nape hair tangling

[susiemw]

What is up with my hair?!!

I wear it up or braided almost all the time.

All of a sudden for no apparent reason the hair at the nape of my neck is tying itself into hideous knots.
I haven't changed shampoos or conditioners.

this morning in an attempt to reduce the knotting/tangling
I used some cone conditioner as a "leave in" conditioner.
I haven't taken my hair down yet but just had to detangle
some nape hair so it certainly didn't correct the problem.

If I was home I'd try some oil on it but I'm not home and
won't be for a while.

I remember this happening once before... and it resolved
on it's own without any idea on my part as to why it started or stopped.

Any ideas as to what's going on or what I can do to
stop it??

Susan

[minkstole]

I sympathize. I too get little knots, sometime in individual hairs! at the nape of my neck, and the whole area is just much more prone to breakage. I use coconutoil once a week at a deep treatment - I don´t know if it actually works.

I would love some suggestions

[Arctic_Mama]

Oh geez, I FEEL for you, I really, really do. I have tons of fine, wavy hair and it spends its days amusing itself by playing blindfolded, drunken twister underneath the canopy. HIDEOUS snarls, and I get them even with it braided and confined.

The only solution I've found? Oil the ever-loving daylights out of it. I take a good fingernail of coconut oil just to that area almost daily, in addition to heavy oilings before washing and regular oiling over the rest of the length as needed. Weather can set it off - this is a damp, windy time of the year for the Northern hemisphere - perhaps the humidity is setting off your hair's desire to break from the pack sand have it's own frizzy standout? When you have hair insisting on individuality, as I like to call it, they like to snag one another and just generally be a pain.

Moisturize it before braiding and just be gentle with it - with any luck it will pass. If not, and you're stuck like me, you just mutter and curse under your breath while finger detangling, then wide comb detangling, and progressing to fine comb detangling before confining it again. I find even my hair behaves fairly well when I keep static, agitation, and the effects of humidity to a minimum. Also, getting the base of those braids as snug as possible is crucial to keeping the 'poof' under control. Braid it down your back as long as possible and when you HAVE to pull it over your shoulder don't put ANY pressure on the braid, let it literally just droop over your shoulder so the part coming off your neck is still vertical. That should minimize escapees.


Good luck!

[melikai]

I've found that the hair at my nape will tangle and knot more in winter if I'm walking around a lot wearing a coat with a collar or scarves that rub there. Another thing which gave me bad tangles was wearing a necklace with a fine chain, which my hair seems to love to intertwine with.

[Gecko]

When I get extra tangles there, usually from wearing my scrunchy or curled it knots together: I spray in a leave in conditioner then brush it out with a bbb. Then when I'm washing it I CWC as always, but I might need more condtioner and if it's pretty bad I use a comb. My sister and her daughter both have a tangley spot at the back of there head and think it's just the way their hair grows there...

[Slug Yoga]

Maybe this sounds obvious, but could there be something at the nape of your neck which is causing or exacerbating tangles there? Like a necklace, shirt tag, collars, etc? I get hair tangled in necklaces and such on occasion.

[susiemw]

Maybe this sounds obvious, but could there be something at the nape of your neck which is causing or exacerbating tangles there? Like a necklace, shirt tag, collars, etc? I get hair tangled in necklaces and such on occasion.

I thought of that but there wasn't anything obvious.
The first two days I thought it was because I took
long (11+hour drives) and it was from rubbing against
the drivers seat/head pillow... but after that I've been
working or had time off and it hasn't been any better.

the only real change is the climate... it's extremely dry.
but it was just as dry here the week before this started happening. Maybe it's cumulative. It's so dry I literally
wake up in the middle of the night with my skin so dry it's almost painful. I've been using a slow cooker to put some humidity in the air and that is helping somewhat.

I have a small amt of emu oil with me and will start using
that. Hopefully, this will pass soon!

It sure makes me empathetic for those who have naturally
tangling/knotting hair.

Susan

[AnneAdeline]

I have a spot that tangles like no other if I leave it down. I was able to solve the problem by keeping it braided most of the time. But your hair is tangling even though it is up/braided? I don't have any suggestions that haven't been mentioned except detangling as soon as you notice. I used to wear my hair down for a few days without detangling the knots that appeared at the name of my neck. It just gets worse and worse. (This may seem common sense, but I seriously used to leave it and hope for the best. :rolleyes:)

[spidermom]

Oh geez, I FEEL for you, I really, really do. I have tons of fine, wavy hair and it spends its days amusing itself by playing blindfolded, drunken twister underneath the canopy. HIDEOUS snarls, and I get them even with it braided and confined.
!

