Now, every natural girl, curly girl, kinky girl and coily girl HATES tangles. They are annoying, time-consuming (to remove carefully) and counterproductive to our hair growth goals. They can make washday a hellish nightmare, and a transitioners biggest problem.
BEST HAIR TOOLS FOR NATURAL HAIR
Who wants that? I am not saying washday should be an orgasmic experience (as the old Herbal Essence commercials would have you believe) but they should at least not be something we hate and put off doing. It seems I have slowly moved away from tangles becoming a weekly occurrence and I just realized this the past few weeks. There are a few tips I’ve learned over the past year but there are also some vital tools that have really kept those tangles at bay.
Water
Water is so essential for our hair. Water is hands down the best moisturizer and our hair craves
it! Now, it should seem as no surprise
that water is a valued tool for combating tangles. While I am in the shower, on either wash do
or just reviving my curls, I first allow the water to run through and down my
hair. I set it saturate the hair and
bring it back to life.
I then, even before applying any product, gently run my fingers through the hair while the water is running. This is allowing the water to move through all the hairs and allowing it to help remove any tangles that are even THINKING about forming. Now, I’m not yanking and if I feel resistance, I stop and move on to the next section. This is just supposed to be waking up my hair. The water is moisturizing my hair and making it easier to manage without breakage.
Conditioner
Leave-in conditioner, deep conditioner, cheap conditioner, ultra expensive conditioner….whatever, it truly does not matter as long as it works. Conditioner is made to condition the hair and once you place it in your hair it should be making the hair easier to manage and work through.
After the water has worked its way through your hair it’s now time to help breakdown some more stubborn tangles and you need to slather it on. I mean slather it! I would rather use too much conditioner than fight with my hair so I don’t mind using a lot and it’s part of the Curly Girl Method. Smooth the conditioner through the hair and if you have one with a great slip then you have found gold!
Fingers
Finger detangling is amazing. My finger work better than any comb created by man. Even though I used to detangle with a wide-tooth comb, I’ve only used a comb to create a part in my hair in almost a year! Finger detangling allows you to feel the tangle prior to yanking it and it is far more gentle than a comb. It’s cheaper too and you don’t have to try and find it! I have also found less shed hair by using my fingers.
HOW TO EFFECTIVELY DETANGLE TRANSITIONING HAIR
Natural Oils
Applying oils to our natural tresses is nothing new to most naturals but have you tried it when working with tangles? Try applying an oil of your choosing to the conditioner before applying to sectioned hair. This allows the conditioner to maximize it’s softness and glide. I like a use few sprays of Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Reconstructive Finishing Elixir. My sister hipped me to this tidbit and I’ve been using it ever since.
Water, conditioner, fingers and oils. All four tools have pretty much eliminated tangles from my wash day and co-wash routines. I have less shedding hairs too because there are less tangles to fight. My 4 tools prep my hair for maximum softness and manageability. Sounds like a lot of work? Well, think about all the time you spend tugging and tearing at your hair and then let me know what sounds like a lot. My wash day may be long but it is drama free and when you think about it…who that heck wants hair drama in the shower?
You cannot go wrong with these four newly naturals,
Sabrina
GREAT PRODUCTS MENTIONED
So true, water is very important. I'm now a true finger detangler! Even with my kinky coily hair it works much better than a comb. I usually finger detangle before using any tool.
I love using oils to detangle my hair. I usually use my fingers to detangle because I try not to use combs in my hair too often because it's so fine. Great suggestions!
Thanks lady. I love using oils with my hair.
My hair is so curly after my BC a year ago. I have yet to find a moisturizer that doesn't make my name sticky. What can I use so that my curls are fresh and doesn't feel like they are greased down?
Thanks and stay warm when it does get cold there.
Thank you!!! I always seem to forget about glycerin until winter time. Need to be smarter! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Diva, I, with you, do not want to fight with my hair in the shower or anywhere else. I use a similar method as you do. My hair is curly and wavy, so once I wash my scalp, I use my fingers to un-untangle my hair. I have to be careful with leave-in conditioners because everything I put on my hair has a tendency to show up as small, narley, bumps around my hair line. I still condition my hair, but I only leave it in for a while before rinsing it out. I also use a conditioner shampoo to cleanse my hair.
Namaste, Sabrina 🙂
That can be hard but what brands have you tried and are you talking conditioner or gel? I use shea moisture and kinky curly but have RECENTLY tried Curls with much success.