Hair-care Help/Tips!

[Guest Emily_MI]

Any good tips for keeping hair not being tangled so much after showering?? My hair is past my shoulders now and just about ever-time I shower my hair becomes very tangled. Even after I use A LOT of conditioner it still is very tangled? HELP!!!

[JJ]

One big thing is how you wash and dry it. My hair was always thick but very fine-baby fine in fact. I kept it to the middle of my back a lot too because people were constantly admiring it. . If you rub back and forth washing it you damage your hair. You can massage the shampoo down without tangling and in time it gets to be natural. Massaging just the scalp with fingertips is good and stimulates growth but not the hair itself

The other and more important thing is how you dry it. Most people are used to grabbing a towel and rubbing-which creates a mess. You wrap the towel around and squeeze. Never, ever rub. Or use a brush on wet hair by the way. Just a wide tooth comb. Because my hair was so fine I couldn't blow dry it without damaging and drying it. Conditioner won't correct that-just cover it up some but in the end unhealthy hair just can't be covered up completely.

If you go to a salon and have your hair washed pay attention to what they do and how they do it. It may be worth the price just to learn the technique. It was hairdressers who taught me.

Also ask perhaps how often your length hair needs washed. Being dry can make it tangle more and because of the time it takes the natural oils to work down and be replenished long hair generally should not be washed more than once a week

Johnny

[Guest Brenda Hailey]

One big thing is how you wash and dry it. My hair was always thick but very fine-baby fine in fact. I kept it to the middle of my back a lot too because people were constantly admiring it. . If you rub back and forth washing it you damage your hair. You can massage the shampoo down without tangling and in time it gets to be natural. Massaging just the scalp with fingertips is good and stimulates growth but not the hair itself

The other and more important thing is how you dry it. Most people are used to grabbing a towel and rubbing-which creates a mess. You wrap the towel around and squeeze. Never, ever rub. Or use a brush on wet hair by the way. Just a wide tooth comb. Because my hair was so fine I couldn't blow dry it without damaging and drying it. Conditioner won't correct that-just cover it up some but in the end unhealthy hair just can't be covered up completely.

If you go to a salon and have your hair washed pay attention to what they do and how they do it. It may be worth the price just to learn the technique. It was hairdressers who taught me.

Also ask perhaps how often your length hair needs washed. Being dry can make it tangle more and because of the time it takes the natural oils to work down and be replenished long hair generally should not be washed more than once a week

Johnny

Thanks Johnny, another lightbulb went off upstairs remembering all the ladies with towels wrapped around their heads..........(it was for a reason) not just to look silly....lol

Years of boy washing and rubbing dry needs correction...

Brenda

[Guest Lizzie McTrucker]

Hi! Long hair curly girl checking in!

I never rub my hair. I'll gently massage shampoo in with an up-and-down motion using my finger tips on the scalp but that's it, and even with that it's not for a very long time. I read somewhere that you don't need to shampoo the ends of your hair, just massage gently into the scalp (gently being the key word here) and when you rinse, just let the shampoo run down the length of the hair.

For conditioner, I, um, I use a lot. (hey I have long thick hair!) I condition in 3-4 sections. First, some on top but not a lot because the top of your head isn't where you need it the most. And then I just apply it in sections. Next squirt gets put on half way down. Next squirt gets put on down towards the end. Final last squirt gets put on the sides above both ears. I usually just run my hands down my hair and then twist it as a whole as if I was getting ready to put my hair in a bun.

I never ever rub shampoo or conditioner in. I just put it on the top layer and twist my hair gently.

Same thing with drying. I never ever rub my hair or you'll end up with a tangled mess that hurts to brush out. I actually use two towels after I shower, one for my hair and one for the rest of me. When I dry my hair I put the towel over my head and gather up all my hair and just squeeze the water out as I work my way down the length of the hair. Again, working in sections, starting at the top and then just grab and squeeze as I work my way down.

Some argue you're never supposed to brush wet hair. I brush towel dry hair and it's fine for me. So after squeezing the water out and into the towel, my hair is obviously going to still be damp. That's when I apply Frizz-Ease to everything but the scalp (it's advised not to with this product). Just squirt a few times and apply it on in sections.

From there I usually put it up and do the rest of my bathroom stuff.

[Guest Kendra K]

Maybe leave-in conditioner would help? I've just started trying it in the last week, so I can't speak if it works for that or not, my sytlist recommended it.

[Guest Zeda]

I will echo Kendra about using leave-in conditioner-- it works wonderfully, and when your hair is feeling a bit dry, you can actually run your hands in water and brush them through your hair.

I have long, curly hair, so to make it more manageable, I will put my head in a tub of water and gently brush out my hair while it is under water. It won't completely detangle usually, but then I put in conditioner, brush again, dunk my hair back in the water to brush. I brush from the inside and the outside, and soon enough I have mermaid hair Then I take it out of the water, run a few more strokes through, rinse out excess conditioner, whip my hair forward so it is off my back, where a towel like a cape, whip it back (be gentle) so that it is sitting on the towel, and let it dry that way, all untangled.

That's just my process when I want it to look extra nice. Also, straightening my hair made it a lot more manageable, but it dries it out and I have naturally curly hair which makes it even drier.

Some other ways that I keep it untangled is by brushing it through and getting all of the tangles out, then I either braid it or tie it back in a ponytail with a bunch of ties (like 3 or 4) going down the length. This way, when I let it down, it is still wavy, but not in a tangled mess.

Evidence: