4a/b Ladies Please HELP! I'm losing too much hair Detangling!

[softblackcotton]

Ok here's the Deal. Each time I wash and deep condition or co-wash I follow all precautionary steps to keep my hair from getting too tangled. I section, detangle wet hair in shower with PLENTY of conditioner w/ EVOO for extra slip, dentangle making sure to keep hair in one direction, plait immediately after detangling, wash conditioner out with plaits still in. i took out my damp plaits added a moisturizing leave in (Infusium 23 moisture formula), sealed with Castor Oil and re-plaited. When my hair dried the next morning after I slept in a tightly wrapped silk scarf with my hair in plaits, it was still completely tangled and shrunken as if I had never spent 1.5 hours in the bath tub carefully detangling with my shower comb (Jilbere) and fingers. Next day, I had to detangle each section of dry hair from end to root again with my fingers, detangling comb, and Denman D3 brush using plenty of moisturizing detangler and castor oil. Please see pic below of the hair to grow long, but I'm afraid I will lose my thickness if I keep losing this much hair everytime I have to detangle my hair after wetting it for washing/conditioning.
See pic of TOTAL HAIR LOST in attachment!
ETA: When I rolled that hair you see up into a ball, it was the about the size of a tennis ball.
ETA: My hair was dried in plaits. I forgot to put that earlier.

 

[I Am So Blessed]

oh noo. i been there. i use care free curl and i never have anymore problems. i comb hair everyday and only 15strands or less come out. is it shed hairs? or broken hairs?

 

[softblackcotton]

oh noo. i been there. i use care free curl and i never have anymore problems. i comb hair everyday and only 15strands or less come out. is it shed hairs? or broken hairs?

I had to pull apart the tennis hair ball and look at some individual strands alot of the strands are long not very many white bulbs at the end that a could see, so they look like long broken hairs. There were more broken hairs than shed. I pulled on the several strands to test the tension, they stretched a bit, stayed straight, and after stretching some more snapped. I thought my hair was snapping too easily for all the moisture I added to it. Whereas before my hair was so dry it wouldn't stretch just break immediately. Does it sound like it could be a protein/moisture balance problem? I added yogurt to my conditioner as mild protein. I thought would have helped.

 

[loolalooh]

Some questions:

How many plaits are you using? The more, the less tangled your hair will be.

What kind of detangling comb are you using?

Do you use any butters?

Also, for some type 4's (like me), it is better to incorporate finger detangling after your hair reaches a certain length.

 

[brittle_hair]

You should try using Roux's porosity control conditioner, it really softens and detangles the hair, i use to rip out so much hair before i started usig this

 

[softblackcotton]

Some questions:



How many plaits are you using? The more, the less tangled your hair will be.



What kind of detangling comb are you using?



Do you use any butters?



Also, for some type 4's (like me), it is better to incorporate finger detangling after your hair reaches a certain length.

I divided my hair into four large sections, and then divide those sections into two for a total of eight sections. The size of each plait is about the width of two of my fingers, if that helps you visualize how much hair is in each plait better.



In the shower, I used a Jilbere Shower comb, when dry I used a Goody Tortoise Dentangling Comb first and then a Denman D3 brush (which I read on a couple of threads is the best for detangling type 4 hair)


I use Jane Carter Solution Nourish and Shine which has main ingredient Shea Butter. I also have Raw Shea Butter, but I didn't use it this time since it was so heavy and I'm about to get braid extensions this afternoon.


My hair length is all over the place. However, I do incorporate finger combing to the point where I could easily run my fingers in every direction of a section of hair. However, when I try to pass the dentangling comb or Denman through it they don't budge! My fingers can't seem to pick up the microscopic tangles my hair seems to make.

