Lady of the Knots: The Two Textures

[Victorian]

I need some help from transitioners and natural ladies.

So I've got a few inches of newgrowth, and several more inches of relaxed hair. I really think I'm going to eventually chop, but I can't do it yet--too scurred

So I'm trying to deal with the two textures. Mostly I'm doing alright. I've never been into fancy hairstyles anyway, so wearing buns and stuff doesn't bother me. I'm about to get some gel or pomade, and some new scarves to make the front look more presentable. I've got high hopes.

The only problem I can't seem to fix are these itty bitty little hard knots I get, right at the demarcation line. Not tangles, mind you--I've got a whole arsenal of good conditioners and wide-toothed combs to handle tangles--Little, tiny knots that can't be detangled. Rather, they can only be removed in one way or another

At first I thought I wasn't detangling well, so I've taken to doing it in sections, only while soaking wet with conditioner. My hair feels great, but still the knots.

Then I thought, maybe I'm airdrying with too much product in my hair and it's making the strands sort of fuse together (that's what they feel like--hair that has been fused together with superglue). So yesterday I airdried with serum only, and applied H6O to my dried hair to lock in moisture. My hair was very light and soft and blinging to beat the band, but still, a few knots at the demarcation line

.

I am at my wit's end. I REALLY want to wait a few months before I think about cutting off my hair, but I can't help but think that part of the problem is my long strands of straight hair getting tangled in with the coils and causing tiny little matted sections (My hair is 4a or somewhere thereabouts).

Has anybody experienced this? Is there a way to make it easier without chopping off my hair? Please help. This is the only major problem I'm having with my hair right now and it's driving me batty

TIA

 

[NaturalRox]

I wish I could give you some advice but I'm not sure what to suggest about this. I'm sure some of the ladies that have transitioned could point you in the right direction. Good luck!

 

[inthepink]

Hmm, I'm not too sure either. I never experienced anything like this. Does the serum you're using contain silicone? Maybe, just maybe, that could be part of the problem? As you let your hair airdry - is it detangled and put away...like braided, twisted? Maybe even before making your bun, you should twist or braid to keep the sections separate?

 

[MeccaMedinah]

For a few months I had this problem. When I stopped shampooing it went away.

 

[Ipanema]

Are the tiny knots on a single strand of hair? That might just be the nature of your hair. My hair works it's way into tiny knots sometimes. I just snip them off with scissors. Lately, though, I've been seeing way less knots, but I don't know why. Also, are you detangling starting from the ends & working your way to the roots?

 

[SVT]

Trouble with knots you say?

I've been battling knots since 2001 when I started wearing my hair natural. I do daily conditioner washes. I use the slippiest of conditioners. I do oil treatments. I tried braiding at night for a time. I still had and have KNOTS.

Nowadays, I just snip right above the knot. It's been the most effective treatment so far!

 

[PretteePlease]

i still have knots so dont know what to tell you to do but if you are trying to grow your natural hair long i would continue to transition until i had enough hair to get into a bun or at least a ponytail. are you combing out your hair b4 you wash it are you washing in one direction or are you smooshing your hair around your head, are you combing thru your conditioner are you rinsing in one direction and how do you dry your hair? 50 questions i know.

 

[Victorian]

[ QUOTE ]
SVT said:
Trouble with knots you say?

I've been battling knots since 2001 when I started wearing my hair natural. I do daily conditioner washes. I use the slippiest of conditioners. I do oil treatments. I tried braiding at night for a time. I still had and have KNOTS.

Nowadays, I just snip right above the knot. It's been the most effective treatment so far!

[/ QUOTE ]

I get the feeling this may just be my hair plight as well...


To answer some questions:

I always wash in the shower, in one direction, I'm really careful. I detangle carefully, even sometimes braiding the hair in sections before washing. I've tried everything

I never had this problem before, even with a few months of newgrowth. This problem didn't seem to arise until i was about 5 or 6 months post relaxer. Maybe it's just something my natural hair does, and I just never knew it until it got long enough.

If SVT has the same problem, and her hair looks the way it does, I guess I'll be fine

I might try eliminating shampoo for awhile and see if that helps, though

Thanks, everyone

 

[Poohbear]

hey i experienced a few knots near my crown at the point where my natural and relaxed hair meets. I did a rollerset and let it airdry and then sat under a hooded dryer for 45 minutes on low heat. When my hair was dry, I was playing in my hair and noticed a few knots near the top. I think it's from not detangling well. Plus this is the first time I attempted a rollerset with a lotta new growth (10 weeks without a relaxer). So next time, Im going to have to detangle all the way through the section before putting the roller in.

 

[Tai]

I just had a killer knot in the back of my head. I slathered it with conditioner, let it soak in and then gently detangled w/ my fingers and a rattail comb. I was sure I was going to have to snip it but eventually it came out on it's own w/o breakage. It was right around the demarcation line.

My only advice is to slather the knots with conditioner. Let them soak it in for a few minutes and then gently try to break the knot apart w/ your fingers. I basically massaged the hair until it loosened up very, very gently. HTH.

 

[babyblue]

Im not sure if your referring to single strand knots or larger tangled knots in the hair, but when i transitioned i experienced both. I couldnt prevent them although i tried. I only had two options 1) chop to the new growth 2) just pay them no mind and continue to grow out my hair as originally planned. Since i had no intention of chopping i just decided to let them be and just gentlycomb out the ones i could. I tell ya doing the long transition takes patience /images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I dont really know what to tell you except that as long as you have to extremely different textures knots are inevitable at the demarcation line unless maybe you keep you hair in extensions or some type of style that reduces manipulation.this way you can also help grow your hair out to a lenght where your more comfortable to cut off the rest of the straight ends and keep you from going crazy over those darn knots. HTH

 

[Poohbear]

yeah thats what i did with my knots, i separated them gently with my fingers. I was going to use the comb but I was afraid the comb would just rake my hair out!