What to do against extremely tangly hair?

[Loveletters]

Hello everyone,
Ever since I was little, I've had extremely tangly hair. If I forget to brush it for one day, I will end up with hair so matted it looks like I have starting dreadlocks. Throughout my life I have tried anything I could to put an end to the horribly tangles. I've tried all kinds of products, tried different protective styles and even cut my hair short a few years back. None of it helped. When it was shorter, the tangles would simply stick to my scalp instead of in my nape/down the length. My hair is very fine, but dense. I have lots of tiny knots too, I have to untangle those before I can start brushing out the length, a task that takes hours.

To illustrate:

https://i.postimg.cc/59kbM98L/IMG-5371.jpg
My hair right after I brush it

https://i.postimg.cc/pX4WKVTR/IMG-5370.jpg
And after a day... (It's been worse than this, this is the STARTING phase!)

Send help please! haha

[bparnell75]

Are you wearing down? At your length wearing it up most of the time would be preferable. Are you using sticks and forks i buns? This is the preferred protective styles most of us wear.

[georgia_peach]

My hair is very fine and tangly. The only thing that works for me is to keep it in an updo like a bun or in a claw clip.

[Loveletters]

I usually braid it, even when braided it tangles (don't ask me how, it's almost ridiculous haha). I put it up in a bun sometimes, but it hurts because my hair is heavy and it pulls my scalp. I've never tried the sticks before. I could try that out. Wearing it down isn't possible, unfortunately (I think it looks nice when down), because of the tangles.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I think it's pretty normal for hair worn down to tangle. If I wear mine loose I have to detangle about every 20 minutes. Wearing it bunned protects it so very much more from tangling and keeps it in better condition too. :) Wearing mine bunned (and in a sleep cap in bed) allows me to pretty much never get tangles any more. I couldn't grow my hair long, to be honest, if I had to battle tangles all the time.

As for you getting scalp pain from wearing it up, that's normal if you aren't used to wearing it that way. You'll need to de-sensitise your scalp to the hair being pulled in a different direction than it's used to. Wear it up for half an hour, and each day gradually lengthen the time with it up until you can have it that way all day. Of course you can still wear your hair down, but you will need to detangle it often if you do.

[shelomit]

Mine tangles scalp-to ears no matter what, even when it's bunned and despite the fact that I wear a headscarf most of the time. I can't keep a braid or bun in for days at a time like some do; it's necessary to take out the hairstyle every day and re-detangle. If you find the secret, let me know!

[Ligeia Noire]

Reading your description it was like reading me describing my hair....
The only thing that helps, immensily, is exactly what others mentioned. Putting it up. But with mine, it can't just be put up, it needs to be braided first.. otherwise, it will get tangles, regardless. Silicones help a lot too. To weigh it down and adding slip, to help not tangle as much but, wearing it down, was always stuff of nightmares for me. No matter the length.
I am lucky, though, because I much rather prefer to wear it up and aesthetically prefer to see me with my hair up much more...

[littlestarface]

My hair is the same way its the curse of being a wavy. What I have to do is oil it and then comb it and then braid it and I have to comb it everyday or else it gets matted up even in the braids. Our hair needs lots of moisture, protein and well keep the scissors far away at times. I swear i'm gonna chop mine some day.

[StellaStellitsa]

