Detangling in the Shower

[pinchbeck]

The following is what I have read about handling wet hair after it's been washed: add conditioner and comb with the product in your hair than rinse; do not comb the hair when wet as it should be dried and then detangled; comb after washing and conditioning.

Wouldn't letting the hair dry be less susceptible to breakage while combing since hair is most vulnerable when wet?

What are your thoughts?

[justme]

Part of this depends on whether you're a straighty, wavy, or curly. Many curlies can only comb when their hair is sopping wet and covered in conditioner.

What works best for me (a wavy) is to comb very gently after my conditioner has set a minute or two, and then only after dry. The potential for breakage is greater when my hair is wet, but it dries so much better if I can get out all the shed hairs during my wash (I do detangle before washing, but the washing process loosens more hairs).

[No excuses]

I never tried combing my hair after it dries because I'm sure I would end up with a huge knot that I would have to comb for hours (and I believe this would be worse than the thing that I always do - I comb my hair when it's still soaking wet).

[spidermom]

My hair has "memory". If it dries with a tangle in it, the hairs keep that crimped up configuration and grab onto other hairs until I wet them down. It works far better for me to detangle while my hair is wet, not that I always do it. Sometimes I go for a day and night before I get around to detangling after washing. People around me tell me my hair looks good all ropey.

[Peter]

I detangle before/during/after washing. I flip my head over to put my hair in a towel to dry, and I get some tangles from that. I just fingercomb then gently use a comb to keep it from getting too knotted as it dries. I know wet hair is more susceptible to damage but knots are really difficult to get out when my hair is dry.

[lorig713]

Like Peter, we detangle dry before washing. Then we gently comb as the conditioner get rinsed out. Works like a charm. :magic:

[esmeraldaze]

I detangle before the shower when my hair is dry. I also detangle again when my hair is almost dry. Since I mostly air dry this is a about 2 or 3 hours after the shower. I think my hair is less damaged when I detangle dry but when it gets very dry after a shower ( I mean completely dry) It's almost impossible to detangle without pulling the hair and obviously causing damage to it. I avoid detangling wet hair in the shower as much as I can.

[Xandergrammy]

I detangle dry before washing. Then I detangle while the conditioner is on, during the rinsing process. Sometimes I detangle again immediately after the towel comes off, sometimes not. If I didn't detangle while wet, I'd have a matted, knotty mess. :bigeyes:

ETA: I only use a wide toothed comb to detangle, wet and dry.

[MirandaWelch]

My hair breaks when I detangle it dry, so I wait til I'm in the shower. After I've applied the conditioner, I fingercomb. Then again as I'm rinsing.

[Fethenwen]

I brush my hair throughly before I wash it. I always wash my hair separately with my head down, so there is no use detangling it while there is conditioner in it. When I put it in a towel and flip it right again it usually is in a big mess. So I have to detangle it while wet or otherwise it will remain a big mess. I usually am very careful and use a wide toothed wooden comb. But I wonder if I still get damage from it, I love combing my hair while it's wet.

[Pixna]

I absolutely HAVE to detangle my hair when it is wet. I detangle before I wash it, but I don't detangle in the shower. I smooth conditioner over and through my hair after I wash it, and just rinse it out in the shower (after leaving it on for about 5 minutes). I also use a leave-in spray conditioner that helps detangle my hair before I carefully and gently comb it with a smooth, wide-tooth comb. That gets out the tangles and all the shed hairs that weren't caught in the shower. If I didn't comb my hair when it's wet, it would be a mass of impossible knots.

[meowmeow]

I think it's alright to detangle in the shower, as long as you have conditioner in your hair or as long as it's slippery to avoid pulling the tangles and stretching or breaking the hair. That's what I do.

I know that I cannot detangle when it's wet after I've taken a shower, because then it's not slippery. But I can detangle again after it's dried, since I can run a comb through it without any problems.