Hey - I think my hair plays the same game. I hadn't figured it out. Now that's funny!

Oil makes things worse for me because then all the dust and fabric fibers and bird duff are sucked into my hair from three rooms away, where it instantly Velcros itself to my hair, then my hair Velcros together, and I'm wondering what was wrong with that pixie I used to have.

[Katze]

this happens to me too. My nape hairs are coarser and wavier than the rest of my hair and poof out and seem to tangle very easily. One of the main reasons why I tend to dislike updos...

Are you wearing a necklace, chain, or knotted leather thong regularly? Check it and see if it's collecting hair. For me, this was the #1 no-no for my nape hairs.

A leave-in might work best for adding extra moisture and smoothing those hairs. I would suggest a non-silicone one - I like Goth Rosary for its light, yet slippery quality. Extra misting of those parts, oiling if it works for you, might all also help.

It is really frustrating when parts of your hair don't behave! But careful attention to what exacerbates the problem can help.

good luck!

katze

[hippiechick1976]

When my hair gets like this it can become a mess real quick. I have super thick wavy hair and I've learned a few things to combat it. Vegetable glycerin diluted a table spoon into a few ounces of water with some aloe ( squirt) and some oil sprayed on a few times a day really helps there. Also wearing low updo's like buns that sit in that are help alot too. I like french twists too..for some reason it's doesn't happen as much. I recently started hennaing that section of my hair. Instead of the black dy that was popular i have a red underneith. It looks really cool but I am not sure how much it will help. Hoodie sweatshirts are about the worst for this. Another cute kinda artsy way I put my hair up helps a ton. I got the idea style from wonderlywrought. I will look for the link while I write a description. You put up 80% of your hair into a bun and and leave the bottom section out and put it into 2 small braids that you can pull to the front. I oil the heck outa the braids and leave em all day and get very few tangles. Well I can't find the link but it's a really easy style to do. I hope this gets for you soon

[hippiechick1976]

double post

[birthmarkie]

This happens to me if I try to leave my hair down too long. It's inevitable for me and probably a result of my hair getting longer. I gently rub the knot between two fingers to loosen it up and gently undo it. It is kind of scary. Many years ago, I got my "under layer" "thinned" -- even though my hair is straight -- but I would never do that now. My best advice: keep it up to some extent and do not wear collars or necklaces when it is down.

[SweetPea88]

This happens to me sometimes as well. The only solution that works for me is to use coconut oil.

[Anje]

Any chance you need to clarify? Usually, need-to-clarify tangles occur at the ends first, but since things have changed, it's possible that you've gotten buildup.

Occasionally, my nape hairs get really, really knotty. Since they're thin and only grow to be about 6 inches long anyway (and therefore never quite make it into all but the lowest styles, and are the first to fall out), I cut them down to about 3 inches long last time. I've had no problems since.

[Reptilia]

I find if I wear shirts or sweaters that meet close to my hairline on my neck, I get tangles like that too!

[allege]

I get tangles there if I leave my hair down, or braid it or put it in a pony tail at the nape of my neck. So I have to start braids and ponytails up off my nape, and when I leave my hair down I have to keep running my fingers through that area. Also don't lean your head back against seat backs, and spray some leave in conditioner on that area if you are planning on wearing a collared shirt as both of these will cause friction at the nape leading to tangles.

[aprilmay]

The nape of my neck is the worst for tangles and they spread down from there! I never brushed my hair yesterday and haven't tried yet today so it will be a struggle for sure.

[Periwinkle]

I don't have this problem and I've never really understood why hair can do that, but it looks like I'm not alone in that last one :D

I was just thinking - maybe you could braid your nape hairs for about an inch or so before joining them into the rest of your hair? I sometimes braid the bottom of my hair if I want it down to dry (hair in my face drives me mad, and my hair is quite heavy too) and it's quite easy, so maybe having that smaller braid would help the tangles?

[susiemw]

. You put up 80% of your hair into a bun and and leave the bottom section out and put it into 2 small braids that you can pull to the front. I oil the heck outa the braids and leave em all day and get very few tangles. Well I can't find the link but it's a really easy style to do. I hope this gets for you soon

I think I saw a picture of this and loved it. It was such a cute style. I thought I had bookmarked it and obviously didn't... and haven't been able to find it since.
Thanks for reminding me about this.

Susan