Tales from a hairdresser
- Opinion piece from a licensed cosmetologist
How to deal with tangled hair
1.Use the proper shampoo
We usually think that conditioner is solely responsible for de-tangling hair. It starts with the correct shampoo. I recommend you use sulfate free shampoos with moisturizing properties. I personally love Keracare Hydrating shampoo. This shampoo line is typically for kinky/curly hair. Link: https://amzn.to/43tF8WD
2. Condition & comb the hair FIRST before shampooing
I have an entire YouTube video showing this whole process: https://youtu.be/6WeUWgoXJg8
I usually put conditioner on my clients DIRTY hair first if it's tangled. I let it sit (5-20 min) before attempting to comb it out. I comb starting at the ends 1st & make my way back up to the root.
3. Use a proper comb
I use a specific comb for tangled hair. Link: https://amzn.to/3qyYL0H . I was mistakenly using a medium tooth comb until I discovered that certain wide tooth Combs are much more effective. This prevents breakage as well.
4. Train your hair
This is an old skool black community term. To train the hair means to get your hair to the point where it's used to being combed. It will be easier to comb within a few months insha-Allah. You must THOROUGHLY comb through your hair each time you shampoo it for it to be fully trained. For my kinky/curly ladies, please be sure to section the hair into four quadrants after rinsing the conditioner if you're not blow drying. We usually do this as a pre drying measure in salons. It prevents the curly hair from drawing back up.
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Dawn Michelle Williams is a licensed cosmetologist for the state of Maryland since the year 2000. She is the owner of Dawn Michelle's Salon in Hyattsville Maryland specializing in natural hairstyles. For information & appointments visit https://DawnMichelleSalon.com
Notes from the author:
I have a "Tales from a hairdresser " YouTube exclusive podcast series https://tinyurl.com/TalesFromAhairdresser
Those episodes drop 1x monthly. These blog articles dedicated to this subject drop every Tuesday at 3 pm EST.
During our "on" seasons for "Research Shows
….." podcast I have a segment dedicated to" Tales from a hairdresser ". Episodes air weekly Tuesdays at 3pm EST on most streaming platforms
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