Detangling My Curly Hair

[Syrah]

So I've been rocking the Curly Girl routine for about a month. Loving it, loving it, loving it - that is not to say that I won't ever put another perm in my hair, but that's beside the point.

However, I realize, I'm losing far too many strands of hair when I detangle on a bi-weekly basis. At this rate, I should be bald in a few years (Haha!).

Here's what I'm curly doing:
1. Lathering Hollywood Beauty Cholesterol in my hair and securing with a hot, wet hair turban and letting sit for 20-30 minutes for a deep condition (thanks MaCherie).
2. Jumping in the shower and rinse.
3. If it's a shampoo day: I'll apply shampoo, lather and rinse. Otherwise I skip this step.
4. Apply Suave Naturals' Milk and Honey to my entire head.
5. Start with the bottom section (securing the rest of my hair in a clip), apply more Suave Naturals Milk and Honey to the section and finger detangling. I usually do 5 sections to get my entire head detangled.

I CO wash my hair twice a week, so I'm thinking, on average I lost about 60 hairs a week (maybe more). The good news is they are entire strands of hair - no more bits of broken pieces. The bad news is they are entire strands of hair. Now I realize some of this would be natural shedding - the hair I'd lose through brushing or combing. But its too much. And I'm starting to get worried.

So what products or techniques have you ladies found to help detangle hair??? And how'd you use them?!

 

[RainbowCurls]

Apparently it's normal to shed 50-100 strands a day. If this is true, I don't think you've got anything to worry about

 

[glamazon386]

I think that sounds like normal shedding. For two weeks anyway. I remember reading somewhere 60-100 is normal for a day.

 

[Cheleigh]

I loose a lot of hair too whenever I manipuate my hair in the shower. I don't worry about it--it's not breakage. Also, wearing curly hair (especially if it's highly textured) means that the hair doesn't fall out while your walking around anymore--it only comes out when you detangle. So you're probably not loosing more hair than when you wear it straight--the shed hair is just trapped in your hair until you detangle. If you don't capture that shed hair, eventually it'll cause knots and tangles as it wraps around your hair, so it's best to clear it periodically.

 

[nurseN98]

One thing that has helped me is detangling before I put conditioner on my hair. I wet my hair really good then I carefully detangle from the bottom up and then I put my conditioner on. I lose way less hair as opposed to doing it the other way. I do the same thing for deep conditioners.

 

[Syrah]

Thanks ladies. So maybe I'm scared of nothing.

I heard some ladies using apple cider vinegar - but I don't know if that was for detangling or not. iwas in the super market about to buy some, and then I thought 'let me ask the ladies before I stick this stuff on my head and end up bald'.

 

[RainbowCurls]

Apple cider vinegar (or ACV ), diluted in water, is used to close the cuticle, and some find it effective for clarifying (but it's not really supposed to clarify)

When I've used it, it makes my hair shiny and soft.

 

[JustKiya]

If you are seeing entire strands of hair coming out - it's shedding. If you were PULLING out that much hair by the roots, your scalp would be screaming holy murder by the time you were done detangling. I've found that unless I use a wide toothed comb AND a narrower pick on my hair, I leave a LOT of shed hair still up there - but if I comb, and comb, and pick, and comb - a lot of hair might come out, but I also have fewer knots/tangles throughout the rest of the week. I've been ALMOST considering getting a brush to scoop up the last few shed strands after a good detangling session. I still cringe at the thought of a brush near my head though, so I doubt that's going to happen.

 

[so1913]

Apparently it's normal to shed 50-100 strands a day. If this is true, I don't think you've got anything to worry about

Yep, I think you are ok

 

[Syrah]

I guess so. If I end up bald in 33.76 years, I'm coming after all ya'll.

The more I think about it - I was probably loosing a lot my hair when I was brushing twice a day, every day. And I was seeing breakage.

Now it's just full strands. it's sad to see the long hairs coming out, but I guess thats better than bits and pieces of curls.

Thanks Ladies!!