Hair length & tangling (+ first stick-secured bun)

[lithostoic]

My hair is a couple inches from BSL and the tangling is intense. It does not take much for my hair to tangle AT ALL and I'm wondering if this will improve or not with length. I use sulfates and cones, clarify once a month and deep condition once a month. Last wash (Tuesday) I used Dove Oxygen Moisture s&c and noticed a dramatic lack of tangling and added slip to the ends which still look good. No extra oil in my hair either.

To get to the point I went for a 10 minute car ride with the window 3/4 down and loose hair. Bad f***in idea. I got one of the worst knots I've ever had that I actually had to finally just pull out off my hair after crazy amount of detangling, breaking off 5 or 6 strands.

Laugh at my pain.

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13512228_1347286435288105_8870444451065542320_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=b9ca6de8b2f513007bbca2ff1ac4da3b&oe=57C34DF4

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13502012_1347286458621436_1623809671797948637_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=148130c97bbea6943fc1c15261078c9d&oe=57FD454B

And here's the style I will likely be wearing in the car from now on, lol. First successful "stick" (pencil) held bun. I used an elastic to make a ponytail then twisted it up into a regular cinnabun.

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13516266_1347286478621434_2456624858154833728_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=28d7d6aa1948a0f3e33e78a895343b43&oe=57C4BFFB

Sorry about the gross stains on the ceiling. Ex-housemate would smoke cigs in there and the nicotine stains will absolutely not wash off.

[Pearly~91]

Congrats on the bun! Looks good!

In my experience, wind causes tangles no matter the length of your hair. Overall I think tangles get worse the longer your hair is, but also reduce as you wear hair up more and more.

[lapushka]

Tangles get worse with length, for me they did. I now WCC, and that helps *hugely*. I do use silicones and sulfates and clarify once in a (long) while.

I encourage you to stick with the Dove. Trust me, if you find something that gives you 0 tangles, buy it in bulk!

[nekosan]

Yeah, wind can be pretty dire. Even with hair in a french braid, riding in a convertible made for interesting detangling.

[gawrique_]

May I ask how to you detangle your hair? I am asking because that knot does not look hopeless to me :) Also you have more or less straight hair.

What you can try is gently detangling with your hands, starting from the ends slowly moving up. Gently pull all knots like the one in the picture apart and once you can run your fingers trough your hair, you can start with the comb or maybe brush. And of course, waring it up in a bun o a braid will definitely improve the tangling.

[lithostoic]

Pearly~91 Thank you! Being able to wear it in buns will make a huge difference I'm sure.

lapuska I currently cwc. After the initial c (whole head) I wet it again and shampoo without rinsing all the c. Then when I rinse the shampoo I make sure to rinse thoroughly before going back in with c from the nape down and rinsing that out after a few. Sometimes I squish to condish. I will definitely be buying more Dove!

nekosan I'm sure it did! My wispies would be out of control!

gawrique_ This knot was pretty much at the ends so I couldn't start from underneath. In fact all of my knots occur this way. It's the ends that initially tangle. And I always use my fingers to try to fan out out and pull it apart, combs/brushes shred and yank my hair no matter how gentle. I get less damage pulling the knot with my fingers than I do with a comb. Definitely planning on doing more buns! Just need some more length!

[meteor]

To get to the point I went for a 10 minute car ride with the window 3/4 down and loose hair. Bad f***in idea...

I had to giggle a bit at this statement, sorry. :oops: I can definitely relate. :agree:

Yes, tangles tend to increase as a function of increased length, in my experience. Wearing hair up helps *a lot* though. I feel like the best updos for tangle prevention are either double buns (side by side, splitting hair in the middle) or very simple, low-manipulation braided buns. I think the braiding prior to bunning keeps hair better segmented, isolated in sections a bit more, which helps IMHO. And sleeping on silky smooth materials helps reduce tangling, too.

That tangle doesn't look too bad, by the way. :flower: I think I'd use a needle or a thin pin to undo the tight knot and then just take it apart with fingers.

Happy to hear that Oxygen Moisture stuff by Dove has done such an amazing job, by the way. Sounds like a keeper, for sure! :thumbsup:

And Congratulations on the first stick bun! :joy: It looks great! :D

[Arctic]

You should be able to make several buns/updos already, I am positive you could.

[Decoy24601]

I swear that my hair likes to tangle even when I look at it wrong. 7 or so years ago I had my hair cut to SL and it still tangled then. I find coney conditioners don't do as much for keeping my hair from tangling as a coney serum. Actually, the best thing I've found for keeping my hair from tangling is a few drops of olive oil spread throughout my hair. You might find that olive oil is too heavy for your hair, but a different oil or a store-bought serum might help.

I like to sleep in braids and wear my hair up as much as possible during the day to minimize tangles, but I always have an issue of my hair tangling in the shower. I don't dare detangle my hair in the shower because my hair is very fragile right now from damage.

My hair used to dread behind my neck when I was a kid. Sometimes it was so bad that I had to cut parts of my hair out. The hair near the back of my neck is still a different texture than the rest of my hair and still likes to tangle more, but I haven't had it dread since.

Congratulations on your first stick bun ;)

[Ophidian]

You should be able to make several buns/updos already, I am positive you could. I will just add that if you need ideas, check out Arctic's blog :)

[lithostoic]

Arctic I've just found that if I use an elastic to hold the place and only wrap "over" one time, I can create a (barely)successful lwb! Don't yet have the length for a nautilus even with only two fingers.

Decoy I actually got so tired of tangles that I put away my brush and had dreads for two years! They were natty (100% unmanipulated) and loopy and I loved them. Combing them out is actually what did a lot of damage.

Ophidian Thanks ^-^ and I like your user.

