Detangling can be one of those scary words for naturals (other terrifying words include comb, heat damage and ‘I lost my satin bonnet’) especially if your hair type is in the 3c-4c/kinky/coily range. You hear horror stories of 3 hour detangling regimens and 16 hour wash days that spill over into the weekend and seem impossible for the average curly girl to commit to. Saturdays are meant for brunch and hanging with friends, not being stuck in your bathroom bonding with your hair products.
So how can you free up your weekends and still have soft tangle free hair? Follow my quick 6 step detangling regimen below:
Divide your hair into four sections, two in the front and two in the back.
Take one of the four sections and divide that again into two and clip away one of the halves, now you should have a workable section to detangle. If your hair is thicker you can divide that half again and work in quarters.
Once you have a section you’re comfortable working with spray it down with water. You can add oils in your spray bottle for added slip, try any light oils like coconut or jojoba.
After you’ve dampened the hair run the palm of your hands down the section to ensure all the strands are wet. Take your favorite conditioner with extra slip and start working it into the section ends first. My go-to conditioner for detangling is Aussie Moist Conditioner, the slip factor is great and it leaves my hair super soft and moisturized. Apply the conditioner until the entire section is coated. If you have thick roots like me you can apply it all the way up to the roots and let it sit for 2-5 minutes. While you wait, move on to the other half and add your conditioner.
Go back to the first half and with your fingers begin detangling the ends. Or start at the roots, slide your fingers downs and carefully split the hair. If you run into a snag stop and pull part the knot, it should slip out easily because you’ve let the conditioner soften your hair. Continue detangling the section until you’re able to run your fingers through without snagging, twist up that section and move on to the next. If you have a few single strand knots, don’t drive yourself crazy trying to get them out. Simply take your hair shears and cut right above the knot. Saving you time and frustration.
Do the above for your entire head, by the end you should have 8-10 conditioned and detangled twists. You can then shampoo or cowash while your hair is still twisted or take them down. If you like to prepoo before washing your hair then you’re already done! After detangling place a plastic cap on your head and leave for a few hours or even overnight. Shampoo or cowash the next morning for soft tangle free hair. This regimen takes me about 25 minutes from start to finish. It’s quick, easy and shaves hours off of my wash day, leaving me with more time for pancakes and mimosa. Two words that have never scared anyone.