[jojo]

I detangle dry before washing. Then I detangle while the conditioner is on, during the rinsing process. Sometimes I detangle again immediately after the towel comes off, sometimes not. If I didn't detangle while wet, I'd have a matted, knotty mess. :bigeyes:

ETA: I only use a wide toothed comb to detangle, wet and dry.
I do the exact same as Leni:)

[Yozhik]

There seems to be a trend among those of us who have wavy/curly hair: we need to detangle at least partially wet. It's definitely the same for me. I use a wide toothed come to minimize damage and do it when I'm rinsing the conditioner out. Then I can either go with curly hair or if I comb again after I've taken out my hair turban, I get slightly straighter hair.

[Pierre]

I detangle in the shower. I move the comb down until it hits a tangle, then pull the tangle apart, or if it's close to the ends of all hairs involved, snip it. I don't use conditioner, but I always have some jojoba in my hair, and the henna adds some slip.

[Flynn]

My hair has "memory". If it dries with a tangle in it, the hairs keep that crimped up configuration and grab onto other hairs until I wet them down. It works far better for me to detangle while my hair is wet, not that I always do it. Sometimes I go for a day and night before I get around to detangling after washing. People around me tell me my hair looks good all ropey.

Dilemma. I get the same memory effect, and it looks better brushed/combed when conditioner-wet, but I get so much more breakage when I brush/comb wet.

[Elphie]

I don't really have a tangling problem. I don't comb before washing, I don't detangle it in the shower and I use a wide toothed comb on it while it's still drippy but mainly just to organize it a bit otherwise it dries funny. But I don't encounter many tangles and the few that I do, come out easily.

[MsBubbles]

There seems to be a trend among those of us who have wavy/curly hair: we need to detangle at least partially wet. .

No curls/waves growing out of my scalp...and I still have to detangle when my hair is damp. :). Otherwise it dries matted/knotty.

[ericthegreat]

I wouldn't even try to detangle my hair when its dry. I would be looking at serious breakage if I tried to take out any knots or tangles in my hair when its dry.

I comb out my hair with my wide tooth only when I CO and its wet and full of conditioner. After I rinse out the conditioner, I then go back and pick up the same bottle of conditioner I just COed with and pour out a small penny-sized amount of it into my hands, rub it together and apply it over the length and ends of my hair. This always helps to instantly take out any knots I have.

[Cinnamon Hair]

I'm a rogue. I not only comb while it is wet and soaked in conditioner but also once or twice while it is in the drying process (sometimes more since combing helps it dry faster). I don't comb before showering because it's easier for me to get out tangles in wet conditioner soaked hair than dry. Do what works for you. If you are careful about not ripping through the hair, you will be fine.

[JCFantasy23]

My hair tangles very badly if I try to comb while wet. Even if it's damp I hear lots of loud breakage if I try! Dry is no problem for me.

[liseling]

I always detangle when my hair is conditioner soaked. And I dont even have a comb to do that with - I've been using my fingers pretty much exclusively for a couple of years. You can feel the tangles out more easily when you use your fingers and are less likely to rip through them.

I have a horn comb because I just like the idea of being able to comb my hair while it's dry (and because the comb was so pretty!) but on the rare occasion that I use it (of course while dry - otherwise the water would ruin the horn) somehow my hair gets more tangled the longer I keep combing. So for any real detangling I have to do it while wet with conditioner (not just wet with water)

[Flynn]

somehow my hair gets more tangled the longer I keep combing.

Er, that would be because you're a curly. When you're combing, you're breaking up the curls. Hairs start crossing each other in different directions (x-shaped crossings where normally they are almost parallel), and as they slide past each other, the cuticle scales snag on each other. The more you break up your curls, the more of these x's you get, the more tangles you get.

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[Cherry_Sprinkle]

I finger comb in the shower then follow up with a good comb when its wet.. if I wait until my hair is dry it will be full of knots... if your hair is very straight or has a ton of slip, I doubt this would be a problem, but its always led to tangles and breakage when I don't comb wet.. but I'm a curly/wavy girl :)

[liseling]

Er, that would be because you're a curly. When you're combing, you're breaking up the curls. Hairs start crossing each other in different directions (x-shaped crossings where normally they are almost parallel), and as they slide past each other, the cuticle scales snag on each other. The more you break up your curls, the more of these x's you get, the more tangles you get.

