM
Personally, when I braid my hair, whether for a few minutes or a couple of hours, it always turns out to be tangled. Always.
So, perhaps, you should look into wearing your hair a little differently, such as a bun as opposed to a braid.

Also, my hair absolutely hates finger combing, so maybe look into combing out your hair with a wide-tooth comb.

Hope you get it all figured out!

KittyBird
December 11th, 2013, 01:32 AM
My hair tangles something crazy when it's braided. I always have a lot of tiny hairs sticking out of my braids, and those knot together and form horrifying tangles. Nearly impossible to undo without getting some breakage. Braids worn down are not protective for me. Braided buns, on the other hand, work really well. :)

jnnfrch
December 15th, 2013, 03:49 PM
Thank you everybody for all your comments!!! I tried Pantene's Clarifying shampoo and it's definitely had a positive effect! My hair is still tangled but not as much. I will definitely do some research about cones too, I've been what I thought to be super careful with my hair lately due to Telogen Effluvium and maybe that carefulness has worsened other things including the tangling!

I would love to try the egg treatment, not sure how the smell would work for me, I'm at work daily and I'm sure they won't appreciate the smell!

I don't actually have new flannels but that made me think of getting silk or satin pillow cases.. Sleeping caps just fall off my head lol

I also found that blow drying my hair a little helped but I'm really trying to stay away from that for the Telo.

Thanks again guys, I'll keep you updated :)

sztoto
December 16th, 2013, 03:52 AM
I would definitely clarify the hair and stop using coconut oil. It may "squeeze" under hair cuticles and cause tanglig, mostly on the more damaged part.
And - as it was said before - I would try putting some egg home-made conditioner. This way of using proteins always works for me (and actually not only me:)):
1. Clarifying
2. I put some oil on my hair (i would choose almond oil) - add a spoon or two into the warm water in a bowl and then put your hair in it, it's the easiest way to put oil on wet hair:)
3. Wash your hair with some gentle shampoo
4. Put a simple conditioner without proteins for a minute, then rinse
5. Use some intimate wash gel to wash you hair again (because of low pH)
6. Put some conditioner or mask that includes oils and other emolients and leave it for about 45 minutes
7. Rinse your hair and put on the yolk of an egg mixed with a litlle simple conditioner or yoghurt and leave for 10 to 15 minutes. Yes, the proteins are not small enough to penetrate the hair, but they surround the hair with some kind of... scaffolding? :) that makes your hair smoother, stronger and that makes your hair look thicker.
8. After rinsing put some moisturizing conditioner (it may contain emolients and moisturizers but not any kind of proteins!) and leave for 20 minutes.

I do that every time my hair starts to tangle, gets fluffy and dry or when I need to build up their strenght a little.

Firefox7275
December 16th, 2013, 04:57 PM
That's a pretty good point now I think about it..

The only thing I use on hair are oils, could these cause the tangling?

I'll have a look out for that shampoo, thanks for your reply!

Do you not use conditioner at all? It is necessary to reset the hair after shampooing which can raise the cuticle, alter the electrical charge and pH of hair - all of which can contribute to tangling.

Plenty of ingredients are useful for slip/ detangling, the behentrimoniums, film formers like hydrolysed protein or marshmallow for example. By all means use silicones but they are not your only option.

Wildcat Diva
December 16th, 2013, 05:12 PM
Jeanniet had a really good suggestion with that protein treatment, after you clarify and moisturize. The link she gave was a really good idea.