Do you love detangling your Afro-textured hair? Don’t worry, it’s not surprising if you said, NO! Let’s be real, it is effort! The time and energy required can be daunting and so we’re here to help. As we continue to embrace our natural beauty, many people are reverting to their natural Afro-textured hair – and rightly so. While some of you are professionals in mastering the art of detangling Afro-textured hair, many of you are not. So, we would like to get you prepped to find your regime that suits your Afro-textured hair.
The benefits to detangling Afro-textured hair
As energy consuming as it is, girls and guys you must detangle your hair – matted hair is much more time consuming than a detangling job. Not detangling our hair can quickly lead to matted, unhealthy hair that is hard to repair, which is sometimes impossible. So, it’s very important you have your very own detangling regime for your Afro-textured hair. Everyone’s Afro-textured hair is different so it’s important you find what works for you. It’s an experiment to find your own regime, trying different products, tools, frequency and more, but once you’ve found it, it’s like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow – lifechanging! You will find that you have a plan that keeps your hair hydrated, looking healthy and detangled. A detangling regime for Afro-textured hair also delivers additional benefits including:
• Reduction in breakage – Your hair strands are less likely to break during a detangling session if you keep them healthy and strong.
• More styling options – Frequently detangling your Afro-textured hair gives you more variation in your styling options of how to wear your hair.
• Healthier looking hair – Healthier looking hair not only looks great, but it feels great and a frequent detangling regime can certainly deliver glowing results.
How often should I detangle my Afro-textured hair?
How often do you do anything? We’re all different and we all have different needs; this journey is about what works for you! Everyone’s hair is different! How often you decide to detangle your hair really comes down to your hair type and your lifestyle. Your hair will often make it obvious when it needs one to one time with you and your detangling products; it will practically scream to you. But you also might not want to wait for your hair to beg you for attention and so if we we’re to spilt Afro-textured hair into 3 categories being wavy, curly, and kinky we’d recommend the following:
• Wavy – Every few days
• Curly – Weekly
• Kinky - Biweekly
Tangle Teezer’s Step by Step guide on detangling Afro-textured hair
Finding the right regime is the first step, now you need to have a process on how you’re going to work through that beautiful ‘fro’.
This process can make the world of difference when it comes to easier maintenance, styling, hair growth and making sure your curls are popping. We’ve got you, if you need a little guidance or just want to grab some tips, then welcome to Tangle Teezer’s process on detangling Afro-textured hair:
1. Section your hair
You might need to grab those clips for this one – let’s be honest we all have clips scattered round the house, the car, so go on a hunt for this step! Sectioning is key because Afro-textured hair tends to be thick whether wavy, curly, or kinky and so to make it quicker to detangle, sectioning is your guide to success. Sectioning your hair involves using your fingers to divide your hair into sections so you spilt your hair into smaller sections. If you’re thinking your hair won’t stay in place once spilt, then remember those clips to ensure it all holds into place.
2. Now you can start washing your Afro-textured hair
With your hair sectioned you can now take it a section at a time, washing each section. This process is all about making your detangling process easier and quicker! Make sure you have your shampoo nearby. Release each section and make sure to get it thoroughly wet under the water. Guide the water through your hair from the scalp downwards. Once the section is fully wet, apply some shampoo to the section ensuring you massage it thoroughly into your hair from scalp to the tip of the section hair. Shampoo is super important to get rid of any unnecessary oil, sweat, dirt and any type of build up, so don’t be shy here.
After this, rinse it all away ensuring the hair all falls down in the same direction. This will help prevent any tangling when washing.
Complete this for each section of hair.
3. Use conditioner
Conditioner is one of the holy grails of detangling so it’s important you use a conditioner that perfectly suits your hair type. Don’t be afraid to experiment with conditioners. What you should be looking for is a conditioner with limited friction. It should easily grip to your hair allowing you to detangle at times with your fingers. If it doesn’t quite do that for you keep experimenting with your conditioner options.
With your hair still in their sections, release each section one at a time and apply conditioner throughout. Once applied thoroughly clip back into its section.
Once all sections have had conditioner applied give yourself 10-15mins for the conditioner to go to work. You might want to grab a shower cap for this as your hair will still be wet. Take those 15 minutes and relax whilst your hair revels in its conditioner.
