This Is Why Your Hair Tangles Easily—and What You Can Do About It (2023)

• Karen Flowersis a licensed cosmetologist, certified trichologist, and the founder ofCurl House.
• Iris Rubin, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and the co-founder of SEEN Haircare.

Use a Sulfate-Free Shampoo

One of the factors that impact tangling is hair dryness. "Tanglingis more common in dry and damagedhairbecause the cuticles don’t lie flat, which allows strands to snag against each other and become intertwined," says Rubin. One way to reduce dryness is to use a sulfate-free shampoo, as these cleansers remove dirt without stripping the hair of its natural oils. Using a sulfate-free shampoo can minimize the drying of thehairthat can happen with sulfate-based surfactants, explains Rubin.

Detangle With a Wide-Tooth Comb While Conditioning

Preventingtanglesstarts in the shower, according to Rubin. One of the best practices you can implement to both prevent and treat tangles is to use a wide-tooth comb during your conditioning treatment. "Before rinsing conditioner, use a wide-tooth comb to gently work out any knots," she says. "This helps releasetangleswithout any extra pulling or tugging on thehair."

By combing with the conditioner in, you are increasing the hair's elasticity with the moisture of both the water and product. Increased elasticity minimizes breakage and damage to the hair. This can be especially helpful for those with dry, damaged, or even fine hair that may already have reduced elasticity.

Use a Microfiber Towel

Avoiding friction is the name of the game when it comes to preventing tangles. Traditional towels are some of the worst perpetrators of friction, but any towel can become problematic if used too vigorously. Rubin recommends seeking out a microfiber towel to dry hair gently. "To preventtanglescaused by friction, use a microfiberhairtowel to gently blot excess water out of thehair," she says. She cautions that even with a microfiber towel, it's important to avoid roughly rubbing your hair while drying.

The RëzoTowel ($22) is an ultra-soft microfiber towel turban that makes gently drying hair easy and luxurious. Rëzo Hair Care is designed for curly hair, so it makes sense they use microfiber for their towel, as Rubin explains that naturally curlyhairis also more prone totanglingbecause the strands don’t lie flat, in turn increasing the chances that they will wrap around each other.

Try a Pre-Shampoo Treatment

If you know that you have tangles before washing your hair, Flowers recommends doing a pre-shampoo oil treatment and finger detangling before entering the shower. "Ourhairstrands are impacted throughout the day by our hands, styling utensils, hats, coats, pillows, sweating, or even the wind," she says. "When our curls intertwine for long periods of time or are dry, this can lead totangling.A gentle detangle is always bestbeforehairwashing, to minimize further tightening oftangledstrands." She recommends saturating the hair with coconut oil the night before wash day, as it takes about eight hours for coconut oil to fully penetrate thehairshaft. "Coconut oil softenshair, making it more pliable and easier to removetangles. The oil also strengthens thehairto minimize breakage during this process."

This can be especially helpful for those with curly and textured hair, as Flowers explains that ourhairsheds every day, but with curly and kinky-curly texturedhair, most of the shedhairstays in thehairshaft until wash day."I recommend thathairbe first finger-detangled to remove most of the shedhairprior to saturating thehairwith water," she says."This is really important if you’ve been wearing a protective style for weeks because you can expect a significant amount of shedhairafter the style is taken down.This shedding is normal as it has built up over time."

Protect Your Hair During Sleep

While avoiding friction may seem easy enough, we often forget that the largest culprit for friction is sleep. Both Rubin and Flowers mention friction caused by movement while sleeping can lead to tangling. Rubin shares that keepinghairpulled back while exercising and sleeping can help preventtangling; she likes silk scrunchies for these activities because they don’t damage thehair.

Silk pillowcases are a popular choice for minimizing sleep friction, and they have proven results. If you're not ready to make the (sometimes significant) investment in a silk pillowcase or are looking for a silk sleep alternative for travel, check out the Silk Hair Wrap ($50) from Damn Gina. This silk-lined turban lets you tuck your strands safely inside to protect them from the material of your pillow.

Get Regular Trims

If you're looking to grow out your hair, you may be hesitant to get frequent trims as it seems counterproductive. But your split ends could cause damage and breakage that ultimately hinders growth. Split ends are annoying, but they can also contribute to tangling. Flowers explains that it's important to get trims regularly, at least two to three times a year or as needed to remove split ends."Split ends cause both shed and neighboringhairstrands to attach to the ends (which are weakened) and createtangles.Getting your ends trimmed regularly will help alleviate this issue," she says.

Avoid Products That Cause Buildup on Hair

Buildup can cause all sorts of problems for the hair, but it can also cause tangles. You have likely tried products that made your hair feel sticky or tacky and it's obvious to see where those contribute to tangling. One less obvious perpetrator is silicones, as these tend to build up slowly on the hair and actually make it feel smoother to the touch. But over time, this buildup can create tangle-causing friction in the hair as well.

Rubin recommends using a conditioner that will not contribute to buildup on the hair. "A high-quality conditioner is a must, and if you comb yourhairbefore rinsing and gently blot thehairdry this will help reducetanglessignificantly," she says. "SEEN’s conditioners contain an ingredient called hemisqualane, which is a natural alternative to silicone that’s derived from plant sugar. It smoothes thehaircuticles to help preventtangles, and makes for easier combing and brushing."

Deep Condition Regularly

Hydration is essential to keeping hair elastic and less likely to break, as dry hair is more prone to friction and tangling. As such, regular deep conditioning treatments can improve both the health and appearance of your hair. Flowers recommend super hydrating conditioners that will help give thehair“slip” when detangling. "One such example is the Curl House's Follicle Stimulating Growth Conditioner ($28), which contains botanicals, humectants, and oils thatmaximize moisture and provide excellent slip for both conditioning and detangling," she says.

1. Kavitha S, Natarajan K, Thilagavathi G, Srinivas C. Effect of oil application, age, diet, and pigmentation on the tensile strength and breaking point of hair.Int J Trichology. 2016;8(4):155-159.