tangles tangles tangles

[kurlylox]

I have been having lots of tangles lately after washing my hair, I do CO. Any good cone-free detangler that I can use.

[ladyfey]

I like Kinky Curly's Knot Today. I use it as a leave-in, it can also be used as a rinse out. Target has it in their ethnic haircare section. Whole Foods also has it.

[Faux]

I love shine serum. It totally detangles my hair. It adds some nice shine too. I know a lot of people on here are against using products, but I swear by this stuff. Its the only product I put in my hair.

[julierockhead]

Maybe you need a good clarify?

[Charybdis]

How long have you been cone-free? If you've been cone-free for a long time and this is a new development, then I'm not sure what the best thing is to try -- maybe clarifying like julierockhead suggests.

But if you've just recently tried going cone-free, it may be the lack of cones that's giving you tangles. I personally can't tolerate going cone-free, even though it would probably make my hair curlier, because the tangles and snagging that I get without cones is too much. This is one of those areas where hair seems to vary a lot from person to person.

[Roscata]

Oil is the best cone-free detangler. It might take some experimenting before you find the perfect one, but stay away from "commercial" or "for hair" type oils (they tend to be full of cones). Just get the pure oils that are sold as "cooking" oils. To give you a starting point here is an oiling hair tutorial: heidi w.'s Oiling Tutorial (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=71). The oils that most people like (are the most popular): coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil, and avocado oil.

I also think you should clarify, maybe chelate too, in order to remove all the build-up in your hair.

I hope you find something that works for you, good luck! :)

[MeowScat]

For the past few months I've been using Mineral Oil (Johnson's Baby Oil). I use 3 drops on my wet hair (length only, not scalp) and it has helped a lot with my tangles.

I tried it after reading Ktani's Article and her posts about it. I was hesitant at first but I'm so happy with it!

Even if Mineral Oil doesn't help, I agree with the above, maybe try different oils?

[kurlylox]

I have been cone free and CO for at least 10 years.

What is chelate?

[jacqueline101]

I use the dollar generic spray in detangler I'm not sure about the cone part.

[afu]

I CO and then just apply some of my normal CO conditioner to my lengths as a leave in. I then put my hair in a towel turban for at least 10mins, add a little bit of coconut oil (or coconut/aloe vera combined) and then use a tangle teezer on it :D works really well for me and i havn't noticed any recent breakage

[gonzobird]

Pre shampoo with olive oil and after I use john masters organics lavender and avocado conditioner.... I rinse a slather on jmo. Peppermint detangler. I swear by it and can't be without it. My wide tooth comb slips right thru like nothing.

[kurlylox]

where do I find peppermint detangler?

[moxamoll]

I have been cone free and CO for at least 10 years.

What is chelate?

If you have hard water, the minerals can built up on your hair and cause tangling. That happens with me! Most municipal websites list the hardness of the local water, so you can check. To get rid of the build up, you can use a chelating shampoo, or just juice a lemon, add about 8 oz of water and use it as a rinse after shampooing. Leave it in 2-3 minutes and rinse well. Getting a filter for your showerhead can also help.

I use Nightblooming's Panacea or mineral oil (instead of conditioner, but YMMV on that) as a leave-in when my hair is damp, and they both reduce tangles dramatically!

[Dovetail]

I never thought about my water content. I've been getting really bad tangles lately, and I was just chocking it up to split ends. I'll have to try some lemon later tonight in my bath and see if it makes a difference.

[gonzobird]

http://www.johnmasters.com/haircare.htm

There's also unscented and citrus and Neroli. I've used all three... they're all the same results (amazing) just different smells. I use the shampoos too. Looooove the stuff. And a good overnight of olive oil is amazing at detangling as well.

[Roscata]

I have been cone free and CO for at least 10 years.

What is chelate?

Chelating means removing mineral build-up. This type of build-up can happen from hard water, pool water and ever some hair products. When I clarify my hair I also chelate because I can't really know where my build-up comes from and I want to cover all my bases.

Note to you: if you want to chelate I strongly suggest getting a shampoo that does that because all other alternatives are not usually good enough to chelate all minerals and usually can only do that to one or two minerals. A lot of people like Joico K-Pak Clarify Chelating Shampoo (http://www.google.com/search?q=joico+chelating+clarifying+shampoo&hl=en&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=j5G2T574B4qqiQKlhJyNBw&ved=0CKwBEK0E&biw=1030&bih=928) because it both clarifies and chelates.

[heidi w.]

I have been cone free and CO for at least 10 years.

What is chelate?

Chelate is much like clarifying except a step up from clarifying as it handles what has clung to hair on the interior such as the cortex, of hair; whereas clarifying handles what is lying on top of the cuticle of hair. You likely do not need to chelate. I always advise clarifying first, perhaps as many as two times to make sure you really do need to chelate, THEN advance to chelating. But I wouldn't jump into chelating quickly.