4. It’s time to detangle your hair
Now the conditioner has had ample time to thoroughly run through your hair, your hair is now prime for detangling. This is where you will need, a wide tooth comb or Tangle Teezer’s Naturally Curly detangling brush, designed specifically for Afro textured hair, and a hair spray bottle with water. Check out Tangle Teezer’s Fine Mist Spray Bottle.
Gently release a section at a time and hen ready simply pick up your Tangle Teezer Naturally Curly detangling brush and move it through your hair from scalp to tip freely. Our detangling hairbrush for naturally curly hair is designed to glide through 3C to 4C hair. There will be no tugging on your hair using our naturally curly hairbrush. Then repeat for the other sections.
If at any point your hair becomes dry during the process, then use a spray bottle with water to add additional moisture to the area so you can continue detangling.
5. Rinse out the conditioner
When you’ve detangled all sections of your hair it’s now time to rinse out the rest of the remaining conditioner. Ensure you wash it thoroughly and no conditioner is left behind.
6. Off you go and style your hair
We know by this step you’re probably feeling a million times lighter and more refreshed. Your hair is now clean, tangle free and ready to style how you like!
Other methods for detangling Afro-textured hair
Detangling Afro-textured hair dry
The dry method is a detangling process where you don’t have to mess around with loads of water. You simply need a rat tail comb, a spray bottle with water or a detangling spray product, hair clips and your very own fingers. This detangling method requires you to use your fingers for detangling. As you’re mostly just using your fingers this process can take some time however you may find it more convenient depending on your hair type and situation you find yourself in. The process is as follows:
1) Section your hair
2) Detangle your hair using just your fingers or utilising a wide tooth comb
3) If your hair requires moisture use a spray bottle with water or your chosen detangling spray
4) Then keep combing the section until it’s completely free of tangles
5) Repeat the process across all your sections
Detangling your hair with your own water and oil combination
The water and oil combination is a method where you create your own alternative of a detangling spray. The water helps with adding moisture while the oil helps to add further moisture, shine and makes the detangling process frictionless. This method requires you to use a spray bottle and create your very own detangling solution with water and oil. Remember everyone’s hair is different so create your own solution which works for your hair type. In terms of oil to use, don’t be shy, this is a time to experiment. So, think about argan oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, olive oil, avocado oil, almond and grapeseed oil. These are all types of oil that can be used to deliver the texture, vitamins, and nutrients our hair requires.
The DO’s and DON’Ts of Detangling Afro-textured hair
Regardless of where your knowledge is on keeping your Afro-textured hair healthy and untangled here are our extra tips on the Do’s and Don’ts of detangling your hair:
The DO’s of detangling your hair:
• Use a conditioning product – Conditioner is extremely crucial when it comes to detangling Afro-textured hair. At Tangle Teezer we’d say it’s a must. It prepares your hair for detangling, limiting the opportunity of breakage.
• Use the right tools – Detangling hair is no easy process, so ensuring you have the necessary equipment will make your regular detangling process a lot easier. The type of products you’ll need handy include:
- Wide Toothed Comb
- Detangling brush for Afro-textured hair
- Your fingers
- Hair clips
- Rat tail comb
- Spray bottle for creating your own hair product solutions
• Use the right products – Using the right hair products is extremely important when detangling. It can really make the difference between ease and stress, so ensure you’re ready to detangle with the right hair products:
- Afro Shampoo – Shampoo formulated for use in afro hair to keep it naturally curly and highly textured.
- Conditioner perfect for Afro-textured hair
- Leave in conditioner
- Hair masks
• Section your hair – Sectioning the hair gives you the ability to manage your hair better and approach it in smaller sections. Sectioning means every area can be focused on, ensuring every strand of hair is kept healthy, defined and tangle free.
• Be patient – don’t have that moment where you just want to throw the brush at the mirror, we know, we’ve all been there but remember this is not a quick process so prepare yourself to have the time and dedication.
• Be Gentle – We understand detangling Afro-textured hair can take a while, so it’s important to stay calm and be gentle with your hair, never tug or pull. Take your time and get your fingers involved when needed. This will ensure you limit damage and keep your hair healthy.
The DONT’s of detangling your hair:
• Avoid sulphates, paraben and silicone-based shampoo mixtures as they can cause damage to hair and cause frizz.
• Don’t pile your hair onto the top of your head as it can create tangles while washing.
• Don’t attempt to detangle without conditioner or an alternative hair mixture
