Natural hair is beautiful but can be frustrating to keep healthy. When you are taking care it’s important to know how to detangle your natural hair without breaking it. Tangling is one of the leading physical causes of hair breakage and can leave you thinking your hair doesn’t grow, It’s difficult to deal with and have you dreading wash days. I’ve compiled a list of 8 things you should remember when detangling your natural hair to make it an easier time for you and your hair.
Cut Your Nails
Not something anyone speaks about but nothing will tell you you have broken nails/ chipped nails faster than when you detangle your hair. When running your hands through your hair it won’t miss the opportunity to snag and break your hair strands. Hair getting ripped out getting caught in your nails leads to breakage but it also weakens your nails with the friction. Before you touch your hair check that your nails are smooth without cracks or dents on your nail tip using a nail file or nail clippers. I like to run it over fabric and see if it catches and cut and file til your nails don’t get caught on anything.
Wet Your Hair
Detangling your hair whilst it is dry is a cardinal sin and if its something you do it probably speaks to why you might dread detangling your hair. I liken it to pasta when it is dry it breaks easily as opposed to when its cooked and is more malleable easy to move around. Most if not all of our hair textures need to be detangled wet so if you are detangling in the shower great. If not wet your hair with a spray bottle and make sure it is saturated.
Divide Your Hair into Sections
For those who dread wash days and detangling every time the occasion approaches because you find it overwhelming it’s easier to work in small sections. Divide your hair into 4/6 sections using clips or hairbands. Half in the back and front and detangle each section at a time. This also means you are more thorough in those sections.
Give Your Hair Some Slip.
Whilst its important to wet your hair its equally important to put a product in your hair that will give it some slip. This will reduce the friction between strands releasing them and allowing you to pull them apart gently. A conditioner, hair mask anything works just as long as it feels more loose.
Stretch Your Hair When Detangling Your Natural Hair
When detangling your hair I recommend stretching your hair out slightly whilst working your comb or brush through the strands. It encourages your strands to separate and when your hair is in a stretched state it is less prone to re-tangling.
Work Slowly
This is not a rush job especially if you are taking your hair out after a protective style. Whilst I don’t think it should take hours you should be able to estimate how long it takes you giving yourself ample time. When you try to rush detangling your hair it leads to pulling and snagging leading to breakage and more tangling.
Finger Detangle
Finger combing is a very beneficial way of detangling natural hair that consists of using solely your fingers to remove shed hair and tangles from your natural hair as opposed to using combs and/or brushes. Finger detangling is great for the more finer detangling. Your fingers can detect the knots and clumps in your hair and you can effectively separate strands with more precision than any comb or brush.
Use Tools Designed Specifically For Detangling Your Natural Hair
Styling brushes and combs are not always versatile enough to detangle your hair. I recommend getting one good brush and comb specifically designed to detangle natural hair.
If one of your goals is length retention then these are practices that are integral to your hair health and growth over time. It gets easier to do over time and you’ll find it easier each time you do it to the point you’ll forget this was ever the bane of your existence.
Bye Now X