10/26/2106: AN IMPROVED DETANGLING METHOD for me is on PAGE 3 of this thread at
this post. The method entails use of a Soultanical awesome detangling product and oil.
ORIGINAL POST
NOTE: This is long because my hair tangles something serious. I'm sharing with as many details as I can, in case this might give a fellow coily some ideas!
My hair details:
4a coils,
fine strands,
high density of hair per square inch of scalp.
What tangling is like for me:
My hair is so fine and coily that a detangled section will almost INSTANTLY began to re-tangle right after I detangle it. My 4a curls shrink ferociously.
When they shrink, they furl under, grabbing neighbor strands . . . ever furling under and shrinking.
What knots are like for me:
My strands are much thinner than thread. Thus, the knots my super thin strands can create are very, very, very small.
HOW I DETANGLE WHEN I AM NOT DOING A FULLY THOROUGH DETANGLING SESSION (so that my hair doesn't tangle up TOO much between full detangling sessions):
I elongate and unfurl in the shower using my clay wash/treatment. Working quadrant by quadrant, I separate strands using
the harp detangling method. I try to do as much as I can but don't worry about being perfect. I add my SM Hipo Masque and let it do its work. Taking big sections of hair at a time, I gently run my Wet Brush through the big sections. Once done going all over the head, I run my head under the water to remove the conditioner. While the water is running through it, I try to finger comb through my hair all over my head. When my fingers get caught, I separate and untangle using the harp method typically, being careful not to inadvertently CREATE/TIGHTEN knots.
All of this goes better when my hair has the proper protein-moisture balance and is STRONG. Until I figured out how to detangle, I was going into the salon, and stylists were RIPPING through my hair and I was losing TONS of hair.
How I do FULLY THOROUGH detangling (at the moment):
1: I do "first-pass" detangling in the shower using only my fingers and whatever detangling hair product I'm using at the moment.
Details: Since I have very coily hair, a major first step in detangling for me is to ELONGATE my coils, unfurling them. I don't ever detangle using shampoo: I don't want to strip my hair of natural oils ever, but ESPECIALLY not while my hair has tangles. I feel blessed to have discovered that I can detangle with a conditioning, detangling clay that is very moisturizing yet cleansing and detoxifying at the same time. (Currently I use Naturalicious's 5-in-1 Rhassoul clay treatment/cleanser/detangler, but I have bought ingredients to learn to make this myself at home.) I rinse the clay and saturate my hair with a conditioner that instantly softens and elongates my hair and has lots of slip for my hair: Shea Moisture's High Porosity Moisture-seal Masque.
2: Next, out of the shower I section my hair using small butterfly clips.
Details: I end up creating three rows in my hair. The bottom row is the back of my hair and I section it into two sections. The middle row goes from the top of my ear up to an 1.5 inches or so above my eyebrow. I divide the middle row in two parts, then further divide each half into two parts for a total of 4 sections in the middle row. What's left is the top row which consists of the hair in my crown. I create a section in the back of my crown so that there is no split down the middle of the back of my hair at the top. Then I split the remaining two sections -- that are on the left and right side of my crown -- into two sections each. If I want a side part at the FRONT of my hair, this is when I create it.
3: Now that all hair is sectioned into butterfly clips, I detangle section by section.
Details: I keep a spray bottle of water nearby in case I need to rewet a drying-out section of hair. I remove a butterfly clip to work on that section. I add detangler to the ends first and wrap my thumb and forefinger around the ends with ONE hand so that I can gently pull through the ends with the fingers of my OTHER hand. I use my fingers at this stage so that I can feel for any tiny knots that might be there but would not get caught in a comb or brush. With my fingers only, I attempt to comb through the ends. When my fingers get caught, I do everything I can to separate the strands in a way that does not create a knot. Once I can finger comb through my ends without my fingers getting caught, I grab my authentic Wet Brush (purchased from Target).
I gently grab the section of hair near the ends and hold it out slightly less than taut from my head. I place the Wet Brush onto the hair near the ends. I gently rock the Wet Brush back and forth at the ends of my hair, slightly attempting to pull the brush through my ends as I rock the Wet Brush back and forth. I repeat this at a higher up place in the section of hair. I do so until I can slide the brush from the root of the hair section to the ends of the hair section.
VERY IMPORTANT: If I don't FIRST use my fingers at the end to feel for knots and remove them before brushing . . . if I instead use the Wet Brush before finger de-kotting and detangling, then essentially I would end up using the Wet Brush to tie my knots tighter!!!
When I am using the Wet Brush, the hair is SUPER saturated with conditioner and detangler. It's just sliding through. The teeth of the brush aren't close enough together to "find" the very tiny knots in my hair that my fingers can and do.
After doing all of that careful detangling work, often I'll quickly chunky-twist up the section: I can't afford to let the section retangle, and that's exactly what my hair commences to trying to do INSTANTLY after I cease detangling it.
With this slow, careful process, I lose VERY little hair, my hair is fully detangled so that tangles aren't tangling upon tangles over the days and weeks, and when I add styler such as gel I am not gel-ling tangles and knots together.
I am ever trying to improve the process, avoid damage, be gentle, and decrease the time it takes.