De-tangling! Help!

Louisex3

Louisex3

Active Member
Right, so i've been suffering with breakage, ever since the start of my HHJ, started in May 2010 :)
and i've tried everything to stop it
porosity control, more moisture, less moisture, protein, molasses, co-wahsing etc.

and i'm starting to think it's 'de-tangling' my hair, i guess.

at night, i plait my hair into about 8 - 10 plaits, i comb each section, moisture, seal.
i then finger comb these out in the morning and style.

However, i'm beginning to think that this is the cause of my breakage, the daily combing.

Ladies on here say they de-tangle weekly, or less often, usually in the shower with conditioner in their hair. However, i wash my hair in braids, so I don't see any other opportunity to de-tangle.

So, long story short.

1. How often do you de-tangle?
2. How do you de-tangle?
3. What's your opinion on my situation?

Thanks in advance ladies.
Please help, my breakage is compromising my retention.
 
I detangle with my fingers daily when I moisturize. I most definitely detangle prior to washing. Are you detangling prior to washing? If not, your shedded hairs will form knots with your other strands leading to tangles and breakage.
 
ecirtus said:
It could definitely be the daily combing. Even though in modern times we have so many tools, hair was not built to be combed and manipulated daily. Perhaps you could look into some other protective styles that don't require daily combing. I recently had the same question about de-tangling. You might find this thread helpful:
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/ha...on/517829-poll-how-often-do-you-detangle.html
Click to expand...


thank you, i did look on there whilst i was researching. :)
 
amwcah said:
I detangle with my fingers daily when I moisturize. I most definitely detangle prior to washing. Are you detangling prior to washing? If not, your shedded hairs will form knots with your other strands leading to tangles and breakage.
Click to expand...

umm, yes i guess so, i braid my hair into about 6 cornrows, and i comb each section out before braiding it up
 
Your hair might not like being handled and combed everyday.

You might want to try to find a style that you can live with for a week or so until your next wash/detangle day (like twists/braids).

You said you style it in the morning after braiding at night--what style is your hair in most days.
 
~~HoneyComb~~ said:
Your hair might not like being handled and combed everyday.

You might want to try to find a style that you can live with for a week or so until your next wash/detangle day (like twists/braids).

You said you style it in the morning after braiding at night--what style is your hair in most days.
Click to expand...

i'm bunning 80% of the time, a couple days a week i'll have a braid out, i do that after i've waashed my hair :)
 
Louisex3 said:
i'm bunning 80% of the time, a couple days a week i'll have a braid out, i do that after i've waashed my hair :)
Click to expand...

Whenever I wear my hair in a bun or ponypuff--I don't detangle or comb daily. I will only brush down my edges and the frizz on top of my head, and fluff the puff out until next wash day. If I tried to detangle it everyday, I know that I would get breakage too so I leave it alone until wash day.

Do you have to detangle and comb every night, or is that what you prefer to do.
 
Well if ur bunning most of the week there shouldn't be too much need 4 daily detangling you could leave the same bun in for most of the week until you decide to wear it out and then do the braidout or you could roller set it with braids and rods so when you take your bun out you still have a wearable style. But i definitely think your daily combing plays a huge role.
 
Have your tried detangling your hair when you have your conditioner or leavein in on your wash day? Or try finger detangling. I agree that daily combing is too much manipulation.
 
the daily combing would be too much for my hair. If your hair is stretched all week in a bun or braid out, I would finger detangel on dry hair, then braid it. Wash in those braids. Unravel one braid at a time, Apply conditioner in a downward motion, use, hands, wide toothed comb or paddle brush to gently detangle, rebraid. After your done detangling, rinse your hair while it is in braids. Squeeze some extra water through the braids to get it all out. I let my hair air dry a little, apply shea butter mix. When my hair is completely dry , I apply my fave moisturizer. I think if you wash in braids and airdry in them, there will not be a need to keep detangling daily.
 
afrikurl said:
the daily combing would be too much for my hair. If your hair is stretched all week in a bun or braid out, I would finger detangel on dry hair, then braid it. Wash in those braids. Unravel one braid at a time, Apply conditioner in a downward motion, use, hands, wide toothed comb or paddle brush to gently detangle, rebraid. After your done detangling, rinse your hair while it is in braids. Squeeze some extra water through the braids to get it all out. I let my hair air dry a little, apply shea butter mix. When my hair is completely dry , I apply my fave moisturizer. I think if you wash in braids and airdry in them, there will not be a need to keep detangling daily.
Click to expand...

thankyou! good idea
 
~~HoneyComb~~ said:
Whenever I wear my hair in a bun or ponypuff--I don't detangle or comb daily. I will only brush down my edges and the frizz on top of my head, and fluff the puff out until next wash day. If I tried to detangle it everyday, I know that I would get breakage too so I leave it alone until wash day.

