Is there any greater pain than the snag of a knot on your hairbrush? Between the physical pain it causes to your scalp and the emotional pain of hearing your hair rip, tangles make for major stress. There are many different ways to try tackling knots and , but the right way may depend on your hair type.
Meet the Expert
- Brian C. Hawkins is a celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist based in Miami, FL.
- Lakeisha Heard is a trichologist, hairstylist, and owner of Intangible Inches Hair Salon.
- Nycole Jones is a celebrity hairstylist and the founder of Yara Luxe Hair Perfume.
Tangles big and small can be caused by a number of factors. First, physical manipulation—like brushing, styling, and even sleeping on it—could cause knots and matted areas. Second, the products you use and the residue they leave in hair can make it sticky or tacky (causing touseled messes). Finally, you may just have hair that is naturally more likely to tangle due to its texture or thickness.
No matter the cause it’s important to understand what the best way to attempt to detangle it is based on your hair type. We turned to three hair experts for their advice on detangling each hair type. Keep reading to understand the best way to detangle your hair according to your hair type.
How to Detangle Your Hair Type
No matter what hair type you have, it’s important to make sure you are using the right tools and products. “This really does make ALL of the difference for a seamless, pain-free detangle and hair’s health,” says Hawkins.
Jones agrees and adds that there is some general advice that applies to detangling all hair types. “As a professional hairstylist, I have all different types of textured hair in my chair (from 1a to 4c),” says Jones. “My clients range to those with super fine, fragile hair, to the complete opposite with clients that have an overload of thick coarse and curly hair. However when it comes to detangling hair, I pretty much treat the wide hair-span types the same: very gentle and taking my time.”
Fine Hair
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Cricket
Ultra Smooth Coconut Detangling Brush
$15.00
When detangling color-treated or damaged hair, it’s important to remember how fragile the hair is. You want to avoid adding any additional tension or damage to these hair types. Stretching fragile hair leads to breakage and damage. Heard recommends approaching this hair similarly to coarse or curly hair—damp and deeply-conditioned. “I use Intangible Inches Essential Leave-in Strengthener. Be very generous when applying (you will want to rinse when done), let it sit for a minute and use your fingers (not a brush) and slowly pull strands apart end to root,” explains Heard.
For detangling the hair, Hawkins uses Cricket’s Ultra Smooth Coconut Detangling Brush. “The bristles are perfect for scalp massage too, which I often do when conditioning hair. Using the brush with the conditioner helps you not only “pre-detangle” hair, but it eases tension to the scalp and relaxes my clients. The added bonus, by using this type of a detangling brush with conditioner is you are providing each strand a very thorough conditioning, which also makes detangling hair easier,” explains Hawkins.
The Final Takeaway
There are many nuances to detangling hair depending on your hair type, but there are 3 pieces of advice that are true for all hair types: start detangling from the bottom to the root, detangle damp and conditioned hair, and consider starting with a wide tooth comb before using a brush. No matter what tools you use or what type of hair you have, take your time to avoid causing unnecessary damage.
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