They dont detangle dry hair! I never though of that!

**shikara** · January 2nd, 2012, 08:43 PM

I was reading some threads from long ago, and came across one with posts by those who only detangle hair when in the shower with conditioner - never when dry. I never thought of that. I thought that type of routine would only be for curlies out of necessity but apparently not. There were a few straighter hairs on there too! A little afraid to give it a go, but then, I thought I could never fingercomb either

. Do you do this? When did you start? What changes have you noticed?

**spidermom** · January 2nd, 2012, 08:50 PM

I've done both, although I'm fearful of stretching my hair too much if I comb it while wet at this length, so I wait until it's dry most of the time. What I do is give it a thorough combing and brushing before I wash it, and try not to mess my hair around too much so that tangles won't be a major problem.

**Seeshami** · January 2nd, 2012, 08:50 PM

I do this, but the naughty mess retangles it's silly self faster then you can say naughty mess and it is detangled again when dry.

**~~ericthegreat~~** · January 2nd, 2012, 08:58 PM

I ONLY detangle my hair dry if it has first been blown out professionally at the salon. Only when my hair has been professionally straightened with both the blow dryer and then the flat iron can I detangle my dry hair with ease. I carry my big paddle brush with me at all times, and I use that to brush out my hair starting from my very ends and working my way slowly up to my roots.

My hair being so thick likes to grab itself. The wind and my normal everyday activities will make my hair form these straight but tangled bundles, kinda like the straight-haired version of dreadlocks. So after the end of the day, I usually just leave my hair alone, I don't even bother to touch it until I get home. Once I get home and I'm in the shower, I will thoroughly wet my hair down for several minutes at least with the showerhead running the warm water directly on top of my head. Then after that I will apply my desired conditioner and leave it on my hair for at least 3 to 5 minutes. It is while my hair is saturated and wet with the conditioner that I detangle my hair, and I use my big wide tooth to do that job.

**Rybe** · January 2nd, 2012, 09:05 PM

I tried it once, but the amount of wet handling freaked me out. My hair is FRAGILE when wet...and I don't think there's enough conditioner in the world to make me feel safe doing it.

**shikara** · January 2nd, 2012, 09:23 PM

I am a little concerned about wet handling too, althiugh it doesnt seem to have hurt ericthegreats hair

my hair untangles delightfully just as soon as it dries, but the same principle (detangling less and thereby avoidong mechanical damage for the tangle prone) can be applied by detangling only around wash time - before, during, or after. Id still want to tame it enough to get it up in my do, using mineral oil and my fingers for that.

**luxepiggy** · January 2nd, 2012, 10:44 PM

I've done this for many years now. It's actually the perfect time to fingercomb! You'll be able to tell right away if you're starting to accidentally stretch the hair, and the slip from the conditioner allows you to separate knots with less damage. Over time, my hair started tangling less and less. At this point, I rarely find more than 5 minor tangles with each wash (^(oo)^)v

**white.chocolate** · January 3rd, 2012, 07:41 AM

I don't detangle my hair when it is wet. I noticed that my hair falls off a lot when wet (when I comb it).

**Long_hair_bear** · January 3rd, 2012, 08:13 AM

I'm too afraid to do so. I dont want to stretch or damage y hair. I just use a wide tooth comb gently in the morning after its dry.

**Madora** · January 3rd, 2012, 08:14 AM

I've been detangling when wet for decades. The thing is, I have a special method for shampooing my hair that eliminates many of the tangles but not all of them.

I wash in the bent at the waist position, and use 3 of my fingers to first fingercomb down the lengths. Then I carve out a small section of hair and use my wide tooth shower comb to gently comb up the section, bit by bit, until I reach the scalp. I go slowly, taking my time, when doing this. Then I rinse with warm water and follow with a final cold rinse.

My hair would be a total disaster if I didn't detangle this way, instead of just rinsing and then trying to detangle it later.