How to remove a knot or tangle from hair

Wet or dry, trying to brush or comb out a tangle in your hair can be a painful and frustrating experience. You can lessen them both by following a few simple steps.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Hair brush or comb
• Hair clips - optional
• Leave in or spray conditioner - optional

1. Section off the area with the tangle. You can use hair clips if you wish, to do this.

2. With your left hand (right if you are left handed) wrap your hand around the section of hair.

3. Grasp and hold the section of hair tightly. You should not be 'pulling' on the hair. There should be a bit of 'slack' - leaving the hair from your hand to the scalp 'loose'. Holding this hand / hair in place will prevent 'pulling' of the hair from the scalp when you begin to comb through it.

4. Starting from about 1 inch from the tips of the hair, gently begin combing / brushing the hair toward the tips.

5. Once that area is clear of tangles, move up 1/2 inch to 1 inch at a time. With quick, fluid, and even strokes, comb through to the end with each pass.

6. Repeat as needed

Tips & Warnings

• Using a 'leave-in' or spray conditioning product will help to lubricate the hair. This will loosen and prevent knots or tangles in the hair.

• Only move up once you are sure the area you are working on contains no tangles from that point to the tip.

• If you find that a table is simply being 'pushed down', start from the tips again and work 1/4 inch sections.

• Brushing your hair when wet can sometimes cause these knots to become worse. If you have multiple knots or tangles, you may wish to wait until your hair has dried to remove them. Also, look into using a spray on detangling product or conditioner

• If you use a product to assist, make sure you are not allergic to the product by doing a skin test on your hand / arm before using the product on your scalp and hair.