How to Reduce Tangling & Breakage With Roller Setting Relaxed Hair

Proper care will keep relaxed hair healthy and tangle-free.

Hair relaxers chemically alter the texture of the hair, making it temporarily straighter and less coarse. As the hair grows out, the relaxer does too, so people who relax their hair frequently must repeat the process every few months. The relaxation process can damage the hair, making it fragile and prone to developing split ends. If you regularly set your hair using rollers, it's possible to damage the hair more. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to reduce breakage and tangling.

Things You'll Need

• Heat protection spray
• Boar bristle brush
• Hair detangler

Instructions

1. Spray your hair with a heat protection spray if you are using hot rollers or a blow dryer. Heat is especially damaging to the hair, but protective sprays coat the hair and reduce breakage. Reducing breakage can also, over time, reduce tangling because damaged, broken hair is more likely to become tangled. Next, apply a detangling solution to your hair. This makes the hair more slippery and less likely to get tangled when you put it in rollers.

2. Divide your hair into sections prior to setting it in rollers. Brush each section with a boar bristle brush. These brushes distribute oil throughout the hair, which reduces breakage. By brushing your hair before setting it, you also reduce the frequency of tangling. After you brush a section, start at the ends of your hair and wrap them evenly and neatly around each roller. Clip the roller in place tightly. When your hair hangs loosely from the roller, it's more likely to become tangled. If you are using velcro rollers, however, there's no need to clip the roller in place.

3. Unroll your hair from the rollers slowly, in a downward motion. If your hair gets tangled, never pull the roller out. Instead, spray the tangled area with the detangling spray, and then gently pick apart the knot. Ripping out tangles results in breakage and more tangling.

References

• The Hair Bible; Philip Kingsley
• Born Beautiful; Alfred Fornay
• The Science of Black Hair; Audrey Davis-Sivasothy