What if I don't Detangle?

[BrittanyH26]

So, I'm pretty much 100% natural, and normally, I wash my hair every Thursday and Sunday. After I wash it, I put it in two strand twists. It would normally take me about 5 hours to detangle it, put oil on my scalp, and twist. Simple enough, right?

Well, now that finals are approching and I have lots of 10+ page papers due + projects + tests, I don't have the 5 hours. So, today, I washed my hair and simply threw it in a messy bun.

Is this ok? I didn't detangle at all.. but I added a bit of oil to my hair and went. Can I continue to do this everyday, but with a co-wash. What damage will not detangling have on my hair?

 

[AFashionSlave]

You need to detangle your hair.
If you don't detangle, it will cause some serious problems later on.

It takes me about 2 hours to wash, condition, and twist my hair. I do not detangle my entire head at once. I detangle each section before I twist my hair.

I can't believe that it takes you 5 hours to twist your hair. So my guess is that you are probably twisting your hair in tiny twists. My suggestion to you is so try bigger twists. That should cut your time in half.

What is your routine exactly? Please give details.
What products are you using?

 

[Bigghair]

Depending on your hair you can go without detangling every single time you wash, but I would not make it a habit. You can finger comb in the shower to get some of the shed hairs out if you don't want to fully detangle with a comb. 5 hours is a really long amount of time to detangle! Have you tried detangling in the shower under the shower stream. I hope you find a solution, because you should not have to spend so much time just detangling your hair. Good luck!

 

[Neith]

So, I'm pretty much 100% natural, and normally, I wash my hair every Thursday and Sunday. After I wash it, I put it in two strand twists. It would normally take me about 5 hours to detangle it, put oil on my scalp, and twist. Simple enough, right?

Well, now that finals are approching and I have lots of 10+ page papers due + projects + tests, I don't have the 5 hours. So, today, I washed my hair and simply threw it in a messy bun.

Is this ok? I didn't detangle at all.. but I added a bit of oil to my hair and went. Can I continue to do this everyday, but with a co-wash. What damage will not detangling have on my hair?

I only detangle my hair with a comb 4 times a month. I fingercomb my hair once or twice a day.

I think if you do absolutely nothing to get tangles out - especially with daily washing on natural hair - that's just asking for really bad tangling eventually.

At least fingercomb your hair a few times a week imo. Some people only fingercomb their hair and don't use combs.

 

[locoabouthair]

Assuming that a goood part of those 5 hrs is spent detangling, if you go without doing so, you will have a problem. If you don't detangle right after, I think it is safe to say, you will eventually need to? Therefore, I think you will have a tragedy on your hands. Because you will have like twice the tangles. Can't you detangle in the shower and just pull it back, or wig it during this time? Hopefully you will get through without incident.

good luck

 

[locoabouthair]

Assuming that a goood part of those 5 hrs is spent detangling, if you go without doing so, you will have a problem. If you don't detangle right after, I think it is safe to say, you will eventually need to? Therefore, I think you will have a tragedy on your hands. Because you will have like twice the tangles. Can't you detangle in the shower and just pull it back, or wig it during this time? Hopefully you will get through without incident.

good luck

 

[Finally Free]

So, I'm pretty much 100% natural, and normally, I wash my hair every Thursday and Sunday. After I wash it, I put it in two strand twists. It would normally take me about 5 hours to detangle it, put oil on my scalp, and twist. Simple enough, right?

Well, now that finals are approching and I have lots of 10+ page papers due + projects + tests, I don't have the 5 hours. So, today, I washed my hair and simply threw it in a messy bun.

Is this ok? I didn't detangle at all.. but I added a bit of oil to my hair and went. Can I continue to do this everyday, but with a co-wash. What damage will not detangling have on my hair?[/quote


I see matted hair and a serious hair cut in your future!
Your hair is BEAUTIFUL! Don't let it go because of improper haircare.

 

[ghanja]

I detangled once before I straightened my hair about a month ago and its a very tedious process, so besides on the rare occasion that I want straight hair...Ill just pick out the nappys before they get to any serious point.

so I would suggest taking them on when your just relaxing or studying. Youll start to feel when they get ratty at the end or a small knot has formed. That eliminates about 90% of the napps that I get. Also why not just keep your hair braided or twisted up during finals? Then you dont got to worry about it

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Good info for me for the future when my TWA grows up.

 

[Allandra]

I think it's best to always detangle. You'll probably need a big hair cut if you don't.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I detangle after DCing in the shower while rinsing out my conditioner under running water with a Denman brush starting at the bottom of my hair one section at a time, starting at the nape working my way up one section at a time.

I don't get breakage, I get rid of all of my shed hairs and I'm done in about 5 - 7 mins tops.

Then I follow up with a run through of cream rinse with my hair still brushed back and then I rinse again sweeping through with the brush. After exiting the shower, I add my creamy leave in conditoner, still brushing backwards with the Denman.

Then I use a net scarf and I tie my hair down and sit under the dryer for about 10 mins to get some of the dampness out and then I take a section at a time and start braiding starting in the back. It's already detangled and stretched out a good bit.

I don't break a single hair this way and it's fast! This cuts my shrinkage down about 70% I would say! I used to have rough time detangling before I started this method.

HTHs

ETA: remind me to add the Denman brush to my list of greatest finds in 2008
Just take your time and never tear through your hair, this is where the running water does all the work for you...and saves you from breakage!

