Naturals: do you detangle dry or wet?

[RubyWoo]

^
-stretched hair SOAKED w/ my conditioning concoctions! 4B hair tends to shrink like crazy when wet - making detangling a very difficult task - so detangling while my hair is already dry & stretched is MUCH easier as long as the conditioning mix provides slip!

This so true based on my experience. I have very rarely been able to get the the comb through my ends when detangling on wet hair. I definitely was able to when my hair was dry. I realize now that when I detangled on "dry" hair, my hair was always stretched(coming out of twists).

 

[MissBCurly]

Do you detangle your hair wet or dry?

So naturals a few questions:

Do you detangle on dry hair or wet hair? WET

Do you detangle before or after you wash? BOTH

 

[shocol]

I only detangle on days that I DC with heat. I get in the shower, hair loaded with conditioner, and detangle under running water (the water helps to loosen my coily ends) with my Denman brush.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I detangle on wet hair, usually full of conditioner, most often after washing.

 

[ryanshope]

Wet with a shower comb and oils/conditioner.

 

[kmn1980]

I've found that if I stay on top of moisturizing, detangling on dry hair is actually easy.

 

[Morenita]

I always detangle on soaking wet hair, loaded with conditioner. I do notice that shed hair gets caught on my ends sometimes, but my hair is just a lot easier to manage when wet. I notice breakage when detangling damp hair as opposed to wet. Even when my hair is matted and really tangled badly (gets that way after doing a wng and being lazy about re-moisturizing it/not re-wetting for days and days) it's better for me to just wet it, load it up, and work through it slowly.

If I keep up with my hair and detangle properly every few days, detangling is never an issue, even when wearing wash n go's.

Typically, I use my Mason Pearson Rake, followed by a Denman brush a couple times per week. I shampoo first (if shampooing at all) and detangle after putting in a rinse-out conditioner, ends to roots, lightly re-wetting as I go. I do two-four sections, depending on level of laziness

 

[JinaRicci]

I detangle only on wet hair soaked with conditioner using a wide tooth comb. It takes just a couple minutes with little shed hairs. I never comb my hair while it's dry but I now understand why some people prefer that. Thanks for the explanation NappyRina.

 

[tHENATuRALhAiRpRoJEcT]

i absolutely understand your grief with the 3b.... i have a 3a/b or 2c whatever! that crap is in the back of my hair that won't curl, crinkle, just lay straight.....playing dead? idk
the rest of my hair coils...and if combed frizzes out

i realized from your statement on looser texture... my hair tangles onto each other like they're locking hands ....presenting a united front or some ish
I really think detangling wet ...all my hair comes out
detangling nearly dry is the way to go for me.... but i'm lost on the sections with this twa
hair won't section!!!

^
Life has gotten much easier for me once I started detangling on DRY -stretched hair SOAKED w/ my conditioning concoctions! 4B hair tends to shrink like crazy when wet - making detangling a very difficult task - so detangling while my hair is already dry & stretched is MUCH easier as long as the conditioning mix provides slip!

So like was stated before the hair is NOT really dry at all, it's very well lubricated w/ conditioner just without the soaking wetness from rinsing/washing beforehand, therefore preventing massive shrinkage...

Even though I wash in braided sections, the braids still shrink and I have found detangling BEFORE washing truly life-changing ... when I used to detangle while wet after washing, removing one braid at a time and trying to get rid of the shed hair, etc, I would lose WAY more hair -even if my conditioner had crazy slip-and it was really frustrating having to deal w/ all that shrinkage on top of all the knots & tangles trapped in the shrinkage .. My strands are fine so they are more fragile when wet - giving me more of a reason to detangle "dry" w/ conditioner

I even tried to detangle under running water w/ my hair soaked in conditioner and even though the water pressure stretched my hair out a little, this method was a no-no for me b/c the water would just wash away all my good conditioner so the slip would not last long enough for me to successfully detangle my dense hair-even in sections!

