2nd Day and Beyond: More tangles?

[holomi]

I like going without washing my hair. I usually wash every other day and sometimes can go as long as two days. The only problem is, my hair gets very tangled the second day and beyond. I have tried oiling and BBB to distribute natural oils.

The day I wash, my hair is not tangled. It's just the days afterward. Any ideas or remedies? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks.

[Copasetic]

I have this problem too. Thats why I like to wet and condition my hair every day. I have been trying to do it every other day lately, but it is so annoying. When I finally do comb my hair it takes forever.

[Joette]

How do you prepare your hair for sleep? Is it tangling in the night, or just with normal movement during the day?

[bumblebums]

Hmm, I don't have this problem, but then I don't use shampoo and conditioner--for me, hair behaves best on day 3 after a wash.

I think it would help to know a bit more about your routine. Is your hair damaged? Do you comb/brush daily to detangle? Do you wear your hair down or up, and do you sleep with it braided or otherwise contained or not?

[holomi]

It tangles with normal movement during the day, but only on a day I don't wash. On wash days it is tangle-free. I always wear my hair down, sleeping and otherwise. My hair isn't damaged, it is very healthy. I do also comb it before every wash and when it gets tangled, usually in the morning. It doesn't look bad, but I hate not being able to run my fingers through it.

[Joette]

I'm no hair expert, but my sister had 1a/F hair for a long time, and I'm thinking back to what she did. Have you tried a leave-in condish? We always used No More Tangles when she was little. I've been using Mirable It's a 10 for myself and have had significantly less tangles between washes that way.

You may want to seriously consider a sleep bun, though. If it's tangled worst in the morning, that would probably help a ton. It doesn't even have to be a whole bun because with hair as long as yours I expect that would make quite a bump. Personally, I usually just twist mine low on the nape until it folds once, then scrunchy the ends together with the base so I have a loopy kind of rope so it doesn't make a sleeping speed bump.

[Cirafly24]

You may want to seriously consider a sleep bun, though. If it's tangled worst in the morning, that would probably help a ton. It doesn't even have to be a whole bun because with hair as long as yours I expect that would make quite a bump.

I agree with this idea. My hair is a few inches past waist, and I have had significantly less tangles since I started sleep bunning. I make a cinnabun on the top of my head and secure it with a big soft scrunchy. I also wear a satin sleep cap, which is great if the bun falls apart in the night. But even without the cap, the bun keeps my hair from rubbing across the pillow all night and getting all snarly. Added benefit: since my hair doesn't touch my face anymore, my skin has gotten a lot better!

[Ash]

I would have this problem too but I solved it by washing (CO or CWC) daily. I agree with other posters though in that it may be best to contain your hair while sleeping - bun or braid or even wrapping it in a scarf. If you would still prefer to leave it loose then a satin pillowcase may also help.

[HairColoredHair]

Putting my hair up during the day and loosely braiding it at night has eliminated most of my tangles (except a few at the nape of the neck.) :)

[inspiral]

Ahh I've been wanting to post a thread on this very subject!

*One thing I will mention first off is that when my hair suddenly feels like it tangles right out of the shower, i usually find that getting a trim helps tremendously! I usually don't trim very often except s&d, but even that helps!

*Another thing to look at is how much protein you are using~ check your products. I was having very tangley hair last year and someone gave me that advice and i switched to a protein-free condish and noticed a definite improvement.

*Also, if i leave a little condish in my hair, comb and smooth it and damp bun in a cinnabun, let it dry and then take it out once its dry, it tangles less than if i let it airdry down. its like putting your hair in curlers, the hairs are all smoothed down, the curls are uniform, it looks softer and shinier and it feels more moisturized, more tamed, less fluffy. the only problem is the flat top part, but sometimes i dont think it really looks that bad, and if its too flat, it works really good for half ups and pretty pony tails.

*Also, if I'm going to wear my hair bunned I usually skip rinsing my hair after i condition and detangle, i just squeeze it out and absorb the extra moisture with a towel. this doesnt really stretch out the time between detanglings by too much, but it makes the next wetting/detangling SUPER fast, all i have to do is wet it and run my fingers through a little, five minutes tops.I feel like i use less condish this way too.


