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Detangling curly hair without breakage is tricky.
I have 3 children, and all of them have (different types) curly hair! The process of caring for their hair has come through trial and error. I have curly hair myself, so I know that detangling curly hair without breakage can be tricky.
Here are a few tips that I’ve used for detangling curly hair without breakage:
Keep hair in protective styles
My girls love wearing their hair out, but the days that I allow it are few and far between. Frequent styling, washing, and even tossing and turning at night cause damage to your hair from the constant tugging and pulling on the ends, which are the most fragile part of your curls.
Protective styles can be as simple as buns, twists, pigtails and updos or as complicated as braids and cornrows.
Wash & Detangle Weekly
How often should you wash curly hair?
Some curly hair textures (like my 4c hair) only need to be washed weekly. Others feel and look best washing 2-3 times a week.
Spending time weekly to make sure you hair is clean and free of knots will reduce your time working knots out of your curls in the long run.
Some curly girls choose to wash more than once a week, but honestly it depends on your hair and lifestyle. Curly girls who are more active and use more products will need to wash more frequently than someone who isn’t as active.
Let Conditioners (Leave In & Wash Out) Do the Work For You
When I don’t take the time to properly condition my hair, the knots are out of control!
Using deep conditioners & leave in conditioners weekly make it so that detangling is a breeze. The products soften the hair and work the tangles out so that I don’t have to fight with my curls to style them.
Mielle Organics Babassu Oil And Mint Deep Conditioner is hands down one of my favorite deep conditioners and works on all hair types.Knowing your curl pattern will help you know what kind of products your hair needs.
For example, my youngest daughter has wavy, curly hair. Her curls don’t do well with thick butters and creams because they weigh her hair down.
Some of my favorite leave ins for her hair are Kinky Curly Knot Today & Camille Rose Naturals Moisture Milk.
Bonus Tip: Trim Hair Regularly
Since my son has been born, I haven’t done the best job of taking care of my 4C hair. Late nights (and not sleeping through the night) has caused me to take the quick and easy route. I mostly wear my hair in a puff, and washing/conditioning/detangling takes no more than 10 minutes.
Unfortunatly, I have been the worst at keeping my hair trimmed. Shortly after the baby was born, I noticed that no matter how much deep conditioner I used, my hair still stayed in knots.
I finally scheduled an appointment with my beautician and an inch had to be cut off.
Two weeks ago, I cut another inch off.
It hurt because I’ve been working so hard at growing out my hair, and it finally touched my shoulders!! (Those of you with curly hair know this is a big deal because curly hair shrinks)
But now my hair is healthy and tangle free, so bring on the length!
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[…] hair, some days styling your hair can make the curls feel more like a curse instead of a blessing. Detangling can be a challenge if you don’t have the right products and you don’t know what […]