I am MTF, I have been growing my hair out for quite sometime and it is now past my shoulders.  My problem though is that my hair is really thick, and tangles A LOT after I take a shower.  I use a lot of conditioner and a straight comb but it still gets tangled a lot.  Also what can I do to make it more silky looking/feeling?

As a fellow sufferer of the frizz, I feel your pain.

I can straighten my hair with straighteners but they must be very hot. In spite of the dire warnings of  heat damage I've never noticed any  damage occurring and I heat my hair till steam visibly comes off. The minute I enter a humid atmosphere all my work is undone..

I have never had any success with special potions/lotions

These days I use a product sold by Boots the chemist called leave in conditioner and live with the curls but no frizz.

My daughter has inherited my problem but her hair is much thicker and straighteners don't work, she uses mousse (lots of it)   

Ok Diva, I am a Hair Care Professional, so I may have a few tools for you, but I have been out of the game a few years, so no judgement! ;p

1.Thin your hair. Thick hair should be thinned out. This can be done with thinning shears, but should be done by a pro.

2.Detangle. Use a detangler in the shower, Paul Mitchell makes one but so do lots of brands. Use a lot of it, be generous, and don't rinse it out completely. Its good for your hair.

3.Wide tooth comb. Once your hair is thinned out and moisturized well, using a wide tooth comb after a shower should be a much simpler process. Using a brush or a finer comb will wreak havoc on your hair, stretching it and breaking it when wet.

4.Serum/Leave-in Conditioner. Any serum type product s designed to smooth the hair follicle, producing silky/shining hair. It also helps calm frizz, and create a more natural weight to lighter fluffy hair. I have wavy frizzy hair and I wouldnt dream of leaving the house withut plenty of oils n my head. The key here is to use a small amount. A little goes a long way, you don't want to look greasy r anything like that. Also, a leave in conditioner would work well too. Go to a salon to get your hair thinned out, and ask about products like these, and your general concerns as well. They should provide you with exactly what you need.

I hope these tips bear good results, let me know. x

How do you wash your hair? If you wash it like they show people doing in those lame commercials where you lump all your hair on top of your head and swirl it around, then yeah, you're going to end up with a tangled mess. The best way to wash your hair is to comb it out very well before going into the shower. Then hold your head under the water and just let the water wet your hair by itself for a few minutes. Take your hand and begin to comb through your hair with just your hand while the water is still flowing through it. Try to massage your scalp if you can. Then take some shampoo and lather in your hand then place it on the crown of your head and comb through your hair again. Run the shampoo from root to tip Begin to massage the shampoo into the scalp. Keep combing as you're going. Finally put your head back under the shower stream and comb the shampoo out. The secret to not dealing with tangles is comb as you go! And never wash your hair like in the commercials. You might feel like a woman, but very few women even wash their hair that way. Its just stupid.

Quote from: Hippolover25 on September 03, 2012, 12:41:56 PM
How do you wash your hair? If you wash it like they show people doing in those lame commercials where you lump all your hair on top of your head and swirl it around, then yeah, you're going to end up with a tangled mess. The best way to wash your hair is to comb it out very well before going into the shower. Then hold your head under the water and just let the water wet your hair by itself for a few minutes. Take your hand and begin to comb through your hair with just your hand while the water is still flowing through it. Try to massage your scalp if you can. Then take some shampoo and lather in your hand then place it on the crown of your head and comb through your hair again. Run the shampoo from root to tip Begin to massage the shampoo into the scalp. Keep combing as you're going. Finally put your head back under the shower stream and comb the shampoo out. The secret to not dealing with tangles is comb as you go! And never wash your hair like in the commercials. You might feel like a woman, but very few women even wash their hair that way. Its just stupid.

I normally just get in the shower, hold my head under the water and use my conditioner - Rinse thoroughly.  I never tried what you suggested so I will try to do that.  I always heard though that it is not good for the hair to comb through it when wet? Thanks for the advice.

Yes, you're right. Never ever brush your hair when it is wet. It will damage it. But you can use a wide tooth comb or your fingers!

Quote from: Hippolover25 on September 03, 2012, 04:16:35 PM
Yes, you're right. Never ever brush your hair when it is wet. It will damage it. But you can use a wide tooth comb or your fingers!

I use my fingers when I can feel that it is really tangled, but that only helps a bit.  I will try the wide tooth comb to see if that is any better.  Thank You!

Quote from: Noah on September 03, 2012, 09:41:15 AM
Ok Diva, I am a Hair Care Professional, so I may have a few tools for you, but I have been out of the game a few years, so no judgement! ;p

1.Thin your hair. Thick hair should be thinned out. This can be done with thinning shears, but should be done by a pro.

2.Detangle. Use a detangler in the shower, Paul Mitchell makes one but so do lots of brands. Use a lot of it, be generous, and don't rinse it out completely. Its good for your hair.

3.Wide tooth comb. Once your hair is thinned out and moisturized well, using a wide tooth comb after a shower should be a much simpler process. Using a brush or a finer comb will wreak havoc on your hair, stretching it and breaking it when wet.

4.Serum/Leave-in Conditioner. Any serum type product s designed to smooth the hair follicle, producing silky/shining hair. It also helps calm frizz, and create a more natural weight to lighter fluffy hair. I have wavy frizzy hair and I wouldnt dream of leaving the house withut plenty of oils n my head. The key here is to use a small amount. A little goes a long way, you don't want to look greasy r anything like that. Also, a leave in conditioner would work well too. Go to a salon to get your hair thinned out, and ask about products like these, and your general concerns as well. They should provide you with exactly what you need.

I hope these tips bear good results, let me know. x

I do use a detangler which I do use, just thinking if there was anything that I can do before hand where I don't need to use it that much?  I also use a wide tooth comb as well.  I will have to look at the Serum/Leave-in Conditioner to see if that will help out? I also have my next salon appointment in a few weeks so I can ask about the thinning out and also about these products as well.  Thank You Again Noah!!  /Hugs

Having naturally curly hair that tangles easily, I use a wide toothed comb and after I wash it, I use a leave in conditioner and that makes it easier to comb through. I never use a brush.

My hair is moderately wavy, and it is tangled in the morning...I gently brush it untangled ("gently" being the operative word....also I start at the ends of the hair, and work my way up as it becomes untangled...never tugging or pulling. Sometimes it does snag, but I pull away from the hair and start lower, below the tangle, and work back up), then I get in the shower.

With your back to the shower head, rinse the hair while running fingers thru it...shampoo, being careful to not knot things...massage scalp, run shampoo root-->tip. I then wash my face and neck, so I can rinse the entire "upstairs" at once. Again, use my fingers to keep the hair free-flowing under the water.

Once that is done, I get conditioner and put it on, again using fingers to keep hair untangled...emphasize placement of conditioner on the ends of the hair (that's where it's needed, not so much on the roots)...and then leave it in until the end of the shower.

At the end, rinse conditioner, using fingers to (you guessed it) keep the hair from tangling, and when drying the hair, just PAT DRY, don't scrub with the towel. Leave hair slightly damp for applying serum or mousse. (Mousse really helps me with both styling, hold, and minimum tangling. The mousse itself seems to cause snags, but that's due to the nature of the product, not a tangle.)

Hope this helps.   🙂