Tangled hair- knot an option! Our tips for silky smooth locks

23rd January 2021

By Katie Daly

(Image courtesy of Unsplash)

Knots can be the bane of many girls’ lives, especially those with curly or long hair. The last thing you need in the morning is to look in the mirror and be faced with a tangled mess, when you want to get out of the door (or simply lounge on the sofa at home as the case may be these days!). But we know your pain and we’ve got your back! Let us help with our handy guide to tackling the tangles and having silky hair once more, whatever your hair type!

1. Conditioner

If you dread brushing your hair everyday as you know you’ll be faced with a headful of knots, I’d firstly suggest investing in a really good quality conditioner to use in the shower. Slather just the ends of your hair (from the ear downwards) in conditioner and let that sit for 2 -3 minutes whilst you do the rest of your shower routine. Allowing the conditioner to work on your hair for a while will mean that when you get out of the shower, your hair is much easier to brush through. Some examples of our favourite conditioners include Garnier’s Ultimate Blends Honey Treasures (£3.99) which has been formulated with damaged hair in mind. If you’re a fan of using straighteners or a curling iron on your hair on a regular basis, or if you have excessively coloured your hair, your ends can split easily, making your hair more likely to tangle during the day or at night. This conditioner is great for protecting your hair against further damage and so can help to keep the tangles at bay. We equally love the Aussie Miracle Moist conditioner (£4.19).

2. Hair mask

If your conditioner isn’t quite cutting it, we recommend using a hair mask. Apply a hair mask which is suitable for your hair type, onto damp, towel dried hair. It is up to you whether you apply the mask from the roots to the lengths or to the lengths alone. If you are prone to a particularly oily scalp, I’d recommend applying the mask to just the lengths of your hair. Leave the mask on for the recommended time, this is normally around 5 minutes. In that time, why not apply a facemask, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax! Once your 5 minutes are up, wash out the mask and dry your hair. The mask should leave your hair feeling silky smooth, making it less likely to tangle up into impossible knots. We love the L’Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths mask (£6.00) which can be used on all hair types and creates a noticeable difference after just one use.

3. Brushing your hair in the shower

If money is tight and you don’t want to invest in a load of new hair products, but your knotty hair is becoming unmanageable, our next recommendation could be a real help! Stick to using your regular products that you’ve got at home, but take a wide tooth comb with you into the shower. Applying your products and running a comb through your hair before rinsing out your product can help to budge knots that may seem impossible to tackle when your hair is dry. You can find a wide tooth comb really cheaply in stores such as Superdrug or even your local Poundland.

4. Wet brush

Similarly, buying a brush that is suitable to be used on your hair when you’re fresh out of the shower can really help to detangle your hair before you dry it. If you don’t thoroughly brush through your hair before using a hairdryer, you will be drying the knots into your hair, making them ten times harder to remove. We love the Tangle Teezer Wet Brush which has durable plastic bristles, perfect for damp hair and affordable too, coming with a price tag of only £12.

5. Hair oil or leave in conditioner spray

If brushing your hair, wet or dry, fills you with dread, it may be worth investing in some leave in products to give you a helping hand. We love a hair oil, particularly argan oil which is suitable for all hair types, particularly naturally curly hair. This can be applied onto damp hair post wash or as part of your daily styling routine. We particularly love Herbal Essence’s Argan Oil with Aloe (£6) or Avon’s Illuminating Shine Serum (£4.99), which has the added benefit of being cruelty free. If you have naturally oily hair and the thought of adding more oil to your hair makes you feel uneasy, don’t fret! We can recommend an alternative for you – a leave in conditioning spray. The Lee Stafford Hair Apology Intensive Care Leave in Spray (£7.99) not only smooths and detangles, but also protects against heat, tames fly-aways and reduces breakage.

6. Sleeping in a braid

By far the most budget friendly option of all, is sleeping with your hair in a braid. Your hair can easily tangle during the day, especially if the underneath of your hair is rubbing against your collar of if you’re caught in wind! If can be tempting to jump into bed and not touch your hair. However, this can mean that when you wake up, your hair can be very difficult to get a brush through. The more you drag a brush through your hair, the more likely you are to create breakage which can create further knots and so it goes on! So, to prevent this, try running a brush through your hair and tying it in a loose braid to sleep.

7. Rough drying

On the topic of breakage, don’t be fooled into thinking that you are immune to breakage if you don’t use heat on your hair regularly. If you are someone who rough dries your hair using a towel you may want to have a rethink. Rubbing your hair vigorously with a towel when you get out the shower can damage your hair. You are better off simply squeezing the water out of your hair, brushing, leaving it to air dry where you can and then running a brush through it again when it has dried.

And that’s it! Although knots and tangles can make your hair feel unmanageable, this is avoidable and treatable! We’d love to hear of your personal experiences or ideas for detangling your mane in the comment section!