Major hair emergency, please help!

[FemmeFatale]

So I'm taking down the braids from my install and the back/nape area is very matted a the demarcation line between my relaxed hair and new growth!! I took down the rest of my hair fine but that section is giving me problems and I need to wash my hair to go to work in the morning

What should I do?? I've been using a small rat tail comb trying to pick at it while dry

 

[faithVA]

FemmeFatale, have you put any oil on it yet. You probably have a lot of shed hairs in that area and if you can work them loose you should be able to make some progress. Try oiling it down and taking small sections, hold most of the section taut with one hand and try to slide hairs out of the group with the other.

 

[silverbuttons]

Do not wet your hair while it is still matted. Can you put on a pretty scarf for work? If you wet it, it will cause more problems. Get conditioner, use your fingers and a brush. Detangle with some conditioner (on dry hair), then use the brush a bit. Make sure you braid/secure the parts that you have already detangled.

 

[FemmeFatale]

FemmeFatale, have you put any oil on it yet. You probably have a lot of shed hairs in that area and if you can work them loose you should be able to make some progress. Try oiling it down and taking small sections, hold most of the section taut with one hand and try to slide hairs out of the group with the other.

I haven't applied any product to it yet. As for oils, I have coconut oil, sweet almond oil and olive oil. I'm just afraid of the tangles getting worse by wetting it.

 

[DarkJoy]

I agree with getting some oil and using your fingernails, try to slide those shed hairs down off the ends. And make it a LOT of oil. Try to alternate that with pulling just a few hairs apart at a time from the mat. Always helped me in the past.

 

[FemmeFatale]

Do not wet your hair while it is still matted. Can you put on a pretty scarf for work? If you wet it, it will cause more problems. Get conditioner, use your fingers and a brush. Detangle with some conditioner (on dry hair), then use the brush a bit. Make sure you braid/secure the parts that you have already detangled.

No scarves at work.

Won't the conditioner won't worsen the tangles?

 

[FemmeFatale]

I agree with getting some oil and using your fingernails, try to slide those shed hairs down off the ends. And make it a LOT of oil. Try to alternate that with pulling just a few hairs apart at a time from the mat. Always helped me in the past.

DarkJoy which oil would you recommend?

 

[faithVA]

FemmeFatale[/USER];18873787]I haven't applied any product to it yet. As for oils, I have coconut oil, sweet almond oil and olive oil. I'm just afraid of the tangles getting worse by wetting it.

If you wet it will probably become worse. You will need to use something though - oil or conditioner. I use oil because my natural hair gets no slip from conditioners. You can try a section with oil and another section with conditioner to see which works better for you.

 

[silverbuttons]

I always use conditioner on my tangles and not oils, but oils would definitely work. Make sure its a heavy oil though. You're going to be up for a while, just don't panic or get frustrated. Most important thing is to put the comb down.

No wigs available to you?

 

[Foxglove]

Can you do a thick head band? Something along these lines?
http://www.curlynikki.com/2010/06/super-cute-headband-find-at-target.html
http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/12/target-headband-and-random-banter.html
http://www.curlynikki.com/2011/11/tutorial-of-retro-french-twist-with.html

 

[MileHighDiva]

FemmeFatale, the previous ladies gave you great advice. I detangle my hair with EVCO drenched fingers. However, it's never been matted. Buy the time I'm done there's enough oil in my hair that I only need to slap on a processing cap and go to sleep for pre-pooing purposes.

Good luck! Please report back with what happened. Also, I like Foxglove's advice. I don't think you should be dealing with this while your frustrated. Go to Wallyworld or Tar-Jay boutique first thing in the morning and buy a decorative headband like she suggested, if you don't already own one.

 

[KiWiStyle]

When I have a bad knot in my hair and they are almost always in my nape area, I reach for a serum. In my opinion it works better than conditioner and oils but you can probably use a conditioner with a lot of slip and serum, applying the conditioner first.

 

[SunRai Naturals]

My advice would be to not do anything to it while it is dry. Using a rat tail comb on a dry area with tangles is asking for breakage.

DRENCH the area in oil. I wouldn't use a heavy oil like Castor. I would stick with oils like olive and coconut. I actually used to combine them both, drench my tangled areas with them, let it sit for at least 3 to 5 minutes, and then start to work the tangles out with my FINGERS. Using a rat tail comb is going to pull/break more hair than necessary. Work the hair like you are taking a part a braid, you will feel the shed hairs loosen and then just work them out of the hair in a downward motion. The most important thing is to be patient. It may take a little longer than usual but if you take your time with it, you can save yourself a lot of breakage.

 

[FemmeFatale]

Hey ladies, thank you all for the suggestions. I went to bed last night on the verge of tears from exhaustion and panic. All I did was try to pick through the matted area with the end of the comb and nothing worked.. Or so I thought.

I work up an hour early to decide what I was going to do (keep trying to detangle myself, call out and go to the salon, chop it off, Etc). When I ran my fingers though it, the knots were about 70% gone!!! I don't know what happened throughout the night but somehow those big clunks at the root were very loose!

I jumped up and grabbed some conditioner and mixed it with almond and olive oil and coated the sections and the tangles started coming out. It took me an hour to get everything out but I did it!!!! I ran out of time to wash my hair so I put it in the tightest bun and got ready for work.

 

[Lilmama1011]

Try a oil first and a wide teeth comb and work from bottom to top, of that doesn't work add the most slippery conditioner you have and do the same while working in small sections