Tangle-free hair advice!

[candycandace]

Hi everyone, so basically my hair tangles quite easily and when I try to detangle it, I feel like I'm ripping out all of my precious hair that I worked so hard on growing :(. I'm not really sure why it tangles :shrug:, but I would really appreciate some advice on how to keep it tangle free with minimal damage. So, what kinds of things to you do to detangle your hair? :D

[Roscata]

You have some options:
- Cones: but careful if you don't clarify it cones will make your hair a nightmare when it comes to de-tangling (you have been warned). Links: De-mistify the dimethicone/cone debacle (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=151), To Cone or Not to Cone (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=13)
- lightly oiling your hair will help detangling. Links: heidi w.'s Oiling Tutorial (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=71), Carrier Oil Comparison (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=66), Herbs and Essential Oils for Hair and Skin! (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=25)
- leave-in conditioners. Links: Thoughts on Leave-In Conditioner? (http://www.longhaircommunity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72728), Kimberlily's defrizz spray (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=277), regluar conditioner as a leave in? (http://archive.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=15915)

Hope that helps! :D

ETA: Just in case, the basic instructions for detangling are: use a wide tooth seamless comb and start at the bottom of your length, working your way up a couple of inches at a time. You can also try finger combing, which just means using your fingers to detangle your hair. For knots always use your hands to gently pull them apart.

[BlueMuse]

I really like my tangle teezer. It doesn't prevent tangling, but it does make getting the tangles out very easy and less hard on my hair.

[candycandace]

Thank you ladies! Maybe I will look into getting a tangle teaser...and a real leave in conditioner. My coconut oil can only do so much.

[Diamond.Eyes]

Hey Candace! You always post good questions :p. I make a homemade detangler which is 1 tbls of VO5 Strawberry's and Cream conditioner, 1 tbls pure organic aloe vera gel, 1/2 tsp jojoba oil, 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerin and then I fill the rest up with very concentrated rooibos tea and shake. I use a 2 oz squirt bottle. I hope this helps! :flower:

[danacc]

I keep it contained to minimize how much it tangles in the first place. If I'm out and about, it's in an updo with a fork or hairstick. Around the house and at night, I keep it in a braid. I detangle every morning when I take the braid out, and I always detangle before washing.

I use 'cones for slip, too.

[Madora]

How are you wearing your hair? If you wear it down a lot, the chances for tangles are greatly increased.

Wearing it up and confined somehow lessens possibilities for tangles and also protects your ends.

HOW you detangle with a wide tooth comb also makes a difference.

Detangling is not simply putting your comb in your hair and combing down the length.

Use your wide tooth comb and start at the ends of your strands (take a few at a time and work slowly up to the roots).

Hold your comb lightly and the minute you feel a knot, stop and detangle it with your fingers, not the comb.

Above all, do not, ever, use a brush to detangle!

If you detangle in the shower, do so while your hair is covered with conditioner.

[candycandace]

Yeah, I wear my hair down a lot :/ It's way too short to look good in any sort of updo. I can do a pretty measly fishtail braid or put it in a stubby ponytail as far as putting it up. I sleep on it while it's down also. Would it make a difference if the teeth of the comb are spaced closer together?
How are you wearing your hair? If you wear it down a lot, the chances for tangles are greatly increased.

Wearing it up and confined somehow lessens possibilities for tangles and also protects your ends.

HOW you detangle with a wide tooth comb also makes a difference.

Detangling is not simply putting your comb in your hair and combing down the length.

Use your wide tooth comb and start at the ends of your strands (take a few at a time and work slowly up to the roots).

Hold your comb lightly and the minute you feel a knot, stop and detangle it with your fingers, not the comb.

Above all, do not, ever, use a brush to detangle!

If you detangle in the shower, do so while your hair is covered with conditioner.

