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View Full Version : What causes fairy knots?



lmfbs
June 24th, 2012, 09:04 PM
I have lots of fairy knots. Well, I think it's a lot - when I'm S&Ding, I usually find 20+, cut them out, then find more next time.

What causes them? What can I do to prevent them?

Do you get fairy knots? Are yoou someone that doesn't? Is it just a hairtype thing?

Help me shed some light on what causes fairy knots, please!

auburntressed
June 24th, 2012, 09:08 PM
I don't know what causes them, but I sure get them. Whenever I braid my hair, I feel my tassel softly for fairy knots. My hair is coarse enough that I can feel even one through my tassel. I usually find one to three a day. I cut them off right above the knot so I don't lose much length.

Iaine
June 24th, 2012, 09:13 PM
The hair strand essentially ties up on itself. It's caused by the friction between the strands and can happen when your hair blows in the wind amongst other things.

Iaine
June 24th, 2012, 09:15 PM
Oh, and you can try to prevent them by keeping your hair stretched and/or tied back in buns, braids, and the like.

Dovetail
June 24th, 2012, 09:32 PM
They're caused by fairies of course! To be honest I haven't ever paid attention before just now :o with these knots, they don't work out just like a normal one? Do you have to cut them S&D style?

lmfbs
June 24th, 2012, 09:40 PM
Oh, and you can try to prevent them by keeping your hair stretched and/or tied back in buns, braids, and the like.

What do you mean stretching hair? My hair is barely ever loose, it seems to manage to tangle itself up while in a bun or braid!


They're caused by fairies of course! To be honest I haven't ever paid attention before just now :o with these knots, they don't work out just like a normal one? Do you have to cut them S&D style?

I think you must be right! I usually find them in a braid tassel and snip above the knot. They're tangles on individual strands, so a knot on one strand. I can never untangle them, and they tend to split the hair if the knot breaks off.

hellucy
June 25th, 2012, 05:35 AM
According to my DD5 the Tangle Fairy does it!
Sorry I cant be any more useful than that - I have a constant battle with fairy knots & every other sort of tangle with DD's hair.

dollyfish
June 25th, 2012, 11:15 AM
I never knew what to call these! But I definitely get them... and they are quite a pain :(

Thankfully I don't get them often, only when I treat my hair badly.

ratgirldjh
June 25th, 2012, 11:37 AM
I NEVER got these until for some reason I decided to try washing with an SLS poo bar. All of a sudden I had fairy knots!!! I stopped using it and I have never had them since.

I am unsure if it was the detergents (I usually use soap or clay) or something else in the poo bar that left residue on my hair.

All I know is after I changed back to my normal washing methods they went away again.

ravenreed
June 25th, 2012, 11:48 AM
I get them occasionally. I think they are from pulling apart a tangle. One hair is knotted around the others and when you gently pry them apart, the one that was knotted is still knotted, it just doesn't have anything else to knot to. That is my theory anyway.

Darkessa
June 25th, 2012, 11:51 AM
I had never heard of them until about a month ago.
And in my life, I have only had one.
I have NO idea how they happen, I can only assume its magic. :P

Seeshami
June 25th, 2012, 11:53 AM
I do! Just kidding. Well in my way of thinking about this the answer, when we are talking about your fairy knots would be You Do!

The theory:
The nasty tangle big knot, of any kind, gets detangled. In the detangling process it goes from big knot to smaller knot or multiple knots or what ever. But slowly the big knot is made into less of a knot and a smaller knot and the fairy knot if of course the left over. Or the hair with the curly crimp in it that just loves to cause chaos. The visual watching of Naughty Mess detangleation would help in understanding what I am meaning to say.

IvanaGil
June 25th, 2012, 11:54 AM
Is is absolutely necessary to cut them off? I get TONS of them all the time. I've never tried unknotting it because my eyes would probably bruise just trying to focus on such a tiny knot.

ravenreed
June 25th, 2012, 12:18 PM
I find that in my delicate ends, bad tangles usually lead to bent hairs, and those end up as split ends. Even if I did untangle a fairy knot, it would probably just split later, so I don't worry about it and trim them to prevent more tangles later.



Is is absolutely necessary to cut them off? I get TONS of them all the time. I've never tried unknotting it because my eyes would probably bruise just trying to focus on such a tiny knot.

spidermom
June 25th, 2012, 12:26 PM
Pesky fairies, definitely!

