Detangling...wet, dry, comb, fingers...??

[joyfulheart18]

So this is what I do now. I only brush my hair each evening in the shower, covered in conditioner, with a wide toothed comb. I do it very gently and lose very little hair. Yet people tell me that I may be damaging my hair combing wet?

If I comb dry, the tangles are so bad that my hair breaks, frizzes, and loses all life.

By the way, my hair is wavy (minimally, not a whole lot).

So my question is this...is detangling in the shower okay? If you think it is not, how am I supposed to detangle dry without ripping all my hair out? Just would like to hear thoughts. :)

[lapushka]

It gets detangled before it gets washed. That's it. It doesn't get detangled when covered in conditioner, nor afterwards. Detangling covered in conditioner isn't bad either, but I certainly wouldn't recommend detangling once it's toweldry (you'll pull at it most then, and mess up the wave pattern).

[cloud29]

I have a similar hair type and what I do (since I don't use conditioner) is when its dry I take wide toothed comb through it ever so gently and slowly. The moment I feel a snag I ease up as to not rip anything. I often do the same process with my fingers. Perhaps others can verify if this is a non-damaging method to maintain and detangle hair.

[lillylonghair]

TANGLE TEEZER!!!!!! Sorry for the caps but this thing is AMAZING!!!!! It combs through all of my tangles wet or dry and never rips my hair out. I know a lot of people on here swear by them as well (this is where I found out about them).

[BlazingHeart]

You may be breaking hair partly because of the technique you use. You should start at the very tips of your hair, comb that out, come up a couple inches, comb that out, come up a couple inches (etc etc etc) until you reach your roots. Slow down. Going slowly will let you stop when you hit a snag instead of blowing through it and breaking the hair. SLOW DOWN - it's the most valuable advice anyone has given me about hair that I've put into practice so far. I learned that one as a child.

If that doesn't work on dry hair, you might want to re-evaluate your products. Also, you may have damage and may be in need of protein and/or moisture treatments. Damaged hair tangles more.

You may also find a detangling spray to be useful.

Personally, I do the thing that makes a lot of people cringe and detangle with a brush, but I have very strong hair. I detangle before washing and after drying and try to leave it alone while it's wet. I do occasionally have to sort out tangles with my fingers because hair from opposite sides of my head has managed to get tied together and it's pulling.

~Blaze

[gthlvrmx]

As long as you don't hear snapping in your hair and have a hard time going through your hair (like tugging and then seeing a wad of tangled hair) it should be fine. Start at the ends always and slowly work your way up. If it's not smooth, do not go up, get it nice and tangle free with no struggle before you move up. Use your fingers when the knots are too much. But if you detangle when it's loaded with conditioner i don't think there will be much of a problem.

[vanillabones]

This is the only way I will comb my hair too. I lose no hair combing wet and slippery and if I comb dry it would all break out, so that would be ridiculous. So for me, it makes no sense that people say that combing wet is damaging when dry I would be ripping hairs out *rolls eyes* If it works for you just do it. If no hair is ripping out and the comb glides so gently I don't see how that can be bad either, pfft! I always use detangler as well once I get out and only use a seamless comb :) People say to use detangler when it's dry and try it? Well that's not an option for my baby fine hair if my hair gets wet without washing it it just turns greasy and limp and disgusting!

Combing from the bottom up is the best thing I've ever learned!

[cloud29]

When you say comb from the bottom up , what exactly do you mean? Should i be combing in an upwards direction, of just a little bit at a time downwards starting almost at the bottom?

[BlazingHeart]

Start an inch from the bottom, comb down, then move up an inch or two, comb down (depending on tanglieness) and repeat until you reach your roots.

[cloud29]

Thank you BlazingHeart. I learned something new today. :)

[agoddess2die4]

I find it easier to slowly brush starting at bottom and working up before showering. Also, sleeping with hair up in braids has prevented most of my tangles because sleeping causes so many for me because I'm a mover in my sleep. And I often keep my hair up in some way during the day, especially since i like driving with the windows down in this nice weather. :D

[luxepiggy]

I always detangle in the shower with conditioner, although I use my fingers, not a comb (^(oo)^)

[squiggyflop]

i detangle before washing, and then during the conditioning process.. then again when it is damp, and again when it completely drys..

on days when i dont wash it of at times when my hair is dry when im detangling, i use a tangle teezer..

[krissykins]

Detangling in the shower, even with conditioner slathered on, equals breakage for me.

I prefer detangling dry hair with my tangle teezer :D

[IanB]

I always think finger combing is the best way of de-tangling. You can feel your hair, you know when your coming up to a tangle and deal with it in a gentle and less damaging fashion

[Oksana]

Before my shower I brush through my hair with my tangle teezer, then once in the shower i finger comb with my hair full of conditioner.

[Madora]

Please..if you love your hair, do NOT brush it when wet!!!

Before you start your shampoo, brush your hair thoroughly then detangle with a wide tooth comb. It is always a good idea to start with a head of hair that has been thoroughly detangled first. Also, it saves your drain from being inundated with little hairs.

I've always detangled in the shower, while my hair was loaded with conditioner.

It is what you use, and HOW you detangle, that affects the damage/or lack thereof to your hair when you detangle in the shower.

Here is the method I use (for more than 30 years):

1) Part conditioned hair down center, from nape to forehead.
2) Take a SMALL portion of hair from the forehead area, and using a wide tooth comb, comb the ends gently.
3) Move the comb up an inch or two, and repeat # 2
4) Repeat until you reach the scalp
5) Take the next small section of hair and repeat as above. Repeat until the entire head has been detangled.

Remember, DO IT SLOWLY!!! I cannot emphasize this enough!
Take SMALL sections! Why small sections? Because taking small sections gives you greater control over what snarl you might encounter. If you have a big section of hair, you might have more than one or two snarls to tend with. You don't want to comb your hair, only to encounter 3 or 4 snarls lurking in the depths of your tresses! Better to use small sections and cut down the possibilities of damaging your hair!

6) When all the conditioned hair has been detangled, rinse with warm water, follow with a rinse with the coldest water you can stand (the cold water closes the cuticles which had been opened by the warm water).

7) Rinse thoroughly and do not "scrub" your hair while rinsing.
Use your fingerpads to reach up under the canopy and help spread the cool water.

8) When all conditioner has been rinsed away, gently check for tangles again, then use your palms to gently press down your length to get rid of the excess water.

9) Take a large, thick towel and holding it vertically, wrap it around your hair, then wrap the towel with your hair around your head and pin. Wait 10 minutes then undo towel and airdry your hair. You may wish to use a t-shirt instead of a towel. I do not recommend microfiber towels as they are too rough for my taste.

[IanB]

I use my Body Shop wooden detagling comb while my hair is still wet, then let it air dry and continue to finger comb.

[prettykitty]

I used to detangle in the shower by combing through my conditioner with a wide tooth comb, then comb again after towel drying. Recently I've started not combing in the shower, and only comb after towel drying and oiling, and I'm losing much less hair this way :D

[Jeni]

I detangle my hair with a comb before my shower then again when I get out (and throughout the day if I'm wearing it down). Actually I lose less hair/feel and hear it break less when I comb my hair wet/damp then when its dry....

[Safira]

I comb my hair when I oil it before wash. And if I don´t oil it, I use a huge amount conditioner. I use time and patience, my hair gets tangled in seconds.

[lilasianvixen77]

When I condition my hair, I run my fingers through to get out tangles & loose hairs. After my shower, I use a turbie twist towel to dry & then run my fingers thru my hair with a leave-in conditioner.

[joyfulheart18]

Thanks everyone!