4 Simple Steps to Detangle Hair After Braids

Hairstylist

William is a professional hair stylist with over 10 years of experience. He is passionate about creating personalized, trendy looks for his clients and specializes in hair treatments and updos. He is now a certified hair adviser for Mic Hair Company. His articles are always filled with advice, pro tips, and latest hair research results.

Fashion Blog

Tue Mar 08 2022

Wearing a wig on your head makes it look like you have flawless hair. Your wig is so carefree, just flowing and swaying as you are gracefully walking. It gives you confidence when facing other people. However, underneath that luscious wig and hair extensions are braided hair hard to detangle.

How to Secure Hair Underneath the Wig?

When you wear a wig or hair extensions, you want to make it look as natural as possible. It means that you have to hide your natural hair entirely and neatly, as the wig will become your new hair. There are different ways of securing your hair underneath the wig: twists or flat twists, cornrows, and braids.

Flat twists are the easiest way to secure the natural hair under a wig. It requires intertwining only two strands of hair. However, as they are easy to create, they easily frizz the hair and tangle it, making it the least popular. On the other hand, Cornrows is the most common hairstyle to use under a wig. It appears flattered but has less space to anchor the wig and hair extension.

If you are unfamiliar with cornrow, you may watch this video and follow the tutorial if you think this will work better for you. This style is also harder than the others, so attention to the visual is needed.

Why is braiding hair one of the best protective styles?

Braiding hair is one of the best protective styles when wearing a wig or hair extension. It might not be as flat as the cornrows, but it secures the hair more and is easier to maintain.

The braids are similar to flat twists, except they use three hair strands in intertwining. Braided hair avoids matting and makes the wig or hair extension look more natural.

It is advised that when you braid your hair as a protective style when wearing a wig, keep it small as possible to avoid bumps that will be noticeable under a wig.

How to Detangle Hair After Braids?

Do not keep the braids for longer than a month, as it will cause matting and product build-up. However, detangling hair might be challenging since the strands are getting bonded the longer they stay together. So, how to successfully and adequately detangle the braids?

Step 1. Take your time.

Do not yank your hair when you cannot detangle it at once. To finish the process will take time and patience. When the hair is left too long, it might take a few days to complete detangling the hair if you do not want to break it.

Step 2. Use Conditioner.

People use conditioners to rehydrate hair and moisturize it, which is excellent when struggling with frizzy hair. It is also great to make your hair slippery, making it easier to detangle matted hair. Using hydrating shampoo alongside it can also keep your hair moisturized.

Step 3. Applying Oil.

Aside from making your hair hydrated and slippery, applying oil can make your hair soft. It also does not irritate the scalp, making it a good option for sensitive skin. It even helps with removing the flakes off your scalp without irritation. Many oil products have different benefits and are safe to use.

Step 4. Use Your Finger When Detangling Hair.

You might have the urge to comb out your hair after taking out the braids to make it easier to detangle. However, using a comb or brush might rip your healthy hair off your scalp. Use your finger to determine the knots that you have to detangle quickly. It will also be easier to separate the strands without tugging too much.

What to Do After Detangling Hair?

Once you have entirely freed your hair, do not just engage in another protection style or braid immediately. Remember, when you wear a wig for several weeks, your natural hair underneath is not given much attention that they need, which means there is also less care that it receives. Take time just to let your hair breathe and relax.

Try to wear your hair naturally for at least two weeks. Many great hairstyles can suit your hair. This time will give time for your hair to destress and get back to its healthy state.

Trim your hair as needed once you feel that your hair is ready for another braid and wig. It cuts off split ends that might further damage hair. You may ask professionals to do it.

But if you want to cut your hair, use sharp hair sheers, tooth comb, detangling brush, and duckbill clips, and follow this tutorial.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Is braided hair under wigs necessary?

Braiding your hair or doing either of the protective styles under the wig or hair extensions will secure its place on your head. It will also make the wig appear more natural rather than having a noticeable bulge on your head.

2. What is the best way to detangle hair?

The ways to detangle hair shown above works hand in hand. One will not work well if the other methods are not as much as they are all carefully done. However, the most important is using fingers out of all the ways, lessening the damage.

3. How long can I wear my wig?

Wearing wigs or hair extensions takes a lot of time to achieve the final look that you like. It might make you want to stay like that more prolonged, but your hair grows, it becomes stressed, and it accumulates dirt. Take off your braids after a month to avoid matting.

Summary

Pain is beauty, as most people say. However, it does not mean that you must ignore the health of your hair. It is hard to detangle hair after braids, but with the ways above that you may follow, you can successfully detangle it and maintain its health at the same time.