Hairizona
June 25th, 2012, 01:58 PM
I usually get them in the last 2-3" of hair, but yesterday I found one 3" from the follicle after the hair fell out! I cannot figure this one out!

prettykitty
June 25th, 2012, 02:00 PM
I get them! Glad to know others do too, I thought I was a bad longhair :(
I cut them off.

jojo
June 25th, 2012, 02:40 PM
yeah i get these, I think there caused by little fairies coming into your bed when your sleeping, they tie them in when they have something they need to remember ;)

Anje
June 25th, 2012, 03:32 PM
I think the curlier the hair, the more prone to them most people are. (The fairies evidently discriminate.)

For me, I have found I get tons more fairy knots if I use silicone-containing products. It's possible that this is because I'm also tempted to wear my hair loose more when it's all silicone-slick, but I really suspect that there's something about the silicone that makes my hair more likely to form fairy knots. (Since silicones also seem to make my ends get dry faster than they do if I don't use silicones, I tend to avoid them.)

Kaya
June 25th, 2012, 04:32 PM
I get them too and have yet to figure how the heck they come into being. Fairies sound like a nice answer! :)

Anyways, I always tend to find them like others have mentioned: in the tassel of my sleep braid. I'm sure I have more, but there only so many strands that I can pick through before going crazy.

As for always snipping them, if I can help it, I don't. My secret weapon? A darning needle, specifically dedicated for picking out fairy knots. If I can manage to concentrate on the knot without going completely crossed-eyed, I will try my hardest to pick it out with the darning needle. Some are easier than others, obviously. I really try to work the needle's point into the knot to loosen it enough to pull it out of the strand. But sometimes scissors are the only way I can be rid of them. :shrug: Ya win some, ya lose some. :D

prettyhairisred
June 25th, 2012, 05:21 PM
Pesky fairies, definitely!

Haha, sounds true! I've never in my life gotten these... Are they just small knots at the end of the hair shaft? Anywho I have finer textured hair, and it sounds like these only happen to thicker heads so I should be safe :o

CurlyCurves
June 25th, 2012, 06:55 PM
As a curly, I'm plagued. Plagued, I tell you!

CurlyCurves
June 25th, 2012, 06:57 PM
Haha, sounds true! I've never in my life gotten these... Are they just small knots at the end of the hair shaft? Anywho I have finer textured hair, and it sounds like these only happen to thicker heads so I should be safe :o

I'm a F/M and ii also, but I get 'em :(

lapushka
June 25th, 2012, 07:20 PM
Once in a while, I get one of these nasty little critters. Solid little knots they are too, not the kind that you could still save your hair strand. :(

EdG
June 25th, 2012, 07:32 PM
I recently discovered that untangling hair that's still wet (and stuck together) leads to knots.

Now, I wait until my hair has naturally dried so that the strands have separated before I untangle. This has greatly reduced the occurrence of knots.
Ed

long&blonde
June 25th, 2012, 08:31 PM
I get them a lot, in my braid tassles. And ponytails. And buns. I am a wind addict; I live with my big box fan 6 inchs away from me,on,while everyone else in the room? Is wearing a sweater. I think its wind tangles. And fairies.

RitaPG
June 25th, 2012, 09:40 PM
I recently realized that (at least for me) these type of knots happen when there's a small part of hair that gets really tangled, especially after unbraiding or being in the wind. You know, when you're combing your hair easily and there's always that annoying piece of a rat's nest. Trying to comb or brush them out is what gives me those knots, so I try to separate the mess with my fingers first and comb after.

RitaPG
June 25th, 2012, 09:46 PM
I recently discovered that untangling hair that's still wet (and stuck together) leads to knots.

Now, I wait until my hair has naturally dried so that the strands have separated before I untangle. This has greatly reduced the occurrence of knots.
Ed

Funny, I am the opposite, if I wait for my hair to dry to detangle it, I suffer. It pulls a lot and takes me up to an hour to detangle it. And I still got a lot of knots from it.
On non-washing days I brush it dry, but the only way for me to detangle after washing is while I have conditioner on it.
Maybe this is a hairtype thing? People always tell me that my hair hair is straight so it doesn't tangle. If only they knew :rolleyes:

ladylowtide
June 25th, 2012, 10:07 PM
I have only every found on of these in my life time. So maybe if you have straight really slippery hair you don't get fairy knots? IDK

EdG
June 26th, 2012, 06:47 AM
Funny, I am the opposite, if I wait for my hair to dry to detangle it, I suffer. It pulls a lot and takes me up to an hour to detangle it. And I still got a lot of knots from it.
On non-washing days I brush it dry, but the only way for me to detangle after washing is while I have conditioner on it.
Maybe this is a hairtype thing? People always tell me that my hair hair is straight so it doesn't tangle. If only they knew :rolleyes:My hair is also very difficult to untangle when completely dry.

