Tip of the Month: Reducing Breakage While Detangling

So all signs point to combing as the number one cause of hair breakage.  And for our natural hair this carries a heavier weight because our hair is inherently more fragile, and thus more susceptible to breakage.  The comb is our enemy in this regard but it is also our defense against hair knotting, which our hair is more susceptible to as well, due to its tightly curly structure.  It seems sometimes we can't win when its either having to cut out single-strand and multi-strand knots (sacrificing length retention) or detangling more frequently and risking breakage (again, sacrificing length retention).

I don't have a magic solution.  The one thing I know is that how gently we comb our hair directly affects how much breakage we experience and, believe it or not, how much knots we get (especially multi-strand knots).
So I'm sharing my length retention (and overall hair health) tip of the month:
Gentle combing.
I know.  I know.  It sounds insanely intuitive.  Why am I wasting y'all's time?
I am telling you about this (or think of it as me reminding you) because, although its intuitive - we forget.  It's like shaving.  We know shaving fast leaves more knicks but usually we're in such a hurry.   We're shaving five minutes before our girls' arrive to pick us up for that party, or while our hubby's and bf's are nagging us to hurry up and we don't have time to go slow.

This post is about challenging the way you comb your hair. Tip? -  Go slow, like super-slow.  It even sounds tedious but, trust me when I say, it works. I have noticed a huge reduction in the number of knots I encounter when I detangle - when I comb slowly.  Here is my process:

•  I pick a time to take a detangle when I am not going to be hurried, feeling cranky or feeling too tired.  I detangle in the shower and, honestly, if I am too tired or I am cranky, I skip detangling (of course I still shower!).  Don't detangle while you have food cooking on the stove, or children are screaming/disrupting you or any other thing that'll make you need to rush out of the shower.  I find that if I shower while food is cooking on the stove, I don't relax during detangling because I'm in a hurry to go check on the food.  If I am feeling hurried, tired or cranky, I let the steam get to my hair but I resolve to detangle the next time I shower.  Why?  I don't want my fatigue or irritation to get taken out on my hair during the most important step in handling it - detangling. For this reason, I have reduced my co-washes to several times per week.  I know those of you with longer hair don't co-wash that much anyway but the tip still works.  Do not detangle when you are hurried, tired or in a bad mood!  Re-schedule it if one of these moods reflect how you feel.

• I apply conditioner before I do anything else in the shower and I leave it on while I bathe.  I wet hair with lukewarm water (not too hot because I don't want the water to strip my hair of moisture), apply my conditioner and then allow the steam and conditioner to work its magic soaking into my hair.  The result is that when I'm ready to detangle, there's optimal slip.

• I do not agitate my hair before detangling.  I don't scrub my scalp (or I try not to) before detangling because I don't want to create more knots to comb through.

• I detangle last!  This allows time for the conditioner to soak and allows me to relax when I am detangling because I've done everything else already.

• I get comfortable while detangling.  I literally sit in my bath, lean back on my bath pillow and relax. This way I don't feel any need to hurry my detangling process because of discomfort or anxiousness to get out of the shower.

• I detangle in sections and work comb through hair slowly!  And yes, (in case you missed the bold,  italic font and exclamation mark) I do mean slowly.  I know it sounds super-tedious but if you are relaxed, comfortable and enjoying the steam (and even music and candles if you like to indulge with your baths), it really isn't as tedious as it sounds.  And believe it or not, I have noticed much fewer knotting.  It made me realize that some of the knots I encountered while combing through were actually being formed as I was combing through because I was combing fast.

• I keep a fine-toothed comb and my hair scissors at hand (close to the tub).  This way, if I encounter a knot during detangling, I can use the fine-toothed comb to try and loosen it.  Since the teeth are smaller, sometimes its actually better able to loosen the knot so I don't have to cut it out. And when all else fails, I snip.

• I only work comb through each section once.  I don't see any reason why you need to re-comb the same section if you were able to work through, knots and all. The more you comb, the more you risk more knotting, and pulling - causes for breakage.