Yes I am quite aware of this, believe me :agree: combing my hair produces an effect that's quite difficult to miss :laugh:

[ericthegreat]

I just think its easier to comb out/detangle most hairtypes in general when its wet and full of conditioner or just after the conditioner has been rinsed out of your hair. Its certainly easier to comb out my hair when its wet and full of conditioner.

And in both cosmetology school and at the salon where I currently am training it is a standard procedure to have all clients washed and then to apply the conditioner to their hair before using a huge wide tooth comb to detangle their hair. After they have been washed and conditioned they will be sent to their stylist who will usually use a large paddle brush to take out any knots in their hair. Of course in a busy salon, no one has the time to wait for your hair to air-dry before detangling your hair, but again this is the standard procedure.

[Flynn]

Yes I am quite aware of this, believe me :agree: combing my hair produces an effect that's quite difficult to miss :laugh:

Oh, yes, I imagine it booms quite spectacularly.

That's just the reason it tangles more as you comb it more.

[Cherry_Sprinkle]

@Eric: They use a brush to comb on wet hair? is this while blow drying or just to detangle? I'm just curious :) I've never had a stylist use a brush on me wet if she wasn't blow drying is all.

[ericthegreat]

Yes Cherry Sprinkle, they use the paddle brush both to detangle and also just before blowing out the client. But since I'm in NYC, no woman would dare go out of a salon without a sleek and sexy blowout so yeah its just a standard procedure that all stylists over here do!

[liseling]

Oh, yes, I imagine it booms quite spectacularly.

That's just the reason it tangles more as you comb it more.

Yep, something that I've observed close up many times - and the reason why I dont detangle while my hair is dry unless there is some reason why I need to. For instance last week when I was camping I didnt have access to a shower so I kept my hair in french braids the whole weekend but had to redo them every morning so they didnt become perma-braids. I needed to comb while doing that unfortunately but on such occasions I try to keep the combing to a minimum. And brushing is just a plain no-no!

[Cherry_Sprinkle]

That's interesting :) My current stylist takes me from the 'poo bowl to her chair, combs me out, then uses either the large paddle brush or a round if shes blow drying me but doesn't brush me out until she's combed first.. in the summer I make her just detangle and add some curl set and I leave wet! lol but I am sure I am a rare case cause most don't leave her salon without being sprayed & teased.. and being an LHC member.. I'd rather eat concrete than have that treatment! lol

[ericthegreat]

That's true. But then as you said you're a hardcore LHCer, and you're lucky your stylist agrees to change what she normally does to suit your desires! Here in the salon I'm training at, its THE DREADED STYLIST who decides how he or she wants to treat your hair!

[paperwhite]

I use a detangling comb before I get in the shower, then gently while there's conditioner in my hair, and then again while it's sopping wet after it's been rinsed (and then smoothing the hair down with my hands to get the water out). I've found that this is the best method for me for cutting way down on tangles and snarls. Also, combing while my hair is very wet helps get a lot of the water out of it without having to squeeze/wring it (bad bad bad). When it's all separated into little locks instead of squeezed into one big one, my hair towel soaks up a ton more water. When I used to not do any of these things, I had tangles like you wouldn't believe. It took forever for me to detangle my hair. Now, my comb slides right through :)

[Feye]

I detangle with my fingers while having conditioner in, after that I don't touch it until it's completely dry, then I finger comb again later in the day. Since starting on this new comb-free routine I don't find many split or broken ends anymore.

[Sissy]

I never detangle while I'm showering as it makes me feel as though I'm damaging my hair.. .causes hair to fall out etc.

What works well for me is to use my seamless wide tooth comb after I've been out of the shower for a few minutes (I wrap my head in a turbine when I get out and then get my PJ's on then I go back to the bathroom then smooth my leave-ins in my hair and detangle with my hands and then comb it). I usually can brush it no problem when it's wet so long as I've detangled it first... not sure if that's what might be causing damage though.

[Amara]

I comb my hair before the shower, and wash with my hair going straight down my back, and then finger comb when it's sopping wet. Then I braid or bun it and comb it out again when it's just slightly damp.