Let’s face it, natural afro curly hair tangles! It can be terrible. It’d really spoil the moment if your other half got stuck whilst trying to run their fingers through your hair in a romantic gesture! Oh the shame!
But it can be even worst when you've got a busy schedule but want to look your best, you’re going to need an easy but effective way to get your natural afro curly hair looking curly, coily and tangle-free.
Here are our 5 tips for natural afro curly hair that should charm that afro in to order.
The dry detangling method
Kinky, curly hair or afro hair that experiences a lot of shrinkage when wet will really benefit from this method. When your hair is mostly dry it is also a lot easier to handle.
The downside to the dry detangling method is that it takes a lot of time, especially if your hair is long. So, time and patience are a must before you attempt to work through the tangles this way. Maybe put on your favourite show and work out those tangles at the same time!
BudsBee and Chery818 divides their hair into sections and methodically works through it, untangling her tresses with their fingers in their YouTube tutorials.
The conditioner soak method
Before detangling with this method, A brand of afro curly hair conditioner is applied and left to soak into and soften dry or damp hair. You can also heat up the conditioner under the dryer (30 minutes max) to make it absorb into your hair more.
Then you simply divide your hair into small sections and loosen up the matted hair slowly and methodically with a comb. Be careful not to pull too much and risk breaking the hairs - if you come across a particularly stubborn area, try using your fingers to detangle most of it before starting with the comb again.
Latrice McNeal shows us how in her tutorial.
Lessons can also be learnt from YouTuber As Told By Allie.
The water and oil method
This method involves using a misting of water for flexibility and some oil to smooth down your hair once you’ve divided it into sections.
You also need to comb your natural afro curly hair from root to tip, though if the ends are already detangled, you don’t need to comb right through them to help prevent causing further damage. Check out the tutorial from BargainClipper for more information.
Or you could just let The Natural Sistas Show you how to use oil on your natural hair.
The Wide-Toothed Comb
A wide-toothed comb is natural hair girl’s best friend. Fine combs can increase breakage and seriously damage afro hair, so it’s definitely worth investing. There are lots of different ones out there and they’re not expensive. Plus, your hair will thank you for it!
Ebony of Ebony’s Curly TV sections her hair and works her way from back to front in her tutorial.
She wets a section thoroughly and works through it from tip to root, adding a bit of coconut oil if she comes across any major tangles. A Denman Brush is another good one to use if that’s your preference over a wide-toothed comb.
Watch Brena Green show you the benefits of a wide tooth comb on natural black hair.
Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee
CharyJay is one of many people who raves about this detangler. You can check out her review and demo of it here.
This natural ‘magic in a bottle’ can be used as a conditioner and leave-in (in fact, it’s recommended to leave it in your hair after detangling.)
To restore your beautiful black hair’s softness and manageability, you simply divide your hair into sections and apply a moderate amount of the ghee to each section and work it through with your fingers before using a wide-toothed comb to brush through from end to root. Voila! Soft, detangled hair.
Why not checkout Sephora's Channel on how to use Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee.
So there you have it: with a little bit of time and patience, you can finally achieve soft, detangled natural black hair!
Which method works best for you based on your hair length and type? Let us know in the comments! Like us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube.So you can share your top tips with us on hair, beauty and fashion.