 

[Loveygram]

Ok here's the Deal. Each time I wash and deep condition or co-wash I follow all precautionary steps to keep my hair from getting too tangled. I section, detangle wet hair in shower with PLENTY of conditioner w/ EVOO for extra slip, dentangle making sure to keep hair in one direction, plait immediately after detangling, wash conditioner out with plaits still in. i took out my damp plaits added a moisturizing leave in (Infusium 23 moisture formula), sealed with Castor Oil. When my hair dried the next morning after I slept in a tightly wrapped silk scarf, it was still completely tangled and shrunken as if I had never spent 1.5 hours in the bath tub carefully detangling with my shower comb (Jilbere) and fingers. I hand to detangle each section of dry hair from end to root again with my fingers, detangling comb, and Denman D3 brush using plenty of moisturizing detangler and castor oil. Please see pic below of the abundance of hair I lost all together. This is almost as much hair I lost before I came to LHCF, probably only a 1/3 less. Still too Much! Please help type 4 ladies, we have the tightest curls/kinks which makes for the most difficult hair to dentangle and keep detangled! I really need some help I want my hair to grow long, but I'm afraid I will lose my thickness if I keep losing this much hair everytime I have to detangle my hair after wetting it for washing/conditioning.
See pic of TOTAL HAIR LOST in attachment! ETA: When I rolled that hair you see up into a ball, it was the about the size of a tennis ball.

Are you wrapping it loose or did you sleep with braids in? I can only dry mine loose if it's allowed to air dry unbound or blown dry otherwise the coils get all tangled into each other. With that said, I rarely air dry loose. Too many ways to cause tangling ie touching, leaning back on a chair etc. I still can lose a lot on any given day. I recently did taking out tiny braids . Anyway, HTH

 

[softblackcotton]

You should try using Roux's porosity control conditioner, it really softens and detangles the hair, i use to rip out so much hair before i started usig this

I was reading threads on this Porosity Control, but I got the idea that it was only effective for relaxed heads? I'm completely natural. Will it still work for me?

 

[maysay]

Not sure if I understand correctly. You took out your damp plaits, moisturized, and then slept with your hair loose under a scarf? You can't expect your hair to stay detangled if you leave it loose. You were on the right track but then you messed it up.

Next time detangle your dry hair with conditioner (a lot) and oil before you get in the shower. Plait each section as you go. Then leave the braids in while you wash, condition, moisturize, and airdry. That way your hair will stay detangled and dry stretched. I do it all the time, works perfectly.

Eta: I only use my fingers and my hair gets completely detangled. The denman gets stuck in my hair and rips it out because of the size of my coils.

 

[softblackcotton]

Are you wrapping it loose or did you sleep with braids in? I can only dry mine loose if it's allowed to air dry unbound or blown dry otherwise the coils get all tangled into each other. With that said, I rarely air dry loose. Too many ways to cause tangling ie touching, leaning back on a chair etc. I still can lose a lot on any given day. I recently did taking out tiny braids . Anyway, HTH

I slepted with it in braids, because if I ever tried to let my hair dry loose or sleep loose OH BOY! I would've lost two tennis balls worth of hair. The thing is when my hair is was damp or wet it stays dentangled, but once it dries even while in plaits or stretched in rollers. There are still tangles! I'm so perplexed.

 

[loolalooh]

I divided my hair into four large sections, and then divide those sections into two for a total of eight sections. The size of each plait is about the width of two of my fingers, if that helps you visualize how much hair is in each plait better.



In the shower, I used a Jilbere Shower comb, when dry I used a Goody Tortoise Dentangling Comb first and then a Denman D3 brush (which I read on a couple of threads is the best for detangling type 4 hair)


I use Jane Carter Solution Nourish and Shine which has main ingredient Shea Butter. I also have Raw Shea Butter, but I didn't use it this time since it was so heavy and I'm about to get braid extensions this afternoon.


My hair length is all over the place. However, I do incorporate finger combing to the point where I could easily run my fingers in every direction of a section of hair. However, when I try to pass the dentangling comb or Denman through it they don't budge! My fingers can't seem to pick up the microscopic tangles my hair seems to make.

