SSKs and Curly v. Straight Hair

[Impulsive]

You may find this amusing:

A little while back, someone posted a thread asking for advice about SSKs and received a referral to the Long Hair Care Forum. I put a visit to the forum on my to do list, but I didn't get around to it until yesterday after I had spent the whole weekend cutting out dozens of SSKs (as I do every time I S&D, at least once per month). I read through a couple of very interesting threads and then decided to ask DBF about his experience with SSKs. DBF has straight APL hair, he brushes 3-5 times daily, he washes his hair about once/week with shampoo and conditioner, and then he leaves a little conditioner in. I CO wash about once per week, I detangle only at this time, I leave conditioner in my hair, and my hair spends the rest of the week in braids/buns. This was our conversation:

Me: How many single strand knots do you get?

Him: What are those?

Me: It's when a single strand of hair tangles and knots around itself.

Him: Oh. About 3 or 4.

...
...

Me: Do you mean 3 or 4 in your whole life?

Him:Yes.

Me::bigeyes::justy::wail:

Anyway, I've always thought that everyone got SSKs, but that conversation has me wondering whether SSKs are less common the straighter a person's hair is, or if it depends on their routine/length, or if it's just one of those things we can't predict.

So:

Any amusing stories about SSKs?

What's your hairtype, routine, and how often/how many SSKs do you get?

[Kira94]

My hair is 2b with a couple ringlets thrown in so slightly 2c as well. I wash every 2 or 3 days, sometimes 4 or 5, kind of depends. When I wash I use a bit of shampoo on my scalp and then quite a bit of conditioner on my length. If I think of it I'll put oil on the ends.
Anyway, to be honest, I don't think I've ever found a SSK. I'll post back if I do find one though. :)
Good luck! Hope someone can help!

[Kinkycurlygurl]

I think SSKs are an issue for curly hair. The only thing I've found that minimizes the number of SSKs I get is to keep my hair bound up in braids or other protective styles. Also, recently started brushing my hair with a soft, goat-hair brush and that combined with protective styling has all but eliminated my SSK problem.

[HappyHair87]

I get SSK's quite often....in a week i'll find like 2 or 3. When i first went natural i had LOTS of them....but i learned to be heavy with my leave-ins or moisturizers and then i put my styler on top of that.

Shed hairs is what causes SSK's for me...that and a lack of moisture. I comb/detangle/deshed every 3 days to help cut down on them.

[Impulsive]

Thank you for your responses.:flowers:



Anyway, to be honest, I don't think I've ever found a SSK. I'll post back if I do find one though. :)

This truly boggles my mind. You have no idea how lucky you are.


Also, recently started brushing my hair with a soft, goat-hair brush and that combined with protective styling has all but eliminated my SSK problem.
I don't think I've ever seen a curly girl recommending a brush. Do you brush your hair when it's dry or do you still wait until it's soaking wet with conditioner? Also, I've never heard of a goat brush before. Could you tell me where I could get one and if any special care is required for the brush?


I get SSK's quite often....in a week i'll find like 2 or 3. When i first went natural i had LOTS of them....but i learned to be heavy with my leave-ins or moisturizers and then i put my styler on top of that.

Shed hairs is what causes SSK's for me...that and a lack of moisture. I comb/detangle/deshed every 3 days to help cut down on them.
I've concluded that my SSKs are probably also from not enough leave-in or detangling. I've decided to increase both and it makes me very happy to read that someone else greatly reduced their SSKs through these means.

[HappyHair87]

I use a modified denman brush (meaning i took out every other row of bristles) to detangle/deshed when soaking wet with conditioner. It gets ALL the shed hair out!:agree:

[bubblyredhead]

I think I might have had 2 my whole life and that was when my hair was around hip and i fell asleep in the car and my brother thought it would be funny to tie my hair to itself

[CurlyCap]

Yep. Most girls I know with SSK are curlies.

