Knots are driving me crazy!

[Long_hair_bear]

Hey there, my lovely fellow LHCers!

My hair has been driving me crazy over the past few months. I keep getting big knots around my ear/chin line. I have tried clarifying, protein treatments, SMTs, detangling then braiding, and NOTHING seems to work to keep me tangle free! I'm sick of damaging my hair to get these knots apart! It seems like the moment I detangle one knot, another pops up in its place! I wear my hair up or braided most of the time, so its not like it has alot of chance to tangle. I don't know where they keep coming from. shudder: I won't be cutting my hair off, no matter how much it cheeses me off, so no worries. It has not been bleached and I use no heat tools on it, nor do I use SLS shampoos. I wash it once a week with an SLS free shampoo followed by condish.


Any advice/ideas/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[neko_kawaii]

I don't see deep oil treatments on that list.

Have you been wearing scarves this winter? Just trying to think of things that could rub in that region. . .

[rainfortheend]

Check out this thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=109922

This is what I do. Whenever I hit a snag or a knot, I'll simply finger detangle, breaking it down to just a few hairs and simply cutting off the knot or snag. It seems to be the same problem hairs each time; the more I cut, the less knots I get. And I'm cutting off so few hairs that I haven't noticed any changes to my thickness or hemline.

[minxe]

Check out this thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=109922

This is what I do. Whenever I hit a snag or a knot, I'll simply finger detangle, breaking it down to just a few hairs and simply cutting off the knot or snag. It seems to be the same problem hairs each time; the more I cut, the less knots I get. And I'm cutting off so few hairs that I haven't noticed any changes to my thickness or hemline.

This is exactly what I do. I've found that if I get tangles in one specific spot, it's normally due to one or two nasty splits tangling up everything else. So those few problem hairs have to go! :whip: :scissors:

[Loviatar]

No helpful 'anti tangle' advice other than recommending a Tangle Teezer. I have quite fine hair and my TT really makes easy work of knots - with no snapping and very little hair loss (so much less than with a brush or comb).

[Johannah]

I second Loviatar, but still for some people it doesn't work. But I guess it's worth a try.

[woolyleprechaun]

I second the tangle teezer. It does take more time to detangle using one, but its nowhere near as irritating as other detangling methods. If I have a spare few hours (!) I'll do a proper, full detangle with varying sizes of combs and such.
I highly recommend the shower tangle teezer; I saturate my hair in conditioner, let it sit while I do other shower stuff and then use it to brush through before rinsing... it does reduce tangles. I speak from experience, as my waist+ hair has around 4 inches of bleach damage at the ends and a shoulder length halo of frizzy regrowth, which causes simply epic knotting.

[Long_hair_bear]

Well, I do use a tangle teaser but finger detangle when I hit a big knot. I usually put a tiny bit of oil in my hair before going out in the winter and put my hood up to cover my hair from winter's drying effects.

[Madora]

Hey there, my lovely fellow LHCers!

My hair has been driving me crazy over the past few months. I keep getting big knots around my ear/chin line. I have tried clarifying, protein treatments, SMTs, detangling then braiding, and NOTHING seems to work to keep me tangle free! I'm sick of damaging my hair to get these knots apart! It seems like the moment I detangle one knot, another pops up in its place! I wear my hair up or braided most of the time, so its not like it has alot of chance to tangle. I don't know where they keep coming from. shudder: I won't be cutting my hair off, no matter how much it cheeses me off, so no worries. It has not been bleached and I use no heat tools on it, nor do I use SLS shampoos. I wash it once a week with an SLS free shampoo followed by condish.


Any advice/ideas/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

It is odd that the knots seem to congregate around your ear/chin line. I can't think of anything but was wondering if you slept on flannel sheets. I know from experience that they shed like a cat and your hair winds up with tiny bits of lint from them. Not fun at all.

Do you brush daily? Do you brush/comb out your hair after wearing it up and before rebraiding it for sleep?

Dealing with tangles/snarls is a real hassle! I recommend finger detangling because it is more gentle on the hair and its easier to locate the tinest snarl. Just be sure that when you're working to undo the snarl that you hold the strands horizontally not vertically. If you hold the snarled strands vertically, your actions only tighten the knot. Working on the snarl horizontally lets you work on it from the top and bottom, with no pressure on the knot. Try to work free a few strands from the top, then switch to the bottom and see if a few won't come out. Also, don't work from the top of the knot, work from the other end.

I commiserate with you completely. I just spent 3 days getting out snarls near my nape that were due to lint. Not fun at all!