For untangling, I want moderate dryness - dry enough so that the strands don't clump together, but still slightly damp to give some slip. That works best for me.
Ed

holothuroidea
June 26th, 2012, 06:59 AM
I started getting these when my hair passed my ears. I get a couple every week. My hair is fine, slippery, straightish and not long enough to tangle in larger knots. So those theories are out the window. lol

I have no idea what causes them, but scissors seem to be the only cure.

Changling
June 26th, 2012, 07:06 AM
I don't think it's hair type, because we kind of have the same type and I don't think I have ever gotten one (or at least, I have never noticed that I had one). Faeries are definitely to blame.

I heard somewhere about someone using detangler and a sewing needle to undo faerie knots. I'm not sure if that is true, but if your hair is coarse enough it could be...plausible.

Teazel
June 26th, 2012, 07:10 AM
I get them now and then - two in the last week, funnily enough! I cut them off, because even if I could undo them (I'd have to use magnifying glasses and a couple of needles... hm, maybe I should give it a try next time) I bet the poor hair would be too damaged to keep. And they only occur in the last couple of inches, anyway.

No idea how they get there. Fairy knots, indeed! :magic:

Emme76
June 26th, 2012, 07:36 AM
I got fairy knots for the first time, just a few days ago. And now I am reading about it here :)! I thought they weren´t very common but now I understand otherwise...:o!

I got mine when I did a heavy oiling over night - and my plastic cap thing fell off . After washing my hair I had tiny knots all over (even if I sleep on a silk pillowcase). I cut some - but others I think must have detangled by themselves :confused:...!!!!

islandboo
June 26th, 2012, 08:17 PM
I get them in my straight, fine hair. I used to try using a needle to free them but the hair is so weak and deformed from being in the knot that it is better (for me, anyway) to cut it. Rotten little fairies...

lmfbs
June 26th, 2012, 09:47 PM
I recently discovered that untangling hair that's still wet (and stuck together) leads to knots.

Now, I wait until my hair has naturally dried so that the strands have separated before I untangle. This has greatly reduced the occurrence of knots.
Ed

I can't detangle dry hair - I'd turn into a frizzball. I detangle soaking wet hair conditioned in the shower (I'm CO). I find trying to detangle dry hair leads to a massive amount of knots for me!


I recently realized that (at least for me) these type of knots happen when there's a small part of hair that gets really tangled, especially after unbraiding or being in the wind. You know, when you're combing your hair easily and there's always that annoying piece of a rat's nest. Trying to comb or brush them out is what gives me those knots, so I try to separate the mess with my fingers first and comb after.

All of my hair tangles really easily (I can braid untangled hair and take it out and suddenly I have tangles. HOW!?), but I detangle with my fingers only then comb. I've never seen a fairy knot left over in the hair that I've detangled (though sometimes it is a bit bent and ugly!)

rena
June 26th, 2012, 10:02 PM
My vote for fairies as the perps. Time to break out the raid...

akuamoonmaui
June 26th, 2012, 10:56 PM
So I got a facebook quote that said the dust bunnies killed the house keeping fairy.... so what's gonna off these guys???

I just started getting them, too. (A coincidence????) Haven't figured out the reason but seems to happen when my hair is still damp.

jeanniet
June 27th, 2012, 12:56 AM
I get them, but I have no idea what causes them. Probably tangling, in some way. What cracks me up is when I find a knot tying off a split, like a little tourniquet! :p

Masara
June 27th, 2012, 01:23 AM
I had a long S&D session just last week to get rid of loads of these. I need to cut them out; they tangle with other hairs and there's not way I could try to undo them with a needle. Most of them, I can barely see. I do most of my S&D by feel.
I seem to get more in summer than in winter although I don't change my routine. Plus I have found that I get more if I comb my hair than if I brush it (my brush has big, detangling fingers, not bristles)

palaeoqueen
June 28th, 2012, 03:49 AM
I get these too. I have to cut the strand, my hair's so fine there's no way I could even try to undo them. I think the resulting hair would be very damaged even if I could.

kitekats
June 28th, 2012, 04:24 AM
I have them every day, at least 2 per day :(

Vintagecoilylocks
June 28th, 2012, 09:30 AM
I NEVER got these until for some reason I decided to try washing with an SLS poo bar. All of a sudden I had fairy knots!!! I stopped using it and I have never had them since.