I'm very heavy with leave-in and my hair is well-moisturized and they still occasionally pop up. I do wear my hair down a lot, but I don't think that will change because I can't do updos just for the sake of protection.

I complain about them and all my straight haired friends are all o_O while my curly friends are "pass the cheetos".

It's just another little known mystery of being a curly!

P.S. I also use a denman style brush, but only when soaking wet and full of conditioner (if I need it at all). I like the denman because it doesn't pull and exfoliates my scalp. Usually, though, I can get away with finger combing. Otherwise, brushes are reserved for styling purposes (smoothing usually).

[Impulsive]

I use a modified denman brush (meaning i took out every other row of bristles) to detangle/deshed when soaking wet with conditioner. It gets ALL the shed hair out!:agree:


Yep. Most girls I know with SSK are curlies.

I complain about them and all my straight haired friends are all o_O while my curly friends are "pass the cheetos".

It's just another little known mystery of being a curly!

P.S. I also use a denman style brush, but only when soaking wet and full of conditioner (if I need it at all). I like the denman because it doesn't pull and exfoliates my scalp. Usually, though, I can get away with finger combing. Otherwise, brushes are reserved for styling purposes (smoothing usually).

I have heard of Denman brushes. I've been hesitant to buy one for a long time, because I was worried any brush would damage my hair and I didn't want to buy one only to have problems with it and then never use it again. Since I have two curly girls recommending it to me, I'm now leaning toward buying one... or at least putting it on my birthday hairtoy wishlist. :eyebrows:


I think I might have had 2 my whole life and that was when my hair was around hip and i fell asleep in the car and my brother thought it would be funny to tie my hair to itself

That's amazing to me. I think the more people who tell me they've never had an SSK, the more amazed I will be. And the more depressed I'll be that my hair is full of SSKs. I comfort myself: it's good for me for my mistaken assumptions to be corrected, and at least some people don't have to deal with them. So far it does seem to be the more curly the hair, the more likely an SSK is, doesn't it? Learn something new everyday. :)

Thank you all for your responses and recommendations.:flower:

[melusine963]

It took me a while to figure out what SSK stands for. I have 2c/3a hair and I only very rarely get these. Maybe I don't notice them as much since I only do a thorough S&D a few times a year and most of them fall out before I can get to them?

[C.H.]

My routine varies a lot, but regardless of what I do, I've only ever found one SSK. I don't know if that's unusual for a curly, but there it is.

[AnimaSola3o4]

Ahh, I'm very familiar with the fairy knots. (as I know them as) I have a very coarse section of hair at my nape, and it is amazing I have any hair left thanks to fairy knots.

ETA: I also only detangle about once a week on average. I have found that I really need to go thru it more often, as the shed hairs are getting stuck in the length and causing tangles. I think finger-combing would suffice to just get any stuck sheds out.

[freckles]

I have straight hair, and I get them from time to time nowadays -- maybe one or two a month. However, I had never seen one in my hair ever until I grew it longer. I saw my first one when I was just a smidge above waist.

[Impulsive]

My routine varies a lot, but regardless of what I do, I've only ever found one SSK. I don't know if that's unusual for a curly, but there it is.


It took me a while to figure out what SSK stands for. I have 2c/3a hair and I only very rarely get these. Maybe I don't notice them as much since I only do a thorough S&D a few times a year and most of them fall out before I can get to them?

It does seem unusual... Do either of you detangle often and is that something that varies?


I have straight hair, and I get them from time to time nowadays -- maybe one or two a month. However, I had never seen one in my hair ever until I grew it longer. I saw my first one when I was just a smidge above waist.
So, perhaps length also plays a role... That makes my future rather grim, since I'm determined to go much longer...:(


Ahh, I'm very familiar with the fairy knots. (as I know them as)... I also only detangle about once a week on average. I have found that I really need to go thru it more often, as the shed hairs are getting stuck in the length and causing tangles.
Yes, fairy knots, thank you. I knew they had another name, but couldn't think of it when I started the thread. Thank you for the reminder and for including your detangling practices.

