Detangling hair theory

[LauraLongLocks]

I have made friends with a long-hair at school. She just trimmed back from classic to tailbone. She wears her 1a hair down all the time, and it never looks tangled, and never seems to fall forward when she leans over. So, I asked her about it. I don't like to wear my hair down because it tangles. When I do wear my hair down, I detangle it frequently. She said that my frequent detangling is likely causing damage and that once my hair gets a little bit longer, I will be able to lean forward without it falling over my shoulders and becoming wound around itself. She said I shouldn't detangle so much. I told her I didn't think it was causing damage, because I stop for each tangle and pick it out carefully with my fingers. What do you think about the detangling? And what do you think about the length staying put on my back when it gets longer?

Edit: She stated that when you detangle, you pull on the hair (even if only for a moment) and it weakens it, causing a place where it will later break off or split.

[darklyndsea]

I think the length staying put thing has a lot to do with the shape of your shoulders, because mine always falls forward and has always fallen forward, and falls off my shoulders if I drape it there, but I know that a lot of other people can wear their hair as a scarf and it'll stay put. And I detangle once a day if I'm feeling especially diligent (and have damage-resistant hair), so that's obviously not the only reason.

[gthlvrmx]

Do you wear your hair down often? I doubt you would get much damage from detangling your hair if you are gentle.

[endlessly]

I definitely don't think that detangling causes damage unless it's being done extremely roughly without any sort of care. When wet or worn straight, my hair is a tangled nightmare, so the only thing that works for me and keeps my hair in one piece is when I wear it in braid waves. As for her hair not falling forward, I have to agree with darklyndsea that it might have to do with the shape of her shoulders, but I'll add to it by saying that it might have to do with her hair texture and thickness. My shoulders are average and my hair is thick and fluffy - my hair still falls forward. I move, my hair moves, it's just a fact of life for me. As much as I wish it would stay in one place, I kind of like being surrounded by my hair - I always have my own personal shawl, so that's a bonus!

[lunalocks]

Everyone has different hair. It may be due to texture or thickness or length. And maybe the products one uses. My DD has 1a hair and tangles frequently. She wears it down 95% of the time. My hair is 2a to b and I have it up all of the time. My hair is now classic and never tangles. Never has, not even at waist when i wore it down most of the time. It is a mystery. And I use no detangling products. Luck of the draw.

[yahirwaO.o]

Yeah, everyones hair is different. My hair is similar to yours in texture and never ever tangles when worn down but its much more shorter too. When hair was longer it did tangle badly and basically lived in braids to avoid that.... I couldnt even run a brush in the past without being nightmare... of couse routine has changed a lot since then (oling and conditioning before shampoing)

My aunt has beautiful hip lenght, thick wavy hair, and she hardly combs or brushes her hair, just finger comb and a puts it in a classic twisted bun like everyday. She also oils her hair quite often.

Stick what works for you and if u get the urge to wear it down, do it in a day or situation you feel its not going to cause massive problems (windy days, children etc)

[Madora]

She stated that when you detangle, you pull on the hair (even if only for a moment) and it weakens it, causing a place where it will later break off or split.

I'll bet you dollars to donuts she doesn't know how to detangle properly! You should never apply so much pressure that your hair pulls when you detangle it.

As for the hair falling forward, I would imagine it would depend on hair type and length..and the type of activity involved. I'd like to see her search for files that are located at the bottom of a 5 tier file cabinet..and keep her hair from falling in front of her!

LauraLongLocks, you keep protecting your hair by keeping it tangle free every so often when you wear it down. You're way ahead of the game by being proactive and dealing with tangles every so often, than waiting until later in the day to detangle. As long as you detangle slowly, and in small sections, you're doing the best you can for the health of your hair.

[Caraid♫]

If her hair never looks tangled it sounds like she's been blessed with a hair type that doesn't tangle much! (lucky!!) I'm pretty sure that if your hair gets tangled, you're doing yourself a favour by detangling daily before the problem compounds itself into a knotted matted mess! (I say that with regards to straighter hair types, I know detangling and brushing is a different matter for curlier hair etc ) I know if I don't brush my hair for more than 2 days, it gets matted and detangling that is painful and likely causes damage. So for me, detangling regularly definitely prevents damage.

As for it never falling forward... I don't know, it must be a length and/or thickness thing? Maybe heavier and longer hair stays in place better. My hair definitely stays more easily behind my shoulders now that it's a bit longer

[lapushka]

My hair only gets detangled once, and that is on Sunday, right before its weekly wash - that's all, and it works for me. Oh yes, and right after it comes out of the towel as well (only with a wide tooth comb then). During the week it's just put up as is, grabbed and put in its updo. I love it!

[StellaKatherine]

I was forced to go back to daily detangling this winter. I managed to comb less at summer, but noticed that scarfs, hats, coats, sweaters and static made my hair tangle at the base of my neck like crazy and if I didn't daily detangle it would go in to knots... I even needed to cut off couple of strands I definitely think , that tangling thing a lot depence on 1. hair texture 2. clothing you are wearing 3. weather.