Tips for tanglies in 3a hair?

[venividibxtchy]

My Husband has been having some problem with tanglies.

He has shoulder-length 3a-ish hair, and has been doing a combo of COing or S&Cing/finger-combing in the shower. Despite using Ouchless-bands, he still pulls out a ton of hair each time he undoes his ponytails/topknots. He doesn't rub his hair aggressively with a towel, either.

Any tips on how to keep them at bay? He really does not like leave-ins, but I could totally convince him to do a pre-wash treatment.

[AutumnLeaves]

I find conditioner is a must for me or I'd never get through the snarls after a wash. However, once it is dry, I get lots of tangles and snarls. I think it is the nature of the beast with this type of hair. They do have spray detanglers, however, if it is only when he takes out whatever is holding his pony tail, I suspect he's tangling some of his hair up when he wraps the band around the pony tail. Also easy to do with this type of hair. He needs to make sure he doesn't add in strays during each wrapping of the band (smooth hair after each twist of the band and do not bring in more hairs that were not in the first twist of the band). Does this make sense?

I do have an olive oil and aloe detangler spray that I found in the African American products section of the hair stuff at Walmart. I like it and as long as I don't use too much, it doesn't make my hair feel any differently than before.

[tomm]

First, please let your husband know that he is not alone - I know EXACTLY what he has to cope with. Also, it sounds like he is doing the right things in the shower.

Once his hair is dry, my best advice is to not touch it (advice I have a great deal of trouble following myself :) ). Put it up, or in a ponytail, or braid it, and then leave it alone. I never have had luck with ouchless-bands; I always lose a lot of hair when I use one. Has he tried a hairstick?

[girlcat36]

I have far less tangles since going cone free. The build up of cones caused my ends to want to knot together.

[darkwaves]

Tangles go with the territory, I'm afraid! If he finds a solution, I'd love to hear about it!

[rhubarbarin]

Does he wear sweaters or fleece for the cold weather? I don't usually have much tangling (I do use a moisturizing leave-in which really helps), but the increased amount of fuzz/lint from winter clothes knots my ends like crazy.

Ponytail holders don't really work for me either. Is he amenable to hair forks? Sticks probably wouldn't work so well at his length.

[darkwaves]

Or, might he try a braid?

(Ponytails always create tangles for me.)

[Wanderer09]

I get less tangles and lose less hair if I use a scrunchie instead of a regular ponytail holder. Perhaps he could try that.

[Teakafrog]

Use a conditioner with lots of slip, and comb IN the shower, with the conditioner still in his hair. That is the only way to get my hair thoroughly detangled. I do ponytails with the larger diameter covered bands, and don't get tangles or breakage with them. Of course, I also use a good leave-in.