this pic always blows my mind. What in Sam Hillis she about to do with that fine tooth comb?!
Hola Chicas,
After yesterday’s pre-wash oil discussion, and my own pre-poo experiment last night (with Extra Virgin Olive Oil applied to my dry, dirty, nearly 4 week old hair), I started wondering about folk’s detangling practices. Many curlies detangle dry, many wet and full of conditioner. I also know that some, like Chicoro, start the detangling process dry, and finish up in the shower. Since I’ve been going much longer between wash sessions, I’ve had to detangle on dry hair many, many times. I notice that as long as I apply an oil or curl cream/butter, use my fingers first, then follow up with a seamless comb, or Denman Paddle brush, that my strands seem to do just fine, and I don’t lose crazy amounts of hair. This blows my mind, because 6 years ago, at the start of this curly journey, I would have never entertained detangling my dry hair. It was a cardinal sin… right up there with using mineral oil and cone laden products.
I had an experience while home in St. Louis that nearly brought me to tears. My hair hadn’t been washed in 4 weeks. I had detangled it several times for dry Twist-n-Curls, but had wore a bun for the 5 days leading up to the wash. I took out the pony tail holder, hopped right in the shower, wet my hair thoroughly, and applied Herbal Essence’s Totally Twisted. Instant matting– I’m talking full fledged locks. It was bonkers, and I lost A LOT of hair (even more than normal and I’m still shedding massively due to the pregnancy). I proceeded to detangle, rinse, shampoo, then condition. I wonder if the session would’ve turned out different, had I started the detangling process at the sink.
I can’t really say if I lose more hair in the shower or at the sink… but I’m trying to figure it out ASAP because this post-partum shedding is kicking my butt– the trashcan in my bathroom is FULL of my hair. Seriously.
Is it just me, or have you noticed that many long hair naturals detangle dry?
Do you find more hair in the comb when you tackle it dry, or wet?
If you detangle dry, what’s your process?
if i tried detangling dry id pull out chunks of my scalp… im not tenderheaded but my scalp does not like torture i have to spritz my hair wet and i cant shampoo without detangling and when i detangle i comb out damp hair then i twist it up then i ACV my scalp to clarify and also soften my hair then i drench my hair then i go in the br and put shampoo on the sections one by one running my fingetrs through my hair and massaging my scalp witht he shampoo then i retwist and i wash it twisted undoing ones im afraid might still have poo but tht usually doesnt happen then i dontition and im tangle free its great!!!!
I detangle under running water in the shower. First I shampoo with a sulfate-free shampoo, I rub my scalp not my hair under running water until the shampoo is out. Then, I apply a capful of olive oil to four sections of hair, then apply leave in conditioner and smooth it down each section of hair, then I use a comb on each section under running water. If tangles are not coming out I add more leave-in conditioner. Takes me all of 5-10 minutes. I do not go more than two days without wetting and detangling my hair. I lose a tiny bit of shed hair in my comb. To keep my hair and my length I never go more than two days without wetting and detangling, even if I skip the shampoo I still wet, oil, condition and detangle my hair.
I just recently did my big chop! (YeaY) Before I even attempt to detangle my hair I use Extra Virgin Olive Oil to loosen up my hair and to lift up the dirt. I then put a shower cap on and leave it on for 30 min or overnight depending on how much time I have. I wash the oil out thoroughly in a downwards motion with my head tilting back under the water. I then shampoo and condition the same way. When I am done I shake some of the water out of my hair and put in some leave in conditioner. After this I style as usual!!!
Do you detangle wet or dry, and what's your hair type and length? – I De-tangle my hair when it is wet as i find it much easier, i have a short adjacent hair cut, like the old Victoria Beckham but a Tad longer.
Is it just me, or have you noticed that many long hair naturals detangle dry? – most long hair naturals in-fart de-tangle wet, because when it becomes dry it gets matted and much harder to de-tangle.