I'm leaning towards the belief that detangling practices strongly influence the "birth" of the SSKs/fairy knots.

Once again, thank you to everyone who replied. I really appreciate your help in expanding my understanding of this (annoyance) phenomenon.:flowers: And now, it's my bedtime. Goodnight, everyone!

[Bedhead]

Single strand? You meal all by itself? That's like tying a cherry stem with your tongue to me. No, I've never had one, but I have seen one, now that I think of it, but it wasn't in my hair.

ETA: I should add, I've never had longer than BSL length hair.

[Kiwiwi]

I'm a curly and I don't remember ever having a SSK in my life.
Now I must say that I wear my hair up or in a braid (or two) pretty much all the time. But that's just since I joined LHC (aug 2011). So.. yeah.

I just wash once every 2 or three days. Sulfate free shampoo and good conditioner. Use oil as a leave in after every shower. Brush my hair with a TT carefully, also when it's wet. Put it up.
Sometimes wear it down in the evening. But then I don't have curls because it's been brushed and up. My curls only come if I let my hair airdry loose after a shower.

[HylianGirl]

My hair is not as curly as some other arround here, but I normally get one or two SSK's a month =3

[whitedove]

I have found these in my hair when SnDing 2-3 per month.

[mzBANGBANG]

I get them when I curl my hair, otherwise my hair just hangs and doesn't do much. If I sleep with my hair down, usually it takes less than a minute to detangle and only has body from sleeping on it. I think mine has 90% to do with having straight hair and 10% my addiction to leave in conditioner.

[PinkyCat]

I have tons of them. Every other ringlet has at least one. My hair is extremely fine and I guess that makes it easy and tempting for the fairies. :p

[mneh]

I wore my hair heat-straightened until two years ago and never had any knots in my hair. Since deciding to wear my hair wurly/curly, two years ago, I've noticed those knots in my hair. I have very coarse hair so I don't get very many of them (or if I do I just don't see the majority of them) but when I do get knots, I mostly get them in the layers near the nape of my neck (the hair there likes to mat no matter how well I condition or moisturise). I wear most of my hair down most of the time, in half-ups, I don't like the idea of wearing my hair up all the time just to protect it from knots and tangles.

My hair-type is coarse, thick, and wurly. I use organic hair products (shampoo for dry hair, conditioner, curl cream, gel) and only de-tangle my hair when it's wet and has conditioner in it. I don't know how many knots I get (I have a lot of hair and I'm too lazy to search it for splits and knots lol) but I do know I've found 2 - 4 in the last year.

Hope this helps :D

[Kinkycurlygurl]

I know, before the last month or so I hadn't brushed my hair in years. I didn't even own a brush. I'm trying out a water/sebum regime and brushing is the best way I've found to move my sebum down the length of my strands.

I'm not wearing my natural curls in my avatar pic, instead I'd set my hair in pin curl's over night. The picture is the result.

I got my goat-hair brush from amazon. It's super soft and I brush very gently on dry hair after I detangle with my fingers and a wide toothed comb.

To bring your curls back after brushing, because you'll be left with waves, you can spritz with water and scrunch.

Good Luck,




Thank you for your responses.:flowers:


This truly boggles my mind. You have no idea how lucky you are.


I don't think I've ever seen a curly girl recommending a brush. Do you brush your hair when it's dry or do you still wait until it's soaking wet with conditioner? Also, I've never heard of a goat brush before. Could you tell me where I could get one and if any special care is required for the brush?


I've concluded that my SSKs are probably also from not enough leave-in or detangling. I've decided to increase both and it makes me very happy to read that someone else greatly reduced their SSKs through these means.

[spidermom]

I get them, too. Every time I look closely at my hair, I find one or two or more.

