DETANGLING KINKY HAIR: 5 TIPS ON HOW NOT TO OVERDO IT!

With the everchanging  steps, sub-steps, and sub-substeps to the entire wash day process, you can easily over do it when it comes to detangling your hair. As a 4c hair natural of 27 years, one thing I did learn is that there is such a thing as detangling too much. Trust me the frequency in which you detangle your hair can determine whether or not you'll look like Angelica's doll, Cynthia, within a few years. 

 

  Here are 5 easy tips to detangling your hair without over doing it!   

1. ACCEPT THAT YOUR HAIR WILL STILL HAVE TANGLES. You know the saying, "the 1st step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem"? Well that saying can also relate to how we maintain our kinky hair. FACT: Kinky hair  is highly prone to tangling. You can denman brush that hair for as long as your arm  can take it (but keep in mind Cynthia's picture) and it will still have a tangles here and there. The sooner you accept that fact the sooner you'll be okay with the fact that your hair does not behave the same way as looser hair textures.

 

My raw, shrunken 4c hair!

2. ONE GOOD DETANGLING SESSION IS ENOUGH! With the previous kinky hair fact in mind, it's best to keep detangling to a minimum. Detangling before you wash your hair, while you wash your hair, while you're conditioning your hair, and again when you're actually styling your hair is definitely overkilll, especially with kinky hair. I was totally guilty of this in my younger years of trying to maintain my own hair. I felt like my hair had to hang down and be manageable like everyone else's before I even began the process of washing my hair. So I use to comb out my hair before I washed it.


3. SLIDE, SLIDE, SLIP, & SLIDE. "SLIP" is the most important word of the latter four. Products with slip are a kinky haired girl's best friend! A conditioner with awesome slip can mean the difference between detangling for what seems like hours or just a  couple minutes per section. Most conditioners that provide awesome slip contain silicones which could be a no-no if you're super ingredient conscious. However there are also natural alternatives. Conditioners containing ingredients like marshmallow root and slippery elm are almost a sure bet to have the slip you're looking for. My favorite silicone containing conditioner is Tresseme's Curl Hydration Conditioner. My favorite natural conditioner is NaturelleGrow's Mango & Coconut Water Deep Conditioner. With both products, my wide tooth comb passes through my hair like a hot knife through butter.

 

   

4. SECTION YOUR SECTIONS. I think it's established throughout the natural hair community that it's best to detangle your hair in sections and I totally agree. Find the amount of sections you need in your hair to get through the detangling process faster with as little breakage as possible. If your hair is immensly dense, the detangling process may be easier if you have more than four sections in your hair. The more hair that's being fed into your detangling tool, the harder it will be to detangle the hair. The lesser the better!

5. DETANGLING TOOL JUNKIE! Speaking of detangling tools, you do not need every detangling tool under the sun that you see your favorite naturalista's trying out. Sometimes it's just best to keep it simple. I get by fine with just my wide toothed comb and my fingers. Yes, your fingers are a detangling tool too! Detangling brushes (Denman's, Tangle Teezers, etc.)  seem to be great tools for easy twist out separation, but using it to achieve every single style is not necessary. 

  I hope these tips help you out and at least make you question whether or not you're detangling too much!    What is your detangling routine? How often do you detangle? Sound off in the comments. 
Thanks!