Do you find more hair in the comb when you tackle it dry, or wet? – I find more hair in my comb when i comb it dry. (fact- up to 100 hairs fall out your head everyday, going through the anogen, catogen and tanogen process)
If you detangle dry, what's your process? – Disentangling from points to roots, therefore you are tackling those knots quicker then what you would if you attempted combing from roots to points. And it dose not elasticate your hair. Im a junior hairdresser if you did not guess.
i do sink conditions, and shower conditions.
sink – finger part in three sections (two front, one back). one section at a time i spray water then i use a cheap CLARIFYING conditioner. i smooth lots of it in with my fingers. spray more water to emulsify. most of the tangles just melt out, even with a w&g. then i comb it out from bottom to top with wide tooth plastic pic (it's easier for me to handle than a comb for some reason) and loosely braid it before i get in the shower. if i'm don't want to wet it again. i spray water, add aloe/oil mix and detangle gently.
shower – basically same sectioning and conditioning method. but then i keep each section under the shower stream and comb out at the same time. then add a moisturizing conditioner.
if i'm shampooing i will add shampoo to one section, smooth it from top to bottom til it feels clean, then i hold the ends with one hand and with the other i scrub my scalp with fingertips. this prevents tangles. rinse, condition, twist. DONE!
detangling NEVER takes me more than 30min.
i don't do dry detangling, it breaks my hair.
My hair type is a mixture of 3a/3b/3c and 4a curls. I always detangle my hair wet while there is some conditioner in it. When I detangle my hair dry it tends to break off. My hair length stops at the nape of my neck/
Thanks Anonymous @January 16, 2011 1:39 AM! I never thought of using Aussie Moist for detangling! Thanks for the tip!
Also, thanks Breanna @ January 15, 2011 5:23 PM. I have some Sta-soft-fro and Pro-Line Comb-Thru left over from my twa days! I thought they would come in handy some day!!
OOooooooo detangling detangling DETANGLING!! Since i get a lot of single strand knots when im dry, i have learned to detangle AFTER the shower when i have applied a ton of conditioner!!
P.S.- im not sure of my hair type, but i think its like a mixture of 4a and 4b (but mainly 4b)
OK…here's my lil routine thing.
1). take down current style
2). SLIGHTLY separate the pieces of hair that are stuck together (due to the style u had ur hair in). Remember to carefully separate as close to the ends as possible and work your way up.
3). Once your satisfied with the amount u detangle, jump in the shower (no water yet) just let the steam open up those cuticles.
4) Little by little, add water and pile on that conditioner and SMOOSH.
5) let conditioner set in, get out the shower, part hair in sections (4 for me), and detangle carefully (with a wide tooth comb) starting with the ends and working your way up.
6) complete the process and cover with a shower cap for about 20mins.
7) Uncover the conditioned hair and rinse with COLD water (to seal cuticles) and wrap hair in an old t-shirt to soak up excess water.
8) after all that, hair should be fresh and tangle free!! 🙂
Not to sure about my hair type, 3c maybe a little 4a? What works for my hair is a pre-poo oil treatment, some EVOO or EVCO. The next day with a little water and maybe some conditioner, the tangles seem to come out without a bit of trouble or large hair loss. But yeah, NOT washing your hair for longer than 2 weeks usually is a straight trip to tangle city.
I detangle dry!
I dont go longer than a week before i detangle! cannot imagine going two weeks, take that back I did once but never again talk about a panic attack! I detangle in the showere with conditioner it works the best for me!
I have type 4a/b hair. I big chopped my locs in May 2010. I was a wet with conditioner detangler for months, and I hated it. The sessions were long and frustrating, and my detangling comb ended up with massive amounts of shed hair. Then my sister started detangling hair while dry using the Mop Top Maven method, before washing. This was a revolutionary idea to me. I jumped on her bandwagon. Now I detangle my medium sized afro with a shower comb and a spritz bottle containing water and conditioner. My hair is usually stretched out from an flat twist or braid out. The amount of shed hair has gone down significantly. I'm loving it.
I confese i do it wet …
But very rare also dry
I don't know if this makes a big difference …. sincerly.
Do you detangle wet or dry, and what's your hair type and length?
– I detangle dry. I have 4a/4b collarbone length hair.
Is it just me, or have you noticed that many long hair naturals detangle dry?
-Yes. I noticed Sera2554from YouTube dry detangles.
Do you find more hair in the comb when you tackle it dry, or wet?
