How To Shampoo Your Natural Or Relaxed Black Hair Without Tangling

Make wash day a dream by shampooing your hair the easy way

After you have bought a suitable shampoo for your hair type, now is the time to learn the proper techniques for shampooing black hair. Depending on if the hair is relaxed or in its natural state, shampooing can be a very complex experience even though it needn’t be!

• First thing is to make sure that the hair is reasonably detangled. If your hair is relaxed, do this gently with a wide tooth comb. If the hair is natural then just do it with your fingers gently as very curly or kinky natural hair should never be combed or brushed when it is dry. You may apply a little oil in the hair to help with the lubrication and detangling is even easier if you give your hair a hot oil treatment beforehand.

• Depending on the length and thickness of the hair, a number of braids or twists will need to be made to avoid any tangling during the shampooing process. For long relaxed hair, two loose braids on either side of the head are sufficient. If you have shoulder length and shorter hair you can get away with shampooing without braiding first. Alternatively, you can divide the hair into small sections (about 12-14 for the whole head) and tie each with a snag free hair band making little ponytails. If the hair is natural and very curly, coily or kinky then it is best to braid or twist into 4-6 sections first.

• Get in the shower and wet the hair completely whilst rubbing the scalp in circular motions. The rubbing is what causes the tangles in the hair if it is not braided first! Apply a small amount of shampoo on your palm, rub your hands together, distribute through the hair and work in. As there is likely to be some oil or styling product residue in the hair before you wash it, the first shampoo will not lather that much.

• Rinse the shampoo out thoroughly and repeat. The second shampoo will lather more and should be sufficient to get all products out of your hair especially if you take the time to work the shampoo in well. After you rinse, your tresses should be left clean but not squeaky clean. If the hair is left squeaky clean it means all the natural oils have been stripped from the hair leaving it dry and very prone to tangling which can cause breakage. The shampoo you are using may also be too harsh for your hair type. Invest in a good sulphate free shampoo with moisturizing benefits or if you are unable to find one, buy a shampoo which is designed for dry hair. It will more than likely have moisturizing benefits that leave the hair clean but easy to work with.

Proceed to deep conditioning as usual remembering to detangle with a wide tooth comb only when the hair is soaking with conditioner. Detangling should be easy and snag free for natural hair. If your hair is relaxed, there should be virtually no tangling! See the article on how to braid the roots of natural hair to prevent tangling.

Author Bio

BHI – has written 198 posts.

BlackHairInformation.com is the brainchild of myself Alma Campbell. I am a homemaker, a mother and a writer. I started the website in mid 2008 with breaking relaxed hair. After making the decision to transition to natural hair, I have now fulfilled my dream of healthy long hair and I want you to achieve the same. My favourite subject is hair and I continue to blog about my hair journey here but I also write a weight loss blog LessFoodMoreLife.com

More To Explore:

Posted by BHI on February 13, 2010. Filed under Shampooing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry