by
Rinny
by Geri of Geraldine the Great
Alright- so, there’s much ado about finger detangling, as of late.
It’s one of my most highly touted methods to attaining length, and for preserving healthier hair strands.
I mention it often, and in fact, a reader recently took me to task about it with the following comment:
Q: You’re killing me with this finger detangling, but I am doing it.
Can you walk me through your steps from dirty, ready to wash hair, to clean hair waiting to dry?
~Liz
A: Yes!
I absolutely can walk you through my steps, Liz. But, I must warn you; finger detangling can be very, very, very, time consuming. The thicker or denser your hair is, the more minutes, or hours, you’ll possibly have to add to your routine.
Whenever I finger detangle, I weigh the amount of time it takes for me to complete a detangling session against, not only to my growth rate (1/4th of an inch per month), but also against how easily I can loose length from the breakage I get with with brushing.
Simply put, I would like to retain every 0.25” of hair that emerges from my scalp every month. The prospect of losing tiny fragments of hair every single time I detangle my hair with a tool, is bothersome. Little pieces of breakage add up, so personally committing to this lengthy process, once or twice a month, in exchange for healthier and longer hair, is worth it to me.
I don’t know of any other ways of getting around this arduous process, but to accept it, and to grind down to getting it done. There aren’t any secrets. So, if you opt to include finger detangling in your routine, breathe through feeling overwhelmed and try some of the tips below.
Tip 1. Pace yourself. Break the process into smaller chunks of time during your wash day.
Tip 2. Pop in a movie, or two, to distract yourself as you work.Tip 3. Incorporate finger detangling into your hair regimen slowly- perhaps, try it once a month, to see if it’s a method you could really commit to.Tip 4. Take it easy. Try finger detangling the more fragile sections of your hair, and gently brush detangling the hardier sections.
I’ve included a pictorial for you Liz, and for anyone who’s sketchy about incorporating this method into their routine.
The Hair
4-5 week old loose twists
The Players
Avocado oil
A pair of scissors
A slippy conditioner- I used Trader Joe’s Nourish Spa
The Technique
I begin by gently unraveling my hair. You can choose to do this on dry hair like I did, or you can lightly moisten your hair with water to make the strands more malleable to work with.
Knots always occur. I tease them apart as best as I can, and only resort to snipping them off with my scissors, if they are impossible to remove manually.
Splits are also trimmed off as I come across them. Look carefully, you’ll notice the mid-strand bubble splits that serve to torment my existence. Once these occur, I trim a few centimeters above the bubble split, to ensure that I’m creating fresh blunt ends.
As I mentioned earlier, you can choose to dry detangle with just an oil, but depending on the dryness of your hair, you can still suffer breakage. Small bits of your ends can still pop off easily without proper lubrication. I highly recommend softening up the hair with a modest amount of conditioner, to combat this.
I coat my hair with conditioner, and tease the strands apart, releasing remaining shed hair.
Tedium has its rewards, and ultimately, once I’m done, I always feel like a superhero; comfortably detangled hair with nary a brush or comb in sight.Like hell yeah! I did it!
Lol.
Truth moment- I had to split this session up over a few days, because I kept starting it late at night. The crinkles are the four unraveled giant braids I kept the detangled sections in. In the mornings for work, I’d simply bun everything up.
It takes works, true. But, you can do it. However, you gotta be honest with yourself.
What are your hair goals, if you have any? Are you trying to gain length? Thickness? Ease? Style?
I wanted length, and finger detangling was one method I used to get it.
What are you willing to do, (or not do) to get yours?
Geri is the owner of GeraldinetheGreat.blogspot.com; a down-to-earth, natural hair blog that mixes in healthy hair tips with fun lifestyle anecdotes for women and men with highly textured hair. She is Nigerian American, a classic introvert, a makeup artist, a born writer, and a Bob’s Burgers fanatic.
Follow her on Instagram @Gerimua.
83 Responses
Hi Shayla!!! I am also Shayla…it was funny because I felt like I was reading a quote directly from me! Moisture is so important…the other day, an epiphany came to me. African Americans are not the primary consumer considered when products are made and sold. In the store, the whole store caters to Caucasian needs, whereas African Americans have a section. Commercials have Caucasian hair and skin needs addressed, while African Americans have their own commercials when “our” programs are on TV. What if, wayyyyy back when, when shampoo was ‘invented’…African American hair was not considered. I am sure that in the US, the needs of African American hair was not important enough to formulate a product that would benefit kinky hair prone to dryness, because that is not a primary concern for Caucasian heads. With that being said, it is not that far of a stretch to think that kinky African American hair does not need standard ‘shampoo’, we do not need the type of cleansing that we have used for so long…because it was the industry standard…just a thought…have a great day. Always a pleasure to meet another SHAYLA…Shayla are classy with a style and grace that is unmatched…much love to you…spread the kindness…
Love your hair. How were you able to grow it so long? I have 4C hair and find it very hard to retain length. I don’t doubt that my hair is growing, it’s the keeping the growth part that’s hard.