-I don't use combs to detangle. I only use my fingers. I lose an equal amount when I detangle on wet or dry hair.
If you detangle dry, what's your process?
-Section hair.
-Lightly spritz hair.
-Add EVCO to hair.
-Finger comb to remove shed hair and tangles.
I detangle once a week. It takes about 20-30 minutes. After detangling each section, I loosely twist it in preparation of the shampoo process.
For me I notice that I lose more hair at the sink then in the shower. I could saturate my hair with oils and butters and use a paddle brush, detangle comb or my fingers and I still lose more hair. My hair is definitely NOT a lover of dry detangling. And since I have been using Aussie Moist as my detangling conditioner and parting in four in the shower or at the kitchen sink(old school washing) I only have enough shedding frm my whole head to twirl around my index finger. That is a HUGE step in progress from the handful of fluff I used to get doing a dry detangle at the sink and a paddle brush detangle in the shower. Now it's finger and double sided detangle comb and it's great! I am post my first henna so I am looking forward to seeing how much better the shed will be after bi-weekly treatments.
So I decided to try this techinque today. Around 2pm I took my hair out of a bun, used coconut oil and used it on areas I though were dry and tangled. Then I just some coconut oil over the whole head. I put my hair in bun and went about my daily bidding. Later that night, I cowashed in the shower and my hair was alot softer & less shedding. I dont know if there was less shedding due to detangling before or coconut oil. So to those who stated that they didnt want to turn wash day in to a two day ritual. I didnt cover my hair and got the same effects….So I Hope this helps 🙂
I have found that detangling before my wash works best for me. I use a spray bottle with only water and I take sections of my hair and I spray it to get it really damp and I comb it through with a wide tooth comb. It makes the washing process much easier. I still always always always comb my conditioner through too. It makes a huge difference. I hope this helps 🙂
I totally agree with those who mentioned not going longer than a week (absolute MAX) without some form of detangling to prevent a nightmare later. It is normal to shed up to 100 hairs per day, whether you manipulate the hair or not. So, if they aren't removed ( by combing, for example), they can act as a net for other hair to get trapped in. I have 3c/4a fine hair that is BSL. I have never had much of a problem detangling. I comb my hair with a widetooth comb almost every other day, use water on it every single day, wash once a week, DC weekly, henna once month. I put a little moisturizer of some type on it daily as well. By the time wash day comes, my hair is very easy to comb through. I also use a widetooth shower comb if washing in the shower. I sometimes wash and condition in sections, but as long as I have conditioner in, it doesn't seem to matter if it is in sections.
Maybe for your hair shedding you could use Aloe Vera?
Excellent topic and perfect timing! I notice that detangling my dry hair works best. I used to shed and experience breakage when detangling dry, but the use of oils and butters has really helped. I'll never detangle wet again.
and I always use a good, heavy conditioner to help.
I always detangle wet, it just works better for me.
Reka and a couple of others hit on the truth. Going prolonged periods of time between removing shed hairs can lead to massive tangling. If not removed on a regular basis, those shed hairs will start to form a mesh that, when water finally hits them, will lock up like crazy. In my experience,do a dry detangling with an oil or moisturizer to remove the shed hairs, then
finish detangling in the shower with lots of conditioner. I personally cannot go more than a week to 10 days without at least co-washing or the buildup of shed hairs will cause too big of a meshed mess.–toot's mom
I have 3C/4A BSL hair and have never attempted to detangle on bone-dry hair…I'm scared!! I prefer to detangle in the shower with lots of conditioner…starting with my fingers and finishing with a seemless comb. When it isn't wash or co-wash day I use MopTopMaven's method of detangling on damp hair (water/conditioner mix). The tangles just fall free when my hair is wet.
~CurlyBlasian
Just tried dry detangling. AMAZING! I wish I'd started this sooner but I've been so caught up in keeping my hair moisturized and fearing the word dry that I didn't even consider this a possibility. Dry hair with some olive and coconut oil, a bit of conditioner and a couple squirts of the water bottle is all I need! I let that sit for about an hour before I detangle. I lost much less hair than I've seen myself lose in a while, it took a little less time and it was just easier and felt a lot better than when I used to saturate my hair with water. Everyone should definitely try this at least once.
