February 19, 2023

How to Get Rid of Tangles When Refreshing Curly Hair

Tangles can be so frustrating with curly hair, especially when you spend so much time on wash day only for your curls to tangly up by the next day. Refreshing tangles is also challenging because you don’t want to ruin your curl clumps but also want to remove tangles. I’m going to walk you through a wash day routine to prevent tangles, how to sleep with curls, and how to refresh and get rid of tangles.

Wash Day Routine to Prevent Tangles

It all starts with wash day if you’re looking to prevent tangles. This wash day routine will provide moisture, lots of slip, and hold. It also is very easy to refresh the next day.

Start with damp hair and apply a curl cream for moisture.
Section hair and apply a strong hold, slippery gel that can be reactivated with water.
Use a brush to define ringlets, if desired. This can help keep curls intact longer and make refreshing easier.
Scrunch with a hair towel. Diffuse until dry & fluff out the crunch if desired.

How to Protecting Curls at Night

Protecting curls overnight is key to preventing tangles. If you’re sleeping on a regular cotton pillowcase, your curls will get roughed up against the fabric, leading to tangles, frizz, and dryness. It’s best to sleep on a satin or silk pillowcase. It also helps tremendously to wear your hair up in a silk bonnet, buff, or scarf to keep your curls contained and not tangled up at your next.

Refreshing Tangly Curls

Typically I try and skip refreshing whenever possible. By day 3-4, my curls usually need refreshing. Here I am showing how tangled my hair was after 4 days. This is typically when I would re-wash but I wanted to share how I refresh tangles.

Section hair in 2-3 sections, avoiding separating curl clumps. This is optional but can help if your hair is very tangled.
Spritz hair with water lightly. Avoid saturating your hair as this can cause hygral fatigue.
Apply some curl cream or leave-in to wet hands, mix with some water and smooth over the lower section. Separate and tangles with your fingers, and coil ringlets if needed. Scrunch and continue to the top section.
If you have more tangles, you can try using a flexible brush to carefully smooth out tangled clumps and redefine curls.
Add a little gel + water if frizz is developing. Avoid applying too much product.
Diffuse for about 2-5 minutes or air dry. I prefer diffusing because it sets the gel cast quickly, preventing frizz.