I honestly think it depends on your hair texture b/c I have a very small patch of silky 3B at my nape (weird huh!) LOL - but anyway, this section actually seems to stretch when wet and does not tangle nearly as much - I have NO problem detangling it when wet or dry w/ conditioner b/c unlike my the other 95% 4B hair, it does not shrink up as much --so I can see why those w/ looser textures would prefer to detangle soaking wet, it seems like it would be better b/c the water tends to make those curls lay down

 

[Aggie]

Almost always wet with tons of conditioner in my hair is how I detangle using a wide tooth detangling comb. It's easier for me this way. The best conditioners that have been extremely instrumental in this effort are Aussie Moist Conditioner, vo5 Moisture Milks Conditioners, Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Conditioner and Silicon Mix Conditioner.....so far.

 

[sound]

both.

I use my fingers and oil to detangle my dry hair before I wash/condition.
I use my denman to detangle my wet hair after I deep condition.

I do this once a week, or every other week (when my hair isn't twisted/protected) and I never have a problem with detangling my hair, I don't even struggle with ssk's.

4a texture

 

[Mook's hair]

It depends on what style I am coming out of but typically, I finger-detangle on dry hair.. then I use the wide-tooth comb or denman to detangle wet (soaked with conditioner.)

 

[RubyWoo]

I just wanted to update since I was frustrated when I started this thread..lol!

Since I started I this thread I've been detangling my hair on "dry", stretched hair with oil and conditioner in my hair. I have been detangling before I wash. I also wash and deep condition my hair in chunky twists. My hair has been thriving and I am much happier. No more tangles, no shed hairs getting trapped/tangled on my ends and I haven't been getting single strand knots.

Thank you again to all of you that responded. Your responses have helped my tremendously!

 

[chrisanddonniesmommy]

I'm transitioning; but, I detangle my hair while wet and in the shower. I make sure it has conditioner in it as well. I do not comb dry hair.

 

[silenttullip]

Wet with just water and a wide tooth

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Great thread. I found detangling to be very intimidating when I was natural. It was because I really had no clue how to treat my hair gently. The knots just drove me nuts. You have given me much to think about.

 

[loulou82]

I like to finger detangle on dry hair when it's slightly stretched and with oil applied. Letting water hit first causes my hair to shrink up. Detangling my hair shrunken will not do.

 

[loulou82]

I just wanted to update since I was frustrated when I started this thread..lol!

Since I started I this thread I've been detangling my hair on "dry", stretched hair with oil and conditioner in my hair. I have been detangling before I wash. I also wash and deep condition my hair in chunky twists. My hair has been thriving and I am much happier. No more tangles, no shed hairs getting trapped/tangled on my ends and I haven't been getting single strand knots.

Thank you again to all of you that responded. Your responses have helped my tremendously!

Are we hair twins?! This is me all the way. I'm glad you found your go-to method.

 

[Tene]

I detangle on wet hair.

 

[tocktick]

1) wet hair
2) after I've shampooed my hair with conditioner in it.

I've done it dry with oil once and with a fine tooth comb at that, my hair was fine and shed hair free. I can understand why you'd want to detangle dry. For me personally at this stage, it's not a route I'd take.

 

[RubyWoo]

I just wanted to update since I was frustrated when I started this thread..lol!

Since I started I this thread I've been detangling my hair on "dry", stretched hair with oil and conditioner in my hair. I have been detangling before I wash. I also wash and deep condition my hair in chunky twists. My hair has been thriving and I am much happier. No more tangles, no shed hairs getting trapped/tangled on my ends and I haven't been getting single strand knots.

Thank you again to all of you that responded. Your responses have helped my tremendously!

Another update.. I've been trying to perfect my detangling technique to decrease the time it takes me to detangle and this thread once again has helped me achieve another mini milestone.

So I recently tried using a different conditioner (something thicker and heavier). I used Aussie Moist conditioner and saturated my dry, stretched hair with it and then detangled afterwards. My detangling time was the lowest ever (20 min). My hair is longer so I am able to detangle in larger sections now. The comb glided through my hair with ease. I was easily able to get all the shed hair out and any tangles that I encountered. The thickness and heaviness of the conditioner helped elongate my hair which also made combing my hair very easy. I also used ALOT of conditioner. Alot more than I have used previously.

Also, since my last update, I still haven't been getting many ssks. I definitely attribute that to my detangling method and washing/deep conditioning on twists.