Hi, Kassandra, I know this question wasn’t for me, but maybe I can help answer it… Moisture is key, moisture every day or every other. I use a non-sulfate shampoo such as Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus shampoo and moisturzing conditioners… Protective styling such as bunning my hair and using coconut oil to protect my hair (especially the ends) gave me my length and helped to retain it. Unfortunately you have to maintain this regimen or your hair can break off. but its not impossible to achieve.. I had waist length hair this month and just recently did a cut back to in between mid back length and waist length because I totally got lazy and stopped treating my hair right and it broke off in the middle back of my head… smh…I am headed back to my old length by hopefully April 2014…. Check out my profile pic!!! Hope that I helped! Blessings:)
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Instead of scissors, try the dentek pics. I used them to take my locs down but find the tooth scraper is great for getting in and taking out knots gently without cutting being an option.
Hello Renny..I Liked Your Post…Thanks for sharing.
Hey ya’ll
I love this method. I have waist length hair ( it’s more grazing at the waist not full waist length) with for the most part 4b, the rest is 4a.
What really makes it much easier for me is if in between washes, my hair is a bit detangled or kept fairly stretched in a way. And ofcourse doing it with the help of the water stream actually melts the knots!
Yesterday’s co-wash took about 30 min ( rinsing, extra detangeling, adding aloe( cold) and oil and twisting it back up). Before that, I took my time to add conditioner to my dry strands and lightly detangle as I add dollops of cheap conditioner (about 15-20min)
Hope this helps. But as stated by others before, please do what works for your beautiful and unique strands =)
HOT WATER AND CONDITIONER
HOT WATER?! lol…you tried getting hair to break or shred more? Hot water can kill hair ends , only cold can lift. Warm will rinse and clean out.
I’ve tried this on and off, and my main problem is that I never feel like I get all the shed hairs out so it builds up and gets tangly over time!
Also, am I the only one who can’t see the “older comments” button when using my iphone for this site?? For some reason I have been confined to the last page of comments.
It’s been happening to me for a while on my home laptop. I emailed whomever runs this blog and I have yet to receive a response. 🙁
Instead of Clarify shampoo, I do detofity clay….I get that idea mainly from naturpal85. CLAY is a way better than clarify , it will takes a whole up that clarify had leftover. MY first was benionte but it too drying so I change to shikaki ayvureiya (whatever it is spelled) look up for it in hennasooq.com and you will see what it included in all .
It is also moiszture than clarify shampoo I had.
HTH to anyone interesting.
it is very easy for me (in fact I always get exicited when I know I am doing my hair every nights most time) Even thru it mean detangling processing, it is better now.
I will tell you why it is better
1# I divide in 4 or 3 sections to do conditioner washing a lot (co-wash) and pre-wash with olive oil or coconut mainly. Now it will be grapeseed oil , olive oil and sunflower oil I have large bottles of them
2# I always dc overnite with coconut alone but now I do LOC method with coconut to dc , I put silver or gold conditioner alummin cap on under satin . sometimes beanie to DC ..I get really moisturezed hair all day next! I tried detangling next day for less 20 mins in ready work, no needed! It is too slippery and moisted (I have a bunch of them, they are less than $2 at walmart but supposed be only $1 at Dollar tree store) Dollar tree sel silver so it is better since it bigger. I can re-use by hand washing in soap and warm water.
3# I always detangle all days , everytime I do hair mainly. None seems to stuck up unless it is knotting or hair single come out. I would do herbal rinse and tea rinse. Taking garlic capsule.
#4 most of my moisturzer is very slippery enough for detangling, you should try “African Pride Shea Butter leave in” or Cantu natural deep masque. I always go for leave in moisturzer as orginial moisturzer instead of orginial moisturzer. That way I can get extra slippery or intense deep penertate.
^^^^ Shut up roach poop.
I’m just shocked her hair is soooo long at this texture? I never knew? I really need take care of my looser curls cuz my hair stay short. But there is a possibility my hair won’t grow. I guess texture doesn’t matter….na I need to check for tracks on this girl? Im nit belueving my green eyes?
what you talking about??? because use better English grammar ..luckylike
HER HAIR IS REAL
this was clearly written by some troll lol “cant blv my green eyes”
I finger detangle and finish off with a wide tooth comb in the shower – the water and comb helps shaves off some time. Ooooooh and I need basically a whole bottle of conditioner to hand o_0 or it just isnt happening.