[CurlyCap]

My routine varies a lot, but regardless of what I do, I've only ever found one SSK. I don't know if that's unusual for a curly, but there it is.

CH, don't you wear your hair straightened (or some form of stretched) a lot?

[cwarren]

If I wear my hair down too often (not straightened) or let it get too dry, then I'll find 8 ssk's in a single week. The only thing that prevents them for me is moisture and updos.

[Impulsive]

This thread has gotten far more responses than I was expecting :D; I hope no one will be offended if I don't respond to every individual. I appreciate all the contributions as I'm finding this thread to be an interesting read.:flowers: And I hope everyone else is enjoying it, too.
The differences between hairtypes/routines and number of SSKs are fascinating, particularly the accounts of those who said they noticed a difference when they wore their hair straight or curly.



I got my goat-hair brush from amazon. It's super soft and I brush very gently on dry hair after I detangle with my fingers and a wide toothed comb.

To bring your curls back after brushing, because you'll be left with waves, you can spritz with water and scrunch.

Thank you for the information on the goat brush and reforming curls. I'll have to put it on my list of experiments to be performed.

[hendricks82]

Maybe this is also more of a more coarse haired thing? I am not sure at my hairs "fineness" that I would ever see a SSK. I do not ever recall noting one. Granted my hair is more straight, but not one.ever.

[AnnaJamila]

I get them somewhat regularly. I very rarely if ever have splits but I often find a few of these boogers when I S&D.

[Avital88]

i get them all the time,i have 2c hair at this moment..i hate to see them though

[jeanniet]

I never got them until I hit about waist, or maybe lower BSL. Now when I S & D I usually find at least a couple. I think it's because my ends are older and drier...I guess. I can't think of any other reason for it.

[einna]

My routine has varied a lot in my lifetime, but I have very rarely found any SSK's. I have hair in the 2's.

[luxepiggy]

I have the straightest of stick-straight hair, which I finger comb as needed, or when I'm bored (^(oo)^)v I CO-wash every 3-4 days, detangling by hand in the shower with lots of conditioner in my hair. I don't comb, nor do I brush. I've probably found fewer than 10 fairy knots in the last 2 years that I've been S&D-ing.

[Darkessa]

2a, 28 1/2 inches long, I finger comb/comb numerous times a day, I have layers ranging from just below chin and down, I CWC every 3 days or so never getting my hair wet in between.
Never in my life have I found a SSK... Thats so interesting to me! I have never even heard of someone else having them!

[HappyHair87]

I have the straightest of stick-straight hair, which I finger comb as needed, or when I'm bored (^(oo)^)v I CO-wash every 3-4 days, detangling by hand in the shower with lots of conditioner in my hair. I don't comb, nor do I brush. I've probably found fewer than 10 fairy knots in the last 2 years that I've been S&D-ing.

I love when you make that cute piggy face in your posts:lol:

Yep...i found two yesterday in my hair....i think SSK's are primarily found in super curly hair...like 3b up to 4c...only bc it's harder for our strands to get moisture from our scalps so our hair tends to be a little drier than looser types....add in the fact that our shed hairs need help exiting our heads...and without that help the linger around the other hairs and start to intertwine....bc they're curly.

I feel like i just went REALLY scientific with that one! Ha!!!:o

[Unnamed]

Erm, sorry this is so long! :oops:

At various times since I started getting a lot of fairy knots (since about 25-26" straight, which is between BSL and waist on me) I've used cones, no cones, trimmed a lot, not trimmed at all, washed daily, washed every 5-6 days, killed hair with brush, used a comb (dry, wet, with conditioner), waist to nearly knee, used dye (both lighter and darker) including bleaching out the dark dye, and now almost back to virgin hair...oh, and a hair-type change from more or less 1a to 'wurly' (not sure on type, but wurly is a very apt descriptor--I've only experienced the wurliness in the 48.5-53" range with more or less untrimmed but not-being-or-been-damaged hair, but it's been about a year)...to be honest I get about the same amount of them: A lot! Even with my hair up most of the time I end up snipping a couple/few every month.