[lapushka]

I would try a very slippy, coney conditioner, if you are no cones. It's about what the hair needs, not about the routine you want!

[G1ll]

No helpful 'anti tangle' advice other than recommending a Tangle Teezer. I have quite fine hair and my TT really makes easy work of knots - with no snapping and very little hair loss (so much less than with a brush or comb).
I agree. My hair is curly and quite thick, and I get really horrible knots under my canopy around second or third day hair. The TT really helps gently get rid of the knots. If you aren't willing to try the TT, maybe oil treatments will help? they always make my hair more manageable.

[Long_hair_bear]

Hey everyone!

As I've said, I DO use a tangle teaser and finger combing. Lapushka, I do use a coney condish. My hair gets even angrier without them! :) Today, I took the time to comb my hair with a wide tooth comb after applying some nightblooming panacea for some conditioning and slip. I detangled little sections at a time. It took forever, but now I'm sure its all detangled. Immediately afterward, I braided it. If any knots get in it now, gggggggrrrrrrrrrr.

Madora, yes I brush my hair twice a day with a tangle teaser and finger comb whenI hit a knot. I brush it before doing my daily hairstyle and before braiding it for bed. :)

Also, it may be lint, but I'm not sure how to get that out of my hair. :(

[lapushka]

Oh, misunderstanding. Sorry! Maybe try the LOC method for styling after washing and conditioning? More here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=118167&highlight=method
(The amount of product is very little though, we do about a 2 eurocoin amount per product and this is for hair from ear down all the way to hip, so if your hair is shorter you might want to use less product). The method is amazing for slip and softness to the hair!

[Long_hair_bear]

Oh, misunderstanding. Sorry! Maybe try the LOC method for styling after washing and conditioning? More here:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=118167&highlight=method
(The amount of product is very little though, we do about a 2 eurocoin amount per product and this is for hair from ear down all the way to hip, so if your hair is shorter you might want to use less product). The method is amazing for slip and softness to the hair!

I do use panacea as a leave in but have to be VERY careful with oils. Even the teeniest amount tends to make my hair look greasy, especially since I only wash my hair once a week. The only oil my hair seems to like is nightbloomings triple moon oil, but even then, I must be careful. I might try a hot oil treatment. I've never done one before.

[jacqueline101]

I had an area last week that about drove me to tears. It wanted to mat up and tangle no matter what. I ended up trying cone spray worked for a day then I oiled and added some more cone spray. This always happens to me on the third week of my monthly shampooing. I've even tried ignoring it since the rest of my hair was alright. I would end up finger combing the tangle out with out any problems and the products I use are isoplus oil sheen and tresemee shine spray. The tresemee is cheap I think 5.00's or less the isoplus was a gift.

[Long_hair_bear]

Thanks for recommending the LOC treatment Lapushka, but it looks like the whole thing would be too heavy for my hair texture. I may try part of it with the oil and cream, but I'll have to be oil concious. :)

[Firefox7275]

IMO work out what is causing the knots: a damaged section from previous tangles, scarves, glasses, jewellery, coat collar, bed linen, car seatbelt perhaps? It's not like that is old hair damaged by the normal wear and tear over passage of time.

[meteor]

It seems like the moment I detangle one knot, another pops up in its place! I wear my hair up or braided most of the time, so its not like it has alot of chance to tangle. I don't know where they keep coming from. shudder: I won't be cutting my hair off, no matter how much it cheeses me off, so no worries. It has not been bleached and I use no heat tools on it, nor do I use SLS shampoos. I wash it once a week with an SLS free shampoo followed by condish.
Since your hair is virgin and damage-free and dislikes too much oil, I think your knots can could be caused by simple build-up. Try clarifying.
You mentioned using Panacea regularly, and, even though it's an excellent product, it contains a good amount of shea butter, which can quickly build up on hair.
Do cover your hair with silk when you sleep or before you put your hat/hood on.
I absolutely agree with those who caution against flannel / wool materials. They are ubiquitous in winter-time and caused so much tangling for me!

[Long_hair_bear]

As I said above that, I did try clarifying. :) I do cover my hair every time I go outside to protect it. :)

As for working on whats causing the knots, I'm still working on that. So far, no clue yet. Nothing catches in it; I make sure of that! Might just have to be trial and error on products.

[Kaelee]

That's the same place where my hair tangles/splits most frequently. As far as I can tell, my hair type is slightly different in that area of my head. The hair itself is more fragile and prone to tangles than the rest of my hair.