My hair type is 4bc. I am transitioning. I have about 3 inches of natural hair and 4 inches of relaxed hair. I start my detangling process on dry hair using a hair creme/lotion. Next I rinse and apply HE Hello Hydration. I leave that on for about 15 mins. As I rinse it out I use a wide tooth comb to detangle my hair. I definitely find more hair in the comb if I skip the dry detangling leg of this process.
CurlyNikki, I just have to say that I am so thankful for your website! Before hoping onto your site, I was sitting here thinking about the detangling task I have before me either tomorrow or Monday, pondering what method I should try this time in attempts to not shed so much hair. I'm going to grab a cup of tea and read through the various responses to hopefully find some an applicable suggestion. Thanks y'all!
My hair is APL and I would guess 3c? I usually detangle my hair soaking wet with conditioner. After seeing all the replies about detangling on dry hair, I decided to try it today. I used olive oil to detangle before I washed. Well…it took twice as long and I lost more hair than usual. I guess I'll stick with my tried and true wet detangling.
Washing in sections has made a HUGE difference for me, it goes a long way towards preventing tangles. Glad I finally figured that one out.
I detangle my hair when it's damp or with some conditioner in it. I like to detangle with my wide comb or rat tail comb from the bottom and work my way to the roots. I've also decided to try another product that I had in my stash but didn't like it the 1st time around. I've found that using S-Curl Moisturizer/Activator Spray works better on dry hair. Also I twisted my hair with Long Aid Activator Gel can you say soft and moisturized from both of these products. I'm so glad that I figured out how to use the Scurl.
I find that detangling is easier the more often I wash my hair (i.e. detangling more often). If I were you, I'd try washing your hair every two weeks instead of four, especially if you're having increased shedding. I wash once a week and my detangling in the shower takes little time and I have long, thick, wiry, 4a hair. I've actually discovered that I can turn the water off and just detangle with a comb and my hair saturated with conditioner. Then I turn the water back on to rinse most of the conditioner out without disrupting the curl pattern too much.
Oh yeah, and I've COMPLETELY given up on the idea of detangling in the shower. With my hair type, and as gentle as I need to be, it's just simply not enough time. So I ALWAYS detangle at the sink….
@CurlyNikki – now I think you are the one with ESP. I have been researching detangling tools and techniques all week – trying to find the right one for me and my daughters.
I'm 4a/4b, and just cut my hair back to in-between APL/BSL.
Right now, I am finger detangling on dry hair to remove as many shed hairs as possible, then pre-pooing with cheapie conditioner and olive oil. Mostly oil, and just enough conditioner to dampen my hair, and I'm detangling with that PRIOR to shampooing.
After detangling in sections with the conditioner and oil, I twist each section, and rinse my hair really well. I shampoo in the twists, and after rinsing the shampoo, I take down the twists to finger detangle again while I add my deep conditioner. Twist it back up, and then rinse out the deep conditioner with the twists.
I've been struggling with finding the best tools. Right now I'm using a wide tooth comb initially, and following up with a not-wide-but-not-fine tooth comb. I have been stalking the tangle-teezer HARD all week, and I've convinced myself to give it a try next…
Hang in there with the PP shedding…Lawd have mercy, I know what you are going through!!
I have 3c/4a (mostly 4a) hair that's fine. It doesn’t appear thick unless I brush/comb it out after washing and leave it alone (it fluffs out). If I put any kind of product in it, that’s it for the volume! In the back it is growing its way past BSL when stretched; but on the sides it is shorter (past APL on one side, slightly shorter on the other). I keep my hair in twists and after taking them down (that’s the extent of ‘dry detangling’ for me), I damp detangle in sections before washing: I spray my hair all over with a water and conditioner mix (usually VO5), section it into 4 sections and then comb through each section using a wide tooth comb (starting at the ends) and/or my fingers (on knots). When I shampoo I work through the sections, massaging only the scalp (back and forth-not rotating, the less manipulation the better). Then I condition each section, combing through while the conditioner is in. I rinse in cool water; each section separately (as I loosen them) and then give it one final rinse loose. It takes a little longer, but I found that by adding the pre-shampoo/condition detangle session, I lose much less hair than trying to detangle in the shower.