Clarifying handles most buildup situations just fine.

There's only ever been one time I suggested to a young lady to chelate because she had applied a sea salt thing to her hair, and was messing with her hair. She thought she had to cut it. I told her no, try chelating first (and she had already tried clarifying and discovered that did not resolve her problem. She did the chelating and she claimed I saved her hair. Actually she did. I just helped make the suggestion. I recall having to talk her into it.)

But don't worry about chelating (pronounced key-late) which is a fairly common chemistry term. I seriously doubt you'll really ever need to chelate. Maybe at best, once in your life, if ever.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

If you have hard water, the minerals can built up on your hair and cause tangling. That happens with me! Most municipal websites list the hardness of the local water, so you can check. To get rid of the build up, you can use a chelating shampoo, or just juice a lemon, add about 8 oz of water and use it as a rinse after shampooing. Leave it in 2-3 minutes and rinse well. Getting a filter for your showerhead can also help.

I use Nightblooming's Panacea or mineral oil (instead of conditioner, but YMMV on that) as a leave-in when my hair is damp, and they both reduce tangles dramatically!

Clarifying generally handles most hard water mineral buildup. No need to advance to chelating most of the time.

heidi w.

[Roscata]

Chelate is much like clarifying except a step up from clarifying as it handles what has clung to hair on the interior such as the cortex, of hair; whereas clarifying handles what is lying on top of the cuticle of hair.

I completely agree that clarifying removes things that build-up on top of the hair while chelating removes mineral build-up from inside the hair. (Clarifying vs. Chelating (http://www.diaryofahairobsession.com/?p=2640), Clarifying and Chelating Shampoos (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1447265&postcount=3879))


You likely do not need to chelate. [...]

Clarifying handles most buildup situations just fine.

But don't worry about chelating (pronounced key-late) which is a fairly common chemistry term. I seriously doubt you'll really ever need to chelate. Maybe at best, once in your life, if ever.

Chelating is not necessary if you have never ever in your life exposed your hair to chlorine from pools, or hard water, or salt water, or hair products that have minerals in them.


I always advise clarifying first, perhaps as many as two times to make sure you really do need to chelate, THEN advance to chelating. But I wouldn't jump into chelating quickly.

I completely agree that clarifying should come first because I believe that the build-up on top of hair should be removed before one tries to remove the build-up inside the hair. I might be wrong and chelating shampoo might work on hair which has not been clarified, but since I don't know for sure I'd rather be safe.


Clarifying generally handles most hard water mineral buildup. No need to advance to chelating most of the time.

heidi w.

That is simply not true: Clarifying vs. Chelating (http://www.diaryofahairobsession.com/?p=2640), Clarifying and Chelating Shampoos (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=1447265&postcount=3879). Although sometimes clarifying shampoos might have agents that help remove "some" mineral build-up, they will not remove all types of mineral build-up.

Since I have no idea what kind of water you have, how often you swim or which products you've been using all your life I can't tell you if you have mineral build-up, or what type it is. However, if your hair is having issues that sound like build-up I believe you should remove all said build-up to see if that will solve your issue. While it might not, it is worth a try because clarifying and chelating shampoo will not destroy your hair like bleach would or anything drastic like that, but it may leave your hair feeling a bit drier than "well conditioned hair."

If anything your hair might need a good deep moisture treatment (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128), especially since now it would be able to absorb all that without any barriers. The standard advice for anyone who's hair is suddenly dry and tangly is to clarify and then do a deep conditioning treatment.

I've personally been having issues with my hair recently and the only time my hair started feeling better again was after I chelated, which is why I mentioned it for you. My thoughts are "it worked for me, maybe it can work for you". :)

[jeanniet]

Chelating shampoos can also be considered clarifiers; they pretty much strip everything off the hair. I have Joico's chelating shampoo, and it works well, but it's drying and I only use it if I feel my hair really needs the chelating (I have hard well water). Once a year, if that. Otherwise, I stick to using a weak citric acid rinse after every wash, and that is typically all I need. Citric acid is a very effective, but gentle, chelating agent.

[Roscata]

Chelating shampoos can also be considered clarifiers; they pretty much strip everything off the hair. I have Joico's chelating shampoo, and it works well, but it's drying and I only use it if I feel my hair really needs the chelating (I have hard well water). Once a year, if that. Otherwise, I stick to using a weak citric acid rinse after every wash, and that is typically all I need. Citric acid is a very effective, but gentle, chelating agent.

From the links above and what heidi w. said that is simply not true, chelating shampoos remove mineral build-up only. A chelating shampoo does not remove surface build-up, for example the type caused by silicone. Now Joico is a chelating AND clarifying shampoo so it does both.