I am unsure if it was the detergents (I usually use soap or clay) or something else in the poo bar that left residue on my hair.

All I know is after I changed back to my normal washing methods they went away again.

Lived with them for years until I changed to CO washing and keeping my hair extra moisturized and sealed. Using a product which gives slip has been what i found to be the solution. My curls slip apart now and there are never any knots. I only get one if I am impatient with my hair. Taking out braids and buns and detangleing with a conditioner helps also.

AutumnLocks
August 2nd, 2012, 06:33 PM
Ok, someone enlighten me please. What are fairy knots??

lmfbs
August 2nd, 2012, 06:39 PM
Ok, someone enlighten me please. What are fairy knots??

They're knots on a single strand. I'll find one and take a pic for you.

http://distilleryimage2.instagram.com/efcf5c3edd0311e1a58122000a1c91a3_7.jpg

jacqueline101
August 2nd, 2012, 06:49 PM
I used to have that problem I've found keeping it tangle free helps. I think oiling helps loosen the knots.

ClassicalBlonde
August 2nd, 2012, 07:38 PM
Yeah, I get these too. They're such a pain! I don't get them quite that much though, maybe a few a week. I find that oiling helps prevent a lot of mine.

Demi-Plum
August 2nd, 2012, 07:40 PM
Amazingly even though my hair is fine and thin I don't get too many knots. I do my best to gently use the tip of a comb or such to comb them out, otherwise I just snip em.

lmfbs
April 15th, 2018, 08:16 PM
I'm resurrecting this old thread because when detangling my hair just now, I found FOUR fairy knots. I'm also occasionally finding them at my hairline, but only on the back (I assume it's friction from when I'm sleeping - must buy some new silk pillowcases).

Are you someone who gets them? Are you frustrated by them?

Sarahlabyrinth
April 15th, 2018, 08:54 PM
I get them very seldom, which I'm happy about, but if I do, I try to undo them, sometimes I need to use a needle. The unlucky ones get removed with scissors. My hair is kept bunned or confined in a sleep cap. It rarely gets the chance to run about freely.

Rebeccalaurenxx
April 15th, 2018, 08:58 PM
I get these every once in awhile, but I usually snip them out.
They’re never high up enough for it to be bothersome.
But yeah, I do think moisture has really helped a lot.

*Wednesday*
April 15th, 2018, 09:45 PM
I get them every know and then. Never in the hairline or four at a time. I've had one towards the hemline. Like Sarahlabyrinth, I will use a needle to untangle. I can usually get them out. I've had some occasions I had to snip out.

lmfbs
April 15th, 2018, 11:10 PM
Usually by the time I find mine, they're so tightly knotted they end up split if I try to detangle them, so I just snip them above the knot.

lmfbs
April 15th, 2018, 11:12 PM
I get them every know and then. Never in the hairline or four at a time. I've had one towards the hemline. Like Sarahlabyrinth, I will use a needle to untangle. I can usually get them out. I've had some occasions I had to snip out.

The ones I get right at the hairline are in those super short growing hairs at the nape of my neck - usually about 1cm before the end of the strand (but the strand is only maybe 5cm long. They're reasonably rare but so strange! I don't recall getting them ever before.

AutobotsAttack
April 16th, 2018, 07:23 AM
These are also known as single strand knots. Depends on whats going on with your hair. I’ll get them from a shed hair that’s managed to catch on to any one of the free flowing hairs I have. I used to get them all the time when I was natural from just being extremely curly haired. Some of them would slip out from each other, some I had to pick apart with a sewing needle.

If I find one that can be gently pulled apart with a sewing needle then I usually do, it’s usually just two strands entangled or looped around each other, if I can’t I just snip it off.

Ligeia Noire
April 17th, 2018, 07:08 AM
Fairies duh

lapushka
June 23rd, 2018, 06:24 AM
I had a knot formed from about 3/4 strands right at the nape of my neck yesterday. Discovered it when I was about to finger detangle, and had separated my hair into two. Ouch, yep; knot! About 3 inches down from the root. I pried as many hairs out as I could and then it just... broke off. It is the weirdest thing ever and I think it's the second time I had one of these now. But this one was high up and near the root. Thank goodness I got it out pretty swiftly.