DRY DRY DRY!!
I've always had trouble accepting the fact that everywhere [even in the curly community] it is acknowledged that hair is in it's most fragile state when wet, and shouldn't be manupulated yet w/curly hair, which is even more prone to breakage THIS is the time when we should to the most manipualtion…something just isn't right about that.
I would NEVER detangle my hair wet when relaxed and I will never again detangle my hair wet curly. I cut that out a loong time ago and I tell every natural I know to stop as well.
Oil it down [which is what I do] or spray it w/a lil CO and water to dampen it if u must but under no circumstance should you detangle wet hair!
-I detangle dry; 3c,4a,4b crown; MBL straight
-Yes, including myself, but that's because I tell everyone around me to detangle dry.
-It was about the same, slightly more when wet but I heard more popping [beakage]
-my routine, I detangle on wash days, oil w/evoo or evco, detangle then wash
I have what is called 4b, tight kinks. I'll detangle dry if I don't feel like getting in the shower and wetting my whole body to detangle. I guess it isn't REALLY dry detangling cause I spritz with water, add a water based moisturizer and a butter, then detangle with fingers. I never dry detangle with a comb.
If I go a long time without washing my hair, I try to brush or comb with my wide tooth comb once a day or every other day. That prevents it from becoming matted and I can actually do stuff with it. I also put a little conditioner in it each day before combing. I continued my prenatal vitamins after my pregnancy, and I had braids at the time. So I'm not sure how much hair loss there was, but I think less because I kept it in braids. Maybe you could keep you hair in twists for a while.
I am currently transitioning out of heat damaged hair (since I never had a relaxer). I'm not good at the hair typing, but I would say 3C/4A and my hair is SL when straight.
I have never tried pre-pooing, but I'm thinking of trying and detangling with just oil in my hair.
My hair doesn't really mat up in the shower, so if I put a lot of conditioner, it usually works fine for detangling. But recently I have started to detangle outside of the shower. I shampoo once a week and DC afterwards. After I rinse out my DC I apply a creamy leave in and thats when I detangle. I recently purchased the Ouidad to detangle and I liked it.
But I also am thinking about trying MopTop Mavens method and also purchasing the Tangle Teaser
www.curlychellez.blogspot.com
I detangle after i have applied my EVOO/Condish pre-poo,it gives my hair lots of slip and i lose less hair.If i do comb my hair mid-week i will apply a water based moisturizer and that also does the job well but i mainly do it with my pre-poo before i go under the dryer.
I'm a type 4-something-or-other, never relaxed, hair shoulder length when curly/BSL-length when straight and thick as hell, and I've never detangled on dry hair. Of course, I've also never worn an "out" style longer than a week and a half when curly, so that may have something to do with it. I can section my hair while dry, but detangling while dry would be a complete and utter waste of time and product for me. The amount of conditioner/oil I'd have to use to get my hair slippery enough to detangle would be close to the amount I use when detangling in the shower, and I'd still have to detangle again after washing. So basically, I'd be taking more time and using more product to save a negligible amount of hair. Ain't worth it.
I am 4a/b and I transitioned with sew ins for about a yr and when I first started off i would try to detangle in the shower but as soon as the water hit my hair it would matte up and turn out horrible. So my sis-in-law recomended detangling before my hair even touched the water so next time i tried that and it worked wonders. I was able to gently get all the shedded hair out of my head befor going under the water.
Now that I am completly natural detangling is a breeze I usually do it on wet hair while im in the shower and I have no problems. I think it really depends on how your hair was before you washed. If you were wearing a protective style for a while I think its a good idea to get the hair that may have been shedded out befor you wash. At least thats how its beeen in my experiences with detangling.
I take a small or medium sections of my hair at a time. Then I use the spray bottle with water to wet the section I'm working on then mix my old E and O Conditoner and olive oil in my hand and smooth on my ends and add more as needed working my way up. You can let the mixture sit in your hair with/or without a plastic cap to moisturize and soften hair more for a few minutes or an hour and then start detangling.
