How To Detangle Severely Matted Hair
Learn how to detangle severely matted hair with this method for easy cleaning. Caring for your hair is hard enough as it is, so finding a natural way to avoid those awkward knots and snarls saves you time and hassle. So, how to detangle severely matted hair is the ultimate question.
Introduction
Let me ask you this. How often do you get out of the shower and complain about your hair? No matter what product you use, you still hate the feel of your hair. It feels rough, dry, brittle, tangles are everywhere, and the comb is no longer your friend.
If you don’t untangle your hair properly, it could take an eternity, cause scalp pain, and you may lose your hair as a result of the straining. Even worse, you may become so frustrated with the process that you decide to shave off all your hair.
The good news is that this article has all you need to help with your matted hair, even when it is severely matted. The step-by-step approach will enable you to successfully detangle matted curly hair, maintain it healthy, and avoid matting in the future.
How does it happen?
Mats are tangling, and knots on steroids, and they form more quickly in curly hair than other hair types because it is more prone to matting. Individual hair strands frequently entangle, forming knots and mats
Trapped hair strands, high porosity hair (raised hair cuticles), and not treating your hair while sleeping are some of the other factors.
When hair is not combed to remove shed hairs, it becomes matted. If not removed, loose hairs can knot numerous times around linked hair, causing a tangle and matting. Some people are simply prone to knotting, while others may have a damaged hair cuticle, which causes increased friction due to the raised cuticles.
The Cons of Having Fine Hair
Of Course, having fine hair comes with its own disadvantage which is:
- Tangles: It readily tangles (within a half-hour of brushing).
2. Mats: Anything that is lengthy is prone to matting.
3. Flat: It is completely plain (No amount of hairspray, gel, or teasing will keep it in place for more than one hour or two).
4. Shows Oil: When you need to shower, it’s more obvious—you can’t conceal those roots.
5. It Takes a Long Time to Untangle: Detangling is more difficult if your hair becomes wet or if you’re outside in the elements.
This is an excellent hairstyle for active persons who struggle to keep their hair from tangling.
The Truth About Fine Hair
Sunny claims that her hair has matted so many times that it has actually HURT from the weight of the tangles. She’d get such horrible knots that she’d have to cut them out. If you’re active and have fine hair, you’ve probably had similar problems to Sunny.
Sunny hair type: fine, annual color treatment, sun exposure, saltwater exposure, no blow-drying or straightening.
So, to assist you, we’ve compiled a list of suggestions. She utilized similar gentle detangling treatments on her fine hair as well.
The thickness or dimension of the individual hair strands is referred to as fine hair. Hair with a smaller diameter is referred to as fine hair, whereas hair with a larger diameter is referred to as coarse hair. Because fine hair is thinner, it is also easy to straighten and coif into updos.
However, many people say that protective techniques like braids or twists make fine hair look scalpy. People with fine strands have a hard time getting volume. In short, having fine hair has advantages and disadvantages, but there is a remedy for everything. Here are a few points to consider in an attempt to understand you are fine hair.
- Make sure your hair isn’t weighed down.
One of the benefits of fine hair is that you don’t need as much product because you can’t use it. Fine hair will be weighed down by multiple products. This can make it appear and feel too heavy, dragging down the roots and dash any aspirations you had of having thick hair. This leads us to our next point. Try one of these tricks for extra volume.
Fine-haired people require a little more assistance in order to get volume. They lack the thickness needed for thick hair. Thus the roots require some assistance. With a blow-dryer, you may lift your roots for additional volume and body. Try diffusing upside down if you’re a fan of it. A nice technique for diffusing is to lie vertically on a bed and hang your head over the side of the bed while lying down.
When your hair is 90 percent dry, pull it up into a night loose pineapple for elevated roots without using heat. You will produce volume when your roots set, and your pillow will not be damp if you sleep with only your roots slightly moist. Avoid wearing your hair in a bun because this will just stretch it out and reduce its volume.
- Protective hairstyles
Because of the fine strands, persons with fine hair have a harder time with protective styling (e.g. twists) because the scalp is more evident. To counter this, twist or braid the hair when it is moist or semi-dry to make it appear fuller after styling.
How do you untangle matted hair without cutting it?
While some people choose to have their matted hair fixed by a professional (hair stylist), it is possible to do so at home (DIY) with a few tools and a lot of patience.
- Damp down the hair
Spray your hair with water or hold it under a shower or sink with low water pressure for a few seconds. Most hair treatments are designed to be applied to damp hair, but allowing the hair to become wringing wet may make it more prone to breakage.
