Some weeks ago, I embarked on a challenge to exclusively finger detangle my hair and I posted on it here. I officially started the challenge on the 1st of February 2016 and so far, all is well. In the past, I have always done finger detangling most of the time while using a brush, wide toothed comb or Afro pick from time to time. However, I noticed that I was beginning to do the combing way too often and that’s what gave me the idea to do it in a form of a challenge such that, no matter what happens, a party, a function or even appearing on TV which I did and survived, I was not going to keep on finger detangling my hair. So now I want to share with you some basic tips for an exclusive finger detangling regimen that I have found to be helpful.
Important Products for a Finger Detangling Regimen
- Conditioner with very good slip and lots of it, using it generously to help you when detangling in the shower to minimise breakage. Our hair knots easily and to help you along, a good conditioner is a must.
- A leave-in conditioner with exceptional slip as well. Preferably a detangling leave-in to help when styling the hair.
- A styling product that’s going to let your strands slip past each other even when your hair dries to keep your hair from matting, resulting in less breakage.
Styling options for a Finger Detangling Regimen.
The options for styling your hair are endless, so I have learnt these past weeks. At one time I used to think you cannot wear straight hair if you’re finger detangling. I was wrong. I have just managed to use curl formers and even straight hair while following the exclusive finger detangling regimen. My hair does not get sleek straight though but is reasonably straight to be able to be put into a pony tail or other styles. I hope to get a chance to show it all to you on video how I style my hair.
I have made some mistakes though and these I will try not to repeat. I will try by all means to stay away from wash n go’s. If you have not seen my post on my latest experience with a wash n go, you may want to read that. I am still dealing with the single strand knots from that style and although the style looked great while it lasted, I don’t think it’s worth it. I know I could have as many knots even when not on the finger combing challenge so maybe it’s time to really think twice before doing a wash n go in general.
That being said, these are the styles that I feel keep my hair free of tangles, have less tangles.
Hairstyle Options When On A Finger detangling Regimen
- stretched hairstyles like braid outs and twist outs
- bigger sections when doing braids or twists.
- Wearing braids more than twists as I find braids don’t tangle the hair as much as twists. Braids just take too long to do or undo though.
- Pinned updo’s or a tucked, twisted low bun
- Protective styling in a wig. I do chunky braids under my wigs to rest my hair
My No-no Hairstyles
- Wash n go’s
- tiny, mini, micro twists
- mini, micro braids
- cornrows. They just don’t look nice so not trying anymore. At least not any time soon.
Being on an exclusive finger detangling challenge has helped me to re-discover what my hair can do. Sometimes things are tough but I have not yet given in to the thought of combing my hair. I am committed to pull through and I am loving the experience.
I hope these tips will help you if you’re also finger detangling or finger combing your natural hair or you would like to try it out but you didn’t know where to start. For more information about my finger detangling challenge, please click here.
I am still learning a lot in on this challenge and would like to hear from you. Are you a finger detangler? What do you do to keep your hair from tangling or matting?