Here's the first successful lwb.

https://scontent-mia1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/fr/cp0/e15/q65/13512111_1347353895281359_1590873796229431776_n.jp g?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=6e6cb8c8d2725721b582d1aff86f900e&oe=57F01CE1

[Nique1202]

What I usually do for those really unfortunate tangles at the ends is just to hold the hair above the tangle firmly, and pull gently downward on the ends. 99 times out of the 100, it gets the tangle out with no breakage. Pulling tangles sideways or combing down into them only tightens the knot, but if you pull the bottom of the tangle downward it encourages the ends to straighten out and untangle themselves.

[lithostoic]

Nique1202 Yes, that is something I need to do more! Unfortunately I tried that today and it didn't work for this stupid knot but usually it's a big help!

[Anya15]

Do you have any damage (bleach, heat)? Damaged ends often tangle.

ETA: I get one or two knots like that sometimes, if you just pick at it patiently it'll come out without breaking any strands. :flower:

[lapushka]

Nice LWB. Time to buy sticks, lith!

[Mya]

Is water hard where you live? Hard water makes hair tanglier in my experience. A final rinse with demineralized water can help that.

[MidnightMoon]

I feel too lazy to read previous answers but mine would be yes and no.
If your hair is either fine, wavy, dry, porous, strands seem to stick to esch other, or any other combination... then you might be more prone to having it tangled....at least from my experience. You can avoid the amount of tangling by using cones. Im not going to suggest hairstyles because thats pretty obvious and not a solution for a situation exactly as what youre describing.
Using oils and not washing on days previous to events you have scheduled is important too.
Also, combing and brushing doesnt help in my case if its going to be windy. When unbrushed my hair kinda sticks to esch other and is less prone to tangle. When I brush it seems I separate every strand and it just floats and tangles around, frizzy and all.

[MidnightMoon]

Ah, and when youre too tired to detangle just go to bed or put it up until you have rested and feel in the mood to comb. I have gone to work with uncombed put up hair just because I know Id do more damage by manipulating it in my current mood.
I like watching tv and combing, or watching videos on the laptop. It distracts me and I can do it very slowly and not be tired by it.
I can sit for a half hour just grabbing pieces, combing thw ends, then going up, etc.

[MidnightMoon]

Sorry for the typos, Im on my phone.

[Tosca]

I find trimming even a tiny amount off the ends helps me, or S&Ding my braid tassel.

If my hair (mostly straight) is misbehaving and tangly I put a thin coating of oil on my hands and run it through first with my hands and then my brush, but only from the ears down. What oil I use doesn't seem to make much difference, but if you use olive oil you will need less because it is so thick. I also find that if I do it before I go to bed and braid it for sleep, the oil will absorb in quite well and won't look 'oily' the next day

As always, YMMV

My hair is 2 inches away from classic.

ETA: I detangle with one of these (https://www.drbaileyskincare.com/scalp-scrubber) as it is like a comb but the bristles are still pliable. I live in Australia and I get mine from the supermarket or the chemist for about 2 dollars or so

[reilly0167]

You should be able to make several buns/updos already, I am positive you could.
I'm just past a bit bsl, and so far I am able to do an infinity, lwb, cinnabun (more like a cinna swirl lol) figure 8, with a bit of practice and maybe a few adjustments to make it work. Happy growing.

[Garnetgem]

I found tangles get less when your hair is one length...when it has layers to grow out its a nightmare of tangles like all the time..i once had knee length hair it rarely tangled as it was one length with a blunt cut..length had no affect on it longer never meant more tangles..but like i say if its lots of layers growing out its the hardest part of growing hair as you need patience and lots of it!

[Anje]

Great buns! Congratulations!


...I actually got so tired of tangles that I put away my brush and had dreads for two years! They were natty (100% unmanipulated) and loopy and I loved them. Combing them out is actually what did a lot of damage.
If you've got hair that was combed out from dreads, I'm nearly certain it's more tangly right now than it would be if you maintained length long enough for that hair to grow out and be cut off. In my hair, anyway, old tangle kinks love to make new friends, so I tend to cut out the worst one or two hairs in a knot that have gotten wrapped up tight. (Most of the hairs slip out, but there are usually one or two that clearly are out to form knots and will do so again the first time you're not looking!) And no, the wind isn't your friend. :P

Honestly, years of gentler handling which have eventually resulted in all the more roughly-treated hair being trimmed off, plus plenty of braids and updos, have left me with much longer hair that tangles as much or less than my BSL-length hair did when I first came to LHC. I left it mostly loose for an evening going out a few nights ago, and didn't have any serious snarls to show for it. If I left it all day or didn't babysit it a little, I'd end up with a few, but it's not nightmarish these days. Gentle handling (especially combing/brushing SLOWLY and not when I'm in a hurry or agitated) has made a big difference. So has keeping it contained most of the time.

[MINAKO]

I would expiriment with a gentler kind of sulfates or maybe even none at all if you can. For my hair they turn out to be a disaster no matter what i tried so i exclusively CO, clarify only about twice a year.
These kind of knots are easier to pick apart vertically with the end of a rat tail comb or something similar, pulling them horizontally makes it alot worse in my expirience.

[vampyyri]

When my husband drives he always has all four windows down (no ac in the car) and after having one giant knot for hair, I always put it up before I ever get into the car with him.
Bonus: When he closed the back windows, my hair got caught in it (it was outside the car and looped back in) and was hanging several inches into the car. He laughed his head off and thought it was really impressive. I wasn't as amused...

Also, congrats on your bun! :cheer:

[lithostoic]

I'll see about getting a showerhead filter. I think that may help. We have very hard water where I live.

And thanks you guys!