 

[Nonie]

Not sure what twisting method you use but if you use Samanthajones' and my method , you can wash your hair in twists and not have it tangle and therefore can go for days without needing to detangle. My detangling--if you can call it that--consists of untwisting a twist at a time to redo it again. I am reluctant to call it detangling because as you can see in the video, there is no tangling that needs to be undone. The strands of hair in either strand of the twist stay parallel to each other because they were kept that way all the time even during the wash. But that's because my hair was tangle free when I first put the twist in.

The only time I have to detangle is if I go to bed with my hair not in twists or plaits. Then the hair shrinks down on itself and I need conditioner to finger detangle it. Otherwise if I keep twists in, I can WNG and never need to do anything to my hair.

 

[Neith]

Not sure what twisting method you use but if you use Samanthajones' and my method , you can wash your hair in twists and not have it tangle and therefore can go for days without needing to detangle. My detangling--if you can call it that--consists of untwisting a twist at a time to redo it again. I am reluctant to call it detangling because as you can see in the video, there is no tangling that needs to be undone. The strands of hair in either strand of the twist stay parallel to each other because they were kept that way all the time even during the wash. But that's because my hair was tangle free when I first put the twist in.

The only time I have to detangle is if I go to bed with my hair not in twists or plaits. Then the hair shrinks down on itself and I need conditioner to finger detangle it. Otherwise if I keep twists in, I can WNG and never need to do anything to my hair.

I can see that working, but at some point don't you have to remove the shed hair?:scratchch

 

[Nonie]

I get the shed hair out during one of those retwisting methods. Been doing this finger combing thing when I had extensions in back to back and now that I'm in twists and I've never had any problems. When I finger comb, shed hair slides out as I smooth the hair while separating strands. I've never used a brush in my hair since 2001 and the only time I use a comb is when parting my hair to braid or when combing out my puff. Otherwise if in twists or braids, all I ever use are fingers and I've never had a problem with tangles from shed hair. I get it out somehow.

 

[Neith]

I get the shed hair out during one of those retwisting methods. Been doing this finger combing thing when I had extensions in back to back and now that I'm in twists and I've never had any problems. When I finger comb, shed hair slides out as I smooth the hair while separating strands. I've never used a brush in my hair since 2001 and the only time I use a comb is when parting my hair to braid or when combing out my puff. Otherwise if in twists or braids, all I ever use are fingers and I've never had a problem with tangles from shed hair. I get it out somehow.

Cool I comb only on wash days, but during the rest of the week I don't have any big problems with tangles when I am only using my fingers and I wear my hair loose.

Dunno if I will ever completely stop combing my hair though, but I knew it could work.

 

[BrittanyH26]

Thanks for all of your help ladies.

I'm using a variety of products due to limited availability in Spain and wanting to use up some of my products before returning to the States in 2.5 weeks.

Shampoo: Either Profectiv Clean N Healthy, Mizani Conditioning Shampoo
Conditioner: Tresemme, ORS Hair Mayo, or Mizani Moisturefuse (but i'm trying to save this for when I do my aphogee treatment AFTER my papers are due)

Looks like I am just going to get up earlier tomorrow morning and attempt to comb out in the shower; either w/ the wide tooth comb or with fingers.

thanks ladies..

 

[JustKiya]

Long periods of not detangling kinky hair = dreads - esp. if you are repeatedly getting it wet, and allowing it to shrink back up onto itself.

I think that you might be able to get away with it if you leave your hair 'fixed' somehow - either in two strand twists, or braids - at least until it dries - and then putting it into a bun.

Good luck with the papers/finals!

 

[Jazzmommy]

Hi,

I skipped detangling my hair once based on the technique of someone else. I ended up with a tangled mess... I was in tears. I had to cut out most of the tangles and it took several hours to get them out. So, I would recommend you detangle using some method. Best wishes...

 

[Cichelle]

Please detangle. You most likely will REALLY regret it if you don't. As has been suggested before, try detangling with a lot of conditioner in your hair while you are in the shower, with the assistance of the shower spray if needed.

 

[lilsparkle825]

you will end up like me and have a matted mess on top of your head. PLEASE detangle your hair!

 

[~~HoneyComb~~]

Once your hair reaches a certain length, you have to detangle, there's no other way around it. Not detangling can lead to hairloss, it can stunt your hair growth, and it will make your next detangling session hell if you've been lazy about it.

 

[chicacanella]

Please, do not try to get under the shower and think your hair will detangle using the shower head's stream of water. I tried this and it was bad.

I think if you finger detanlge it daily or whenever it needs, then there should be no problem. If it is in twists and you are just waking up and taking a scarf off then there shouldn't be much detangling until you are combing/brushing your hair out on wash day.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Why don't you leave your hair in twists until finals are over? Then you won't have to worry about detangling your hair!

 

[sunshinelady]

Thanks for all of your help ladies.

I'm using a variety of products due to limited availability in Spain and wanting to use up some of my products before returning to the States in 2.5 weeks.

Shampoo: Either Profectiv Clean N Healthy, Mizani Conditioning Shampoo
Conditioner: Tresemme, ORS Hair Mayo, or Mizani Moisturefuse (but i'm trying to save this for when I do my aphogee treatment AFTER my papers are due)

Looks like I am just going to get up earlier tomorrow morning and attempt to comb out in the shower; either w/ the wide tooth comb or with fingers.

thanks ladies..

Spain makes Alter Ego and Alaparf. You shouldn't be having any trouble. What part are you in?

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Why don't you leave your hair in twists until finals are over? Then you won't have to worry about detangling your hair!