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How do you detangle severely matted hair?

Gina Almona
Professional Hair Stylist
Gina Almona is the Owner of Blo It Out, a New York City-based hair salon. With over 20 years of beauty training experience, Gina's work has been featured in People Magazine, Time Out New York, and Queens Scene. She has been able to keep a fresh perspective in the industry by demonstrating and participating in trade shows and workshops like the International Beauty Show. She received her cosmetology training from the Long Island Beauty School, Astoria.

Gina Almona

Professional Hair Stylist

Expert Answer

Start at the nape area and saturate it with either an oil serum or a moisturizing conditioner. Work your way up the head and gently loosen the hair as you pull it apart. You can either use a wide tooth comb or your fingers. Make sure to work your way up in sections.

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Question

How do you untangle hair when it is really wet?

Ashley Adams
Professional Hair Stylist
Ashley Adams is a Licensed Cosmetologist and Hair Stylist in Illinois. She completed her Cosmetology education at John Amico School of Hair Design in 2016.

Ashley Adams

Professional Hair Stylist

Expert Answer

When your hair is wet, separate it into workable sections and clip them out of your way so that you're able to focus on one at a time. Locate the tangle and use your fingers to separate it from the ends of your hair up to the tangle and to the roots. Repeat for each section and followup with detangling by using a wide-toothed comb.

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Question

Why does my hair tangle so easily? Even right after I get all the tangles out, literally all of them. I go to brush through it again and there are still really tough tangles.

Ashley Adams
Professional Hair Stylist
Ashley Adams is a Licensed Cosmetologist and Hair Stylist in Illinois. She completed her Cosmetology education at John Amico School of Hair Design in 2016.

Ashley Adams

Professional Hair Stylist

Expert Answer

The texture of your hair could be a factor. Curly hair is more prone to tangling. This could also be an indication that it's time for a trim.

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Question

How do you untangle matted hair painlessly?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

It helps to use a detangling product, such as a spray or oil. This will make the hair more slippery so that the knots slide out with less resistance. Use a wide-tooth comb, since these are gentler than other detangling tools, and start with the tangles at the ends of your hair. Once you get rid of those tangles, work your way up closer to the roots. As you work, it can help to hold the hair above the tangles with one hand. This way, you won’t be pulling on your scalp as much.

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Question

Should I detangle my hair wet or dry?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

If your hair is very curly, it’s best to gently detangle it while it’s wet, with the help of a strong moisturizing conditioner. For straighter hair, try spraying on a detangling spray or oil when your hair is dry and brushing out the tangles with a paddle brush.

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Question

What causes matted hair?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

Your hair can become matted if you don’t brush or comb it often enough. Brushing not only helps untangle knots, but also gets rid of shed hair that can build up and form mats.

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Question

How do I detangle hair without any products?

Community Answer

If you hair is not too bad, use your fingers. If your hair is bad, then you should use any oil that you have in addition to a wide-tooth comb.

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Question

How do I untangle my hair without a brush?

Community Answer

Brush through your hair with the tips of your fingers while shampooing and conditioning it in the shower.

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Question

How do I get my hair out of a comb?

Community Answer

Try soaking your brush. You can also clean a brush or comb by soaking it in a mugful of warm water and a bit of shampoo. Or, you can try a mugful of white vinegar, which will remove oily deposits left by your hair. Another trick is to use the teeth of another comb to pull your hairs off of it.

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Question

How do I remove knots from my hair if they come back as soon as I get them out?

Community Answer

Once you brush your hair and get out the knots, spray on some kind of serum or detangler. This should prevent the knots from forming again.

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Question

What if I'm in the situation where I have to cut my hair, but I don't want to. What can I do?

Tropics345

Community Answer

Just cut the tiniest amount of hair from the actual knot. Not the entire knot, just a little snip and it should untangle a lot easier.

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Question

How do I untangle a knot in ten minutes?

Community Answer

It depends on how big the knot is. If it's a large mat of hair, it will take you longer than 10 minutes. But if the size ranges from a little knot to a mat the size of a peanut butter cup, then spread it out with your fingers. When you've spread it out, use your thumb and forefinger to form a small hole near the bottom of the knot and gently pull them apart. Continue this until you can run a brush through your hair without resistance.

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