I tried detangling before shampooing – I used to twist up the section and then wash my hair, but I found then when I did that I just tangled the hair close to my scalp and I had to detangle all over again – has anyone else experienced this or was I just doing it wrong?
I never experince that personally..
you just need a better conditioner that is more slipperly like detangler friendly. Help make fingers easily to run thru hair. I dunno what kind co-wash you using…
You are suppose divide hair in 4 sections or 3 then detangle (it is better with finger not comb , wide tooth because if you go from top to end finger will be gentle and controlled. Not comb) Having conditioner cover in hair with oil (oil is only needed if you need extra super slippery) then start detangle
Do it before you shampoo or co-wash. Never wash your hair without detangle, or your hair may be matted or tangled terribly with dryness. Hard to do it later on.
I feel like this method works best for those whose hair does not drastically shrink when wet and continue to shrink drastically (to the scalp) as it dries (e.g. YT glamfun).
I just spent 20 hours detangling my hair. No. That was NOT a rltypo. Twenty HOURS. I have always suspected detangling to be a cumulative process, and boy was I right!
I wore protective styles almost back to back for 7 months, improperly (*lazily*) detangling between styles.
My hair was so cobwebby with shed hair, it became unrecognizable and so difficult to manage I had no choice but to thoroughly detangle.
At first, I attempted to finger detangle exclusively. By the 3rd day of 5 hour sessions, I reached my limit, breaking out my trusty wide toothed comb, a smaller toothed comb (not a fine tooth), and my handy Denman.
All breakage, shedding, splits, and cut out knots formed a small softball and fit in a Ziploc bag with plenty of room to spare.
I definitely don’t recommend anyone to go as long as I did without detangling. But frequency of detangling is just as important as using combs/brushes.
I’d say for 7 months of growth and hair fall, I wound up on top! 🙂
20 hours? You are very patient. I would have shaved my head and kept it moving. How does one get that kind of time to spend on hair detangling??
It really don’t take me a while to detangle. I am always detangling everyday so probably that why it doesn’t takes that long. it is easier to me since I am doing it on daily basic than before. I always sit down (night) before Roku to watch nefelix movies 1 or 2 then detangling takes about 30 mins with protective style I usually do it nightly. It is finished..(not bad!)
I also have 4C hair (bra-strap length). I was also surprised to read that it takes some people hours to detangle their hair. I, like you detangle my hair on a regular basis, which I see makes a difference in time. I think I would go crazy spending that much time on my hair.
Girl, I don’t know what I would do without my Tangle Teaser! I detangle dry hair with my fingers, a wide tooth comb and my tangle teaser. I add a little oil and Aunt Jackie’s Knot on my Watch for a little slip. It works for me.
Sigh why couldn’t the 4c in the middle back of my hair couldn’t be 4a or 3c like the rest of my hair?Such a pain to detangle that section…
my right side is a 4b and i couldnt agree more with you….it’s so annoying…
Ditto and I have no patience so I detangled with my Denman brush just like the rest of my hair. It takes me no longer than 2 minutes.
I have a a head full of 4c hair (not Geri 4c)I don’t even think it’s supposed to be 4c maybe they should add an extra type. coz my hair is really a mish mash of coils, zig zags and random undecided bends. My saving grace is that it’s low density and only 6″ long. A brush never comes near my head or i would pull out clumps of hair:( i only finger detangle simple because it’s most painless way of dealing with my hair.
I finger detangle like you too Geri. My hair grows extremely slow and just breaks easily even when im being extra careful. You didn’t shed much hair, considering your hair was twisted for 5weeks.
I like the differentiation you made btw your growth rate n retention rate. I use to do dry detangling, but I just found out that wet detangling is much faster. The tangles just slips off and magically detangle themselves. I only have to manually separate the tangles caused by knots with my fingers or scissors.
themanecaptain.blogspot.ca
I also have type 4 hair and was steadily seeing growth until…I tried the Denman brush. I think for type 4 hair people who want to retain length without all the time is to minimize combing period. I usually only detangle when I wash which is once or twice a month. I don’t comb my hair daily and wear simple styles that can be redone easily with with very little manipulation. I don’t detangle with brushes anymore and stick to wide tooth combs.
I’ve been trying to stick with the Tightly Curly Method more, especially about combing. I can greatly reduce the amount of hair that breaks and appears in my comb by how I comb my hair. It also takes me less time than finger detangling. Finger detangling makes me tired and frustrated, leading me to be more aggressive with combing so it doesn’t work well for me.
Im happy to read that it takes others 3 to 4hrs to detangle as well. I just got it down to science this week. It was still long and tedious but I had very little breakage! Used Shea moisture and spray bottle.
My hair stays braided I do one braid at a time
I have super dense, kinky (4b/c), bra-strap length hair. I’ve been finger-detangling since 2010. It’s lead to less breakage, more length retention and more pleasant detangling sessions (no pain from combing tension on scalp or ‘snap, crackle or pop’ sounds).
I finger-detangle on stretched, sectioned (10 or 12), dampened (25% glycerin spritz), conditioner-coated (Nature’s Gate Jojoba or Hemp Conditioner) hair before shampoo-ing. I finger-detangle weekly and it takes me about an hour. I watch a documentary or movie on Netflix to pass the time.
After detangling, I shampoo my scalp (in twists), deep condition (in twists), do the LOc method, stretch (10 braids) and air-dry. I wear my hair in braid-outs, buns, updos and puffs.
I was doing it for about a year I have waist length mostly 4 hair, and it’s thick, but the time was CRAZY I had to detangle before wash (like taking down twist, which is mostly what I kept my hair in or med braids) then the wash, then I’d have to detangle again after it’s about 3 to 4 PER detangle, I recently started back doing hand/deaman brush, and I only semi detangle before wash and then do a very detailed detangle after wash, I also sometimes use heat after, I put my hair on those big plastic rollers and sit under a bonnet dryer for about 40 mins on med and cool. Do what works for YOU! also since I’ve reached my waist length goals I’m not “as concerned” with retaining all my growth
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3 to 4 hours per detangle I meant to say, I do movies when I do it, 2 or 3 LOL
It took me a while to get use to finger detangling, but now it’s all I do. I was at first a skeptic, but now I’m a believer. My process is very different from Geri, but so is my hair. I first deep condition my hair, then I finger detangle under running water in sections. The detangling takes about an hour, which is 30 minutes less than it took me to detangle with a wide tooth comb.
Finger detangling is no joke. I assumed it would be easier than regular detangling until I actually tried it. And if you’re not gentle, and I wasn’t, you can cause more harm than good.
i agree, you gotta be rEALLY extra gentle like a glass or newborn baby. Holding or combing it with fingers can cause stressing on hair strands (similar to comb) that is why we told to do finger detangling so we would be careful…
i agree i made that mistake by shredding a lot
This article validates my experience about finger-detangling. I have had much success as I’ve done it consistently for the last year. I saturate my hair with coconut oil the night before I wash, and spend about an hour detangling on wash day.
OK, so..I have a few questions and comments.
WHen I first heard about finger detangling, I was wondering what was the real purpose of it.
Geri, do you comb your hair everyday? I know in this post you said it took you a couple of days, but otherwise from this post, how do you comb your hair?
I tried to incorporate finger detangling into my regimen but I dont think I know what I was doing. It felt like I was fighting with my hair. I am a combination of all 4s and my hair is densely packed. I really felt like I was tearing out my hair whenever I tried to finger detangle.
I comb my hair every day; and on those days I use a comb, and a brush..yolo! lol. but on wash day, I will try to detangle under running water as much as possible.
This is another thing with finger detangling. I always feel like I haven’t fully detangled because as soon as I run a comb through my hair, boom! there goes more hair. Am I the only one that this has happened to? Any advice or tips ladies?
DiJah,
It doesn’t only happen to you. It happened to me, in beginning too…it is called “error and..” whatever it is . I forgot! anyway we are to learn and raise more abt hair before we become more educated from all researching, youtubes, stuffs like that. It happens to me when I first use comb alone with oil or water, it comes out with hair. I thought i might was sick with something or whatever. I ran to online everytime mostly. LOL
HONESTLY, comb CAN detangle but IT takes up more hair than supposed. It rips off like a bad comb or brush.
So we are told to finger detangling insteading, that way you can control combing your hair strands and know what you are doing. Some combs are heavy or not gentle enuff to handle hair, but hand is. Hair is very delicate can break easily. If stress, that is why it breaks off from comb. It wil NOT stop break if you finger detangling by way ..it only can reduce shredding or breakage.
I only do finger, i never get tired or wish I can use comb. I wish I had find out earlier. My aunts were shocked I use finger because my hair is long than I show in avart pic. It is only pic of my bced hair. They asked why I don’t do comb…well it is like say no to drug, mineral oil, sls, parbean, etc. YOU get it now?
Most time it is better to pre-wash with coconut then finger detangling with leave in (that way you will have easy time to do it) but watch for ends it is very old strands that need to be removed. It is like cat or dog that leave fur somewhere on funtinure.
I’d say don’t comb everyday. I usually moisturize (the LOC method, water, oil, and a cream leave-in conditioner) and style with my hands into a simple style (usually some sort of protective style). I keep the same style for at least a week so I don’t have to re-section or part my hair into a new style which would mean more manipulation. I brush my edges gently with a brush or my Tangle Teezer (it smoothes the edges with snagging or tangling).