As for my tangles~They are insane.... my hair tangles really easily, partly because of splits, knots, and other damage and partly because of my curls. just from one day worn down it starts to clump together in little dreads.
I feel like I am destroying my hair when I go more than one day without conditioning/detangling. The hairs get so tangled in knots and it kinks them all up, and when its such a tight knot it damages it permanently.
My hair does feel much nicer, smoother, and more moisturized when I wet/condition/detangle everyday, but it is hard to keep it up because its so time consuming, and wet and cold in the winter. Detangling with oil seems to work well but it takes soo much longer and then i feel like i need to use shampoo more often, which dries out my hair (and makes it tangle easier) and i feel like its hard to get every single tangle like i can in the shower, especially the tangles near my scalp.. Its great though when its cold or at night and I can't stand the tangles any longer but i really don't want to wet my hair.

It takes me about 15-20 minutes to detangle my hair with just my fingers in the shower with condish for every day that I have gone since the last detangle. So if I'm doing it every day its only about 15-20 min, but after 2 days its 30-40 and after 4 its a nightmare!! Detangling dry with oil takes me about twice as long as wet with condish.


My hair type: 3a/2c f/m? iii
My hair is dark golden blonde with light blonde highlights, waist length, and loose spiral curls. I used to think that my hair was coarse, but I think that the texture is coarse, not the size of the individual hairs, and while some of my hairs, especially underneath, are thicker, i also have some very fine baby hairs, especially the sun bleached canopy, and overall I think they are more fine/medium. But even some of those really thin fragile fine hairs feel kinky and coarse. Certain hairs are sooo kinky, and they seem to be distributed pretty evenly throughout the canopy and the under layers.. My curls have an average diameter of about a half dollar, but some hairs are kinked up to the diameter of less than a pencil. I think these hairs cause a lot of the tangles.

routine:
I lightly shampoo every 3-4 weeks, more often if i do deep oil treatments, and I almost always detangle in the shower with conditioner. I can detangle with oil dry but it takes much longer. I just discovered last night that Jojoba oil is my favorite oil for detangling so far! I only use the most natural hair products that i can find, never use a brush and only comb with wide toothed after i finger comb, I always do a sleep bun also, but even that tangles my hair a little. my hair doesnt like changing its style and parting once it has dried and clumped. because of the curls clumping together, it tangles when i let it dry hanging down and then gather it up on top of my hair and bun it, and also the other way around, if i were to let it dry up side down or in a bun on top of my head and then take it down it tangles. but if i do a low bun with my normal part its okay. this is my problem at night, because braids are getting too long and in the way, a low bun tangles the least but is the most uncomfortable, and the top of the head is the most comfortable but it still tangles a little, and i don't know what a better option would be.....


good luck!

[holomi]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It doesn't tangle during the night, it is very easy to detangle in the morning after sleep. It is during the day as it is worn down, the ends get piece-y and stick together, and that is where the tangles come in. If my hair is worn up, no tangles.

I'm beginning to think that I have to wear my hair up on day two and beyond, or find a good leave-in conditioner to use on non-wash days perhaps? Any recommendations?

[holomi]

Another thing, I can wear my hair in a ponytail during the day as well, and not get tangles! It is something to do with the part in my hair changing as it is down, and the wind perhaps? I'm not sure what causes it but I'd like to nip it in the butt!

[HairColoredHair]

Perhaps your hair is tangling by rubbing against your clothing and the ponytail prevents that somewhat?

It is winter, perhaps a coat is the culprit.

[holomi]

It tangles with normal movement during the day, but only on a day I don't wash. On wash days it is tangle-free. I always wear my hair down, sleeping and otherwise. My hair isn't damaged, it is very healthy. I do also comb it before every wash and when it gets tangled, usually in the morning. It doesn't look bad, but I hate not being able to run my fingers through it.

Sorry, I was unclear here. I comb in the morning always and sleep with hair down (easily detangles), and sometimes I comb during the day as well (very difficult to detangle).

[holomi]

It is mostly the top layer of the hair, my part tends to change often and when it does, tangles!!