I need HELP!! Took braids out! HELP!!

[Bijou]

Ladies I need your help!
I finally took my micro braids out yesterday (had them in approximately 2-3 months) and thought I did a good job of untangling my hair before I washed it. Well, I washed it and my hair is a tangled mess!! No detangling shampoo/conditioner or detangler will help! Does anyone know what to do? I can untangle it with my fingers, but at this rate it will take forever. I want to save as much hair as I can as my hair REALLY grew and hate the thought of cutting it. Has anyone been through this before? What can I do to help it untangle? Another question...I know I am not supposed to get a touch-up right after, but how long should I really wait? Can anyone give me their after braids care regimen? I was so happy at the growth, but now am frustrated at this mess....please help!

 

[laketta]

Well sis I am praying for you (and myself) I have my braid in now a month today and i have about 1/2 inch of new growth. My hair dreser told me i too can leave my braids in for 2 months. After hearing this I am condsidering taking them out sooner. My hair is all natural. It could be that the hair that you naturally shed is tangled in there. I would say just take your time and untangle if you are preserving your hair. the extra time may be worth it.

 

[divine1]

Sry to hear about your dilema.

I've never had this happen to me coming out of braids but I have had some tangling at other times. I think your only option may be to sit down and go through it section by section. Yes it will take a while but is that not worth keeping your hair on your head? After that I would apply some hair mayonnaise and leave it in a couple of hours or you can try applying the mayo first. Also, do you wash in the shower? If not, I highly recommend it. And dont pile your hair on top of your head or even move it around much. If that doesnt do it I really dont know what else to tell you.....

HTH

 

[TinyT]

I know how you feel. When I still had relaxed hair, I had a weave sewn in, and I kept it in for a while. When I decided to take it out, my boyfriend helped me. Then I detangled the hair as much as I could, and thought okay I can wash it now. Well was i in for a surprise. My hair was matted, and seemed almost locked. I actually cried, because it seemed hopeless. I was going to cut it all off. My boyfriend woke up, and told me not to cut it, and he spent a good 5 hours detangling it small section by small section. He was able to do it. I am saying this to say, that i don't think there is an easy way out. Try and get a friend, boyfriend, or some one that you trust to help. I hope that this works out for you.

Tracy

 

[nita4]

You are going to have to untangle section by section. Get some moisturizer spray, conditioner, something put it in the section you want to untangle, start at the ends and work your way up. This has happened to all of us at one or another.

Ladies, please, please, please comb your hair out very well before shampooing - and do not pile on top of your head when shampooing, finger comb the shampoo through then condition.

It's going to take a while but it will be worth it.

 

[Nonie]

I'm sorry you are having this dilemma.

I agree with Divine about taking a small section at a time and working on that. Using one tooth of you comb, start at the ends of our hair and try to undo the "knots" till you can comb through just the top part with one tooth of your comb. And then proceed a little lower and do the same. Once you get the entire strands of that one part untangled, apply something that'll make the strands smooth (a little water and serum or oil perhaps?) -- I'll let the relaxed-hair experts recommend what, since I've never braided relaxed hair and I'm not sure how to treat those tangles -- and then braid that detangled part to keep it in that state. Make sure it's a thick square braid that you can easily undo with your fingers. Don't worry about making the partings straight. If you plait each section you've untangled, that will keep it from getting messed up again while you work on the rest. Perhaps a patient friend/relative can help?

Another suggestion for you, and anyone else wearing braids, is: see if you can use your fingers to undo your braids instead of using a comb. My braids are about half a centimeter thick (which is pretty narrow) and I am constantly undoing and re-doing them using my fingers since I wear them all year. I have never had any tangles or knots and I attribute that to my not using a comb to undo them because it would be too easy to accidentally insert a comb farther down the braid than you should and thus knot it up. At least with your fingers you can feel and know how far down you are and thus make progress slowly and surely. (Am I making sense?)

Sending positive vibes your way...

