Detangling dry hair is every naturalista's nightmare. This is because trying to detangle natural hair can cause it to snap, break or even pull out from its roots. Yet, matted hair have to be detangled to avoid split ends, hair that snaps easily, hair breakage or even (severe) hair loss. So, if you want to learn how to detangle dry hair, I will be sharing with you the right ways to do this.
How to Detangle Dry Natural Hair
1. Spritz your hair
A spray bottle is one natural hair tool that every naturalista should have. Your spray bottle could contain 80% of water and 20% of any natural hair oil of your choice. You could also choose to use only water.
To get the detangling process started, spritz your entire hair with your spray bottle. Then, using your palms, massage the sprayed liquid into your hair to ensure full coverage. The water (and oil) provides your dry hair with moisture, so that detangling can be easier. Now, you must be careful. The goal is to get your hair damp and not soaking wet. This is because wet hair is in a weak state and detangling wet hair can also lead to more tangles, hair breakage, and even hair loss.
2. Section your hair
After getting your natural hair damp, the next thing to do is to part your hair into sections. Parting your hair into sections will make it easier for you to detangle as against trying to detangle your entire hair at once. If you have fuller hair, you can part it into 8 - 10 sections. If your hair is not as full, you can part into 6 - 8 sections.
3. Apply conditioner or detangler
After doing this, get your conditioner (if it's your wash day) or a detangler and begin to work it into sections of your hair. This is another reason parting your hair into sections is important. Your hair gets enough coverage of whatever conditioner or detangler you are applying to it. If you were to apply without sectioning your hair, some parts may get the conditioner/detangler and other parts may miss out.
Also, you may be wondering why you need to apply a conditioner or detangler to your hair, after applying water and oil to moisturize your hair. Shouldn’t your hair be already moisturized enough for detangling?
Spritizing your hair with water alone (or with 20% of oil) will not give your hair that slip and appropriate long-lasting moisture that it needs. Do a test: try detangling a section of your hair after spritizing with only water. You will notice that your hair snaps and makes an accompanying snapping sound when you try to detangle it.
Also, scientifically, our hair has a Potenz Hydrogen (PH) level of 4.5 to 5.5. Water has a higher PH level — 7, which means it is not acidic enough to be used as a lone moisturizer. However, conditioners and detanglers are formulated with the right type of PH (level 4 - 5) to match that of our natural hair. This is why they provide our hair with enough moisture, slip, and shine.
So, when you apply a conditioner or detangler to detangle your natural hair, you will notice that your hair does not snap or break easily.
4. Use a comb or finger-detangle
After applying your conditioner or detangler to the first section of your hair, the next thing to do is to detangle. Now, it’s better to finger-detangle first before using a comb. Finger-detangling is the process of using your fingers to brush through the tangles in your hair. This will enable you to feel the tangles in your hair so you can gently take them out.
Also, I recommend that you start detangling from the ends of your hair and work your way to your roots. When you detangle from the roots first, you might run into knots at the ends of your hair. This makes it difficult for you to comb through them, and yanking out these knots will only lead to split ends and hair breakage.
After finger-detangling, you can then go ahead to comb each section with a wide-tooth comb. Using a comb with smaller teeth will only cause your hair to break off and get split ends. Also, make sure your comb does not have broken teeth. Using a comb with a broken tooth/teeth can lead to hair breakage and even cause you pain.
5. Wash or style as desired
If it is wash day, you can now go ahead to shampoo your hair. If it is not, you can now style your hair as desired. Remember, when detangling, patience is key. So, take your time to detangle those knots in your hair. Do not be in a hurry.
To learn more ways you can use to detangle your dry hair, this video tutorial by eVaniwithaV is very helpful.