Preventative measures to keep your hair from getting super tangled

Affiliate links | We don’t often talk about how hard basic self care is to stay on top of when you’re struggling with your mental health, but I have a hunch it would help make us all feel a little less rubbish if we did. Whenever I have a period of depression, I struggle to stay on top of my hair care. This usually means that, when I start to feel better, I’m faced with the enormous 5 hour task of untangling my matted hair. It’s exhausting.

More recently, I’ve been trying to stay ahead of the game by implementing a little daily self care routine. I’m not great at routine in general (despite finding it really beneficial), so it’s not a full day of productivity kind of routine. Instead, it’s just a few simple tasks I’m trying to do every day to keep on top of my health and hygiene needs and to boost my sense of achievement and self confidence.

One of the things I’m trying to include in my routine is a preventative measures to keep my hair from getting knotty. I hope that one day soon, my big detangles will become a thing of the past. I’m trying.

Because I know how overwhelming and painful it can be to untangle matted hair, I wanted to share some of the tips I’ve found for keeping your hair in order in the first place. But let me start by saying that you are beautiful and worthy of kindness, respect and love, whatever condition your hair is in. There are more important things in the world than whether or not your hair is tangle free, I just want to help you get where you want to be with it.

This post contains some affiliate links to products that will help make it a bit easier for you to manage your hair. If you click one of the external links in this post, you’ll be taken to a third party website where, if you choose to make a purchase, I’ll receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Here are some of the things you can do to keep your hair from getting tangled. None of them are quick fixes and none of them guarantee 100% knot free hair, but I hope they help somewhat.

Regular brushing

Ugh. I’m sorry. I almost didn’t include this as a section because I know how hard it is, especially if you’re feeling low. But, it’s by far the most effective way to keep your hair free from knots, so I had to put it in.

What I will say is that there is absolutely no shame in not being able to face daily brushing. If your hair is prone to becoming tangled, one of the ways you can reduce the pain of tackling it is to invest in a Tangle Teezer brush. I’ve had 2 of them for years now, one with a handle and one without. I don’t know what I’d do without it.

This brush has dinosaurs on it.

Using a conditioning spray

Using a conditioning spray, like Aussie’s Hair Insurance, Leave in conditioning spray, can really help keep your hair in better condition and less likely to become tangled. It also makes brushing your hair a little less painful and a little more manageable.

The Aussie spray is cruelty free and one that I recently started using again. It’s already made a huge difference and smells bloody gorgeous. I know that this might be a weird thing to say but it feels like a long time since my skin and hair has smelled as delicious as it does these last few weeks and it’s made a big difference to my overall confidence and feeling of cleanliness.

Plait your hair

Especially before bed.

Not only does plaiting your hair make it less likely to become tangled overnight, but it will also stay tangle free for longer. It’s hard to predict when the bad days are going to happen (at least for me). Waking up with plaits in my hair means that, even if I can’t face brushing it that day, I’m much less likely to end up with huge knots.

Plaits don’t have to be Pigtails and you can do some pretty cool styles that will keep your hair in place for long periods of time. YouTube is the place to go to learn about different kinds of plaits you can try out.

Lots of the advice online will include plaiting your hair as part of your hair care regime, but it isn’t for everyone! I can only have my hair in plaits for 1 or 2 days because I pick my hair and scalp when I’m stressed. Bear in mind that, if you pick your head of have trichotillomania, having your hair in plaits might cause more problems than having it down. You know your own hair best. Do what’s right for you.

Protecting your hair while you sleep

We move around a lot in our sleep and that can lead to tangled and messy hair, especially for those of us with naturally curly hair. Consider using a silk pillowcase or wrapping your hair in a satin scarf to prevent knots from forming overnight.

This 100% Mulberry Silk pillowcase should help protect your hair overnight and it comes in a huge variety of colours. Make sure you follow the care instructions on the label to keep your silk pillow in good condition. When buying a silk pillow, you should look for 15 momme as a minimum. The pillow that I’ve linked to is 19 momme, has a 600 thread count and is 100 percent silk.

If you’re looking for head scarfs, there are some great options on Etsy, including this satin scarf for £20.00 from CelliesCurls on Etsy. It comes in 10 different colours, including black, beige and dark pink. The scarf is one of the largest ones I’ve found, making it a good option for those with long, thick and/or curly hair.

Opt for scrunchies over elastic bands

The smaller and tighter the hair tie you use, the more chance there is of it becoming tangled in your hair. This could cause further knots and even be painful to remove! I always use velvet or satin scrunchies in my hair. They are smooth and gentle, meaning they rarely get twisted or stuck.

Scrunchies come in many different shapes and materials, making it easy to find a suitable option for your hair. If you’re looking for a chunky scrunchie to hold thick hair in a ponytail, I like these ones from MinknHoneyCreations on Etsy. They’re £8 for a set of 2, are vegan friendly and come in a bunch of different colours.

If you’re looking for slimmer scrunchies that are closer to bobbles, look no further than this set of 6 satin scrunchies from UK based seller EverestBeauty. Or you could splurge and opt for the 100% mulberry silk set from RVisionCreation. They’re £28 for a set of 9, which is certainly on the higher end of things for scrunchies, but it’s a small price to pay to help keep your hair tangle free.

Properly rinse your hair

Making sure you properly shampoo and rinse your hair is an important step in keeping your hair tangle free. Excess product can cause hairs to stick together and make them more likely to knot together. Shampoo gently, avoiding “scrubbing” your hair or mashing it together while you wash and make sure that you rinse it thoroughly.

Check carefully for soap bubbles or excess product after washing your hair and rinse again with a jug or shower head if necessary.

Get a good conditioning treatment

Investing in conditioning treatments will help save you a load of hassle in the long run. Day to day, I use the Aussie Leave in Conditioning sprays (as I mentioned above), but every now and then I also opt for their 3 minute SOS deep conditioning treatment to give my hair a boost of moisture and stop it from becoming dry, brittle and more prone to knotting.

There are lots of products out there, it’s just about finding the right one for you. Everything I use is cruelty free and so that heavily influences my product buying decisions, but don’t be afraid to talk to your friends and find out what they use to keep their hair in good condition.

Properly drying your hair

Towel drying your hair too vigorously can create knots, which will tighten up as your hair dries. Instead of rubbing your hair with the towel, gently squeeze the hair to get rid of excess water. You could also carefully twist your hair to help this process along.

After squeezing away most of the water, blow dry your hair using a heat protective spray. Or, if you don’t have the energy to blow dry (because I often cba), wrap your hair in a towel and let it dry naturally. Make sure you don’t wrap it too tightly or in a way that encourages more knots.

That’s it!

That’s everything I’ve been doing to keep my hair from getting too tangled. Like I said before, they’re not 100% effective and I’d actually probably be able to brush my hair more frequently if I didn’t have so many mental health issues, but it’s a start eh.

Please leave a comment below if you have any other tips you think I should include in the post or if you’ve found this helpful. You might also want to read my post about actually untangling your hair once it has become matted.

I’ve also written a post you might be interested in about my (new) daily self care routine that has been helping me feel fresher, more hydrated and more confident.

peace and love xoxo

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