At around waist length I started containing my hair at night to cut down on the fairy knots (and it does), but if my hair is down I'll still often obtain them, with the majority (99% or so) usually somewhere past waist and closer to the 'ends', and also usually from 1-6" from the end of the hair the knot is on. There are ones that deviate, and can be a good foot up, a 1/2" from the ends of the hair or above waist, although they're rare/only find a couple of those a year.

I do have very, very fine hair. It's quite floaty and the tips of individual hairs flip up/out (even when my hair was 1a--no flip at the hemline, though, just individual hairs). Which is probably why my hair is prone to them; that, or fairies just like my fairy hair. :lol:

The wurl pattern is also, for the most part, quite weak. The few times I've air-dried my hair with gel (to define and keep the wurls) I remember expecting to find a lot of fairy knots...and got the opposite! But air-dried wurly, then combed through once once dry (which takes out almost all of the wurliness from the majority of my hair) seems to mean more than if combed while damp/wet (or not combed at all and/or bunned to dry). :rolleyes: I've also not, as of yet, found any fairy knots in the underlayer that has a stronger, unobliterate-able curl pattern is almost like a whole other set of 'ends'--but not sure if it's above or below that BSL to waist length barrier where I really started noticing and having a problem with them...'curly/wurly' it's above, pulled straight it's below, so...

[CurlyMopTop]

Lets just say that SSKs and I are not friends!! :( I keep them at bay by rinsing my hair everyday in the shower and adding some fresh leave-in, then detangle.

[Impulsive]

:agape:I never thought to find any, let alone so many, people who have never had an SSK. I am quite green with envy.

Erm, sorry this is so long! :oops:

No need to apologize. I found your post most informative. Thank you for being so detailed.:flower:

[Beckstar]

I get them often when my hair needs more moisture. I'm 3a/b.

[tiny_teesha]

I've found like 3-4 in my life too, very uncommon. My hairtype is in my side bar over there, but its ranged in length from apl to thigh in my life. And it's usually just got a very loose wave, but mostly quite straight.

[renarok]

I guess I'm lucky. I've only ever found a handful. My hair isn't tangle prone though.

[ladonna]

I thought ask were a normal thing for hair, I have enough of them that I never thought that it was unusual. I had a bunch today when s&d, I had so many slpits from dyeing may hair so maynr glr me jtd caused from damage.

[Seeshami]

I probably get 2 a month. My hair is straight flat dead nothing straight can't hold a curl for pudding straight. I CWC every other day sometimes every third day unless I play with the kids because I always see them after it's washed and they always play with it after getting their fingers in the most wonderful things. Ahhh the joys of Auntie-ness. Mac n' cheese hair, just what every princess wants.:cheese:

Oh I also tend to have more tangles with my cats sleep on my head. Squeek does it more often and loves to rummage around in it and Keiky just licks me, Quin has never nested in my hair.

[GRU]

The fairies hate me and my hair.

When I S&D my hair, I'll find 20-40 fairy knots (SSKs) for every split end I'll find.

[ohhiitssteph]

:O ... I've never had a single-strand knot. At least, in all of the time that I've actually been aware of and caring for my hair, which has been about three years now. And my hair is 2C/3A and pretty stubbornly curly. This is surprising! I also rarely have split ends, I guarantee if you look at my ends at any point in time you will see no more than maybe five splits. I don't know if that means anything, but. Weird!

[Impulsive]

The fairies hate me and my hair.

