How to reduce tangles in straight hair?

[Fimu]

I would like to help out a girl I know who has tangle-prone straight hair. Her hair density is medium, and I have estimated that her strand thickness is medium as well. She washes her hair 2 or 3 times a week (with shampoo).
However, I don't know much yet about straight hair care. And I guess that straight hair needs a different approach for detangling than curly hair.

So I was wondering, what's your routine to reduce tangles in straight hair?


What oils are light enough for straight hair?
How many times a week/month do you wash your hair with shampoo if you do?
How many times a day do you brush or comb your hair? I have understood that wooden pins brushes or wide-toothed combs are the best choices for straight hair.
Do you apply leave-in conditioner between washes?

[lapushka]

What conditioner is she using? If she still has tangles that usually means the conditioner isn't moisturizing enough. But often it's a balance between conditioners that don't weigh down straight hair and conditioners that moisturize enough. I wouldn't get the lightest of light conditioner, but maybe not the ones for dry, damaged hair either.

[Arctic]

Very often tangly hair is caused by buildup of some kind. First she'd need to clarify, especially if she has never done that (or it's been a while).

[Aphra]

I have 1 c hair, so straightish, but not pin straight (there is a pic in my profile).

I wash alternate days or every third day - which is pretty frequent by LHC standards, but I hate having greasy hair, and my scalp goes all grumpy if I go longer. I rotate through shampoos, but they all have sulfates in, so are pretty strong cleansers. I wash my scalp and let the rinse out clean the length. Once in a while I do the whole lot with herbal essences Drama Clean.

I always use conditioner on my ends, and since starting here, I've gone over to CWC or WCC. My hair likes it. I detangle dry before getting in the shower, then finger comb the conditioner through

I detangle at the moment with a mixture of finger combing, and a tangle teaser to deal with fine tangles and smooth it all out. I was using a wide toothed comb for a while but experimenting suggests it was causing far more breakage than the TT.

However, although conditioner certainly makes post wash detangling easier, and makes my ends feel nice and soft and happy, the one, the only way to stop my hair tangling during the day is to wear it either braided or bunned, especially if I'm going outside. If it is down, it will tangle unless I brush it regularly through the day. At night it also tangles less if I braid it although I've found leaving it down, but draping it up over my pillow works almost as well.

[Fimu]

Thank you for the suggestions!


Very often tangly hair is caused by buildup of some kind. First she'd need to clarify, especially if she has never done that (or it's been a while).
She probably uses a SLES-contaning shampoo. So I guess that's clarifying already? Though I think that switching to a low-poo could reduce tangling significantly because the hair gets less stripped.


I have 1 c hair, so straightish, but not pin straight (there is a pic in my profile).

...

I detangle at the moment with a mixture of finger combing, and a tangle teaser to deal with fine tangles and smooth it all out. I was using a wide toothed comb for a while but experimenting suggests it was causing far more breakage than the TT.

However, although conditioner certainly makes post wash detangling easier, and makes my ends feel nice and soft and happy, the one, the only way to stop my hair tangling during the day is to wear it either braided or bunned, especially if I'm going outside. If it is down, it will tangle unless I brush it regularly through the day. At night it also tangles less if I braid it although I've found leaving it down, but draping it up over my pillow works almost as well.
She has 1b/1c as well. A TT would be useful for her!


Now I'm wondering: how often do you straight-haired people use shampoo? (whether sulfate-free or not)

[lapushka]

Maybe take a look as well at the straight & silky thread; there might be some suggestions there. And why not invite her over? We'd love to have her. :flower:

[Winter Fox]

I'm 1b/1c myself and shampoo every other day (with sls-containing shampoo). I find that conditioners or leave-ins with silicones help me the most to get rid of tangles as well as the already mentioned tangle teaser.
When it comes to natural oils I love coconut oil as a pre-wash treatment but for leave-ins between washes I prefer balms (like the famous nightblooming panacea) over natural oils.

[mizukitty]

Pretty much what lapushka said. The more dry the hair is, the easier it is for tangles to take hold. A conditioner with silicones or a silicone serum is the best in this department as a preventative measure. If she's using SLS there shouldn't be any issues besides maybe weighed down hair if she uses it ALL over the length. But medium hair should be able to handle them okay.

A tangle teezer is a brush many swear by and I am in this camp. My fine hair really benefits from not being torn apart. Even when I try to be patient and slow with a normal brush or my fingers, I inevitably snap hairs. I haven't snapped a single one since I got the TT.

[Deborah]

I don't think there is any magic answer, but keeping my hair up in a bun almost every day goes a long way toward reducing tangles. Also, sleeping with it in a braid helps too. Between those two changes, I don't have nearly the tangles I spent most of my life fighting.

[Saldana]

As a 1a/b, I've found that oils don't really help with tangling....if the ends are tangling (velcro syndrome) a trim often helps. And finding a conditioner that provides good 'slip' usually takes care of other tangling issues for me.

[lithostoic]

This is all very personal.

I use coconut oil which many say is too heavy for straight hair. I shampoo once every 5-7 days (water rinse + conditioner once in between) which many say isn't often enough for straight hair.

I usually brush once a MAYBE twice a day (for styling) but sometimes I skip it. And I don't use any leave ins, except serum when I'm nearing wash day bc my ends look frazzled.

I don't use sulfates, and only my serum has a water-soluble cone.

[lucid]

I switched to CWC, and that solved all my problems. I wash it every other day, to every third day. I usually just finger comb it when it's dry, and brush it before I braid it for the night. I sleep with my hair braided, but usually wear it down throughout the day. :)

I stay away from heavy cones, those causes massive buildup in my hair, but very light cones that are water soluble work. I use regular shampoo, my scalp and hair haven't been very happy with the different sulfate free shampoos I have tried. I don't like oils either, it makes my hair stringy. But I don't have dry hair, so I guess that's why.

[LadyCelestina]

Could the tangliness be caused by some brushed out wave perhaps?

[lithostoic]

Oh and I don't use dry shampoo! On the rare occasion my mom gives me one and I try it, my hair tangles like crazy.

[lapushka]

Could the tangliness be caused by some brushed out wave perhaps?

Good point. She might have wave to her natural hair, that you don't see because she styles it? Maybe? Or, have you ever seen her hair wet, and then dry slightly (like for instance when going swimming).