When I detangle I start from the bottom up and sort of pick gentle without trying to run the comb all through the entire section in one sweep. I’ll have to find the video or make one myself to better explain what I mean.
To a person talks about other grammar or mine..I really don’t care ‘cuz it is like a compliment to me by way! What you don’t recongize is that most ppl in here (yes in this particular discussion, different networks, or offline) have bad grammars during to different reasons but I don’t mind. You have bad grammar too, you forget to say comment? Who is perfect english teacher?
Anyway this is not english class, just a blog abt hair. For us to discuss abt hair since we interesting in finger detangling hours.
Oh well to others, I forgot to metion I do love to fingerdetangling the best! seam less comb doesn’t seem to work for me, even boar brush. I have to use LOC , for finger detangling or just lubricating oil such as olive oil. I also use coconut oil mostly to pre-wash, it saved my hair life! LOL
Dananana, I work 7-3pm but it didn’t stop me from wash weekly. I don’t wanna clogged scalp or build up. I only do hair on my day off or night, when you are good to hair then hair is great to you in return.
ADRZ, I typically wash weekly too.
My comment wasn’t saying that people with wng routines shouldn’t finger detangle…It was sympathizing with folks who have to really try to find time to do their hair because of a demanding work schedule.
I worked on a flexible hourly schedule while I was in college full time, and it was a struggle to find time to do my hair. I DEFINITELY was not about finger detangling or really, any sort of protective style.
I frequent Geris’ blog, I must say she is one of the FEW true type 4C hair out there…with length. I will pay attention to what she says
Okay I’ve told y’all about my finger detangling story a little on another post, but I’ll briefly reiterate here. I have 4c hair, and I only used my fingers to detangle my hair for over a year. I think this method MIGHT work and fit into the average work schedule, if you keep your hair in protective styles nearly all the time. If you wash your hair on the regular, you’ll be finger detangling every day, which would be totally unreasonably considering how long it takes. So for me, finger detangling ONLY doesn’t fit my lifestyle because 1) I always wear my natural hair in loose styles. 2) I wash my hair from one to three times a week. 3) It takes an unreasonable amount of time to do it on a daily basis. You see, I have thick, 4c hair; so I also have a good amount of shed hair. Tangled hair plus shed hair times three washes in one week equals a big tangled mess and breakage. I also like to use combs for the sake of style. I like fluffy hairstyles. They prevent my hair from getting matted and tangled. To each their own. I do think that the title of this article is misleading. You can have length retention without finger detangling even if you have 4c hair (dense or not). The key to detangling is moisture. I recently bought a hair steamer, and it’s a dream!! Also, getting regular trims improves length retention because the ends are not so dry and fragile.
YES. I wouldn’t even think of trying to exclusively finger detangle with a wash and go regimen. I think that the only reason finger detangling isn’t a stress on my schedule is because I’m an 8-5, Mon-Fri work lady. I don’t know what I would do with this mane if I worked weekends and/or was on-call for my job!
I’ve always had long SUPER thick curly hair since a baby boy. My mom had the same hair and she eventually loc’d up when I was about 11. I had only combed and detangled my hair once in 24 years (one day in highschool I wore a huge afro by request of my girl), that was up until coming across this website last year.
Tried it 1st with a PICK and remembered why I hadnt combed my hair, TOO PAINFUL LOL.
And once water hits my hair it curls up into tight ringlets, so its a waste of time to try and control my hair. Its trained to be free.
So one day while watching MARTIN I then tried using my fingers, It took about 3 hours because I took my time while drinking multiple beers. Afterwards I washed it with conditionor while in 4 twists. My hair had never felt and looked so good!
People have always complimented me on my hair but now they ask me who does my hair lol.
Its strange having beautiful black women asking who is doing my hair. Especially since I dont do anything to it, execept wash it twice a month with conditionor and put grapeseed oil in it weekly. plus the finger detangle twice a month.
And let me add, Ive never been concerned about length, I would usually get a haircut every week (line up and trim + beard).
My last haircut was back in december 2012, my hair has grown from bottom ear length curls to past shoulder length. Longer than its ever been. I think the finger detangling aided in retaining most of my hair in my head. I have a appointment with my barber the wednesday before thanksgiving 2013, Im cutting off some inches on the side and back, then getting lower sides and lower back tapered which was always my signature hair style. I think I will leave the top long.
But FINGER DETANGLING WORKS LADIES. I promise. I owe this website because my hair is healthier than it has ever been 🙂
This article is a Godsend. How did you get your edges to lay down like that??