Either finger detangle lightly or use The Tangle Teezer. With The Tangle Teezer I start at the ends and work my way up. I use it under the hair and on top of the hair as per the directions. The conditioner and oil really aid in the brush getting through without out a lot of lost hair. This method is from Moptopmaven's and it seems to work nicely. I like using my Tangle Teezer for distributing deep conditoner as well. Hope this helps.
I just tried dry detangling a week and a 1/2 ago and it was great. I have 4a/4b hair that it is BSL. It took a little longer than usual but I had less breakage and was able to really care for each strand of hair. I used olive oil. I think the next time I will try coconut oil but I don't think I am going to detangle any more with conditioner.
I section my dry hair and slab on a bunch of conditioner and detangle. After I detangle I wash and conditioner while my sectioned hair is in twist. There is NO way I can let shampoo or water touch my head unless I pre-detangle. The last time I tried to shampoo without detangling, I experienced SSK for the first time and I almost never get those.
I'm a 4a/b, BSL-MBL.
I have never been able to detangle on wet hair. It's mat city every time. I tried to do it in the shower "loaded with conditioner" and it was a major fail.
I slather a slippery conditioner on my dry hair and detangle, so it's wet with conditioner, not water. Works like a charm.
Hi Nikki,
If I had to guess my hair type (which I try not to adhere to hair typing) I would say 4b or 4c. My length is shoulder length stretched, below my ear on the sides when shrunken and bottom of my neck in the back when shrunken. Anyway, I found a much quicker and I think less hair shedding method to detangling. I usually deep condition before I shower. So I spritz my hair with a water based spritz, apply the deep conditioner, then detangle my hair with a wide tooth comb, then twist it up. When I shower I rinse my hair with twists in place, undo each twist and apply my conditioner then retwist. I do this all over my head. Then I rinse the conditioner out with twists still in place. Pat hair dry, get out and apply a leave-in to each twist and retwist. I NEVER have to detangle again after the first time and my hair is constantly being stretched. I lose very little hair. Hope this helps.
4a/3c, wavy, fine, dense, just hitting bsl. I detangle dry once a week with a misting of olive oil and water, or if it's a wash weekend I pre-poo with coconut oil instead. After detangling I put my hair in braids and proceed to washing. I don't detangle in the shower. I'm gentle and it takes me about an hour and a half. I lose very little hair with this technique. At first, I only detangled when wet, but my hair seemed more susceptible to snapping when wet. Moreover, my hair just does better with infrequent washing (including co-washing), but waiting until wash day to detangle would guarantee knotting and matting.
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I recently had my ends clipped (1/2 to 1 inch) due to damage. It had been 6-8 mos since my last trim.
I have mid-strand splits which have been attributed to my LAZY habits when detangling my 4b/c-napp curls.
I once henna'd without prior detangling and lost a hecka-lotta hair after my DC! I am not exaggerating – I am happily nappy but NEVER REALIZED my hair would lock/mat that badly 🙁
Anyway, I learned mid-strand splits will never heal, and will eventually have to be cut away.
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One of my New Year's resolutions is to properly detangle.
1. I will pre-oil – I have the CD Lisa's elixir
2. I will follow your suggestions above
3. I will apply HAIR CLIPS to the detangled sections, and then shampoo/condition with minimal disturbance.
I am a natural 4A/3C and I wash once weekly and twist to dry. I detangle wet in the shower after applying conditioner.
I use a tool called the TANGLE TEEZER from root to tip in small sections and my detangling session lasts maybe 4 or 5 min. I get the tool at Sally's. It really works for me. I've also used it to detangle dry hair with oil and it works fine that way, too but takes about 10 min.
I have 4b hair, APL, and have never had a relaxer. Growing up, I only wore my hair pressed, so my mom and grandma would detangle my hair when it was wet because it was not tangled before shampooing.
Now as I wear more natural styles, I detangle on dry hair. The first time I experienced with a natural style (twist-out) in 2008, I dunked my head under the water to wash my hair and got a horrible tangled mess. I was scared out of my mind and thought I was going to have to cut my hair off. I lost a lot of hair in that session.
So, I detangle my hair dry before shampooing, co-washing, etc. I recently tried a pre-poo oil for the first time and was able to detangle while applying the oil on my dry hair.