You may need to airdry in smaller plaits.

Also, like a couple ladies mentioned, are you airdrying loose? If so, that's the culprit right there. If not, then I suggest doing smaller plaits. Your hair may be too thick and coily for eight. (I airdry in 12+.)

 

[softblackcotton]

Not sure if I understand correctly. You took out your damp plaits, moisturized, and then slept with your hair loose under a scarf? You can't expect your hair to stay detangled if you leave it loose. You were on the right track but then you messed it up..

Nope I'm going to have to edit that in my post. I wasn't clear. Moisturized. sealed, swiping in one direction. Re-plaited while stretching, wrapped the scarf around tightly, and slept. So I don't understand how I messed up and why it was still so tangled.

 

[maysay]

Nope I'm going to have to edit that in my post. I wasn't clear. Moisturized. sealed, swiping in one direction. Re-plaited while stretching, wrapped the scarf around tightly, and slept. So I don't understand how I messed up and why it was still so tangled.

Oh ok. Well I agree with Loo, use smaller braids since you have a bunch of hair. And make sure they're done with tension so the hair has less space to shrink up. But know as a type four, detangled doesn't mean the same thing for you as it does for a type one. You're not going to be able to run your fingers or a comb straight through after it dries because of shrinkage. Also, you may want to use a heavy wet moisturizer like v05 conditioner, it works great for stretching the hair.

When I go get braids I always blowdry my hair (on cool). That makes it much easier for the braider to deal with. I either use the dryer with the comb attachment or a hot air brush with a cool setting (that's easiest). It gets my hair straighter than braids do and there's no chance of damage since it's cold air. I also do it after a wash if I'm in a rush...you could try it if using smaller braids doesn't work.

 

[softblackcotton]

Bump Bump! I love all these tips! Any more techniques tips will be greatly appreciated. I'm recently active on here and still learning so much!

 

[I Am So Blessed]

I had to pull apart the tennis hair ball and look at some individual strands alot of the strands are long not very many white bulbs at the end that a could see, so they look like long broken hairs. There were more broken hairs than shed. I pulled on the several strands to test the tension, they stretched a bit, stayed straight, and after stretching some more snapped. I thought my hair was snapping too easily for all the moisture I added to it. Whereas before my hair was so dry it wouldn't stretch just break immediately. Does it sound like it could be a protein/moisture balance problem? I added yogurt to my conditioner as mild protein. I thought would have helped.

you might need to do a protein treatment and add more moisture. other than that i dont know whats wrong. thats sad. i alwasy check for white balbs and i rarely see a hair in my comb without them. i hope you find something that will help.

 

[AfroKink]

I slepted with it in braids, because if I ever tried to let my hair dry loose or sleep loose OH BOY! I would've lost two tennis balls worth of hair. The thing is when my hair is was damp or wet it stays dentangled, but once it dries even while in plaits or stretched in rollers. There are still tangles! I'm so perplexed.

I understand. My hair does this too. Two things have helped me a lot. Airdry in bantu knots, you're hair will be super stretched. And/or you can detangle only on dry/damp hair and skip the wet detangling all together

 

[JaneLane]

how often do you detangle your hair? every week? every two weeks?

 

[SelahOco]

Infusium 23 - my hair hates it. And the only time I get bad breakage is when I use it. I wonder if your hair is reacting to it. Does your hair like Infusium?

 

[brittle_hair]

I was reading threads on this Porosity Control, but I got the idea that it was only effective for relaxed heads? I'm completely natural. Will it still work for me?

I have relaxed hair but I used it on my mum's natural hair and found it made it softer and so much easier to comb...

 

[Charz]

D3 was the devil for my hair....it ripped it out!