It’s good to see 4 C girls admitting the time consuming nature of our hair. My hair is like Geri’s and I know that not all 4bs or cs have this exact type of hair, some have hair that is much easier to manipulate and much more malleable without breakage. I have the very same fragile, mid shaft splitting, bubble splitting hair. I work in a job where I am not afforded time to spend days and days on hair. I am currently trying to work out twisted updos to shorten the time I spend on just doing hair. I’m not in love with any of the styles that I do at my length but I am also not in love with spending hours washing, twisting etc.
Has anyone tried detangling shampoos? I’ve used Elasta QP shampoo and Cream of Nature Aragon Oil shampoo, they both melt away tangles as you’re washing so that detangling when you’ve applied your conditioner becomes a breeze.
Yeah, As I Am Coconut Cowash does the same
Geri has some beautiful hair. I remember her talking about finger detangling during she and Jouelzy’s 4C workshop at the Philly Natural Hair show. When she talked about how long it takes for her to finger detangle, everyone was looking at her like she was crazy..lol Myself included but since then I have tried it and I see the benefits for my hair. I occasionally use a comb, especially when I don’t have the time or patience. Both work fine for me.
I’m hoping for health, length, thickness and softness. I’m still in my 5 month transition, BC’ing in 11 days! I’m done dealing with two textures y’all. I feel finger detangling is less painful than a comb, and I’ve recently started adding EVOO to help with the process. I’m willing to do just about anything to achieve my goals, maybe with the exception of taking hair growth supplements.
Congrulation to you! I only wanna health , thickness, things similar as you too. But you will get there as long it may seem struggling. Time will fly by quickly. Just take a before pic and after , you will say wow! look at my growth 🙂
Ok so I have 4a hair with one section of 3c in the back. I tried finger detangle a couple of times and this is just….no. My hair tangles super easily and will dread like none other if I don’t properly detangle with my detangling comb and follow up with detangling brush. My question, for anyone reading this, do you or a friend have 4a friends who have successfully finger detangled?
me…yes i successful fully. At first my hair break a lot and was dry all time , i found out i was 4c not porous. Then when i used simply water alone to detangle , it was like (squeaky) even if I did LCO my hair feels dry the next day. I thought it was shower filter or porous. Probably I need oil rinse?
I was wrong , I finna did LOC method and detangle more …it feels better and stay moisturzed all day but I tuck away ends and sleep with satin wrappings or bonnet even i have satin pillowcase. i learn it helps retain moisturze. i also dc a month each and co-wash 3x or less but in winter i do more than summer. i can’t detangle w/o using loc method, it also helps me stay moisturzed. Because i was told that oil will not be sealed unless you use cream. Water and oil in loc method can’t be used alone when spirtz sepertaley , because it will binds so use emulfisier . i use lemongrass leave in by alikay natural .
whenever you go outside of winter, use satin with winter beanie cap. i use rosewater it helps prevent harash weather then protective style and satin under it to work .
Yes. I finger detangle with success and use a seamless wooden wide tooth comb once every 6 weeks to make sure I keep the shed hair buildup in check. It’s good, but I can’t really tell if it’s made a difference because I retain length with a very light combing/detangling routine as well….
Kita, I’m a multitextured type 4 (4B/C on the sides, 4A in the crown)with a very fine, tangle-prone 3B/3C nape. I use a seamless wide tooth maybe once a month, if that. Since I’ve been almost exclusively finger detangling this year, I’ve gone from chin/jaw-length to collarbone/shoulder length (stretched) this year. The keys to finger detangling for me are PATIENCE (#1), and keeping my hair stretched 90% of the time. I also split my detangling up over 2 days. The day before wash day, I prepoo and lightly detangle with EVCO in 10-12 sections. I only remove big knots, lint, and obvious shed hair, and then I braid each section. That takes me about 2 hours. The next day, I wash, DC, and then when I’m setting my style/post wash moisturizing (normally medium braids or two-strand twists), I make sure that there’s no shed hairs trapped by lightly detangling again. Smoothing your leave-in moisturizer of choice from root to tip also can help remove shed hair. So total, I spend about 4 hours detangling, but since I’m multitasking, I feel like it saves time for me. Also, two detangling sessions keep me from the “accidental loc up” mess in my curlier sections. Hope this helps!
Also, I forgot to mention, that I sometimes use Aunt Jackie’s Knot on My Watch during the initial prepoo/detangle process. After smoothing coconut oil onto a section, a pea size amount of that stuff makes detangling and getting all the shed hair a breeze!
Im 4a too, and finger detangling is to time consuming and I always end up using my wide tooth comb. I just have too much hair too dense for finger detangling.
