Many knots and tangles?

[pinklemonade]

Hi everyone. I've been noticing for a couple of days that my hair is full of tangles. I try fingercombing and I get stuck and if I pull/tug a little, I hear a little rip and find pieces of broken hair!!!:( I never noticed these many knots/tangles before so I'm wondering what could it be? I've been sleeping with braids so it shouldn't be that. There has been a lot of wind recently, could it be the wind? A couple of days ago I did a molasses treatment and my hair really feels great and looks shiny so I don't think it's that....
I should probably mention that my hair is VERY layered, and I always notice teeny bits of dust no matter how clean my hair is. What do you think I could do?

[Cleopatra18]

i have the same problem..=(

[akurah]

Dust and gunk promote tangles.

If you sleep in braids, that will cause tangles too (especially with layers, but even with one length like mine), but it's still more hair friendly than the alternative (sleeping cap is probably the most hair friendly bet).

My hair is in a perpetual braid of some sort--braided at night, then rebraided for braided buns in the AM, sometimes rebraided and braid left down. I constantly have to detangle my hair, braids are not a perfect safeguard against them. :twocents:

It almost sounds like what you are describing is normal but I'm obviously not there to see the extent of your tangling, so there ya go. Hope you sort it out soon!

[frizzalot]

Do you oil your hair?

I've stopped oiling my daughters' hair because I noticed it attracted alot of dust especially 'inside' the braids. Shes very active. The dust kinda stuck together and created lots of knots.

When was the last time you trimmed your hair?
Do the ends feel rough?

[pinklemonade]

Thank you for the feedback! :))

Cleopatra18, glad to know I'm not alone! I got real scared when my hair actually ripped/broke in my hands!!!

Akurah, yes I sleep in braids but the thing is since I have a crazy amount of layers, I can only braid very little of my hair (so the rest is dangling...sort of like two pony tails really:rolleyes:). I guess this tangling could be normal, but I never noticed it before...

Frizzalot, yes I oil. A lot. You're right about the dust attracted by oil, I forgot about that. I love oiling though! I haven't trimmed in a year approximately, but my ends don't feel rough (that's why I'm postponing!). Plus, I feel these knots also on the upper layers of my hair, and throughout.

[abbatabba1137]

Is your hair colored at all? I noticed when I colored my hair that the last few inched seemed to velcro together(no matter how much oil or conditioner I used). Trims helped, but only for a week or so...

Layers also ALWAYS tangle quicker.

[Sarahmoon]

It could be the wind. If your hair is too layered for braids or updos, maybe you could use a hair scarf or something like that to protect your hair against the wind?

[akurah]

Most of my tangles are at the scalp and the very ends--scalp from hair getting loose from the braid (newer growth mostly) and because I tend to braid loosely, so the looser scalp hairs, even if contained at the ends, will tangle with dust and such. Sounds like your tangles are similar to mine despite yours being layered and mine not.

[Anje]

Wind and lint are major tangle culprits for me. Ones that you can do a little more about, though, are split hairs or kinked hairs that like to catch on others, buildup, and too much protein.

Is your hair bleached or permed? Breaking little pieces off sounds like you've got something making your hair brittle and fragile, which could be from chemical treatments or something like protein overload. My suggestion (which is probably my general suggestion for every hair problem there is, honestly) is to clarify with a real clarifying shampoo, then deep condition with a protein-free conditioner (I prefer cone-free, but people will vary on this). If your wet hair feels mushy at this point, go shopping for a protein treatment (look for terms like "reconstructor") and use it, then follow up with another moisture treatment. If it's not mushy, just keep doing regular moisture treatments.

[pinklemonade]

Abbatabba, no I don't dye my hair. I guess it's the layers (and the wind/dust don't help either...).

Sarahmoon, thank you for the suggestion- will try a headscarf!

Akurah, yes it sounds like we have a similar situation. Do you know how we could minimize dust? Should I stop oiling? That's probably the best thing I do though for my dry hair/split ends....

[pinklemonade]

Anje, I'm growing out a perm and yes I do have splits/kinked hair AND there's always dust in my hair...no wonder I have so many knots! :rolleyes:
You mentioned protein overload and I'm beginning to get suspicious....just a couple of days ago I put a mixture of conditioner and lots of molasses in my hair. But how could it be the molasses, if I also had lots of conditioner in my hair? Hmmm I might leave the molasses out during my next wash and see if there's any difference. I will follow your suggestion and clarify too. Thank you for the advice!

[akurah]

I don't oil my hair anymore except as a pre-shampoo treatment, I find that cuts down immensely on the tangles while still benefitting my hair. I also try to detangle my hair twice a day. You may prefer more, which I think is fine, but less is probably not helpful to tangle control. You also sound like you have some damage that I don't, which I imagine contributes to the breaking off bit (my hair will detangle, if I'm patient enough, without breakage). I also make it a point to use cones, but my hair doesn't react badly to them (some hair can react poorly to cones) and I don't personally hold any moral objection to them.

Anje's advice sounds pretty sound, I would start there.