10 Hair Tangling Dangers

10 Hair Tangling Dangers

Long hair is fierce, beautiful and with the popularity of extensions it is available to everyone - male or female.  So is naturally textured hair bursting with shiny waves, curls and kinks.

The devil is always in the details and hair - whether long, thick or naturally textured - can unexpectedly encounter a range of hair tangling dangers.  Even people with short or medium length strands as well as all textures  are not immune.

Listed below are some of the top hair tangling dangers:

1.  The wind - If you've ever had your hair whipped like a blender by a sudden burst of air you know what I'm talking about.  Although it seems relatively innocent, exposing your hair to the wind flowing through you hair in a convertible, at the beach or jogging can result in terminator strength tangles.

If you know you're going to be in a windy climate or situation be sure to first secure your delicate strands to protect against tangles which can rip, tear and terminally tousle.

2.  Hot irons, rollers or similar -  Yes, it happens.  The reason?  Rushing to hot style hair or attempting to cram too much hair around a too-small hot rollers.  And no, you don't have to reach for the scissors and cut out a big chunk of your long locks being held captive by a hot tool.

Instead, reach for the long tail of a teasing comb and slowly isolate individual strands to gently free them from the roller or iron.   Or get a patient friend or loved one to help free your hair.

3. Wild love play - Yes your lover can cause as much damage to your hair as a fast ride in a convertible.  I had a sweetheart back in the day who loved to play with my hair leaving it in an total tangled mess.

What to do?  If you know you're going to be hanging with a lover who loves to play with your hair or engage in other activities which might leave your hair vulnerable to a wild knot or series of knots, secure your hair in advance.

That might not work in the heat of the moment but if possible, keep your hair detangled, double up on the hydrating conditioners and braid or pony up your hair whenever possible.

4. Knob tipped brushes - It's happened to me back in the day before I had to spend hours getting it unwound from my strands.  A brush might look innocent but the wrong one can wreck total havoc.

To prevent planting a brush into your head as a semi-permanent fixture be sure to select a 100% boar bristle brush without the tiny balls or knobs on the ends.  This is especially true if your hair is naturally textured, dry, damaged or prone to easy tangling.  If you do get a brush tangled into your hair, check out #2 above to remove that unwanted hair accessory.

5.  Improper hair cleansing habits - Delicate tresses can become impossibly detangled during cleansing if the proper habits aren't cultivated.  The very best way to avoid cleansing tangles is to start the process with detangled hair.

That might sound like a no-brainer but you'd be surprised how many people jump into a shower with tangles or knots still in their hair.  Want to make tangles and knots worse?  Get them wet or blast them with hot water.

If you know your hair is prone to tangling you may want to even consider apply a pre-cleanser conditioner to pre-tangled hair.  Even a few drops of healing jojoba oil finger picked through terminally dry hair will help prevent cleansing tangles.

Other tips?  Always cleanse with lukewarm hair, rinse out shampoo completely, apply a rich conditioner in the shower and detangle carefully with a wide tooth comb from the ends to the tops.  Rinse well and finish with a cool water final rinse.  These tips will definitely help prevent tangles.

6.  Scratchy pillow cases and bed clothes - When possible consider sleeping on silk or satin pillowcases and bedclothes to help prevent hair tangles.

It took me a long time to figure out that my favorite cotton pillow cases and sheets were causing me to wake up with a horrible case of tangled bed head.  Guess what, silk and satin pillow cases, although a little challenging to get used to, helped cure my morning bed head.

Run, don't walk to the nearest store and invest in better bedclothes to protect your strands from nighttime tangling terrors.

7.  Handbags, messenger bags, backpacks - Any time you slip a bag of any kind over your hair or position the strands adjacent to your head, there is danger of ripping, tearing, snagging and tangling.  The tangles can show up in any spot, but often the tangles will pop up where you position the straps.

When it comes to avoiding bag related tangles you have two basic choices.  You can switch to a different type of bag or you can wear your hair secured out of the way.  Easy peasy, right?

8. Hair drying - One of the most common ways people get knots and tangles is by briskly rubbing their hair with a cotton towel after getting out of the shower.  I know, I know, rubbing your head with a rough towel can feel good in the moment, but long term this can ruffle the cuticle of the hair to the point it turns into human flypaper and tangles around itself.

Other hair drying dangers include directing a blow dryer nozzle towards your hair without first detangling it with a hair-friendly dryer.  Seriously, people do blow dry wet hair which hasn't been first carefully detangled.

9. Chemicals - How do chemicals cause tangles?  Bleach, hair color and related color treatments may dehydrate hair to the point that it is dry, damaged and will tangle very easily.  The same is true of relaxers, perms or other chemical texturizers.

Even some types of hair products will add to the tangling dangers.  Shampoo products which are naturally drying, styling products which contain alcohol or other damaging chemicals can

10. Hair extensions - All types of hair extensions ranging from fusion and tape to temporary clip-ins may accelerate or worsen natural hair tangling tendencies.

The biggest mistake people with extensions make is not keeping the base human hair detangled before, during and after the extensions are attached.

Regardless of the type of extensions you select, make sure to start with perfectly detangled hair.

While wearing fusion extensions it's very important to detangle all of the hair on a daily basis to prevent natural hair fall from becoming tangled with the add-on strands.  It's also important to detangle hair properly when the extensions are removed.

Summary

Depending upon your hair type, texture and length you may have your own list of things which cause your hair to tangle.