[candycandace]

Your recipies always sound so delightful! Thank you for this one! I'm betting that if it works on your goregous hair it would work wonders on mine, but sadly I can't find rooibos anywhere. :/
Hey Candace! You always posts good questions :p. I make a homemade detangler which is 1 tbls of VO5 Strawberry's and Cream conditioner, 1 tbls pure organic aloe vera gel, 1/2 tsp jojoba oil, 1/2 tsp vegetable glycerin and then I fill the rest up with very concentrated rooibos tea and shake. I use a 2 oz squirt bottle. I hope this helps! :flower:

[Roscata]

Yeah, I wear my hair down a lot :/ It's way too short to look good in any sort of updo. I can do a pretty measly fishtail braid or put it in a stubby ponytail as far as putting it up. I sleep on it while it's down also. Would it make a difference if the teeth of the comb are spaced closer together?

That explains the tangles. Wearing your hair up is very important. Yes it makes a very big difference if the teeth of the comb are close together, they need to be far apart and make sure you check for seams, plastic combs usually have those and they snag at your hair breaking it. Sleep with you hair in a braid and/or use a satin pillow case or a satin sleep cap to protect your hair at night.

[candycandace]

That explains the tangles. Wearing your hair up is very important. Yes it makes a very big difference if the teeth of the comb are close together, they need to be far apart and make sure you check for seams, plastic combs usually have those and they snag at your hair breaking it. Sleep with you hair in a braid and/or use a satin pillow case or a satin sleep cap to protect your hair at night.
What kind of brushing utensil do you use on your hair? I need to find one that will cause me minimal damage. I use a cheap plastic comb right now and I think this may be why my hair breaks so much when I try to detangle it. :(

[Roscata]

What kind of brushing utensil do you use on your hair? I need to find one that will cause me minimal damage. I use a cheap plastic comb right now and I think this may be why my hair breaks so much when I try to detangle it. :(

I personally use: Hair Art Bone Comb 11 Teeth (http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Art-Bone-Comb-Teeth/dp/B002RU1CV2). My routine and general hair tips are on my website, but this section might be relevant to your current issue: Gentle Handling (https://sites.google.com/site/roscatahair/gentle-handling).

[Bazinga]

I use a Tangle Teezer to detangle my hair. My hair doesn't tangle that much though. And I've read a couple of times that it can cause damage to hair but so far my hair looks fine.
I don't really have a tip to prevent tangling though.

[freckles]

I really like my tangle teezer. It doesn't prevent tangling, but it does make getting the tangles out very easy and less hard on my hair.
this! :D learning to detangle ends-up instead of top-down has really helped me, too, but the tangle-teezer is hands-down the best detangling implement for my hair.

also, finding out which washing routine/products work for you -- my hair is a lot better behaved in general, tangles included, when I'm no-cone (at least mostly) and it gets enough moisture -- some people find their hair is much better behaved on cones. Very much trial and error!

I also like to have those kids' 'detangle spray' things on hand, for if bad tangles happen. I recently find a cone free one but I can use coney ones sparingly. I don't use them often, but I like to always have one as a backup.

Keeping my hair mostly up/confined (bunned or braided) has reduced how often I have to deal with tangles considerably.

[nobeltonya]

Oil, comb wet with a wide-tooth comb [bottom up], keep it in a ponytail, braid or up if it's windy [or hold onto it :)]

[Audrey Horne]

I mix coconut oil in the (cone-free) conditioner and use it either on my ends or the whole length. I play with it for a minute and rinse always with cold water. While still damp I put a few drops of oil in my ends. I'm a believer! It helps me a lot. I almost never let my hair down anyway... It's a happening when I let it down lol

[candycandace]

Maybe I will have to find a tangle teezer somewhere...and some cone-free detangler. And Roscata, thank you for the links! :p I will definitely check out your website!

[starlamelissa]

Ok, I am a baby when it comes to tangles.I have thick and fine hair, it will tangle in a minute if I allow it to.

