Recurring tangle in the same place

[Nesoi]

My hair isn't very tangle-prone considering how wavy it is, but I do seem to always have this one tangle in the same place when I come to detangle in the shower (with a TT and a ton of conditioner). It's on the right side of my head, at the back, about level with my ear. It's in the top layer or canopy, rather than the underlayers near my scalp.

Why??? Sometimes it is really stubborn to get out, too! Any ideas why this is happening? I'm worried I'll end up with a puff of breakage in that area. I wear my hair up to sleep (topknot held with mini claw clips/sleep fork) and wear it in a French twist/cinnabun almost every day, held with a fork or claw clips. I don't use elastics. And the tangle doesn't seem to move 'down' as my hair grows, if you see what I mean, It's always in the same place. It's the only tangle I really get. WTF?:confused:

[Ting32]

I've had the same thing :)
I changed my work-in and rinsing 'technique': less swirling and no more lifting my ends to my scalp and rubbing helped a lot.

[jacqueline101]

I have that issue but I have straight hair use a cone spray on that area and it prevent it from tangling in my case. If that doesn't help maybe you need to clarify.

[Federica]

I think it could be due to the way you handle your hair on your daily routine... do you twist it everytime in the same direction/part of your scalp? Do you place the claw clips/fork in the same position?

[lapushka]

My hair isn't very tangle-prone considering how wavy it is, but I do seem to always have this one tangle in the same place when I come to detangle in the shower (with a TT and a ton of conditioner). It's on the right side of my head, at the back, about level with my ear. It's in the top layer or canopy, rather than the underlayers near my scalp.

Why??? Sometimes it is really stubborn to get out, too! Any ideas why this is happening? I'm worried I'll end up with a puff of breakage in that area. I wear my hair up to sleep (topknot held with mini claw clips/sleep fork) and wear it in a French twist/cinnabun almost every day, held with a fork or claw clips. I don't use elastics. And the tangle doesn't seem to move 'down' as my hair grows, if you see what I mean, It's always in the same place. It's the only tangle I really get. WTF?:confused:

My hair gets a little "resistance" on the left side - always happens. Not that I have tangles to get out, but when my mom detangles she is always met with a little resistance on my left side. It's a darn mystery. Maybe because the conditioner doesn't get applied that well to the left (depends on where she stands to get at the hair, I guess). That could be it.

[Madora]

My hair isn't very tangle-prone considering how wavy it is, but I do seem to always have this one tangle in the same place when I come to detangle in the shower (with a TT and a ton of conditioner). It's on the right side of my head, at the back, about level with my ear. It's in the top layer or canopy, rather than the underlayers near my scalp.

Why??? Sometimes it is really stubborn to get out, too! Any ideas why this is happening? I'm worried I'll end up with a puff of breakage in that area. I wear my hair up to sleep (topknot held with mini claw clips/sleep fork) and wear it in a French twist/cinnabun almost every day, held with a fork or claw clips. I don't use elastics. And the tangle doesn't seem to move 'down' as my hair grows, if you see what I mean, It's always in the same place. It's the only tangle I really get. WTF?:confused:

I sympathize with your dilemma, Nesoi! Tangles at that level drive me insane. A couple of questions for you:

1) Before you get your hair wet, do you thoroughly detangle it and then comb or brush it out?
2) How long has this been going on? Weeks/days?
3) Have you ever considered wearing your hair up in a sleep braid instead of a topknot?

Perhaps how you are manipulating your hair while you shampoo it is what is causing your tangle/knot problem.

If that is the case, you might want to consider doing this: before getting your hair wet, part it from the forehead to the back. Try and keep the 2 sides separate if at all possible. Wash one side at a time.

Since the tangle persists in being attracted to that one particular spot, while your hair is full of conditioner, make a horizontal part along your head, just below where the tangle usually appears. Separate the hair so that you are holding the hair that has the usual snarl. Carefully comb out that area and see if you can isolate the trouble. Once you have done so, continue on with your usual hair routine.

I hate snarls with a purple passion and always part my hair and try to keep both sides separate during the entire shampooing/rinsing/conditioning process. I've found this helps eliminate many snarl/tangle problems. I also shampoo my hair in "rows"...front to back, then top to bottom. That helps too.

If this problematic snarl persists when your hair is dry, then try the parting method again. Gently detangle your hair, working from the ends up, little by little, until you reach the roots. Comb out the hair. Now, take the edge of your comb, and holding the comb vertically, slowly move it down from the top of your scalp to your neck. Move the comb a little further back on your head and comb vertically downward again. Work this way until you've reached the back of your head (just past your ear).

Hair is funny. You think you've just combed and detangled perfectly. Your comb slides through your hair BUT tangles can still lurk in your hair. How can you tell? By combing your hair with your other hand. If you usually comb with your left hand, comb with your right. See if the comb goes through your hair smoothly with no snags. If it does, congrats. If it doesn't, then try detangling your hair as outlined above...using the tip of the comb vertically.

