One way to keep your hair growing and healthy is to detangle it regularly. Before I started really paying attention to my hair, I had gone through several not-so-great changes. I mean, if I had known detangling hair tips then and why the act was so important, I wouldn’t have had to go through some awful hair phases before I started getting it right.
That is what detangling your hair would save you from. Terrible hair phase that could be as bad as you starting all over. It is not enough to use the right hair products. You have to be able to take care of your hair by making it as knotless and slip as possible.
Not detangling your hair could lead to some serious chop, and that could set you back a year or two on your hair journey. So, you have to weave through the hair. As painful as some of the experience can be.
Detangling hair tips
Detangling your hair is important to your hair growth and retention journey. You need to keep your hair knotless and easy to comb, especially when you are adding products. Some might know this, but you find them doing it all wrong. This is why detangling hair tips are necessary to guide you in creating the perfect detangling routine.
1. Detangle damp hair
This is necessary, especially if you have long hair. Washing your hair first, and then detangling is just to make your strands are weaker, thereby easy to work on. If you have short hair, a good spray bottle is a handy tool to have with you, although you would still need to spritz no matter the length of your hair while you detangle.
Also, detangle damp and not wet hair. You need your hair easy to get through but strong enough to not break when you encounter knots. What you should do is dust off the excess water in your hair by damping the strands with a towel or a cotton fabric and not robbing. This would allow less friction on your hair.
2. Always section your hair
Sectioning your hair will make it easy not to tangle the detangled hair. You can section in a quartet or sextet that will make your hair easy to handle. It would also help you detangle your hair with care because you are taking on a section at a time and not the whole strand. Furthermore, you’ll be able to work effortlessly as you move from one section to the other.
You can break the sections into other sections. This is needed, especially if you have thick hair or small hands that can hold few strands at a time. Be sure to use hair clips to hold the sections down. This will help the detangled section not to disrupt you as you work on another section.
3. Use product with slip
It could be your favorite butter hair cream or a good oil or conditioner. Use a product that would help make your slip with ease. The more slip the product has, the better your fingers and brush can work on your strands. Your hair wouldn’t have to be caught between your brush teeth if you use a good product that slips.
Plus, it takes away half of the pressure you have to use, which could cause friction and breakage.
You can use tgin Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer to butter your hair up and give it the slip you want.
Another great detangling hair product is Carol’s Daughter Wash Day Delight Detangling Jelly-To-Cream. The jelly turns to cream as soon as it touches your hair, moisturizing it and making it slip easily.
4. Start with your fingers
A good detangling hair tip is not to start with a brush or comb, start with your fingers. This would require a ton of patience. However, you could get half of the knots out with your fingers. Then move on to the stubborn ones with a brush. If you dread this part, you could distract yourself with nice music or television as you work your hair with your fingers.
Another reason to use fingers is that fingers are gentler because they are a part of you. Also, you get to feel the knots and just how much pressure to use when you finally use a comb.
5. Use the right detangling tools
What you use to detangle matters just as much as how you do it. Several tools exist when it comes to detangling your hair. You can use a Denman brush or a wide-tooth comb. However, there are detangler brushes made just to remove tangles and knots. Whatever you decide to use to detangle your hair, be sure it doesn’t catch your hair, even with enough slip.
Also, the brush must be easy to handle with a little pressure on your strands as possible. A good detangling tool will move smoothly between your strands and not lump it up, whether your hair is wet or not.
Crave Naturals Glide Thru Detangling Brush is for adults’ and kids’ hair. The detangling brush can comb through natural, straight, curly, coily, wet, or dry hair. It is a perfect tool to get the tangles out.
Or you can go the classic wide-tooth comb like Louise Maelys Hair Comb Wooden Wide Tooth in Sandalwood Comb for curly hair detangling.
6. Start from the ends
It’s easier to start detangling from roots to the ends, but I will advise you do it the other way round. You detangle your hair from the end upward to avoid unnecessarily pulling your hair from the roots. Asides from hurting your scalp, you will also be causing more damage to your strands.