Detangling on dry hair has saved me a lot of hair.
I have a mixture of 4A/3C hair. My hair is very curly and tangles a lot when wet. I find that I'm much better off detangling on dry hair with oil. I experience way less breakage from knots and tangles. On the other hand, my daughter has 4B hair and I don't dare detangle her hair unless it's wet.
There are many different hair types and textures. One rule does not apply to everyone. Don't be afraid to experiment with different methods until you find the one that works for your hair.
hey which TEK brush do you have?
if i use the tangle teezer i can detangle on dry hair, but i prefer to do it on wet or damp hair…i usually to it after i get out the shower while i apply a DC…i should be getting my denman paddle soon and i'll test that, but the time before last when i detangled on dry hair i was doing a prepoo and adding grapeseed oil and detangled with a wide tooth comb and my fingers and i lost alot of hair and i think i had some breakage =/
I'm still transitioning but from the time I was bobe-straight relaxed till I was 1 year texlaxed, I learnt not to try detangling in the shower.
That being said, now 13 months post-texlax, I am finding detangling dry is working for me.
Now let me clarify a bit, I used to only detangle on damp, freshly washed hair (hair in braids for washing). Over the past 12 months, I've learned to spray with either conditioner and water mix, or aloe vera juice and water! This makes my hair puff up and unravels ALOT of tough tangles (especially with product buildup). Then I apply my moisturizer (Proline Comb thru softener) finger detangle, use a wide tooth comb. Finally, I add some oil (EVCO in summer, jojoba or argan oil in winter) and twist away the section! Divine!
I must confesss-I am curly sinner, too :-).
I combed/finger combed and detangled dry- and surprise!!! Noticable less shedding/loss and breakage. I have also tried Moptopmaven's detangling routine (on just damp hair using a water- conditioner- mix)) and it worked out fine.
Another lovely commenter over here has me sit up straight and take notes when she mentioned serious shedding while using HEHH.
I had the same experience and it took me a while to recognize a connection, I just thought the cones weighed my curls down, but they were limp due to loss.
So, for now I detangle dry/damp first with my fingers, then with a wide comb. In the shower I just "squeeze" my conditioner in, avoiding manipulation as much as possible.
I detangle both ways. I have been detangling at night when I retwist and have been having much success with keeping matting at bay. I find that the tools and the technique of from tip to root has merit. Recently I round this great brush at Marshall's from an Italian maker called TEK http://www.tekitaly.com/ Wonderful brush, really does the job. I gave my Denman away it was trying to make me bald. If any of you guys have a Marshall's close by check it out the also have brushes by Borreal and Gorgon all european makers but they are the truth and so is the price $8-15. The only comparable I could find for sale here was WIDU https://www.widu.com/product/34598 at ridiculous prices.
I have 4b/c hair that's just about BSL when stretched and I have a LOT of hair. I dry detangle in sections so I saturate the hair in coconut oil then I work my way through each section using a pick or my fingers. Sometimes I detangle on dampened hair where I fill a spray bottle with a mixture of conditioner and water and spray each section as I go. I lose way less hair using these techniques but i had to figure all that out by trial and error.
My hair type varies…in some places I'm 3a but mainly 3c and some spots of 4a. My hair length stretched is a bit below bra stap. I detangle my hair wet and full of condidtioner because it is a lot easier and I do not experience much hair shedding.
I have somewhere between 4a and 4b hair.To give you an idea of my length- I am about 7 months post big chop and I chopped after 3 months without a relaxer, so I still have a twa, but it is in an awkward stage. With that being said, I am having a hard time detangling, and I don't even have long hair. I have always, always been a heavy shedder, even when I was relaxed, so I am sort of used to alot of hair coming out, but I still think I am doing something wrong. I switched to detangling slightly damp and that seemed to help some, but then I find that my hair is still tangling when I go to rinse in the shower and I am detangling again(while losing more hair) when I finish washing and conditioning. It's a nightmare!!! I almost want to go back to really short when it wasn't an issue. I would like for it to grow, but I can't imagine what detangling will be like then. GEEEEEZ, I love being natural,but detangling is proving to be very, very difficult!