I’ve tried finger detangling. In fact, I did it for 1.5 years and eventually came to the conclusion that it was doing more harm that good. I had a lot of breakage and had to cut a lot of those knots out. I ended up bringing back my denman, detangling once a week on fully stretched and dry hair, and my hair hasn’t been happier. I am super gentle, so the amount of breakage from the denman is pretty low. I was WL for a full year and since the change in detangling method, I have finally started to eek past it. Hopefully, I will be HL by my 5th hair anniversary. I know finger detangling works for some, but for me it’s a no-no.
I am with you. I have 3c hair, so I know this article wasn’t totally aimed at me.
That said, I like to do a mix of finger and comb detangling. I’ll lightly finger detangle during every stage of my wash day process (pre-poo, cleansing, deep condition). After I rinse out my DC, I’ll then apply a slippy conditioner (love Darcy’s pumpkinseed conditioner for this step, now that Tresemme Naturals has changed its formula!) and comb with my seamless comb. By this stage, most of the major knots are out, and the comb is just getting out those last bits of shed hair and tangles. When I tried to finger detangle only, I felt like I was causing more tangles because I wasn’t getting 100% of the shed hair. It’s nice to have finally found a detangling method that works for me!
I’m a 4C natural who, after years of having short hair (before and after going natural) am finally beginning to retain length.
I was natural for 5 (yes FIVE) years before I retained anything. My hair was perpetually 4 to 6 inches. Now it is between 12 and 14 inches.
I have to say, I can understand why so many 4C naturals loc or keep their hair short, or unable to grow their hair out. It. takes. WORK!
The main reason I retain length is that I keep my hair in mini box braids year round. Out styles just don’t work for me. They dry out my hair and make my ends brittle. Truthfully, the box braids get super boring sometimes, but the quest for length (and to disprove the notion that ‘super nappy hair can’t grow’) keeps me going.
The other thing is that I have to moisturize all. the damn. time!! Especially now that it’s approaching Winter.
Like, if I miss ONE NIGHT of doing the entire LOC method (Shea Moisture spritz, then jojoba oil, then a cream moisturizer), then I see little pieces of my hair come out in my hands.
It is exhausting and I have to admit that many time I just want to cut it off so that I don’t have to be bothered.
The one advantage though is that I really like how the longer box braids frame my face. And I love having a ponytail that actually moves around.
But some days I’m like, dang, it’s hard out here for a 4C girl!
Story of my life!…minus the part about finally retaining length. Well, I’m actually getting length but MAJOR BREAKAGE, to the point where I can’t even wear my hair out in a fro because it looks too thin. I’ve been searching for stories of people with years of difficulty growing their 4c, and having an aha! moment. Thanks for sharing. But every other day? Sheesh! But you know, I brush my teeth everyday without complaining, so I guess I’ll try!
For my 4c fine hair, pre-pooing for 1/2 hr plus with conditioner first ensures that I lose less hair during the detangle process. tip from napturally curly.
I agree 100% Pre-pooing makes detangling easier. I typically do so with an oil concoction and add either a conditioner right before I start or a light mist of liquid over my entire head before diving into each section. I can definitely notice a difference int he amount of shed hair when doing it this way vs. dry/only with oil.
So glad to see you online again Geri! You know i`ve been stalking your blog waiting for new posts right? But alas, you`ve abandoned us *sob sob*. I`ve incorporated finger detangling since coming across your original blog post and i must say, my hair is coming on nicely length wise. Your hair is such an inspiration for me. Keep up the good work and, oh, Geri…please get back to blogging again, please!
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Nice post! I have 4c hair that is approaching my waist and a large part of my growth retention is because I stopped using tools to detangle my hair. My fingers are all that I need.
I would add that when you are finger detangling your hair—pretend that you are taking out an individual braid. You are gently working your strands apart horizontally and then working the shed hair down vertically. When you get to the end of your hair you gently remove the shed hair.
The way that I manage this method is keeping my hair in protective styles long term. My finger detangling sessions occur when I am re-doing my braids once every eight weeks. It takes awhile but it’s worth it to me. This is the longest that my hair has ever been in my life.
Length is not so much of a problem for my very kinky 4C hair although I could gain even more length.
My problem is indeed, retaining length, but also being able to retain length w/o having to do protective styles all the time.
I might try finger detangling but so afraid it doesn’t work for me.
My dream-like hair routine : can make my hair look the way I want (braids without breakage, other hair-do’s without braids) with hair detangling to retain length & still make them grow and perhap’s a protein treatment time to time to maintain health.
not sure if I can make this big jump but I’ll have to wait for my hair to grow back (lost some length recently sigh…) to try this finger detangling method…. If I have time which I doubt lol.
