I like using a wooden comb & cocoa butter.
Before starting, I rub CB on the comb's tines, on both sides of the comb. Of course, work from the ends up. When I get to a tangle, I hold the tangle against the CB with my finger or the palm of my hand, so that the warmth of my skin melts the CB onto the tangle. Then start combing again, find the knot, & hold the knot with the comb while using the other hand to pull one strand at a time out of the tangle.
Usually, I find a tangle has a split end as its foundation, because the broken hair has wrapped itself around other, healthy hairs, which leads me to conclude that split ends are contagious, in that one hair with a split "infects" its neighbors. So I keep a small pair of scissors handy while detangling, for S&D. I think embroidery scissors are great. Also, they come in collapsible, folding styles, so that one could carry them in a pocket. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stainless-S...AAAOSwYmZXGDbU
CB is also ideal for travelling, since it's solid at room temperature.
Perhaps detangling more frequently throughout the day would minimize the number of tangles needing work at each session? So this would mean your son would be carrying comb, travel scissors, & cocoa butter in his pants pocket.
I know that the standard advice is to use a wide-toothed comb for detangling, but personally, I prefer a fine-toothed comb.
ETA: I recognize that my hair's less curly than your son's, but it still tangles.
Here's https://www.walmart.com/ip/Cococare-...ick-S/26958318 an ad for cocoa butter in a stick at Walmart. I'm used to paying just $1.50 for a stick of Queen Helene brand, so I'm surprised that this ad's price is so expensive. And I'm definitely talking about 100% pure cocoa butter in a stick, NOT a cream containing CB as one ingredient in a mixture.
ETA: Or one could carry a fingernail clipper that was used only for S&D.
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