When I first started doing buns (cinnamon and nautilus) I used to do them directly on loose hair, this led me in tangles. In time I switched to a plaited cinnamon bun (as my main bun). This way my hair don't tangle from the bun. I don't comb my hair after I take the bun down at night, I put an elastic on the ends and go to sleep. When I bunned without plaiting my hair, first I had to comb my hair and then plait it for the night sleep, otherwise it was difficult to plait it and by the morning they would be worse (plus with the adiction of sleep tangles). You can use a pencil as a haistick substitute, that's what I do use too. I find that it distributes the weight of the hair fairly well. But at the beggining you might not be doing it correctly. I had that problem too. What did you use on your buns? I find that actual hair pins hold the hair well if inserted correctly and can distribute the weight of it if you put enough of them, because each of them can hold a big amount of hair, in contrast with bobby pins which each can hold a smaller amount of hair and tighter. I used to use claw clips to put my hair up in the past when my hair was long before I had to cut them to chin length at its longest part. I must say that they actually hurt my head and my skin, I was in pain when I used them but I can now see that it was due to bad weight distribution and pulling some hairs more no matter how much I tried to find the right way and I used them for years(in contrast bunning the right way with the pencil took me a littler time if you take into consideration the fact that I started doing buns this year since April). I still have the claw clips but I'm never going to use them again anymore.

The length of my hair is almost at hip.


Edit.
I also find that when I oil my hair it becomes easier to comb.

Also, in my childhood my hair was fine and although it was then straight it was full of tangles and really difficult to detangle it and actually painfull, it didn't help either that the tactic of my family was putting a brush or fine comb on the roots and pulling till it reached the ends.

[RadioactiveLily]

In addition to what others have added above, have you clarified your hair recently? Extra tangliness is often a sign for me that I need to remove buildup. I shampoo it very thoroughly from roots to ends with a sulfate shampoo, rinse it well, then slather it in an extra moisturizing conditioner or cream to replace moisture. This usually improves my tangles.

[Hexana]

Didn't read through every comment, so sorry if this was mentioned before. How about using a bit more oil in your hair? It would probably make it more slippery and maybe it wouldn't tangle as much.

[lillabug]

we have similar hair. keeping it braided or bun helps as well as silk pillowcases (get the ones that zip closed or the pillow just slides out)

[Shorty89]

As already suggested, you could try clarifying to see if that helps. If you use cones, try going cone-free. If you don't use cones, try using them/a detangling spray. I also third (fifth?) the idea to wear it up. Good luck!

[Kalamazoo]

My hair was tangling & doing the single-strand-knot trick yesterday. I decided it was from the air being too dry, due to running the furnace. So I plugged in my crockpot, filled it with bottled spring water, added a drop each of peppermint, clove, & tea tree E.O.s; and turned it on low with the lid left off. I have to remember to add more water so it won't boil dry. (That crockpot is dedicated to being a humidifier, because the salt deposits from the water really have built up. Anybody know how to remove limescale deposits? Help!)

And then I pulled my spray bottle of Hair Tea out of the fridge & moistened my hair with it. (Hair Tea = horsetail, catnip, fenugreek seeds, rooibos-mango tea, & rosemary, steeped in spring water, & cooled down; with a smidge of kalonji oil added.) (The Hair Tea is also good to drink, but I leave out the Kalonji Oil because it's bitter and ruins the flavor for my taste buds.)

After spraying on the Hair Tea, then I lightly oiled the hair, to seal in the moisture. I may have used either Earthly Delight Pomade, or argan oil, or almond oil, or apricot oil.

When combing my hair dry (I NEVER brush it!!!!!), when I hit a tangle, I like rubbing cocoa butter (the pure stuff that comes in a push-up tube) on it, &/or holding the tangle between my finger & the cocoa butter stick, so that the warmth of my hand melts the cocoa butter onto the knot.

If the tangle still won't pull apart, then I S&D.

I use wooden combs.

At one time, I joined the group, "The Velcro Ends Coddlers", but I no longer have any velcro ends to coddle. My hair's currently hip-length.

[lithostoic]

Yep. People have asked me "Do you even brush your hair?". I had dreadlocks for 2 years partially because I got tired of brushing it. These days I just keep it up to avoid tangles.

[vpatt]

I get worse tangles with my hair down, second is with a braid it still tangles on my nape unless I take it down and rebraid occasionally. The best for no tangles (for me) is a bun. The most pain free bunning for me is with Amish pins. I insert them around the bun as if they are small hair forks. Spin pins are good, too. I love my wooden hair forks and you will get used to them after a while. They are my favorite look for buns and I have some that I love to use, (thank you BParnell!)
Also, here lately my hair is tangling worse so probably time for clarifying, it helps, also. So basically what everyone else said, lol.