When I S&D my hair, I'll find 20-40 fairy knots (SSKs) for every split end I'll find.
Please, don't take this the wrong way, but...
Yes! Finally, someone else who appears to have just as many SSKs as I do. :D I've gotten so few responses claiming they have a large number of SSKs regularly and so many responses from people who say they've never had one, or only had a few, or just a couple per month that I was beginning to suspect my hair is misbehaving just to be difficult. It's nice to have our small group expand by one more. If memory serves, I think this makes... 4?
Don't suppose you'd be willing to make my week and tell me you also get a lot of split ends?:pray:

And I'd also like to say that I've always admired your hair. You have such beautiful curls!

[MissBiss]

I'm able to wear my hair loose and curly without getting SSKs by moisturizing and adding shea butter to my ends more frequently.

[GRU]

Please, don't take this the wrong way, but...
Yes! Finally, someone else who appears to have just as many SSKs as I do. :D I've gotten so few responses claiming they have a large number of SSKs regularly and so many responses from people who say they've never had one, or only had a few, or just a couple per month that I was beginning to suspect my hair is misbehaving just to be difficult. It's nice to have our small group expand by one more. If memory serves, I think this makes... 4?
Don't suppose you'd be willing to make my week and tell me you also get a lot of split ends?:pray:

And I'd also like to say that I've always admired your hair. You have such beautiful curls!


It's a strange little club we belong to, isn't it? :lol: The fairy knots are just insane!

As for splits, I don't have them nearly as much now as I did in my pre-LHC life. Now that I only detangle with either a Tangle Teezer or with my hair drenched in conditioner with a wide-tooth comb, I'm not RIPPING the ends off my hair every single day, so I'm not experiencing as many splits.

The number of splits also seems to be decreasing as I'm cutting more and more of my old, pre-LHC hair off. The damage (from back when I was still using sulfate shampoo 3-5 times a week) is growing out bit by bit, and the healthier hairs aren't as prone to splitting. I figure I've got one more year to get the last of the damage off (I just can't bring myself to do a big chop to get rid of it all at once -- my hair is longer than it's ever been in my whole entire life!).

But before LHC, when I was ripping a brush through my knots every single day and using shampoo several times a week? Oh yeah, I was Splits-City back in the day!

[Impulsive]

It's a strange little club we belong to, isn't it? :lol: The fairy knots are just insane!

As for splits, I don't have them nearly as much now as I did in my pre-LHC life. Now that I only detangle with either a Tangle Teezer or with my hair drenched in conditioner with a wide-tooth comb, I'm not RIPPING the ends off my hair every single day, so I'm not experiencing as many splits. ...

But before LHC, when I was ripping a brush through my knots every single day and using shampoo several times a week? Oh yeah, I was Splits-City back in the day!
Thank you! :flower: This makes me feel better.

The consensus seems to be that a combination of more moisture and greater care during detangling can lead to fewer SSKs (/splits). Happily, it will be easy to incorporate these changes into my routine. I've had some really bad weeks (and it's looking like it's going to be bad for awhile) and it's nice to know I can positively influence at least one aspect of my life just by making little changes. Big thank you to everyone for bringing a small ray of light into my life. :flowers:

[tarn]

Wow, I have never had them either. I don't get many tangles or knots either though. My sister in law gets SSK's all the time, but she has a habit of twirling her hair around her fingers.

[Envari]

The differences between hairtypes/routines and number of SSKs are fascinating, particularly the accounts of those who said they noticed a difference when they wore their hair straight or curly.


I'm on this team as well - I don't think I've ever found a SSK when wearing my hair straight but when curls and wurls are allowed to bounce freely, I'll find a few.

If my hair is dry, it's definitely getting worse.

[Envari]

Just to clarify: the reference to "a few" in the above post refers to the ones popping into sight without even looking. During my weekly CO-wash I'll find a bunch when detangling if I've been wearing my hair curly.

[Bagginslover]

I'm a straightie, and I get them, quite a lot actually..... I have for as long as I can remember. Most of them are in the fine hair at the nape of my neck, and I used to just break them off by holding the knot with my nails and pulling, it would snap just above the knot! I am still fighting the urges to carry on doing this (and not always succeding!) but they have been less since I've been wearing my hair up more.

