How Do You Detangle Matted Hair Painlessly?

Do you know the worst thing about detangling matted hair? It can be extremely painful! But this doesn’t have to be the case. If you experience pain when detangling your hair, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a real solution. In this article, we will give you step-by-step instructions for detangling your matted hair painlessly. 

Instructions for a Painless Detangling Session

Follow the below instructions for an ouchless detangling session, no matter how matted your hair is: 

1. Wet your hair thoroughly. You should use lukewarm water. Using hot water will open up your cuticles and make your hair harder to detangle. 
2. Apply a slippery conditioner or detangler to your hair. Be liberal with the product for the best results. Focus on the matted areas. 
3. Use the pads of your fingers to work the conditioner/detangler into the mats. If you use your fingernails, you could end up damaging your hair’s cuticle. 
4. Begin to loosen up the mats with your fingers. Be patient and gentle with this part and add more product as needed. If your hair begins to dry as you’re working on it, add more water and then more product. 
5. Use a wide-toothed comb to get rid of the rest of the tangles. You should only use a comb after you’ve gotten rid of all of the larger mats. If you begin to comb through the hair before it’s time, this is where the pain may come in. As you comb through a section of hair, hold the hair firmly at the roots to minimize discomfort. 

After you’ve gone through this process, your hair should be tangle-free. 

Tips to Make the Detangling Process Easy

Even if you go through all of the above steps, you could run into some issues. And that’s why we’d like to leave you with some tips to prevent problems: 

• Make sure that the conditioner or detangler you use is slippery. If it is not, the product won’t help you detangle your hair at all. Use a detangler that has moisturizers and oils, hydrolyzing proteins, fatty alcohols, and silicones. 
• More product is better in most cases. Be generous when applying the conditioner/detangler to your hair. If you don’t use enough product, you’ll have a hard time getting through the mats. 
• Your hair should be soaking wet before applying the detangler. Wet matted hair is much easier to detangle than dry matted hair.
• Use the proper combing technique. Instead of starting at the roots, begin combing your hair at the ends and then move upward toward the roots. This will not only minimize pain but hair breakage as well. 
• Detangle matted hair as soon as possible. The longer you leave your hair matted, the worse the matting will get. 

There you have it, all the information you need to detangle your matted hair without pain. We hope that this article has answered all of your questions, setting you up for the easiest detangling session you’ve ever had!

Author: Andrea Reyes

Andrea is a mother, wife, writer, and natural hair enthusiast of 15 years. Currently on her natural hair journey, she’s been trying countless products and techniques to understand and embrace her natural hair. She is the creator of NaturallyTextured.com, a new website featuring informative articles that share tips, tricks, and techniques aimed to help others learn to love their hair through proper hair care. She writes with the hope of making hair care easier to understand and implement.