Totally Detangled Wet, But Super Tangled Dry

[JKinkylocks]

Hi guys. I have always wanted to ask this question, but I've been mulling it over and pondering it so I could put my words in order so here goes.

I am a 4b-4z natural, completely heat free. What I've noticed with my hair and what other naturals with similar textures have told me, is that I can detangle my hair wet till the cows come home, but once it's dry, that's it. If I'm separating a twist/braid out, I've got to be super careful because it'll be "snap-crackle-pop-ville" if I don't. Now, this has improved with my change in leave-ins and conditioning methods (adding olive oil to my condish in particular), but still, to some degree, my hair sticks together. The fact of the matter is, I can't take a comb and run it through my hair when dry as I could if it were wet or part it for that matter. And from what I understand that's one of the huge differences between the 1-3 hair and the 4 hair.

So, now I've come to the realization that my dry hair is indeed still detangled, it's just that it sticks together when dry. Why is this? Does this mean that all the conditioning agents claiming to "smooth and leave the cuticle laying flat" don't really work on 4 hair once dry, or it wears off or something? Because it seems to me that as it dries, regardless of what I slather it down with, my cuticles will raise up so they can latch on to the cuticles of the hair next to it.

What do you guys think about this? Is my analization of this problem correct? I totally don't mind having big, poofy, natural, highly textured hair, 'cause with my conditioner concoction and my tangle teezer, I've got the detangling down pat. But if someone could create something that would make the CUTICLE STAY DOWN FOR REAL, I feel that's the only way I'll acheive true length retention.

Please comment!

 

[mzteaze]

It could be time for a dusting (or trim). My hair used to mat together before I addressed my dry porous ends. It was cool in the water and a tangled mess when dry.

Best I could suggest is to get a dusting/trim, and start using a product like Porosity Control (Joico makes a similar product for Cuticles).

 

[JKinkylocks]

That makes sense. It is time to re hen-digo my hair which is when I usually dust my ends. But even if my ends are dusted my hair still sticks together (not as much now, b/c I put olive oil in my condish. Like, for example, if I grab a section of twisted out hair to separate, it's not just the ends that are hard to separate, but the length as well. I've been mulling over the whole Porosity Control product, but I wanted to see if other naturals found that it solved the specific issue of separating--or even combing--dry hair. I always thought Porosity Control was so that your hair didn't lose moisture after it was applied.

Thanks for responding! Others will add their experiences.

 

[libertysince05]

I'm type 4 and the only way to have fully detangled hair is by doing the detangling on dry hair (with either a leave in or pre-poo) and washing it in twists/braids.
I find that detangling wet doesnt remove all the shed hair.

 

[nurseN98]

It might just be your leave in too. I'm a 3c/4a and i have basically the same problem except detangling for me is a real pain cause my ends and certain parts coil onto each other. So in addition to doing every acv or cool water rinses i find a few things help. One is using either a microfiber towel or tshirts to dry my hair. Another is using heavy creams like qhemet or something similar. This product has to be thick and have water or aloe vera plus shea or avocado (or whatever) butter & some oil. That gets expensive so i've resorted to using cones. I use serums after i deep condition as a leave in. I can wng and not have as much trouble detangling or doing braidouts or whatever. With these i can actually detangle or comb through dry hair which i do on occasion.

Sorry for being long winded & i hope you can find what will work well for you.

 

[Fine 4s]

I started a similar thread that didn't get much track and had similar questions.

There is no way I can run a comb through my hair unless it is blowdried straight or flat iron so I don't even TRY to. EVER. Period.

My hair also gets tangled throughout the length. So, I usually wear styles that can last for weeks and that only need refreshers like a spray leave-in for moisture, add an oil and retwist or re-shape but no detangling. That is reserved for wash days.

Since I no longer detangle on wet hair with DC in the shower, I find the whole process simple and more enjoyable when I detangle on dry hair (well, with the help of a moisturizing agent which can sometimes be water) prior to the wash. I also see less breakage when I do it this way perhaps because I take my time to detangle and not rush through before the hot water runs out. I simply grab a section and carefully pull it apart, spray water or apply product, detangle starting at the root and move up and down throughout the length.

Hope you get some ideas!

 

[virtuenow]

You described my hair-- which is one of the reasons I don't airdry much. I remember someone saying there is a proper way to air dry just like there is a proper way to blow dry. I'm still trying to figure out the airdry.