So here is what I do. I wash with a non moisturizing shampoo ( youlll see why In a second) then I coat the length in tresseme smooth and silky. Heavy on all my fav cones! And then I let the condish stew in a shower cap while I shave. While I still have all the coney dish in my hair I detangle with the worlds widest tooth shower comb. Lol, wet look shower comb from sallys.

Then when totally detangled I rinse with low pressure cool water.

Squeeze out excess water, smoosh in towel. Then I put a coney leave in ( Paul Mitchell the condish) and comb with yet another comb.

Let air dry some, use two pumps of cone serum on the ends, and blow it dry on cool.

I wash twice a week, brush each day, and sleep with a satin cap from wal mart.

Also keep a hair tie or clip in ur purse in case it needs to go up unexpectedly.

[Madora]

Yeah, I wear my hair down a lot :/ It's way too short to look good in any sort of updo. I can do a pretty measly fishtail braid or put it in a stubby ponytail as far as putting it up. I sleep on it while it's down also. Would it make a difference if the teeth of the comb are spaced closer together?

Yes, it does make a difference when detangling if you use a narrow teeth comb. The wide tooth comb is kinder when detangling. Even though your hair is short, it is best to start at the ends and work up to the scalp.

Also, it is healthier for your hair to confine it some way when sleeping. Maybe you could use a scrunchie or two. If you want to grow healthy hair, you want to avoid tangles as much as possible.

[owlathena]

Keeping it up definitely helps (but I almost always have mine some sort of down-do, pony or half up to show off my length, its worth the tangles to me)! Coco oiling and gentle detangling (another vote for the tangle teaser!). And also henna has helped a little, if thats something you were considering.

[Yamainu]

The best thing I did to my hair is to start sleeping on a silk pillowcase. Sooooo many tangles without it! Dharma trading co. sells them for $10ish.

Other than that, tangle teezer, and wearing it up all the time.

[candycandace]

I ordered a Tangle Teezer from Sally's today. :)

[Diamond.Eyes]

I ordered a Tangle Teezer from Sally's today. :)
I use a hot pink Tangle Teezer from Sally's! Lol :) Those things are magic. :bigeyes: Also, you should check into getting a nice pillowcase. I use a silk one, but I think satin works just as fine. :flower:

[Safira]

Well, I know all about tangles :D

I use oils, I pre-oil heavily when it´s needed, sometimes I use coconut (I can´t use coconut the whole time, it makes my hair scrunchy), avocado, camellia and Panacea.

Sometimes too much moisture makes my hair tangled. I´ve started to notice the signs (my waves doesen´t seem to hold, tangles are strechy) and fix this as soon as possible. Sometimes I use KeraCare Super Reconstructer, sometimes another keratin conditioner, or henna.

I started to use again leave-ins. I have this amazing mist called Joico Daily Leave-In. It has couple of cones, so it detangles easily.
I can´t use too much cones, it makes tangles.

I have wooden wide-tooth comb, I detangle slowly and most with my fingers. I keep my hair up when I´m sleep or awake.

[Masara]

It's in my hair's nature to tangle. It's fine and floaty and type 2, the ends just love to catch onto anything including each other. I rarely wear my hair down because I would be detangling all the time if I did.
I don't have any miracle cures, but some things help; first, my main culprit is hard water. I've started using miracle water (citric acid and vit c powder) for rinses and that helps a lot, but I still need to clarify quite often. Doing CWC (I actually put the first C on overnight.) Oils work well, but only as prewash treatments, otherwise my hair gets weighed down. Going cone free; cones increase tangling in my hair. Sleeping with my har in a braid on a silk pillow case.

[Celtic Morla]

My DD has really fine hair that tangles easily. She has started using Dr B' pure casttile diluted to wash, then a honey/vingar rinse and a small amount of Herbal Essences Condish and it has been the solution for her. She also oils a fair amount with coconut since she has been pretty beglectful of hewr hair inthe past and is seeing very nice progress. She was very against giving up shampoo but I think her hair has grown and improved quite well since she jumped the ship!