Help! My hair tangles much more since switching shampoo and conditioner...

[Ellethwyn]

A few weeks ago i switched to a new shampoo and conditioner. I like everything about it and it has made my hair more moisturized, but i've noticed my hair is tangling much more than usual. Does anyone have a clue why that could be? Both my old shampoo and new shampoo are sulfate free and cone free. The old shampoo had more additives and the new one has much more of a simpler ingredient list, full of extracts and oils.

I'm hoping it's just a phase and soon my hair will adjust and not be so easily tangled.

[leayellena]

hmm I can't do more than a single braid with my non-cones conditioned hair. I'll switch back to cones and I will do the best braids in the world (as a clumsy girl can make :P). yeah I tried the whole natural thing... it doesn't penetrate my low porosity hair too much...

[Corvana]

A few weeks ago i switched to a new shampoo and conditioner. I like everything about it and it has made my hair more moisturized, but i've noticed my hair is tangling much more than usual. Does anyone have a clue why that could be? Both my old shampoo and new shampoo are sulfate free and cone free. The old shampoo had more additives and the new one has much more of a simpler ingredient list, full of extracts and oils.

I'm hoping it's just a phase and soon my hair will adjust and not be so easily tangled.

Hmm... Do you have hard water? That could cause tangles... Or your hair just needs a bit more of a pH balance thing (gosh I'm very sleepy I'm so sorry I can't do words), so maybe a vinegar rinse?

If you do have hard water, you may need to chelate, but you may just need to add a vinegar rinse (which helps with hard water along with just general tangly hair I believe).

[lapushka]

A few weeks ago i switched to a new shampoo and conditioner. I like everything about it and it has made my hair more moisturized, but i've noticed my hair is tangling much more than usual. Does anyone have a clue why that could be? Both my old shampoo and new shampoo are sulfate free and cone free. The old shampoo had more additives and the new one has much more of a simpler ingredient list, full of extracts and oils.

I'm hoping it's just a phase and soon my hair will adjust and not be so easily tangled.

I had that happen to me with the Kiwi Shine shampoo from Schwarzkopf. It is supposed to make the hair + water softer (yeah, right). All it did was create tangly hair. And it was the shampoo, because the rest was the same.

What shampoo and conditioner are you currently using? Maybe the conditioner you are using now is too weak to combat the tangles. I have no other clue.

Corvana, I don't think it's to blame on the water (unless that has changed).

[Rowdy]

A few weeks ago i switched to a new shampoo and conditioner. I like everything about it and it has made my hair more moisturized, but i've noticed my hair is tangling much more than usual. Does anyone have a clue why that could be? Both my old shampoo and new shampoo are sulfate free and cone free. The old shampoo had more additives and the new one has much more of a simpler ingredient list, full of extracts and oils.

I'm hoping it's just a phase and soon my hair will adjust and not be so easily tangled.

It could be that all the oils in the new conditioner don't rinse out as much as your old conditioner and is now causing some new tangles.

[Ellethwyn]

Thanks for the ideas everyone!


It could be that all the oils in the new conditioner don't rinse out as much as your old conditioner and is now causing some new tangles.

That might be what it is. Do vinegar rinses help with that? Im going to give it a try!

[PixieP]

Vinegar has helped me tons with tangling! I use a rinse every wash as I notice a big difference otherwise. So that will hopefully help loads :) for me apple cider vinegar is more efficient than just plain white vinegar, but that is diffferrnt for everyone ^_^

[Corvana]

Corvana, I don't think it's to blame on the water (unless that has changed).

I just meant that maybe there was something in her old shampoo that either helped with hard water if she had it, or masked it or something.

[Ellethwyn]

Thanks pixie p!

Corvana, I do have hard water. My old shampoo and conditioner might have masked it...that def crossed my mind.

[Jo Ann]

My hair gets that way when I use something that has proteins high on the ingredient list. I did find, however, when I was trying to find a good SMT conditioner for me that a HG conditioner, used after the SMT, helped ease a lot of the tangling.

I would try to clarify and condition first--get rid of any build-up you might have--then try your new shampoo/conditioner combo again and see what happens. If you still get tangles and have some of your old shampoo and conditioner around, try washing your hair once using the new shampoo and old conditioner. If no tangles (or not as badly), then try using your old shampoo and your new conditioner. It could be one or the other. If you really like the new shampoo/conditioner, try using a second conditioner (like a WCC) and/or a leave-in conditioner and see what happens.

[Anje]

Try clarifying. It's likely that they build up at a different rate than your old ones.

[VersLaLumière]

Do you use a leave-in on the ends? I find I have this problem with the more all-natural cone-free shampoos and conditioners too, and more so as my hair gets longer. I've found it helps to use a leave-in on the last three-four inches of my hair, I use Shea Moisture JBCO. I have a cone shampoo and conditioner too, and change back and forth occasionally between the coney stuff and cone-free.

[Jo Ann]

That's what I do--about every fourth wash, I use my old SLS shampoo and conditioner or a clarifying shampoo, so I'm clarifying about once a month. I just started doing LCO, so I use JBCO from the roots down, but oil and cream from the ears down. REALLY makes a difference!

[luvlonghair75]

It's not the hard water, it's the shampoo. I have hard water and have always had it. The products I use are the ONLY thing that changes my hair. Try oiling the ends before washing? I find that helps alot.

[lapushka]

I just meant that maybe there was something in her old shampoo that either helped with hard water if she had it, or masked it or something.

Gotcha! :)

[lapushka]

It's not the hard water, it's the shampoo. I have hard water and have always had it. The products I use are the ONLY thing that changes my hair. Try oiling the ends before washing? I find that helps alot.

Yes I'm one of those people that has had hard water her whole life too, and I recently used a shampoo (Schwarzkopf Kiwi Shine) that turns hard water into soft water; my hair tangled like crazy. I think it's largely YMMV and that we're used to certain things. That doesn't mean you don't need to be on the lookout for things like this, because for some people it does seem to matter.

I would just try and get a more moisturizing conditioner.

[Ellethwyn]

i read reviews for the shampoo and conditioner (Acure Ultra-Hydrating) that i switched to, that's causing all the tangles, other people have the same problem with it and others have noticed that it leaves a residue on their hair. I'm going to do a clarifying wash in a day or two and use a different shampoo and conditioner. I do not like a build up or tangles!

[Ellethwyn]

i used the shampoo last night with a different conditioner- as lapushka suggested. No more tangles and my hair looks like itself again. I even slept with my hair loose and didnt get any tangles. Yay! Im glad it was as simple as using a different conditioner. thanks guys!

[lapushka]

I'm glad that it was just that. Maybe the other conditioner is still good as a pre-poo.