This just happened to me. I was dumbfounded because I've never had trouble with snarls above my ear area. My hair is ALWAYS up and braided...yet this snarly area still persisted. So I tried the vertical comb approach and presto, no more snarls! Of course I do this every day...but it's worth it. Snarls have a nasty way of attracting more snarls. No thanks! I get them out pronto!

[LongCurlyTress]

Hi,

Listen to Madora! She knows what she is talking about! ;)
I get really bad tangles on the crown of my head every time I shampoo. Really bad. I gently use my TT with conditioner in my hair to get them out, but the snarls drive me nuts. I think it has to do with dryness on my crown area. But it looks like a nest when I am using the TT until I gently brush through this clump of tangled hair. I put a ton of conditioner on this area especially but it is still a tangled clump until I finish TTing my hair. I am worried this might be too rough on my crown hairs, and don't want to create a balding spot. :(

[Madora]

Hi,

Listen to Madora! She knows what she is talking about! ;)
I get really bad tangles on the crown of my head every time I shampoo. Really bad. I gently use my TT with conditioner in my hair to get them out, but the snarls drive me nuts. I think it has to do with dryness on my crown area. But it looks like a nest when I am using the TT until I gently brush through this clump of tangled hair. I put a ton of conditioner on this area especially but it is still a tangled clump until I finish TTing my hair. I am worried this might be too rough on my crown hairs, and don't want to create a balding spot. :(

Well, that might be a matter of debate, LongCurlyTress!:But thanks for your vote of confidence.

But truly, I never would have dreamed that using a comb in a vertical position would do anything. After all, it is the TINES you use for combing. Who ever knew that the tip of the comb might be helpful in getting rid of snarls too!

[Nesoi]

Thank you all very much for your advice!

Madora, thank you especially for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply!

1) You have made me realise that I of course should be detangling my hair BEFORE I get it wet as well as with the conditioner. I am very lazy and don't tend to detangle unless I'm in the shower.
2) It's been going on since my hair hit about shoulder length - so quite a few months as I am now nearly APL - but I don't remember it happening when my hair was waist-length. O f course I didn't really take much notice of it then!
3) I do consider a sleep braid every so often but I don't know how to secure it, really. Elastics pull my hair out and I can't sleep with a clip in it as it's too short to flip it over the pillow. Hmm.

I do try to shampoo only by massaging the scalp and not folding the hair up at all...but I am going to try your approach. I am especially interested to try the vertical comb trick! I have never heard of that before and will try it out. Thank you so much!!

[Anje]

In my experience, an overly tangly spot usually needs a good S&D session. Sometimes the breakage and fairy knots and everything else that it's built up from being tangled multiple times are actually causing the continued tangling. Ruthlessly trim away all the damage in that zone! It might not entirely fix the problem, but it usually makes it a lot better.

It might also be worth clarifying your hair. Make sure you shampoo the length when you clarify, and concentrate on that tangly section as well as on the ends -- that's where you apply more conditioner, so it's also where you tend to get buildup.

After those two things, keep up with the conditioning and careful detangling. Don't be rough because you're upset or in a hurry. See if additional moisture treatments, protein, or oils give it any help. But the section might be getting more twisting from your updos, it might rub on your shirt in a funny way, it might just plain have enough very wavy or curly hairs embedded in it to wrap up all the hairs in the neighborhood due to inconsistent wave pattern. Who knows?

[Madora]

Thank you all very much for your advice!

Madora, thank you especially for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply!

1) You have made me realise that I of course should be detangling my hair BEFORE I get it wet as well as with the conditioner. I am very lazy and don't tend to detangle unless I'm in the shower.
2) It's been going on since my hair hit about shoulder length - so quite a few months as I am now nearly APL - but I don't remember it happening when my hair was waist-length. O f course I didn't really take much notice of it then!
3) I do consider a sleep braid every so often but I don't know how to secure it, really. Elastics pull my hair out and I can't sleep with a clip in it as it's too short to flip it over the pillow. Hmm.

I do try to shampoo only by massaging the scalp and not folding the hair up at all...but I am going to try your approach. I am especially interested to try the vertical comb trick! I have never heard of that before and will try it out. Thank you so much!!

You're very welcome, Nesoi! I started detangling before wetting my hair because I didn't want a lot of shed hair ending up in the drain hair strainer. Then it dawned on me that by detangling before, it lessened the amount of detangling I'd have to do when conditioning. Even with my hair loaded with conditioner, that did NOT remove the detangling issues. The conditioner lessened the time it took to detangle...but that was about it.

As for the sleep braid, well, you can just wear a single loose plait at night. Maybe try the "paranda" style and just tie the paranda strings together to hold the braid (if you don't want to use an elastic).

Good luck with the vertical comb trick! It might help if your comb has a pointy end (think rattail comb) rather than a rounded end.

If all else fails, then I agree with Anje..a clarifying session might help.