Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Detangling natural hair
• Part 2 of 2: Prevent tangles
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Whether your hair is relaxed or natural, detangling requires patience and a gentle approach. Water, thick conditioner, and your own fingers all help you separate knots and tangles without causing damage.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Detangling natural hair

1. Divide your hair. Divide your hair into convenient sections with your fingers. If you have long hair, twist it in four or more sections. If you have shorter hair, use barrettes. Either way, treat your hair as gently as possible.
   • While working with divided hair takes longer, it significantly reduces the amount of tangles that can occur.
2. Wash your hair. Wash one section at a time and tighten or rotate again when done. Smooth your hair over your scalp until it feels completely wet. Gently apply the shampoo or other detergent in a smoothing motion from scalp to ends. Massage the scalp with your fingertips and then rinse thoroughly with water. Tilt your head back and rinse in the direction your hair falls to reduce tangles.
   • Try a gentle washing method, such as washing with conditioner, homemade cleanser blends, or shampoo that doesn't contain sulfates, parabens, or silicones. Sulfates, parabens and silicones are harmful to the hair and cause frizz and hair damage, such as split ends and dry hair.
   • Do not pile hair on your head while washing. This will only cause more tangles and breaks. If your hair is very tangled when wet, consider taking a wide-tooth comb in the shower and gently loosening the tangles. You can cause shorter and split ends or damage if you are too rough or use a brush.
3. Apply conditioner. Infuse your hair section by section with a rich conditioner. A rich conditioner ensures that your hair strands slide easily against each other, causing tangles to loosen almost on their own. Detangling conditioners, hair mayonnaise, or other creamy conditioners generally work best. You probably have to try different products to find one that suits your hair type.
   • When applying conditioner, concentrate on the ends of the hair, the oldest and easiest area to damage.
   • Make your own detangling conditioner Aloe vera. Cut it Aloe vera leaf in the center, scoop out the gel and mix until foamy and slightly gelatinous.
   • Olive oil or another medium, or a heavy natural oil are also fine for this.
4. Put on a plastic hair cap. Cover your conditioner-coated hair with a plastic cap. Leave this on for 10 to 20 minutes so that your hair can absorb the oils.
5. Untangle with your fingers. Let go of some of your hair. Untangle as much as possible with your fingers. Don't use force.
   • If your hair starts to dry out, add more water. The weight of the water pulls your hair down, making curls longer and less likely to tangles.
6. Finish with a wide tooth comb or brush. If you can't do it with your fingers, switch to a seamless wide tooth comb or coarse brush with rubber bristles (like a Denman brush). Start at the ends and gradually comb your way upwards as the hair detangles.
   • After detangling all the sections, the hair should be braided, twisted or pinned in such a way that it cannot tangle again.
7. Rinse the conditioner. A detangling conditioner is usually too thick to sit comfortably in. Rinse and apply a lighter leave-in conditioner instead. Style your hair as usual.
   • Most conditioners say rinse with warm water, but some stylists get better results with cold water.

Part 2 of 2: Prevent tangles

1. Apply a hair mask. Applying a hair mask regularly restores natural oils, leaving your hair smooth. For best results, apply a hair mask immediately after detangling.
   • Hot oil treatments are another great option.
2. Protect your hair while sleeping. Put your hair up at night and wear a satin or silk hair cap. At the very least, sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase instead of cotton that can rip or tangle your hair.
3. Change your hairstyle before tangling your hair. While braids, twists, and other protective styles reduce exposure to damage, they can't do it forever. Leaving them on for too long can cause stubborn tangles.

Tips

• Natural hair is easier to detangle when wet and infused with conditioner.
• If you need to detangle your hair when it's dry, use a leave-in conditioner or moisturizer, a wide-tooth comb and a little patience.
• It is not recommended to detangle natural hair when it is dry. Recommended only for when you wash your hair.
• If you encounter really nasty tangles, the best thing to do is try to work your fingers through them to reduce breakage. Never force a comb through the tangles. The gentler you handle it, the better.

Warnings

• Your hair should not feel rough after applying a product. This could be a sign that the product is damaging your hair.
• Never detangle your hair with a fine comb. That's just asking for trouble.
• Do not comb through a braid; you will only get more tangles from this. Take out the braid and untangle it.
• Never comb the hair from root to tip! This causes a big break.

Necessities

• Shampoo (optional)
• Conditioner
• Coarse comb and / or coarse brush
• Pins / scrunchies to divide the hair
• Water