My hair has always stuck together once air dried. It used to dry as hard as a rock too. However, it is much better now that I do oil rinses- this also helped w/detangling (ill link u to a thread when I'm on computer "don't sleep on oil rinses")...

someone in that thread said, porosity issues are much better addressd by getting your protein - moisture balanced. I agree, my hair is much better now thaat I'm addressing it from that angle for the past 2.5months... now that I do I'll rinses, my hair holds wter much better, and the cuticles hv respnded.

The porosity ctrl/acv rinses only dried my hair out no matter hw diluted. They certainly appeared to be a quick fix at first, my cuticle tightened up and laid right down. But I paid for it later.

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[Nonie]

I haven't read all the answers, but one thing I don't think you realize is you cannot let 4B hair dry unstretched. If my hair is loose (like if I've been wearing it out), before I wet it, it will be in braids. I will undo and comb through then rebraid one braid at a time through every stage of the wash: shampoo, rinse, conditioning, rinse, ACV rinse. And because I rebraid at every stage, I'm in braids at the end and will not touch it until it dries in the very braids I ended my wash in.

You can see below an example of this procedure. Your braids don't have to be as small as mine, but I was only washing the bangs loose (the rest of my hair was in twists) which is why I could afford small braids--since I was working on a small section. The braid to the left is an example of how the undone section looked like till it dried. The middle section shows you how stretched and easy to work with my hair is after drying in braids. And once dry, I can now twist the untangled hair.

By the way, no comb was necessary at this point at all coz my hair strands had been locked in their detangled/separated state by the braids they dried in, so separating to twist was a breeze.

 

[JKinkylocks]

You guys are right about the ACV thing. I thought it was just me! Every time I ACV'd or rinsed in cold, my hair would be harder than ever. And I don't know what oil rinsing is, put putting oil in my conditioner has definitely made my braid/twistouts easier to separate. I just wish I didn't always have to rewet my hair to redo my home...and that I could just comb it dry.

 

[virtuenow]

You guys are right about the ACV thing. I thought it was just me! Every time I ACV'd or rinsed in cold, my hair would be harder than ever. And I don't know what oil rinsing is, put putting oil in my conditioner has definitely made my braid/twistouts easier to separate. I just wish I didn't always have to rewet my hair to redo my home...and that I could just comb it dry.

Here is the link for the oil rinsing thread: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/sho...d.php?t=150965

 

[EllePixie]

This is just something that comes along with having curly or kinky hair. Yes, looser curls tangle less, but all curly hair shrinks, so as your hair shrinks at different rates, the curls tend to wind around one another and form tangles - which is even more of an issue if you have very dense hair. This is why wash n gos (for me) are better than my hair drying in a puff or ponytail - when my hair is grouped even closer together, it has more of a chance to tangle than if it's left out.

However, if your ends are tangling significantly, I agree about the trimming part.

 

[ms-gg]

I agree with Nonie and Elle. Natural hair is tangly by nature. That is just what it does. To reduce it you can let your hair dry stretched out via braids, twists, banding, flat twists, etc-whatever floats your boat. But at the end of the day, I will never ever ever ever be able to run a comb through my hair as if it is relaxed or straight, hell, even straight weave hair gets tangled on the ends....

Nothing is wrong with your hair because of this, it is normal.

 

[ceecy29]

Yep you accurately described my hair and that's why I don't waste time detangling.

 

[AFashionSlave]

What is your routine exactly?
What products do you use?
Do you have hard water?

 

[prettynatural]

I don't think our hair is made to be comb slick, slide through proof on dried hair. I agree with the recommendations that you have received here.

1. Oil rinse after shampoo.
2. Dry the hair in a stretched state
3. Detangle before washing and wash in sections.

Also, I want to add. Acv can be drying and it can be over acidic. Aloe vera juice has the same ph as our hair and skin. You may achieve better results by using cold aloe vera juice after wash and condish. Ph balance has worked wonders for closed cuticles and smoother hair for me. Also I still have follow up with moisturizers and sealing with oil.

Also, putting aloevera juice in my condish works wonders with smoothnes and closing the cuticles. I use aloe vera juice in all my condishes and moisturizers.

Hth

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[virtuenow]

Prettynatural made a good point with the aloe vera juice. I use Chicoro's mix as my pre-poo treatment in a spray bottle before I co-wash, I think it also is helpin my porous issues, heres the link: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=509482