• When my scalp itches, I gently rub the spot with my detangling comb, after detangling and while conditioner is still in hair. Doing this while conditioner is still in my hair minimizes risk of me breaking hair while scratching. The conditioner provides slip and I'm not using my nails (which is always tempting).

Scalp Purifiers and Stimulants and My Improved Protein Treatment

Hello World,
So I mean for this to be a quick post but I've said that before and....well you know how it ends up.  :)
Anyway, a couple new things with my hair:
-I did a protein treatment this weekend with avocado that amazingly worked really well and to my excitement left my hair gunk-free (last time I tried it, I ended up with bits of white gunk in my hair)
- I found a use for the Mixed Chicks leave-in that I am oh so happy with I might just order it again once I run out!
-I have found a low-cost way to get my curls to last several days.

Ok so here is the protein treatment, its very similar to the one I posted before but I kept it simple:
Braggs Liquid Aminos (about 1/4 cup)
Small avocado (about half)
Honey (1 tbsp)
Olive oil (2 tspn)
Tea tree oil (few drops)
I added tea tree oil because earlier in the week my scalp was itching the heck out of me. I thought maybe it was dirty and I didn't want to shampoo so mid-week I did my usual co-wash and then rinsed with a vinegar and water rinse and massaged my scalp. Then I applied this leave-in:

It's called Fluide Purifiant from Kerastase and its purpose is to 'purify' the scalp including treating dry, itchy scalp. It works for the dryness and flakes. I had dry, flaky scalp for years when I had a relaxer (I think it was my scalp reacting to the harshnes of the relaxer) and nothing worked until I found this. In this case, my scalp wasn't flaky, just itchy. This didn't totally eliminate the itching but it lessened it. I recommend it though it, like all the Kerastase products, is kind of pricey.

Generally, before I do my weekend homemade treatments, I shampoo to remove buildup with Organix and before I shampoo, I do an oil treatment. But not your usual oil treatment - an essential oils treatment. What's the difference you ask? Essential oils take all the best properties of a plant and provide it in a concentrated form. For example regular oil from the rosemary plant may be harmless because of the dilution but the rosemary essential oil - well if you've never used it and you do, you will know, it doesn't play  - you can feel how strong it is, and it smells that way too! In the case of my treatment, the purpose is to stimulate circulation to the scalp and lift any dirt and bacteria from my scalp before I shampoo. I highly recommend it. I have been doing this for years, even when I had a relaxer.

So let me tell you how its done:

Most people do a regular hot oil treatment with some random oil such as OO. Instead try this: add to your hot oil treatment at least 3-4 drops each of the following clarifying and stimulating essential oils:

-Peppermint essential oil

-Eucaluptus essential oil

-Rosemary essential oil

-Basil essential oil

-Cypress essential oil

You can add tea tree oil if you have scalp issues such as dry scalp, dandruff but use only 1-2 drops of this, too much will burn.

Of course you need a base for these oils so OO works, or a lighter base such as Jojoba oil or Sweet Almond Oil (what I use).

I have to warn you, the combo is pungent (the smell) so be prepared. You can help your nose out by putting on a cap and a towel over it. The best is to apply this treatment the day before you plan to shampoo and sleep on it, with a cap on of course and make sure to protect your pillows because the smell lingers.

I leave it on overnight or a couple of hours if its same day then I take the cap off and let the scalp get air a few hours before I shampoo. These oils increase blood flow to the scalp (you will feel it) and the antibiotic properties of tea tree clarifies as well. If you are too lazy to invest in purchasing each of these oils and mixing them, you can just buy this:

The product is called Phytopolleine and it is basically a mixture of essential oils meant to stimulate the scalp. Its also pricey so you might be better off mixing your own. But the good thing is it includes scalp-stimulating essential oils  proven to work but are hard to find individually. Either way the goal is to massage, clarify and stimulate your scalp for optimal hair growth and health. It smells pungent too but luckily either way you do it, shampoo will wash away the smell.

My Mixed Chicks leave-in revelation will have to wait until another post. I have already broken my promise to you to keep this short. My bad. Anyway I hope all this stuff is helpful to you all and as always I welcome ideas as well. Can anyone explain how to tell if I have scab hair?  My next post will explain why I ask. Bye for now....