Reader Question: Detangling a TWA (teeny weeny afro)

This question comes from Noella, 'I've been natural since Jan 06, 2010 and I absolutely love my natural hair! However, I get a LOT of fairy knots, they're all over my head. I tend to wash and condition my hair everyday but, I don't detangle. My attempts at detangling have all been an epic failure; i never complete my entire head and i lose a lot of hair. Could the fairy knots be a result of my failure to detangle, should I detangle my twa? P.s. Some might consider my hair type to be 4b, i have about 2.5 in of stretched hair'



My answer here is entirely subjective because I have never cut my hair into a TWA. I do however think you are right to attribute some of the knotting to not detangling but I also think the daily washing may also be a factor.



Why is detangling important? Getting rid of hair that has shed prevents it from becoming trapped within the other hair. Depending on your level of skill, you can detangle hair dry or wet. Most people find it easiest to detangle when hair is wet and soaked with conditoner.

1. Experiment until you find a conditioner that gives you slip, meaning your hair feels very slippery when coated. So many people avoid silicone containing conditioners but these are really really excellent for creating slip. If you are a silicone avoider, just find an alternative which has slip.

2. Be prepared to 'waste' conditioner - meaning find something cheap! This is because you need to be able to really load the conditioner on the hair and you will need to rinse your hands then reload again (i.e alot of the conditioner goes down the drain)

3. My top tip - work section wise. Imagine your head in 4 or 6 sections and apply conditioner on one section at a time. Using a shower comb, gently comb from tip to root. Always rinse out any shed hair from the comb before going back over the section and add more conditioner if you get to a particularly stubborn point. You can also just use your fingers which is sometimes much easier, but the rule still remains, you need to rinse off your hands multiple times to get rid of the shed hair and reload conditioner when you reach a stubborn point.

4. Be patient - Detangling can take hours



I would say do not be scared of shedding. Remember you can be losing as much as 180 individual hairs each day (see this link) As long as you are not physically feeling any pain, then you are not pulling your hair out. Trapped shed hair can lead to matting eventually so get rid of it.



Should you really wash your hair every day? You may also find that perhaps washing your hair every day may be contributing to the tangling. Essentially type 4 hair seems to thrive when not manipulated often. Perhaps washing every other day or once a week may help too.



Do you have tips for Noella?