Natural hair enthusiasts know the struggle of trying to run a comb through dry hair, especially after skipping a couple of wash days. As a naturalista, you already know that tangled hair and knots are a big part of growing your natural hair. This is why detangling remains a crucial step in any natural hair care routine.
Detangling means removing the knots and tangles that come with kinky and curly natural hair, preventing matting, split ends and breakage in natural hair. Detangling makes styling your hair a lot easier; it also helps your hair retain moisture and absorb products quickly.
Here are 5 tips to keep in mind when detangling your hair:
Detangle Before And After Shampooing: It is often advised that you detangle your hair before you use a shampoo. This is because shampoo often makes your hair stick together and trying to comb your hair at this point could lead to breakage. So, you should start by detangling your hair to not only remove the tangles in your hair but to ensure the even distribution of the shampoo.
After rinsing out the shampoo, be sure to detangle once again to make sure there are no knots in your hair caused by the shampoo.
- Always Use A Conditioner
The first tip to properly detangle your hair is to make sure it is saturated with conditioner, adding the moisture it needs to unravel properly. It is essential that your natural hair is properly lubricated before you begin detangling to prevent your hair from cutting and breaking. This is because the thicker and kinkier your hair gets, the harder it becomes to loosen the hair strands and smoothen the cuticle.
So you must take time to thoroughly coat your hair from tip to root with detangling conditioner. Opt for a hydrating detangling conditioner to add more moisture to your hair.
- Section Your Hair
Before you start detangling, you must section your hair, regardless of how short or long our natural hair is. Trying to detangle all of your hair at once could tire you out quickly and also poses a risk of you detangling incorrectly.
Sectioning your hair also allows your conditioner to be evenly distributed in your hair, so people with thick hair require even more sections. For those with short hair, you only need a few sections. On the other hand, for medium length and long hair; you can do with four to five sections. Use a tail comb or your fingers to divide your hair into section and keep them out of the way as you detangle with a hairband or hair clips.
- Use A Detangling Brush
Detangling brushes are often advised over using your fingers to detangle your hair. This is because there might be knots which your fingers cannot run through and pulling at these knots could cut your hair. Detangling brushes makes it a whole lot easier to detangle your hair, saving you time and energy.
As a tip, you can start by using your fingers to gently ease tangles apart, do this instead of just raking your fingers downward into knots. Then you can follow up with a detangling brush, remember to work your way from tip to root. That is, start off brushing the tip of your hair, making sure it is tangle-free before moving up the length of your hair to your roots.
- Be Gentle
The trick to detangling properly is not how hard you pull at a knot. Rough detangling would only cause you pain, hair breakage and damage. This is why it is advised that you be as gentle as you can while detangling your hair.
Detangle slowly and carefully all through your hair, particularly at the ends of your hair which are the oldest and weakest parts of your hair.=
Proper hair care is very important for a beautiful, voluminous natural hair. This is why you must care for your natural hair, and a great hair care routine must include detangling. Detangling not only keeps your hair tangle-free, but it also helps you evenly distribute other hair products you use around your hair.
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