by Shelli of Hairscapades
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a couple of months now to highlight, share and co-sign on a trick that I read on CurlyNikki long ago, but only started employing more recently. There are several viable and effective options for detangling naturally curly hair: dry with oil, slightly damp with oil and/or conditioner, wet and saturated with conditioner, fingers, wide-tooth comb, Denman, etc. I’m not going to go into the various techniques here, but if you want to learn more, check out this detailed post on CurlyNikki: Detangling Methods for Natural Hair.
So, back to the point of this post. Over the last year and a half, I have mostly finger detangled my hair dry during my pre-poo routine. However, for the majority of my twelve years natural, I only detangled when it was completely wet and saturated with conditioner. Every now and again, I revisit the wet method and this weekend was one such occasion. I didn’t pre-poo, because I was doing a henna/indigo treatment and wanted to apply it to dry hair. So, my detangling process didn’t start until the henna/indigo conditioner rinse.
Let me tell you, putting my head under the shower stream once my hair is wet and saturated with conditioner really helps dissolve the tangles! In the past, I would wet my hair, add tons of conditioner, maybe add a little more water and go at it with the wide tooth comb. I generally only went back under the water stream when it was time to rinse. But the last few times I’ve wet detangled, I repeatedly put my head under the shower stream when I hit snags, adding more conditioner as needed. The water running down the conditioner-covered strands really seems to help melt the tangles down and out of my hair with a little assistance from my “nimble” fingers.
So, if you’ve never tried this and find yourself conditioned up, but needing a little help with a nasty snarl, turn to your new friend, the shower stream. You may be pleasantly surprised by how helpful “she” is!!
Is the shower stream your friend?
CN Says:
I concur. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how easily the water stream dissolves my knots. Try it!
G I R L ! i been known about this little known secret straight off of a comment a long time ago on curlynikki.com . The natural salon in my city charges $40 for a steam treatment -__- i do that every time i dt and take my cap off and hop in the shower. lol , i love i ever stumbled accross Ms. Nikki and her online community : )))
Always!
Since I was able to relax my own hair, I have figured to detangle under the running water and add conditioner as I go along.
I started using the stream of water in the shower to aide in my detangling process about 3 weeks ago and was amazed at how I was able to detangle with little effort in a lot less time. Why am I always so late to the party?! Sooo glad I discovered this method. Thanks ladies.
We're best friends! Daily steam and water pressure has always been a staple, permed or curly. My coils feel smoother and more defined in water so no conditioner, no combing but I'll do a mini scalp massage and finish with one root to tip finger-rake.
I think Anonymous 10:02 nailed it on the natural hair oils bit, anyway I like the results. Post-shower I'll sometimes add a leave-in, especially to the ends. I do this for wash and no-wash days and for me it's less product and less hair in the drain.
No conditioner. No Detangler. Just my shower comb, my nekked unwashed hair, and the shower stream, my natural hair oils work better at detangling than any conditioner.
Susn4i16, as anon at 3:13 said, you won't usually need to add much additional conditioner. The added slip the water provides may even result in you needing less conditioner. Letting it "marinate" for a few minutes (I usually put on a baggie while I wash), helps even more and is also one of Nikki's recommendations! I don't know why I waited so long to try this!! I mean, there wasn't much to lose in the experiment and, ultimately, it really does seem to wash the tangles away!! LOL!!
Thanks for all the comments ladies!! It's cool to know that this little trick works for many!!
Shelli
I don't wash my hair at the same time while I'm in the shower. Something about random stray wet hairs on my skin really creeps me out.
I wash my hair by kneeling down on the floor, bending over the rim of the tub and putting my head directly under the faucet. It's the same thing essentially. 0.o
I cosign this method. Easiest and shortest detangling for me is always under the shower head after I've let the condition sit on my hair for a few minutes.
I have been doing this for years. After I shampoo I stand under the stream and use my fingers to go through my hair, after I put on KC Knot today (BOSS) and leave that on as I was up. After that I can easily get through any knots. While I am rising my hair out I stand back under the stream and run my comb (wide tooth, of course) through my hair.
This weekend was the first time I tried detangling my hair under the stream of the shower and it WILL be my go to detangling method going forward!!! Previously I would shampoo, step out of the shower/from under the faucet, and then apply conditioner and detangle. My hair would dry out, and I was constantly having to spritz with water. Then get back in the shower/under the faucet. This weekend I shampooed my hair in small sections making sure that the shower stream was always pushing my hair downward. Also while I shampooed I pulled my hair down rather than the wild "Herbal Essences commercial" type shampoo. Made a WORLD of difference!
I recently took my braids out after 1 year of transitioning and was previously afraid to wash and detangle my 4b/c hair, until I tried this method. The shower stream is now one of my favorite detangling tools!
@suns4i6
I usually put all the conditioner in, let it sit on there, shower, and then when I'm ready to rinse, I detangle under the shower stream. I only add more conditioner if a serious tangle is giving me problems which is rare.
Not to be an idiot, but if your conditioned head is under the shower stream…doesn't an awful lot of conditioner find it's way down the drain causing the need for more and more conditioner? I use a LOT of conditioner on my MBL-WL hair. Using more seems implausible.
I have been doing it the whole time…shower steam is every natural girl's friend
Been doing that for years! Great reminder through! Thanks!
It works to run your head under the stream if your washing in the sink as well!
The shower stream is absolutely my friend and I've always used this method even when I was relaxed. I don't see the point in fighting with my hair. I work smarter not harder.
Oh wow…I'm currently staying at a friend's house and the shower stream is amazing! Mine's not too bad either but her shower head is bigger than mine and I feel like it's powering away tangles and shed hair. Fortunately she has a hair catcher in the drain, lol…
Strong water pressure is a requirement for anyplace I live in or visit. I stayed at a W hotel some years back and it was lovely except for that gosh-darned rainfall shower head…grrr…