How to Untangle Hair | A Step-by-Step Guide To De-Tangle Knots and Matting | Type 1 Hair: Thin & Fine

It’s well and truly winter in the UK with all this snow. That means my hair is extremely dry and constantly static because it’s extremely fine. It also means that I’m bundled up in my oversized blanket scarf and a large faux fur coat which keeps me warm at all times. Which means lots of friction against my hair. Because of all these factors, my hair is a heap of a tangled and slightly matted disaster.

Just look at how awful that looks. It feels horrible as well, and after spending all day outside (because of course that’s exactly what we should do when it’s snowing…) my hair was so untameable that I couldn’t do anything to fix it in the short amount of time before work. After a couple of days of relentlessly trying to drag my brush through it before giving up and telling myself I’ll use extra conditioner later that day, I sat down and really dealt with my problem. So here is how I turned my birds nest head into my usual long flowing hair.

What you need:

• A brush
• A comb (preferably wide toothed)
• Some kind of oil (olive, coconut or you can buy specific hair oil)
• A conditioning hair mask
• Shampoo
• Patience

Step 1: Start off my slowly using your fingers to find the tangles and pull apart. This is the gentlest way you’re going to be able to untangle the hair as brushes and combs will increase hair breakage. Go through section by section and make sure you’ve covered your whole head. Including the hard to see and reach nape of your neck.

Step 2: I personally used the X because I already had it in my cupboard. In previous years I have used olive, coconut and argan oil which all work very similarly to make your hair much sleeker. I’ve also used hot oil treatments, but this often makes your hair slightly oily for a few days afterwards which I could not deal with while working.

Step 3: Try again with slowly pulling your tangles apart. Then when you’ve gone through each section, go back through it with a comb. This should preferably be a wide toothed comb to reduce breakage. Always start at the bottom of the strand and keep combing while working your way up little by little.

Step 4: Reapply oil and then leave on for around 30-45 minutes. Wash your hair with shampoo, being careful to not scrunch your hair up and create more knots. Do make sure your hair is free of oil after cleaning, as you don’t want your hair to end up looking oily for a couple of days.

Step 5: Use your conditioning hair mask after shampooing. Leave on for however long the instructions tell you to. While mask is still on hair, use your comb again, starting from the bottom. While the mask is on, your hair is much sleeker and slippery in it’s tangles and is easier to comb out. It’s also vital to be gentle still as although you will get some breakage, you wan’t to protect your hair as much as possible.

Step 6: Wash out mask when your hair feels mostly smooth. After drying off your hair, you can then use the comb again to gently go through your hair in sections. Then use your brush to see if your hair is easily brushable. If your hair is still tangled, start again from step 1 the next day and use preventative measures where possible.

Preventative measures

• Use a weekly hair mask to increase strength and moisture.
• Wear hair up if possible to reduce friction on coats and scarves.
• Braid hair before bed to reduce friction on pillow.
• Brush hair both in the morning and at night to pull out tangles as soon as possible.

I did finally get my hair back to normal, but it took real patience to not just cut it all off. One of my big ways to prevent it from happening again is to wear my hair up when I know I’m going to be outside and in my scarf a lot (because I swear it was mainly friction on that scarf!). My hairs been so well behaved since, and only minimal tangles have been appearing.