Furthermore, starting from the end to the roots will make it easier to remove tangles as it keeps getting smoother as you work to the roots. When you start at the roots, the tangles are not necessarily free. They might keep caught in a tougher tangle at the middle or ends of your strands, making you work double-time. This way is counterproductive and time-wasting.
7. Detangle regularly
Detangling routines might be a dreaded business to some, but it must be done regularly. This makes it easier to wear your hair in styles. Rather than occasionally, have a scheduled time at least once a week to get the tangles and knots out. Detangling regularly also reduces your detangling hours. You realize the time it takes you to detangle keeps getting shorter because you are consistent with it.
8. Don’t over-detangle
Your hair doesn’t have to be totally tangle-free. This is especially true for natural curls. Tangles come hand in hand with your curls. And as long as you can get combs and products in your hair freely without being caught up, you are good to go. Also, as long as there isn’t a snag when you style, you can leave some harmless tangles. However, be observant in case it grows tougher.
9. Protect your detangled hair
I keep stressing about keeping your hair in a protective style because it is essential in keeping your hair without friction. When you style your hair, there is friction, even with products, leading to tangles and knots. However, when you wear protective styles, you are saving your strands from fewer tangles. Or tough knots that could be frustrating when straightening out.
A side tip you should remember is to wear silk or satin scarfs or caps when you sleep to prevent friction with your cotton sheets. Also, you could switch to satin pillowcases to make things easier. This is all to ensure your hair doesn’t have to feel stiff or lose products that keep your hair moisturized and tangle-free.
Read also: Best Hair Extensions to Change Up Your Style
Detangling Hair Tips FAQs
Why do I need detangling hair tips?
Several reasons exist why you should detangle your hair. Even though you might not be up for it, there is a lot to gain if you detangle your hair correctly.
- It helps you avoid hair breakage.
- Saves you from constant headache.
- Allows easy penetration of products.
- Your hair gets healthier ends.
- Your hair length is retained.
How do I detangle my hair?
Detangling your hair, especially natural hair, means letting the hair be free of tangles and knots. You can learn everything about detangling hair and how to go about it in a previous post. But to make it concise, here are few steps on how to detangle your hair:
- Damp or spritz your hair.
- Add your slip product. Work your way from the roots to the tip of your hair.
- Divide into sections you can handle.
- Work through the tangles with your fingers first.
- Use a wide-tooth comb to and start at the ends then upwards to the roots.
- Continue to spritz with your solution for dry parts of your hair.
- Clip a section once you can thoroughly comb a section from the roots to the ends.
If you are a visual learner, here is a video to help you understand how to detangle your hair.
How often should I detangle my hair?
The ideal frequency is once a week, especially for ladies with thick 4C hair like mine. You can do it when you have your regular shampoo-deep condition routine. It is best then. Detangling is a routine no one likes because you end up with sore hands, numb fingers, and stiff necks. This is why some stick to the occasional hazard. However, you have to detangle regularly.
Also, you can detangle anytime you are coming out of a long hairstyle like braids or cornrows. You have to get the tangles and knots out before going into another long hair hibernation. This would help keep your hair strong and easy to maintain.
However, there are those with soft hair and wouldn’t only get a few tangles here and there. You can detangle maybe every fortnight or twice a month. Detangling is to get the knots out. So, you might be overdoing it if you detangle like regular thick curly hairs.
Takeaway
You can detangle your hair with any detangle tool that suits you, but they should be the right tools for your hair. You don’t need a comb or brush that would catch your hair. This is also why you need the right product that would help your hair slip easily through the teeth of the comb.
Detangling hair tips are important to help guide you through what could be a frustrating experience with your hair. You need the know-how to help make the process as easy and painless as it can be. Having the right tools and knowing what to do with them have to be in synergy, or you might find yourself losing hair every time you do your detangle routine.
Planning on growing long healthy hair? Africana Fashion will provide you with hair care articles that would help you achieve your healthy hair goal.
