It Takes Two (Curls) To Tangle: The importance of combing your curls - April 26, 2013

[ You can see where I've added gel (at the front) and where my curls are less defined (towards the back) ]

I learned the extreme importance of combing your curls the hard way. Just recently, I did a lazy wash and go routine. This consists of washing my hair with conditioner, applying a rinse-out conditioner, combing my curls and then styling my hair with gel. I usually do this to save time. The last time, however, I didn't comb my hair. I didn't think it would be a big deal but was I wrong! I think I forgot for a split second that my hair was of the kinky-curly texture, which usually tangles faster. I didn't notice any real difference until about a week later.

At the current moment, I have a few clumps in my hair where my curls are literally matted together! This next point is very important because it will save you from split ends, hair loss and head pain! You can seriously DAMAGE your hair by not detangling it so you NEED to comb it out. It is also nearly impossible to detangle curls when they are dry so read carefully to make sure you do it properly. You should make sure your hair is damp and saturated with a creamy leave-in conditioner before you comb through it. Leave the conditioner in for a few minutes and then start detangling your hair with a wide tooth comb or your fingers. Tackle your hair section by section. Start from the ends and work your way up to the roots.

Though hair oils are typically great, rich butter creams and/or water based creams are also good for softening the strands and separating the curls. Curls naturally love sticking together. That's their job! They clump together with surrounding curls to stay defined. Once they unravel or separate, frizz builds and they become less defined. But if they aren't combed out, they won't get stretched properly to clump together smoothly. They will clump together amongst tangled curls and frizz. This is what happened to my hair. Though my curls are still defined right now, there are parts where it's just a tangled, clumped mess!

I really learned the lesson of taking the time to carefully detangle my curls after this spectacle. It really saves time and energy in the long run and will save the health of your hair as well!