Do you have to detangle and comb every night, or is that what you prefer to do.
Click to expand...

well, i've tried just tying my satin scarf round my bun at night, but it just feels a bit knotty in the morning, :(
 
Try wearing a protective style for a week so you don't have to detangle but once a week.

I only detangle 2-4 times a month and I only use my fingers when I do "comb" my hair....
 
Good thread.

Wouldn't detangling only weekly though make OP's hair matted?
I'm relaxed (texlaxed), but if I just leave my hair in a pony, it becomes harder to lay down in a pony, and harder to moisturise (end up smoothing moisturiser on the surface of my hair, or you have to part through and apply moisturiser). Plus the roots get ridiculously hard to untangle.

Sorry I can't actually help you Louisex3. I'm interested in the responses though. I do/did the opposite -not combing, and although my hair's grown, I don't really like dealing with it (tangles, knots etc etc)
 
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@bb09:

No. If your hair is secured away in protective styles for 1-2 weeks or so the shed hair is trapped in the braid or twist, cornrow or flat twist or whatever. Just remove the shed hair as you take down each twist etc and there should not be any problems.
 
two words tangle teezer. Buy at Sallys $9.99. Load your hair with conditioner start from ends up to the roots. Detangling is a breeze and you will have much more hair on your head then in a denan brush:lachen:
 
For those that only detangle on wash day, do you at least lightly detangle your hair before wetting it on wash day? Because if you have knots/tangles in your hair, wetting it would just make it worse right? So do you do some detangling on dry hair?
 
ShyIntellect said:
For those that only detangle on wash day, do you at least lightly detangle your hair before wetting it on wash day? Because if you have knots/tangles in your hair, wetting it would just make it worse right? So do you do some detangling on dry hair?
Click to expand...

I detangle on wash day. First, I finger-detangle on dry hair with oil. Then I add some conditioner to my hair & detangle with the paddle brush. Then I do one final comb-through with my wide-toothed comb.

On wash day, I don't wet my hair until I am ready to begin washing it because letting my hair shrink will definitely increase the knots and tangles. I keep my hair stretched as much as possible.
 
darlingdiva said:
I detangle on wash day. First, I finger-detangle on dry hair with oil. Then I add some conditioner to my hair & detangle with the paddle brush. Then I do one final comb-through with my wide-toothed comb.

On wash day, I don't wet my hair until I am ready to begin washing it because letting my hair shrink will definitely increase the knots and tangles. I keep my hair stretched as much as possible.
Click to expand...

Hmm, maybe I'll try your method. I'm about 7 months post relaxer and I'm transitioning to natural and I'm of course learning that the methods/techniques I used on my texlaxed hair isn't agreeing with the natural NG. I've always been curious about how naturals detangle prior to wetting their hair and doing a full detangling session in the shower.
 
I have natural 4a/b hair also. I section and wash my hair while in medium sized twists. Whenever I wash/rinse my hair and make sure my scalp is clean, I add more conditoner to the length of my hair as my final step. ( ex.:untwist a section, condition and twist back up). I twist fairly tight so my hair can't shrivel back up as my last step. Put on my plastic cap, then my towel over that for about 10-15 minutes (sometimes longer) while I prepare for the detangling. This way, my hair stays soft and damp.
I use Vo5 moisture milks conditioner, a spray leave-in called Porosity Equalizer (helps melt knots) and castor oil.
I thoroughly detangle my hair about every 3-4 months, quick detangle once a month. I haven't used a comb or brush in ages. I strictly use my fingers. I'm thinking about getting that Tangle Teezer if it'll make detangling quicker.
I suggest trying the Vo5, Equalizer and castor oil and not combing so much. If you detangle fairly well during your sessions and keep your hair stretched, your hair shouldn't get too knotty from month to month and you won't feel the need to comb everyday.
 
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bermudabeauty said:
two words tangle teezer. Buy at Sallys $9.99. Load your hair with conditioner start from ends up to the roots. Detangling is a breeze and you will have much more hair on your head then in a denan brush:lachen:
Click to expand...

what makes this tangle teezer different from a brush do you know? :)
just googled it
 
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