Curls, kinks and waves have a nasty habit of coiling up and creating tangles. To knock out the knots, we talked to Nicole Gary, Aquage Show and Education Director. Here she gives us her smartest tips for detangling curly hair and keeping snarls at bay.
Q Why does curly hair have such a propensity to tangle and knot up?
A It’s the definition of a curl, the single strands that undulate to form an ‘S’ pattern. When those ‘S’ patterns cross each other, the hair can easily become tangled, and knots form.
Q What’s the best way to fight curly tangles and knots?
A To combat tangling, first you need to align and smooth the cuticle. To do this, you have to address curly hair’s natural inclination toward dryness. I love using Biomega Moisture Mist. It mimics the scalp’s natural oils, providing the needed moisture curly hair craves. The second trick is to clump the strands together before diffusing or air-drying, forming a large curl pattern. Basically, there’s strength in numbers. The more strands flowing in the same direction, the less likely they are to become tangled.
Q What do you look for in a curl detangling treatment?
A There are three key components to a great curl detangler: a cationic formula, which means the hair only soaks up what it needs, and whatever isn’t needed slips off the hair; moisturizing ingredients—Biomega Moisture Mist is rich in coconut oil, mango seed butter, macadamia nut oil, noni seed oil, hibiscus extract and Tahitian palm kernel oil; and a leave-in formula. Tip: Tell your clients to spritz their curls before going to sleep. It keeps their hair from tangling as they snooze.
Q When do you detangle your curly clients’ hair?
A It’s a great idea to brush through their curls before going to the bowl. The sooner you can begin the alignment process, the better. I suggest using the Aquage Smoothing Brush to detangle. It has dual level nylon and boar-hair bristles. The nylon is the longer bristle and gently detangles, while the boar polishes and smooths the curls without overstretching the hair fiber. On dry hair, the trick is to use a smoothing brush, be patient and start from the bottom up. On wet hair, the trick is to add more moisture and use a Biomega Wet Brush to detangle from the ends up.