I'm wearing it down today, so If I find more tonight, I'll let you know ;)

[Siiri]

I think I've found just one SSK in my life. At that time my hair was about APL and I wore my hair loose or on ponytail nearly all the time. I don't get SSKs when I occasionally curl my hair.

I've never had longer than BSL hair, so perhaps I'll start getting them when my hair gets longer and if I wear it loose.

[Elenna]

I'd like to mention that the faerie knots (SSKs) that I was getting near the back nape hairs was solved. I heavily oil this area everytime before COing my hair. That is enough to get rid of them. So dry hair may be the culplrit in faerie knots! My hair is fine & wurly.

[PrincessIdril]

Er yeah add me to the list of curlies who've never had one...

But then again I'm not a "normal" curly, I have hair that prefers being brushed to being combed. (My hair is easier to manage and just better looking when I brush rather than comb. And when I brush my hair settles into a much nicer wave)

[Maiken]

I don't think i've ever had any.. Even as achild when my hair was almost waistlong and had a tendency to tangle, it neveer did that. And now at almost APL it doesn't even tangle. I wash my hair every 5-6 days with Aussie luscious long shampoo, and then i alternate between the conditioner and the 3 minute treatment.
My hair i 2b-2c, notquite sure, but it's kinda straight but still wavy.

[Kittyxx]

I get them - sometimes they're lose enough to actualy unravel but otherwise I get rid of them as I see them .. and again something I look out for during S&D
And yep, curly hair here too

[Impulsive]

I'd like to mention that the faerie knots (SSKs) that I was getting near the back nape hairs was solved. I heavily oil this area everytime before COing my hair. That is enough to get rid of them. So dry hair may be the culplrit in faerie knots! My hair is fine & wurly.

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear you found something that works for you. I tried oiling some time ago. I used too much (and on dry hair), so it just made my hair even more tangled and dry, and ever since then I've been wary about trying it again. It will probably be awhile before I can put oil in my hair again without cringing, but I'll keep it in the back of my mind. Thanks!

[carolinaberry]

My daughter has a couple every time we are combing her hair out after wash and leave-in condition. Her hair is very curly.

[MissTulip]

Oh how I hate those little knots!!! For me, it happens mostly when I let my hair dry in it's totally natural state. So my normal regimen is to detangle/deshed with conditioner while I'm still in the shower. Once I'm out, (hair still soaking wet) I put all natural, organic coconut oil on first, then a strong holding gel, then let it air dry for about 15 min.

Then (I hate to say this) I grab the end of a section, pull it down fairly straight, then run the blow dryer over it. It makes my hair a little less curly at the ends which helps to minimize the knots. I know it can be a bit damaging, but I don't want to lose length because I have to cut the knots out. I've been steadily gaining length for the past few years, even with the blow dryer.

[ladylowtide]

I have one SSK. But I have 1b hair, so when I first found it I just plucked it out. I suppose it is possible that I've had more cuz I shed like crazy. So who knows... :confused:

[Laylah]

My hair is a mix of 2b/c and 3a/b and the 3b part around the nape of my neck gets tons of fairy knots. Probably more of them than split ends, even. Unfortunately they happen at random lengths so a trim doesn't really help. It's better than it used to be, since I stopped using brushes, but yeah, they are a pain. I don't bother with S&D though, so I haven't checked recently for fairy knots.

[Aveyronnaise]

I think SSKs are an issue for curly hair. The only thing I've found that minimizes the number of SSKs I get is to keep my hair bound up in braids or other protective styles. Also, recently started brushing my hair with a soft, goat-hair brush and that combined with protective styling has all but eliminated my SSK problem.

Well , my hair - at the moment isn't very curly and I get those boogers all the time. Although , both of my parents had curly hair hair and my hair seems to be growing out in a very short wave pattern ( ?) I guess due to LHC it's so weird ...