- Loosen the hair
Saturate hair with a decent detangler, oil, or hydrating conditioner to loosen matted strands, but never just shampoo and water. This is not the time to go through corners, so go all out. Deep conditioners help restore moisture to your hair and make it simpler to detangle, whilst detangling conditioners are designed to give your hair more glide.
- With your fingers, pull apart the simplest knots
After the hair treatment has had time to work, carefully pull the tangled areas of your hair apart. From the root side of the knot, closer to your scalp, little knots or loose mats can sometimes be pulled into smaller, independent tangles.
- Combination
For combing out severe knots, you’ll need a comb with robust, widely spaced teeth. Fine combs and brushes will almost certainly meet with too much resistance, prompting you to either rip out clumps of hair or cease brushing.
Instead, try coconut oil, olive oil, or Moroccan argan oil, which is especially good for textured hair. You can use a hair detangling spray if you don’t like the feel of oil in your hair.
If you use regular conditioner, your hair will be moisturized in a matter of minutes. For best results, let coconut oil and similar oils in for at least 30 minutes, but no more than 90 minutes. Deep conditioners are normally left in for at least an hour and maybe put in overnight in extreme circumstances, depending on the packing directions.
Instead, try coconut oil, olive oil, or Moroccan argan oil, which is especially good for textured hair. You can use a hair detangling spray if you don’t like the feel of oil in your hair.
Always begin combing tangled hair near the ends. Brush the comb downward from a few inches (few centimeters) from the tangled hair’s end. Repeat until the tangle-free part of the hair is complete, then raise the comb slightly higher. Repeat until you’ve combed your full head of hair. This could take one hour or more for long or thick, matted hair.
Hold a piece of your hair as you brush it if you have a sensitive scalp. Comb the hair beneath your palm, then raise your hold once the hair below has been effectively untangled.
If you can’t get a mat of hair to separate despite your best attempts, you may need to thin it out. With one hand, open a pair of scissors and the other, tightly grasp your hair. To remove loose strands, run the bottom blade of the scissors along the underside of the mat, then gently tug at your hair.
Or try using a wide-toothed comb, work your way through the severe matting and tangles. To eliminate any remaining minor knots, use a fine-toothed comb or a brush.
There will be a lot of shedding, so don’t be alarmed. We lose about 100 hairs every day on average, and because the hair is matted, those shed hairs are trapped and need to be removed.
- Rinse your hair
Once your hair is untangled, completely rinse off any hair treatments. If your hair is firmly coiled and the severe mats have split enough for you to part it, clip each section of hair to keep it separate and rinse it one at a time.
What helps severely matted hair?
Matted hair can occur for a variety of reasons, but dealing with it might feel like a catastrophe. Hair mats, on the other hand, are simpler to deal with if addressed early on.
Mats can be uncomfortable at best and painful at worst, according to those who have struggled with them. Thankfully, we’ve figured out how to quickly disentangle matted hair by trial and error, so you don’t have to.
- Preventing Hair matting
Detangle on a regular basis to reduce the risks of matting, especially if you are prone to it.
Detangling should not be pushed off because it may result in a more time-consuming and destructive detangling session or matting.
Fill the holes in damaged cuticles using protein treatments on a regular basis to reduce friction, tangles, and matting. Keep extensions in for no longer than recommended.
There’s a correct way to detangle matted hair and a wrong way to detangle matted hair—severely detangling matted hair below:
- Avoid using fine-toothed combs at all times and instead, use a wide-toothed comb.
- Comb carefully from ends to roots while detangling.
- Detangle your hair before washing it if it’s prone to tangling.
- Any conditioner or other hair care product that may cause your hair to become dry should be avoided.
- Don’t detangle your hair when it’s still wet. Instead, first wet it with cool water and a detangler or hydrating conditioner. Wet-conditioned hair is softer and more slippy, making combing easier.
- When you have somewhere to attend, don’t detangle matted hair. Depending on how matted your hair is, you might need to set aside several hours for the detangling procedure.
- Plastic bristles should be avoided on curly hair.
- Part your hair into smaller, controllable portions and work with little hair sections at a time.
- Hair that is long
Long hair that has been improperly handled is far more likely to mat than short hair. The reason for this is that there is more hair for individual strands to get tangled in.
Excessive tangles and mats can be avoided with frequent brushing and adequate hair care maintenance.
- Hair that has been processed
Hair that has been heavily processed is frequently drier and more prone to tangling. Hair that is properly cared for and gets regular hydration and conditioning is less likely to cling to neighboring strands.
Processing your hair often, on the other hand, can cause it to become dry, sticky, and brittle. When you’re in this situation, your chances of getting matted hair skyrocket.
Should you detangle matted hair wet or dry?