 

[debyjay]

This happened to me when I took my braids out at the end of May after wearing them for 6 months. I had so much new growth and was very happy. However my mom was helping me bless her heart , I combed out the hair as I was taking them out, she didn't sooooo needless to say when I washed my section was fine and hers wasn't and try as we did we simply could not get the knots out. I broke out the scissors after a few hours of trying and cut away about three sections in the middle and back of my hair. It was horrible and my mom felt really really bad, she almost cried. I waited a week before getting my hair done and I had the most wonderful and understanding stylist -- my first time with her! She said oh it's bad but we will camoflauge (sp)? it. Granted she had to cut three inches off but she did an amazing job and it was bouncy and looking good. So to sum up it's not the end of the world.

 

[laketta]

debyjay You had braids in for 6 months?

How did you maintain them? did you have the straight braid or the ones that are loose on the ends?? I didn't think you could keep them in that long. Was your hair natural???

 

[Chyli]

Try a detangler for kids,Loreal works well.
I soaked each section.Pay attenton to the knotted areas,take your time.I had to use the whole bottle,you may want to get 2.Nita & Nonie posted really good advice,if you can print, it for quick reference.

CHYLI

 

[kisz4tj]

Bijou, I feel your pain girl, I posted about the same problem a few weeks ago. Anyhow as you follow the advice of the ladies here try not to be too discouraged, expect to see hair loss but try not to flip because at the moment your condition will look far worse than it really is, and the hair loss that you see will mostly be hair that you would have shedded anyway if you hair weren't in braids.

HTH, this adviced helped me through.

 

[SweetNic_JA]

Bijou, you should do what the ladies suggested. I went through the same thing in May. I have very fine hair and when I took my braids out I untangled my hair and put them in little twists. The twists caused my hair to knot. I suggested untangling your hair section by section and putting each section into large granny plaits.

It's going to take a while but it's worth the effort

 

[ladybug]

DITTO TO WHAT EVERYONE MENTIONED...THE BEST ADVICE IS TO TAKE YOUR BRAIDS OUT WITH YOUR FINGERS NOT A COMB..BECAUSE THE COMB = TANGLES..BUT SINCE YOU ARE PAST THAT STAGE..TAKE YOUR TIME AND UNTANGLE AND PLAIT THE UNTANGLED SECTIONS AND SPRAY WITH DETANGLER WHILE U R TAKING OUT THE OTHER KNOTS..GOOD LUCK GIRL

 

[Peachtree]

I agree....detangle slowly with a lil water & oil (if need be). Whatever u do, don't rush through it. Take your time; watch a lil tv during...... this'll help pass the time & keep u from getting mad at the tangled mess

 

[joyous]

This actually happened to me after wearing a weave for 3 months. The hair locked so bad I had to cut off about 5 inches of hair on the crown and yes...I did cry. Try a product called "Take Down". It is made especially for untangling matted hair, removing bonding glue and removing dreads. See if your local beauty supply has it. Heres their site http://www.millresources.com/takedown/sample.htm

Also when taking out your braids use only your fingers while untangling and braid into big plaits as you get sections untangled. Wash and condition each braid section by section. Good luck, I certainly feel your pain.

 

[joyous]

bump

 

[Stormy]

I agree with everyone who says to untangle with your fingers and spraying a moisturizer on your hair. In the future...

Remember not to wear your braids for that long! Ladies it is not good to wear braids and weaves for longer than 2 months! And the more natural hair or new growth you have the more it will lock up or matt when you wear them for too long. I only wear my braids for 4-8 weeks max. Never over 8!

 

[Zoe]

Whenever I take my braids or weaves out I always have a GOOD Detangler and leave in conditioner..

I make sure I comb my hair throughly before I wash my hair..If u cant comb it when its dry it will only be worse when its wet.. Also, wash your hair in the SHOWER..so if it is matted or knotted your hair is going towards the back and it wouldn't be so bad.. I cant stress that enough..I learned the hard way..

U have to take your time and detanle section by section..get help you wont be able to do it by yourself..

 

[debyjay]

Hey lakettab,
sorry for the late answer. No no no I had them in for 2 months at a time. However I only washed at the end of the two months, I dry cleaned with a herbal cleanse from ORS. Of course now I know that was not a good thing to do but I got between 5 and 6 inches in that time! A lot for me.