Beckstar
June 23rd, 2018, 08:42 AM
/\ I've had that happen when there was a shorter hair in the mix. The ends wrapped around the longer ones.

lapushka
June 23rd, 2018, 08:50 AM
/\ I've had that happen when there was a shorter hair in the mix. The ends wrapped around the longer ones.

Sadly it was all long ones, I don't know how they tangled upon themselves. Darn it. I pried as many hairs loose as I could, but the knot just broke off in the end.

Bookprincess
June 23rd, 2018, 11:43 AM
I used to get a lot of fairy knots before I chopped off all my keratin-treated ends (the most destructive thing I did in all my hair history :cry: ) but ever since I cut the ends off, I haven't had an issue with knots anymore. I noticed it was usually some shed hair that would snag on the hair actually attached to my head. I think the damage was making my hair more knotty in general.

Lanalavallama
June 23rd, 2018, 11:57 AM
Playing in my hair is the main culprit behind my SSKs.

My leave ins.
If I use a conditioner my hair doesn't like - knots!
I use a regular conditioner, and found one my hair likes. But when I try to experiment, it generally 'ends' badly.

Want to restart using grapeseed oil when styling my hair; hope my hair likes it!

lapushka
June 23rd, 2018, 01:53 PM
Playing in my hair is the main culprit behind my SSKs.

My leave ins.
If I use a conditioner my hair doesn't like - knots!
I use a regular conditioner, and found one my hair likes. But when I try to experiment, it generally 'ends' badly.

Want to restart using grapeseed oil when styling my hair; hope my hair likes it!

Good luck trying it! :)

JadedByEntropy
June 23rd, 2018, 09:11 PM
yeah i think the finer hairs just break off, but the thicker hairs are able to maintain the knot in them. i get them real bad when i braid because i already have kinky hair and the added braidwaves point them in the direction of eachother; and theres a great battle that takes place within the last 6" of my ends, especially when taking down a braid thats been in there awhile. i think braids cause them on myself, but have found rare ones just hanging out by themselves. often it comes along with a large knot. i also get real bad reverse-braiding going on in the ends and I'll even get those knots at that time as well, when i try to remove and detangle that nonsense.

poli
June 24th, 2018, 12:29 AM
Unfortunately scrunching seems to cause fairy knots for me. I rarely get tangles in general. They sometimes happen when I wear my hair down or mishandle it somehow, but fairy knots I'm sure it's because of scrunching.

Bookprincess
June 24th, 2018, 02:58 AM
Unfortunately scrunching seems to cause fairy knots for me. I rarely get tangles in general. They sometimes happen when I wear my hair down or mishandle it somehow, but fairy knots I'm sure it's because of scrunching.

:shudder: You might be onto something! Now I'm starting to rethink things. I thought I had gotten fairy knots before because my ends were relaxed and damaged, but it might just have been because I used to always scrunch back then to compensate for my destroyed curl pattern.

I kind of want to test it out and try scrunching now that I've gotten rid of the damage to see if that was the real problem but I'm way too afraid to even try :laugh:

lapushka
June 24th, 2018, 03:28 AM
Unfortunately scrunching seems to cause fairy knots for me. I rarely get tangles in general. They sometimes happen when I wear my hair down or mishandle it somehow, but fairy knots I'm sure it's because of scrunching.

I think in all the years I've been scrunching my hair, this is only the 2nd time I've had an issue like this. And I've been doing this at least 5/6 years. Yeah, about that.

poli
June 24th, 2018, 03:49 AM
My hair is straight, scrunching is me working against it's natural texture. IMHO it is contributing to knots, but to be fair I don't have ton of it, just few now and then, enough to notice.
I think it is different with wavy hair where you encourage your natural pattern by scrunching hair up. Bookprincess if your hair is in good condition I bet it would survive some manipulation.

Hairkay
June 24th, 2018, 08:09 AM
Leaving my hair out and free a lot means more ssks. I've got tight spiral curls and coils so it's naturally set up to knot once the end of a spiral gets nudged or moved in any way so the end laps over the last spiral then the next movement tightens the new forming knot. Wet hair left to dry loose will also tighten the knot when the hair starts to shrink up. Even detangling can finish tightening the knot until all that can be done is to cut it out.

lovelymoon
June 24th, 2018, 04:58 PM
I found some today while detangling and never knew what to call them. I just cut them off, they form on my coarsest strands of hair so undoing them doesn't seem likely.

Jo Ann
June 24th, 2018, 07:28 PM
A Gilderoy Lockhart spell along the lines of "Peskipiksi Pesternomi"... :face: