How to Detangle Curly Hair Between Washes Naturally: 7 steps

Introduction to Detangling Curly Hair

Just like curls are made to be frizzy and dry, similarly they are also very prone to tangling. The curly hair follicles makes them easily susceptible to tangling. When you wash your hair, you detangle them in the shower and they look amazing, properly defined for the next two days.

But as your wash days goes far, your hair becomes tangled again. So, how to detangle curly hair between washes. Well, detangling curly hair is not very tricky, you just need right tools and right technique to detangle hair.

First thing to detangle hair is to prepare your hair for detangling. Preparation helps to prevent knots and reduces hair breakage.

Well, there’s more to taming the tangles. Keep on reading the blog and you will have all your answers-

Understanding Curly Hair and its Tendency to Tangle

We have always seen that curly hair is more prone to tangle. Factors like shape of hair follicle, hair thickness and moisture level determines curly hair tendency to tangle.

Let’s understand more about the factors that contribute curly hair to tangle-

1. Hair Structure-

A structure of hair is made up of two things- follicle shape and cuticle layer.

Hair follicles determines the curl pattern. Curly hair have oval shaped hair follicles, which makes them more susceptible to tangling.

Hair cuticle is the outermost layer in the hair structure. Cuticle layers are different in different hair type. Curly hair have tightly packed cuticles, which gets tangled very easily.

2. Hair Thickness-

You must have seen that curly hair is thicker than straight hair. More hair thickness means more hair volume, and which means more tangling of curls. Thicker hair are more prone to knots and tangles.

3. Lack of Moisture-

Curly hair is dry and dehydrated in nature. Natural oil do not flow that easily from the roots. Lack of moisture makes hair prone to friction and tangling.

4. Hair Styling-

If you style your hair too much by using heating tools, it makes the hair cuticles dry and causes split ends. Now, if you comb your dry hair, it leads to hair breakage and tangling.

5. Environmental Factors-

If your hair is exposed to environmental factors like wind, sun and pollution a lot, it can exaggerate the hair tangling.

Pre-Detangling Preparations and Tools

De-tangling curly hair is one of a task. It requires a lot of preparation and right tools. Effective pre-detangling preparations and tools are crucial for managing and preventing tangles in curly hair.

Let’s see the steps and tools to use for detangling hair-

Pre-Detangling Preparations-

• Dampen your hair
• De-tangling spray
• Section your hair
• De-tangle your hair in section

Pre-Detangling Tools-

Above you have seen the preparation for how to detangle curly hair between washes. Now, let’s see some of the pre-detangling tools which you would need-

• Wide toothed comb–

A wide-toothed comb is necessary for detangling hair. It helps to separate the tangles without damaging them. Always detangle from the roots and then move up towards roots.

• Detangling brush-

A detangling brush has flexible bristles, which makes detangling easier. There are some brushes designed especially to detangle wet hair that minimizes hair breakage.

• Fingers-

Fingers are one of the best tools to de-tangle hair especially when your hair is wet and conditioned. Divide your hair in small sections and detangle your hair.

• Spray bottle-

You can use spray bottle to dampen your hair to detangle curly hair between washes.

• Satin pillowcases-

Sleeping on satin pillowcases during night helps to keep the friction away and keep your curls soft and smooth.

• Detangling spray-

Just like detangling brush makes detangling easier, similarly detangling spray also makes detangling process smoother.

How to Detangle Curly Hair Between Washes

You have prepared your hair and are well versed with the tangling tools too. Now, let’s have a step-by-step guide to detangle curly hair-

1. Have your Detangling tools-

• Wide toothed comb
• Spray bottle
• Satin pillowcases

2. Section your Hair-

Divide your hair into small sections. Use hair clips to keep the sections away. This helps to make the detangling process easier.

3. Dampen your Hair-

Spritz water or conditioner on your hair to dampen it, this will easy the process of detangling.

• Start the process of Detangling
• Finger-detangling

Use your fingers to detangle the hair. You can very easily and gently separate the knots and tangles in hair.

4. Wide toothed comb-

After you have done de-tangling with fingers, you should finish it off by detangling it with wide toothed comb.

5. Work in section-

Detangling process should be done section wise. Take one section, detangling it at the bottom and then move up.

6. Apply leave-in conditioner

• Apply a small amount-

After you have de-tangled your hair, apply a small amount of leave-in conditioner, to lock in the moisture in the hair and keep the curls soft and smooth.

7. Do it for all section-

Repeat this process for all the sections you have created.

Techniques for Detangling Different Curl Types

Detangling approach can be little different for different curl types. Let’s see some of the approaches.

Type 2 and Type 3 have mostly the similar approaches. Detangling approach is little different for Type 4 curls.

1. Type 2 and Type 3 Curly Hair–

• Start with pre-detangling preparation. Like dampening your hair with water or conditioner.
• Divide your hair into manageable sections.
• Start by detangling each section, for detangling use finger, wide toothed comb or detangling brush.
• Detangle your hair from tip and move all the way to roots.
• You can also detangle your hair while you are in shower and have added conditioner on your hair.

2. Type 4 Curly Hair-

This is the most difficult curly hair, as the curls are very small in size and cannot be defined properly.

• Pre-detangling preparation-Dampen your hair with water or conditioner to add moisture.
• Make very small sections of your hair.
• Begin finger-detangling, focus on small knots and be very patient.
• Also, use wide toothed comb to brush each section gently.
• You can also detangle your hair by applying leave-in conditioner, this will provide slip and your fingers can easily detangle hair.
• Detangle hair when they are wet. Apply conditioner to moisturize the hair and then detangle them with wide toothed comb or finger.
• Tie your hair into a protective styling, to minimize the detangling of hair.

Tips on How to Detangle Curly Hair and Minimizing Future Tangles

Curly hair tangles very easily. On the wash day, your curls are defined properly, are soft and smooth. But what about the third day after wash, hair starts to tangle. So, here are some tips on how to detangle curly hair between washes-

• Sleep on Silk Pillowcases- Sleeping on satin or silk pillowcases reduces the chance of friction in the hair. Satin pillowcases keeps the hair cuticles softens and reduce the chances of hair breakage.

• Leave-in Conditioner- Applying leave-in-conditioner on wet hair helps to keep the curls soft, smooth and defined. Leave-in conditioner locks the moisture in the hair and reduces the tangling of hair.

Some of the good Leave-in conditioner to use are-

1. OUIDAD Moisture Lock Leave-in Conditioner–

This is one of the best selling leave-in conditioner on Amazon to keep your curls soft and smooth. It is lightweight and helps to provide immense hydration to the curls.

Features:

• Lightweight
• Provides Immense Hydration
• Vegan and Cruelty-free
• Prevents Frizz

2. Aunt Jackie’s Curls and Coils Quench Moisture Intensive Leave-In Hair Conditioner–

If you have got the thirstiest hair, then this is the leave-in conditioner for you. Formulated with marshmallow root, virgin oil and shea butter the conditioner helps to keep the curls soft, smooth and refreshed.

Features:

• Provides immense moisturization to curls
• Vegan
• Cruelty free
• Lightweight

3. SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Leave In Conditioner–

Shea Moisture is one of the best brand when it comes to curls. Made with most hydrating ingredients like castor oil and shea butter, the leave-in conditioner helps to nourish and moisturize the hair strands.

Features:

• Paraben-free
• Increases hair elasticity
• Softens and smoothen the hair
• Provides nourishment

4. John Frieda Frizz Ease Dream Curls Air Dry Waves–

I can vouch for this product, as it is lightweight and helps to provide immense hydration and moisturization to curls. The leave-in conditioner helps to enhance the curls and make it soft and smooth.

Features:

• Lightweight
• Defines the curls
• Non-sticky formula
• Smooth texture

• Apply product on Wet Hair- Always apply any hair care product on wet hair only, this way it gets easily absorbed in the hair and keep the curls moisturized and hydrated.

• Pineapple Technique- Tie your hair in pineapple technique while you go to sleep. This technique helps to keep the curls up in the air and reduces the tangling of hair.

FAQ Section: Common Queries about Detangling Curly Hair

So, above are the ways on how to detangle curly hair between washes. Just remember to be patient and gentle while detangling. Doing it harsh ways, will only break your hair cuticles and can also cause split ends.

Also, do not detangle your hair when they are dry. Always moisturize your hair, divide them into sections and then detangle them. This way your curls will be healthy and defined properly.

What do you do to detangle curly hair between washes?

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