[georgia_peach]

I've got the same issue with braids, vpatt. Those nape tangles and knots are the worst! I wear my hair down only while it's drying after a wash, then up into a bun or claw clip it goes.

[Amy-Lee]

When my hair gets too dry, that happens to me. I can't skip a day without combing or I will have serious knots... big and small. Putting my hair in one big braid has helped a lot.

[MusicalSpoons]

(That crockpot is dedicated to being a humidifier, because the salt deposits from the water really have built up. Anybody know how to remove limescale deposits? Help!)


Citric acid or vinegar, or any other cheap, readily available acid - limescale is alkaline so the acid will help break it down :)

[sipnsun]

I could comb every five minutes and still have tangles if my hair is down. The only solution I have found for it is to spray an aloe/jojoba/fenugreek oil mixture on my length and put it up with a stick or fork. Also, I've been braiding loosely at night so I don't wake up with huge knots in the morning.

[Kalamazoo]

Citric acid or vinegar, or any other cheap, readily available acid - limescale is alkaline so the acid will help break it down :)

Thanks, MusicalSpoons! That's what I needed to know! :knit:

[Dark40]

Hello everyone,
Ever since I was little, I've had extremely tangly hair. If I forget to brush it for one day, I will end up with hair so matted it looks like I have starting dreadlocks. Throughout my life I have tried anything I could to put an end to the horribly tangles. I've tried all kinds of products, tried different protective styles and even cut my hair short a few years back. None of it helped. When it was shorter, the tangles would simply stick to my scalp instead of in my nape/down the length. My hair is very fine, but dense. I have lots of tiny knots too, I have to untangle those before I can start brushing out the length, a task that takes hours.

To illustrate:

https://i.postimg.cc/59kbM98L/IMG-5371.jpg
My hair right after I brush it

https://i.postimg.cc/pX4WKVTR/IMG-5370.jpg
And after a day... (It's been worse than this, this is the STARTING phase!)

Send help please! haha

I have fine hair too! And, it also gets tangly at times. I agree with georgia_peach. Wearing half updos and jaw clips maybe your best bet. Also, if I were you I would invest in trying Mane N Tail Detangling Spray. That really works wonders for me! And, my hair is more of between fine/thick, and I have a lot of it.

[Bri-Chan]

My hair tangles a lot. Even in braids. I haven't found a solution, but what makes is better is actually not brushing or combing. It's like the more I detangle, the more my hair tangles. I used to detangle my hair twice a day. Not just brushing, detangle. Now I detangle pretty much before or during every wash ( with a conditioner in it). Now in 3 days I have the same amount of tangle I had in less than a day. On me wearing hair down isn't the main problem, I think, because I have most of my tangles in the roots area. For this, english braids don't work. If I wear my hair in an english braid for days, it get worse.

[Dark40]

For me, I have to detangle by combing or brushing. That's what works better for me. I at least detangle once daily with a comb and brush. I always love to brush my hair daily. Because, it distributes the natural oils from your scalp. I've always figured, "How can your hair grow if you don't brush it at least once daily?" If I didn't brush it daily my hair wouldn't grow at all, and I would have tangles everywhere for days.

[Natalia_A00]

Since my hair is longer, it tangles like crazy... What works for me is wearing it in braids, preferably in 2 braids (it gets way less tangles and knots that way). I also use deep condition masks to smooth it out a little bit sometimes.

But yeah, I can't skip detangling and brushing my hair everyday. I always do it before I go to bed (I sleep in 2 pigtail braids, I recommend you this), and each morning too, before I leave my home to go to uni.

[Feral_]

I’ve noticed my hair gets more tangly if I brush it. However if I use my wide tooth horn comb it tangles less.