 

[BC2/4/06]

Try DC with Aveda Damage Remedy IRT I dont lose anywhere near as much hair since using it. It is exspensive but I also use it as a leave in. HTH

 

[softblackcotton]

Oh ok. Well I agree with Loo, use smaller braids since you have a bunch of hair. And make sure they're done with tension so the hair has less space to shrink up. But know as a type four, detangled doesn't mean the same thing for you as it does for a type one. You're not going to be able to run your fingers or a comb straight through after it dries because of shrinkage. Also, you may want to use a heavy wet moisturizer like v05 conditioner, it works great for stretching the hair.

When I go get braids I always blowdry my hair (on cool). That makes it much easier for the braider to deal with. I either use the dryer with the comb attachment or a hot air brush with a cool setting (that's easiest). It gets my hair straighter than braids do and there's no chance of damage since it's cold air. I also do it after a wash if I'm in a rush...you could try it if using smaller braids doesn't work.

Thanks so much for telling me this! Until now, I thought detangled fo all hair types meant being able to run a comb or fingers straight through from root to ends. So detangled just means the majors knots and tangles are cleared out? I love your idea about the cold blow dry, I was trying to avoid excessive heat so this I will def try. Also maybe flat ironing hair on a low setting will help ease the tangles.

 

[Bigghair]

You might also band your braids together in a ponytail or more than one so your hair will be for stretched out and not as shrunken when you unbraid it in the morning.

 

[dlove]

I about to start a thread on the same thing today!!! I have the exact same length this year as I did last year- no joke! I wish I had 10-15 hairs in the comb as someone posted earlier.

I have about 1/3 of the breakage OP has and I was complaining about that. That amount of breakage may be normal because I only wash and detangle once a week. I wear my hair in styles that dont require combing, twists for 5 days, twist outs for 2. So there is no combing for me for seven days.

What I do to detangle is:
1. Slather EVCO on my hair immediately after rinsing conditioner in cold water to seal in moisture.
2. Spray KCC Knot Today Detangler. I mix 1 tablespoon of KT with 6 ozs. of water in a spray bottle.
3. Wait for both to "melt" into my hair
4. Begin combing end to root in sections and plait. I use a K-cutter first, then a large tooth comb, apply shea amla, then a fine tooth comb.

Like I mentioned before I get about 1/3 of the pic of OP's breakage or about 2-3 tightly packed tablespoons of hair in the comb.

I only use my denman when I plan on straightening to evenly distribute my Sabino Moisture Block protector.

Another thing I think I'm doing wrong is finger combing while shampooing. I got to learn a good technique for shampooing. Any suggestions?

 

[softblackcotton]

you might need to do a protein treatment and add more moisture. other than that i dont know whats wrong. thats sad. i alwasy check for white balbs and i rarely see a hair in my comb without them. i hope you find something that will help.

I can't wait until I could comb my hair and see no broken strands! This is the main thing keeping me uneven and holding me back from gaining length. What types of protein treatment are effective for type 4 hair? I haven't figured out if my hair likes protein or not. I have never used a hard protein treatment.

I understand. My hair does this too. Two things have helped me a lot. Airdry in bantu knots, you're hair will be super stretched. And/or you can detangle only on dry/damp hair and skip the wet detangling all together

I am definitely going to have to try this. I've heard someone say they did this before to deal with shrinkage, but I forgot.

how often do you detangle your hair? every week? every two weeks?

About a week, the last time I really detangled was last week Saturday, but I admit that I did not do as thorough a job because I was using a really wide tooth regular comb. I didn't lose nearly as much hair, but throughout the week during my daily moisturizing, I only finger combed and twisted and tucked my ends under.

Infusium 23 - my hair hates it. And the only time I get bad breakage is when I use it. I wonder if your hair is reacting to it. Does your hair like Infusium?

I've had similar experience, I've always hair bad breakage when I had to wash and comb, but I don't know if I could pinpoint my breakage to the Infusium 23. I have a whole salon-sized bottle also.