Detangle your hair only when it’s wet, never when it’s dry. Let us see why:
- Getting rid of tangles in wet hair
Hair that is wet is weaker than hair that is dry, so attempting to disentangle it just after washing or bathing increases the risk of breakage and damage. This is due to the weakening of hair proteins called keratins when the hair is wet.
Also, when hair is brushed while wet, it stretches but does not bounce back into shape. Instead, stretching destroys the hair cuticle, causing the edges to break, resulting in rough and damaged hair over time.
However, as you are probably aware, hair detangles considerably more easily when wet. Furthermore, some hair types, such as dry or curly, benefit from detangling damp locks.
- Dry hair detangling
There are some hair types that improve from being detangled when dry, just as there are some that benefit from being detangled while wet. Tangles in thicker, heavier hair, for example, can be loosened more quickly and easily if you let it air dry first.
Does apple cider vinegar help matted hair?
When it comes to the detangler, some women use it before the condition, while others use it before they shampoo. You can find out what works best for you, but for the purposes of this article, You should try using it after your shampoo.
This one is incredibly easy to make; all you need is a spray bottle that contains around 8 ounces of liquid, 1/3 Apple Cider Vinegar, and distilled water.
After shampooing then apply conditioner to begin the conditioning process. When you detangle with your fingers or detangling tools, you’ll discover that it’s a lot easier for you.
After detangling, rinse, as usual, add your leave-in conditioner and style. Some ladies re-spray the mixture before rinsing with cold water.
Apple cider helps to smooth your strands by laying the cuticles down, making it much easier for the hair to separate than if they were up.
Now, so many of us, including me, dislike the scent of ACV on our hair; to get rid of it, all you need is a few drops of your favorite oil. After you’ve finished detangling, you may find that grape seed oil neutralizes the smell of the ACV.
You won’t have an issue with the smell if you use the rinse soon after your shampoo and before your conditioner because your conditioner will most probably take care of it.
It’s crucial to pay attention to your hair after you’ve completed showering rather than rubbing it with a towel. Matted hair and more knots result from rubbing your head with a towel. It’s time to use a detangler after you’ve completed showering to maintain your hair clean and tangle-free.
What is the best detangler for matted hair?
You’ve probably heard of detanglers, but they’ve gotten a lot better in recent years. Detanglers can prevent matted hair and knots from forming in the first place, as well as aid loosen knots that have already formed. Most of the greatest detanglers offer hair moisturizing properties that will help your hair stay knot-free in addition to removing knots.
These are a few examples of the best detangler for matted hair you can find in stores.
- Run-Through Detangling Primer
- SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Extra-Moisture Detangler
- Priming Lotion Leave-In Conditioning Detangler
- Knot Today Leave In Conditioner/Detangler
- Hydrating Leave-in Hair Mist with Aloe Vera
If you do not want to spend money on a product to detangle your hair, you can untangle matted hair without one, but it can be uncomfortable and damaging to your hair. If you don’t want to use a product, you can try to detangle matted hair by wetting it with a spray bottle, slathering it with coconut oil or conditioner, and then gently detangling it with a pick.
How do you detangle matted black hair?
Without cutting the hair, matted hair can be properly detangled. It requires time, hard work, and a quality product, but it can be done and will save your strands and nerves. Your strands will be further damaged if you yank or rip them apart. These are ways to detangle a matted black hair
- Detangling on a dry basis
The state of dry hair is far more powerful than wet hair. Finger detangling, combing with a large-tooth comb, or brushing with a paddle or vent (Denman) brush are all options for grooming your hair when it’s dry. You should be able to gently undo tiny knots and tangles with your fingers when finger detangling.
- Detangling while wet
The nicest part about detangling wet hair is the abundance of water-based conditioners available to help you along the route. Detanglers, leave-in conditioners, and even ordinary conditioners are now available that coat the hair strand and smooth the cuticle to protect the hair shaft while you comb your hair from ends to roots softly and boldly.
Does coconut oil help matted hair?
Coconut oil is the hero of all things tangled, whether your hair is incredibly curly and prone to intense knots, you slept on it funny, and now it’s all matted, or you somehow managed to make a bird’s nest on your head.
Apply some coconut oil to the spot before attempting to brush through a tough knot. Not only will the oil penetrate and strengthen the hair, but it will also give lubrication and slip, making it easier to work through the knots.
Conclusion
With the techniques and materials described in this article, you may easily untangle matted curly hair. To achieve a comprehensive job, work in smaller, manageable pieces at all times.
If you become exhausted, return later to complete the task. We do hope that this article has provided you with the courage and knowledge to correctly detangle severely matted hair.