Q&A – 10 Tips for Easily Detangling Natural Hair

Dear KiK, 

I need to find something that will make detangling my hair easier . Do y'all know of any?

See the list of products I use to easily detangle natural hair at the end of this post.

Dear Steph, 

No one product works perfectly on everyone's hair but I have found a few products and tricks and techniques that have worked very well for me. 

1. Give the detangler/conditioner time to work. Don't just slap it on and start detangling because simply coating your hair is not enough. Give the conditioner or detangler time to work at really moisturizing your strands. Always apply water first. It is the ultimate moisture-giver and then add a moisturizing product for more slip.
2. Detangle on damp hair with your deep conditioner before getting into the shower to shampoo. As mentioned above, give the conditioner or detangler some time to work before you begin detangling. Next, put your hair in loose plaits to maintain the hair's detangled state and wash as usual with a moisturizing shampoo. Follow-up with a leave-in conditioner and then only finger detangle.
3. Add a little extra virgin olive oil to your conditioner to encourage more moisture and slip which helps you to get through knots easier. Wash your hair with a good detangling shampoo. I suggest Beautiful Textures' Tangle Taming Moisturizing Shampoo. It really does tame tangles. If you have to use a drying clarifying shampoo, still follow up with a conditioning or tangle taming shampoo.
4. Only detangle when wet to avoid breaking or snapping off strands of hair. If you must detangle on dry hair, mist it with water and add a moisturizer to ensure that your hair is a moist and pliable as possible. 
5. Do not attempt to detangle in the shower or without sectioning if your hair is long. Your legs will get tired and you will become impatient. Detangle with conditioner in your hair patiently and in sections. Just make sure that you have enough time. Don't stress about it but use it as time to pamper and stay acquainted with your hair.
6. Try detangling after a wash with a leave-in conditioner that has lots of slip instead of a wash-out conditioner. This can help you to skip a step after the shower. I loved the Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Conditioner or the nuNAAT Karité Special Leave-in Detangler. They both work very, very well so that getting through knots is a breeze. 
7. Always detangle with a large tooth comb first. The Tangle Teaser is a a definite tangle tamer too. Try using it instead or or in conjunction with the large tooth comb.
8. Detangle in manageable, small sections. 
9. Detangle your ends first them work your way up to the root.
10. Is your hair extremely matted? Try finger detangling on dampened, conditioned hair before shampooing. Use the same technique of starting with your ends first. 

The list below shows the products mentioned in this post. 

• Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Moisturizing Shampoo
•  nuNAAT Karité Special Leave-in Detangler
• Beautiful Textures Tangle Taming Leave-in Conditioner
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• Tangle Teaser (detangling brush)
• Shower Comb

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