I have relaxed hair but I used it on my mum's natural hair and found it made it softer and so much easier to comb...

Hmmm...I may try this.

D3 was the devil for my hair....it ripped it out!

Omg. I'm thinking maybe my hair not healthy/strong enough at this early point in my journey to handle the the D3. I kept pulling hair out of that brush to add it to the ever growing pile of hair. I'm going to set it aside for my next detangling sessions. I will maybe try it again at some point but only when my hair is really stretched out. I'll just mark this detangling session as a lesson finally learned. I'm glad I get to rest my hair in braid extensions while I revise better detangling methods

 

[Lola Laughs]

I have relaxed hair but I used it on my mum's natural hair and found it made it softer and so much easier to comb...

Roux Porosity Control makes detangling SOOO much easier for me. I just started using it about a month ago and now is a staple (I'm natural 4a/b).

 

[dlove]

Roux Porosity Control makes detangling SOOO much easier for me. I just started using it about a month ago and now is a staple (I'm natural 4a/b).

Do you wash, Roux Porosity Control, moisture condition? How do you use it and do you use it with every wash?

 

[Ronnieaj]

I've used the Roux PC too, and find it very effective. I prefer to make my own acv rinses though, but both help, IMO.

Regarding protein, I would start with something light, like Aubrey Organics GPB, which is a balanced protein/moisture conditioner. I still add oil to it though, but I can't help myself. Adora and I are the only naturals on this board that I can think of offhand that use the hard Aphogee 2-step on a regular basis, though I'm sure there are others. See how your hair reacts to light doses first before deciding if your hair needs more. It very well may not.

I have nothing to add regarding your tangling, as I think the ladies here pretty well have you covered. I just wish you the best!

 

[darlingdiva]

I about to start a thread on the same thing today!!! I have the exact same length this year as I did last year- no joke! I wish I had 10-15 hairs in the comb as someone posted earlier.

I have about 1/3 of the breakage OP has and I was complaining about that. That amount of breakage may be normal because I only wash and detangle once a week. I wear my hair in styles that dont require combing, twists for 5 days, twist outs for 2. So there is no combing for me for seven days.

What I do to detangle is:
1. Slather EVCO on my hair immediately after rinsing conditioner in cold water to seal in moisture.
2. Spray KCC Knot Today Detangler
3. Wait for both to "melt" into my hair
4. Begin combing end to root in sections and plait. I use a K-cutter first, then a large tooth comb, apply shea amla, then a fine tooth comb.

Like I mentioned before I get about 1/3 of the pic of OP's breakage or about 2-3 tightly packed tablespoons of hair in the comb.

I only use my denman when I plan on straightening to evenly distribute my Sabino Moisture Block protector.

Another thing I think I'm doing wrong is finger combing while shampooing. I got to learn a good technique for shampooing. Any suggestions?

DLoveo you shampoo your hair in sections? I shampoo my hair in eight sections, and I find that it helps to reduce tangles. Also, I don't fingercomb the shampoo through my hair because most shampoos (natural ones included) are somewhat concentrated. However, I don't completely follow the "shampoo is for your scalp." I pour shampoo onto my fingers and rub it onto my scalp. I also a small amount of shampoo onto my hair to remove build-up.


Softblackcotton: is it possible that the problem is due to HOW you detangle? Maybe your hair doesn't like to be detangled under running water? I know mine doesn't. To detangle, I generously spray leave-in conditioner down the length of my braids. Then I generously apply oil down the length of my braids. Next, I undo the braids and comb with my seamless comb. I apply more leave-in and oil as needed. I do all of this on dry hair, not wet.

 

[Lola Laughs]

Do you wash, Roux Porosity Control, moisture condition? How do you use it and do you use it with every wash?

Yes, I wash, PC then DC. I used it twice a week for the first two weeks, now just once a week. I could feel the difference almost immediately after rinsing it out. My strands felt smoother to the touch. It's great stuff!