I’m NOT willing to detangle my 4b hair or spend 3+ hours every week just to attain length. That’s why I decided to loc my hair. In the words of Sweet Brown, “Ain’t Nobody Got Time Fo’ Dat!”. Locs allow me to attain length without a lot of stress (detangling) on my part.
there’s a middle ground. not everyone wants locs. it’s no wonder people always ask people with 4b/4c hair if they are going to loc their hair…
RURU is right i don’t wanna locs even thru it prevents stress. there are stills cons in locs . A lot ppl been asking me if locs make you scratch, can you shampoo with locs, can you co-wash while locs, will locs stink if getting rotten , if locs are bad idea because most have to bc again . Most ppl rather detangling than locs.
To me locs cosmune a lot time similar to detangling. one thing i disagree..not a lot ppl ask ppl with 4 type if locs. It only depend if 4 type ppl know how to admire and take care of their hair . i have 4 type hair, but it is combined with 3 too. it ain’t hard as they said, it is getting reallt moisturzed and conditioned because i co-wash, dc, and moisturzed a lot last 2 years … noone can tell i have 4 type. When i say i have 4 type, they thought i lied.
I disagree. Outside of the Internet community (which is where most naturals are still, IMO; this includes many of the ones I knew when I first went natural back in the 1990s), many naturals with this hair type still prefer to either loc or keep it short because they are well aware of the challenges that can come with managing loose 4b/4c hair and, to repeat Alisa and paraphrase Sweet Brown, they really “ain’t got no time for that.”
As someone who has actually gone from loose hair to locs and back, I can tell you that loc maintenance is WAY easier. If I’m going to spend four hours on something hair-related, spending it on air-drying is far preferable to spending it on detangling. That said, one of the reasons why I went back to loose hair was because I missed my ‘fro. I was all ready to keep my hair short (option 2 above) but then I got bored with the TWA as I usually do 🙂 so I decided to research ways to cut down my regimen time with longer hair.
Long story short, I have learned to use lots of conditioner and oil, to work quickly in large sections, and to accept that 1) I will always have some amount of breakage and 2) by its very nature my mostly-4b hair will never be fully detangled. In fact I don’t call what I do “detangling”…I call it “removing shed hair.” Since I too do not use tools except in very specific cases, I also accept that there’s only so much shed hair removal I can do in one session. To date I’ve yet to spend longer than an hour doing this and my hair has reached APL at its lowest layers.
I doubt I’ll ever go back to locs but if I ever got to the point where I was spending four or more hours just detangling I’d have to seriously reconsider whether longer loose natural 4b/4c hair is worth it. But that’s ME…
Don’t take this personally, but your grammar is atrocious. I understand the commments section is very informal but I actually don’t understand like half of what you said
Anyways, I think locs vs. free hair just comes to a personal preference. Do what works for you, case closed.
*comments
…..perhaps she’s not a native English speaker. Ever so often, like you do, I have to remind myself that the Internet is informal. It drives me nuts to see incorrect grammar. However, I have learned to ignore it in this setting, and control it when I can in the classroom.
ok well some ppl are not willing do this and are interested doing this. i dunno why they coming in this discussion anyway, it aint place to agrue . She is just explaining blog “How you should detangle properly” for ppl that are interested or willing doing all this like Charyjay on youtube as natural hair guru. She sometimes wake up early morning to do makeup or hair and she even takes a long hours to braid in mid day like me .
I dislike it but nothing can get done unless it takes hours or at least 30 mins attempt to braids and detangling. You have a lot hair, what do you expect. if you wanna less time then perm and dye it –it will break get short. Then your wish will be granted for cosumning little time. That is why I thanking God I have a lot hair even through I have to do hours and wake up early. LOT HAIR mean more time in life. GET USED TO IT! YOU ASK FOR IT IN BIG CHOPPING AT BEGINNING!
She said she only does it once or twice a month. If I am leaving twists in for 4-5 weeks at a time, like she said she does, three hours to detangle does not seem like a huge amount of time.
My method is very similar to hers, and it has allowed me to grow my 4C hair to mid back length. Is it tedious? Yes. However, if length retention is your ultimate goal, then I say it’s worth it!
Yes indeedy! I agree; Finger detangling has been the best thing ever for my hair, especially since I have a weird combo of fine 3c/4b strands.
Too be completely upfront, I find my 3c strands to be most cumbersome in comparison to my 4b strands precisely b/c of their lack of kink, extreme’silkiness’, and intense’clumping’ together. If I could wave a magic wand and create the hair of my dreams, I’d rather have a dense full head of 4b or 4c ‘z’ coarse kinks specifically for the ease in detangli
Oops…*to be completely upfront*, lol….red red wine….neural networks down. =)
I am trying to gain manageability, softness, and retain length for my 4b/4c hair while transitioning for almost 1 year.
I co-wash my hair with olive oil, finger detangle, and set for overnight. I wash the next morning. Very easy to wash my hair.
I deep condition the overnight. Wash out the next day for at least 3x a week alternating.