How to Detangle Hair without Breakage

Whether your strands are severely knotted, teased seemingly beyond repair or naturally yet frustratingly intertwined in a deadly snare, detangling your tresses can be a major pain. Stress and anxiety aside, detangling your hair (if done improperly) can damage your strands and cause unnecessary breakage to an otherwise healthy head of hair.

Should You Detangle Wet or Dry Hair?

Countless reports claim conflicting information about whether you should detangle your hair while it is wet or while it is dry. Which one is accurate?

While dry hair is technically stronger since the bonds that compose the amino acid chain of each strand of hair are broken when wet, wet hair is more malleable making it easier to detangle. Furthermore, when wet hair is paired with a conditioning product, the strands become slippery, which allows the comb to glide through the knots with ease.

The verdict: wet your strands before you detangle.

The Best Way to Detangle Your Hair

Detangling your hair requires 3 simple steps; that’s it! This simple process works for all types of hair whether you sport pin-straight hair or rock a full head of naturally kinky hair.

Step 1: Section Dry Hair

Using a rat tail comb (or your fingers if you prefer), divide your hair into manageable sections. Use hair clips to hold the sectioned hair in place.

Step 2: Easy Does It

With your hair still dry, work through any tangles with your fingers. Ease the tangled strands apart instead of raking your fingers downward through the knotted sections; if you have tightly coiled hair, lubricate your fingers with a hair oil to lessen the friction.

Step 3: Spritz and Detangle

Spritz Daily Dose onto the working section making sure to douse every strand. Using a wide-tooth comb, brush through the tangles from the bottom of your mane to the crown of your head. Once you can successfully comb through an entire section 2-3 times, you can move on to the next section.

Home Remedies for Detangling Hair

If you run out of Daily Dose, you can use simple ingredients from your kitchen to create an effective detangler in a pinch.

Apple Cider Vinegar is the key ingredient in many DIY detangling recipies. ACV contains key acids, which work to prevent your strands from losing key, natural oils emitted from the scalp by regulating your hair’s pH levels.

DIY Apple Cider Vinegar Detangler

Ingredients:

• 2oz Empty Glass Spray Bottle
• Small Funnel
• 2tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1-1.5oz Hot Water (Not Boiling)
• 10-15 Drops of Essential Oil: Lemon, Tea Tree or Lavender

1. Place the tip of the small funnel into the empty glass spray bottle.
2. Add 10-15 drops of your favorite essential oil. Lemon essential oil helps with scalp detoxification, tea tree essential oil helps to regulate oil production and lavender essential oil has been connected to the prevention of hair loss and baldness.
3. Add the 2tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar to the spray bottle.
4. Add the 1-1.5oz of hot water to the spray bottle.
5. Shake the mixture for 5-10 seconds or until all of the solution is mixed.

Author: Parris Cisna

Parris Cisna lives in Laguna Niguel, CA with her husband, Derek, and her dog Ludo (named after the Labyrinth with David Bowie). Parris has a BA in English from UCLA and an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from WVU. With 9+ years of marketing experience in the beauty and fashion industries, Parris is smitten with all things hair care, skincare, couture and runway. In her spare time, Parris enjoys flipping through the pages of a historical fiction novels and fashion textbooks, baking the latest NY Times recipes, and hopping from thrift shop to thrift shop in Orange County.