What's the decision on being knot-free?

[Leshia]

Hey naturals, have we decided what's the best remedy for knots on the very ends of the hair? I bought a denman today and I'm hoping that brushing with conditioner will help but wanted to know if this was just a result of being natural...

 

[SEMO]

Well I don't claim to have the definitive answer, but I got some great advice from a natural in another thread about knots and tangling. She suggested to put on your moisturizer seal with an oil (I use jojoba) then let it aridry about 80% and then reapply the moisturizer and oil. She said it was b/c the first time you put them on your hair may absorb them too fast and later the strands will be prone to sticking together and knotting. Well, I tried this technique a few days ago and it works amazingly well. I feel like I have my hair back. It had been acting crazy and knotting up something fierce . That simple step helped so much .

ETA: thank you to whoever recommended it.

 

[Leshia]

Hmm, okay, so my hair might be dry? Interesting. I'll try that as I haven't been using ANY oil since BC'ing a few ago. I wonder why the knots are on the very, very end though. Anyway, I've never had this problem before, ever, so any info helps. Thank you!

 

[cmw45]

I'mg gonna need to dry this one.

 

[SEMO]

Hmm, okay, so my hair might be dry? Interesting. I'll try that as I haven't been using ANY oil since BC'ing a few ago. I wonder why the knots are on the very, very end though. Anyway, I've never had this problem before, ever, so any info helps. Thank you!

I think most naturals get those tiny knots on the ends of their hair (mostly on single strands of hair). I do think that dry hair increases the chances of this happening, b/c dry hair doesn't slide as easily and may knot easier. Think of how much easier it would be to unknot a string of silk versus a wool one.

 

[PinkSkates]

Although I don't think we can totally eliminate knots in our natural hair, I have very very few knots on the ends of my hair. I contrubute this to my detangling process. I use 3 different size combs to detangle my hair.
1. Detangle with my hands first
2. Large wide tooth comb for the big knots
3. Medium size Conair Tourmaline Ceramic comb
4. Tiny teeth (rat-tail size teeth) Ceramic comb

I do this after I shampoo and when I comb my hair dry; I use my medium size and then my rat tail size teeth. I think that's why hair stylist at the salon use the rat tail combs. You need those to get all the tiny knots out of your hair. And I am anal about keeping my ends sealed amd moisturized and straight.

 

[SVT]

I remember a long time ago Jade21 told me to braid my hair and oil my ends at night. I didn't take heed. erplexed

I'm going to start nighttime oiling. I don't know if I can be consistent with the braiding. I like what was suggested to Semo too.

 

[hopeful]

I remember a long time ago Jade21 told me to braid my hair and oil my ends at night. I didn't take heed. erplexed

I'm going to start nighttime oiling. I don't know if I can be consistent with the braiding. I like what was suggested to Semo too.

This is great advice. I have not gotten too many knots. I think it's because I can't wear a wash and go very well. Whenever I do wash, apply product, and go, in a day or two my hair is a mess. So most of the time my hair is either in twists or a twistout and I retwist every night. Thorough detangling + twists or braids + oil = very few (if any) knots. I also find that fooling with your hair too much can cause knots too.

 

[Leshia]

Well, now I'm thinking of maybe it's because I do wash and go's all the time and don't comb nor brush. It's been the last few days that I've found like three knots on the ends of a few strands of hair. It's not been one strand of hair but more like four or five bound together by a knot. After I wash, I use a leave in and sort of massage it into scalp while kind of tousling my hair a bit to get it really curly and separated. This might be why I have knots for the first time but I wonder if oiling would still help.