The history
I'm sure you already have a clue about what it was. Throughout my hair journey, my worst day was my detangling hair day. It marked the day my arms grew tired and weary from trying to remove knots caused by the notorious hair strands on my head. When my hair was a lot shorter, it wasn't really burdensome. I mean, I could literally have my hair detangled and washed in thirty minutes. Yeah, and that was the fastest I could have it done.
Right before my big chop, I took me about three whole hours to detangle my hair. Three! I received a lot of sermons and talks and of course pity from those who ever witnessed my plight. It got worse. So, I had to divide my hair into eight imaginary sections. I detangled two sections each day from Tuesday to Friday. Friday night or Saturday morning was dedicated strictly for washing. I know you're thinking why combing my hair would take me three whole hours. The truth is I used my fingers. I literally combed my hair once a month, if ever.
Lol, c'mon? Once a month?
My love for natural hair turned into an obsession quicker than I thought. I spent most of my time reading and watching everything natural hair. So, I learned quite early that combing natural hair often wasn't a great idea. That was the beginning of my finger detangling sessions. I'd explain in a bit why combing really isn't the best choice. Type 4 hair, in particular, is really kinky, each strand tends to always want to do its own thing. Normally when the bristles of a comb pass through straight hair, the comb simply slips in and out detangling the hair strands on its way.
With curlier hair it's different, rather than gliding through the hair strands, the comb chokes, strangled by all the coils, which is why most times people with curly natural hair usually yank out combs (to save the comb from dying. No one wants their hair to be responsible for murder). Your fingers, on the other hand, are controlled by an intelligent being, you. Finger detangling your hair is simply using your thumb, in a downward motion, to separate your hair strands. The best part is that you wouldn't have to yank out your hair, because you can intelligently work your way around the curls. So, you get to save a ton of inches. My hair broke less when I used my fingers and!! I retained quite some length!
Moisture, again?
If you've read my post on how to moisturize your hair, you'd see that oily hair or wet hair is not the same as moisturized hair. Trust me you should only manipulate your hair when its moisturized. So, don't be shy, click right here to know how to get your hair moist enough.
Have you ever passed a comb through your hair and heard static noise, like the sound televisions made in the 90s when the signal was bad? And when you pull the comb out, there's a ton of hair stuck on the comb. That's not all, the floor looks like you just had a trim at the barbers. Yup, that's what dry hair does to you. It leaves your hair fragile and vulnerable to breakage. The slip you need for your hair to detangle easily comes from the moisture. So, you better get that moisture on.
Sections and twists, people.
When I was in university, I spent a whole night trying to get my hair all combed up so that I could get it braided the next day. When I was done, or at least I thought I was, I put it in a bun and went to bed. By morning the notorious coils found a way to hook up again. I had wasted a whole night. I learned the hard way. Since then I worked in sections of between 8 to 12 depending on my mood. Once I was done moisturizing my hair, I put them back up in twists, a twist for each section. The twists kept my hair strands from hooking up and also kept them stretched. So, most times I had no need to blow out my hair.
Moisture, sections, and fingers became my go-tos whenever I needed to comb or detangle my hair. I hope they work the same magic for you. Let me know how it goes if you ever decide to try it. If you have other tricks up your sleeve, I'll love to hear about them.
