Why won't my hair stay detangled?

**aloewurly** · September 24th, 2022, 08:24 AM

Originally Posted by Annapox

Oh, okay. My conditioner definitely has silicones in it. So if I decide to try CWC, I'll need a different conditioner?

I'd say try it out with your usual conditioner, and see if that works first. Personally I'd dilute it a bit with water, just so it spreads better and is easy to rinse out.
If it's too thick or leaves your hair greasy, you can always dilute it more or use less conditioner until you find a ratio that suits your hair

**The-Young-Maid** · September 24th, 2022, 08:39 AM

Maybe it's the water? Try a vinegar rinse. I recently moved and my hair just wouldn't stay detangled no matter what I did. Til I remembered to try a vinegar rinse after my showers. It's night and day. Which is great because my sensory issues will not tolerate tangled hair.

**Annapox** · September 24th, 2022, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by aloewurly

I'd say try it out with your usual conditioner, and see if that works first. Personally I'd dilute it a bit with water, just so it spreads better and is easy to rinse out.
If it's too thick or leaves your hair greasy, you can always dilute it more or use less conditioner until you find a ratio that suits your hair

That makes sense. Thanks for the info! I'll keep this in mind if I decide to try CWC.

**Annapox** · September 24th, 2022, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by The-Young-Maid

Maybe it's the water? Try a vinegar rinse. I recently moved and my hair just wouldn't stay detangled no matter what I did. Til I remembered to try a vinegar rinse after my showers. It's night and day. Which is great because my sensory issues will not tolerate tangled hair.

Hmmm. My hair has been like this in all the places I've lived while my hair has been long (three different houses in two different cities and states, plus one college campus in a third city). And my hair wasn't nearly as tangly when it was shorter and I lived in some of the same places. Does that rule out the water as a possible culprit, or is it still a possibility?

**EdG** · September 24th, 2022, 09:22 AM

I am late to this thread, but will give my usual advice.

Hair that is always tangled has lint holding the tangles together. I call this "persistent tangles". To get rid of the tangles, one has to remove the lint. This is best done on slightly damp hair by finger combing and combing with a wide-toothed wooden comb. Having some sebum in the hair helps because its waxiness causes lint to stick to the comb. Clean the comb frequently.
Ed

**Annapox** · September 24th, 2022, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by EdG

I am late to this thread, but will give my usual advice.

Hair that is always tangled has lint holding the tangles together. I call this "persistent tangles". To get rid of the tangles, one has to remove the lint. This is best done on slightly damp hair by finger combing and combing with a wide-toothed wooden comb. Having some sebum in the hair helps because its waxiness causes lint to stick to the comb. Clean the comb frequently.
Ed

Do I just comb normally, or do I have to do something differently?

**EdG** · September 24th, 2022, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by Annapox

Do I just comb normally, or do I have to do something differently?

You may want to read my article on lint. https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...d.php?t=151460

The hair needs to be combed in multiple directions. If this is a lint problem, you should see lint on the comb.
Ed

**lapushka** · September 24th, 2022, 02:01 PM

Ed, I always see lint on my brush (due to the stylers I use), and I don't have more tangles due to it; just FYI.

**foreveryours** · September 24th, 2022, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by Annapox

Sorry, I didn't see your post until just now. Thanks for the suggestion! Does dish detergent do the same thing for your hair as clarifying shampoo?

If Dawn is the wrong kind of detergent, what's the right kind?

Dawn has a pH near 10 which is quite alkaline. It's great against grease, real grease like parts grease, but it's pretty harsh. From its MSDS, I found orange Palmolive Antibacterial dish washing liquid (pH 4-5) works much better for hair "grease". Remember Madge? A woman decades ahead of her time hehe. There are probably others, I just haven't done the research but I know of at least one more I read of in GrowingGlory's blog. This Palmolive also functions very well with hard water I have, I think due to its acid content.

Even though I use a shampoo designed for "hard water" (ION), the water I use to rinse off the suds still contains the ions (magnesium and calcium) which react with fatty acids (carboxyl groups) to create insoluble "soap scum." So after rinsing off the lather, I have to rinse away all those ions as they would be deposited on my hair when it dried away. I use distilled water. If I didn't "post rinse", these ions would react with SEBUM which ALSO contains carboxyl groups producsing "soap scum" in situ. And, as you probably know, soap scum GREATLY facilitates "tangling".

HTH

**EdG** · September 24th, 2022, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by lapushka

Ed, I always see lint on my brush (due to the stylers I use), and I don't have more tangles due to it; just FYI.

A small amount of lint is normal. Lint turns into a tangle when it wraps itself around the hair during washing. I have combed out a lot of lint that was visibly the remnants of tangles.
Ed