How to Untangle Your Hair After a Windy Day

Remove tangles carefully to prevent breakage.

When you come in from outdoors on a windy day, your tangled hair needs extra care. The process of untangling hair with combs and brushes sometimes results in mechanical damage because of rough handling, according to Procter & Gamble's beauty and grooming website. Using oil or conditioner and your fingers can speed up the untangling process and prevent damage. Dry untangling methods work well on straight or wavy hair. Hair stylist Lorraine Massey recommends that curlier hair types untangle wet hair only with the help of a conditioner.

Things You'll Need

• Jojoba oil
• Hair clips
• Conditioner
• Spray bottle of water
• Wide-tooth comb

Instructions

Dry Hair

1. Massage jojoba oil into your hair, using more on knotted areas. Let the oil sit on the hair for at least an hour to soften the hair.

2. Divide your oiled hair into small sections gently with your fingers to separate knotted areas. Do not force tangless of hair apart as you create the sections. Clip each section with hair clips to keep the hair separated. Spray tangled hair with water to assist in tangle removal.

3. Coat your fingers with conditioner. Lightly comb your fingers through a section of hair to get rid of large tangles. Move your hands slowly through your hair, concentrating on large tangled areas that separate easily.

4. Saturate an extremely tangled area in the same section with more conditioner after removing the milder tangle. Let conditioner penetrate the hair for 10 minutes. Use your fingers to unravel the mat strand by strand. Work through each section of hair.

5. Comb out the ends of the snarled area carefully with a wide-tooth comb until the section is smooth. Start near the bottom of the section and comb down through the end. Move the comb up a half-inch and comb down through the end again. Repeat until you reach your scalp.

Wet Hair

1. Wet your hair thoroughly with warm water. To keep from tangling your hair further, avoid piling your hair on top of your head.

2. Divide your hair into six sections with your fingers. Add a generous amount of conditioner to each section. Secure the sections with hair clips. Allow the conditioner to penetrate your hair for 10 minutes.

3. Remove the clip from one section of hair. Use your fingers to carefully work apart each strand from a tangled area, starting at the ends. Add more conditioner to tight knots to provide extra slip so your fingers can unravel matted strands.

4. Rake your fingers through the hair slowly in the same manner as the combing instruction in Step 5 of the section "Dry Hair." Stop the raking motion if you encounter a knot and work the tangle apart with your fingers. Comb your fingers through your hair from the roots to the ends once you have removed all of the tangles to smooth the hair and discourage tangles from reforming in the section. Repeat for all sections of hair.

5. Comb through your hair with a wide-tooth comb. Rinse off the conditioner with cool water to seal the cuticle, which promotes shine and helps prevent tangles.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute another plant oil, such as coconut, for the jojoba oil if you wish.

• Loosen tight knots with the tip of a knitting needle or the end of a rat-tail comb.

• Pull gently when untangling wet hair to avoid weakening the hair by stretching it.

• Avoid ripping knots out of hair to prevent split ends.

References

• "Curly Girl: The Handbook"; Lorraine Massey, et al; 2010
• Procter & Gamble Beauty & Grooming: The World of Hair: Hair Damage
• "Secrets for Beautiful Hair"; George Michael, et al; 1981
• The Hair Boutique; Hair: Tangled Webs We Weave; Karen Marie Shelton; March 2003
• Hair Finder: Detangle Matted Hair

Resources

• Care Fair: Hair Detangling Tips