I'm in braids right now, and I don't know how long i'll leave them in, but I realized that my wash days are much easier because one step has been eliminated from my regular routine, which is detangling.
The only time I enjoy detangling my hair is after a touch up. But even then, I find that my hair is seriously tangled between wash days!


So I reached out to the ladies via instagram, and like I said to them, I know the HOW of detangling, i.e working from ends to roots, using your fingers before a wide to oth comb, etc., what i'm not too sure of is the WHEN.

So I asked them if it's a) before you wash b) during your wash in the shower c) after you wash or d) all of the above? Here's what they said:

@highmane10ance: I usually finger detangle and section my hair with my oil mix before I get in the shower and then use a wide tooth comb in the shower when I have lots of conditioner in my hair.

@sizzelle: I'm not a pro in taking out braids. Only fixed braids once during my hair journey, but when taking down braids of my daughters' natural hair, I detangle as I loosen with a good deep conditioner which has slip. I have also detangled on dry hair and the breakage was not too much. When I detangle during or after washing, I notice more hair lost. And more difficulty detangling.

@ebonycprincess: Definitely before washing and use oils/conditioners for slip.

@freshlengths: I have to detangle before washing or my hair gets into a matted mess! I usually apply a pre shampoo treatment and this helps provide some slip to get all the tangles out. I then wash in sections so I don't create any tangles when washing.

@donttouchhair: I usually detangle before I wash. This helps me prevent tangles during my wash day. If I don't detangle well before I wash, I end up spending too much time after trying to get rid of them. I use a pre-poo and detangle and wash in sections. Hopes this helps you. (It does!)

@fluffcoif: I've never taken out braids before, but it sounds like before is the way to go!

@naturally_curla: when I was younger and had braids it was done before.

@fancyflairlady: I had braids pre-hair journey and I did it before shampooing to get rid of all the shed hairs. I could imagine that those loose shed hairs would create a matted mess if you drenched your hair with water without at least finger detangling first.

@relaxedthairapy: Pre, during, and after. I keep shed hairs removed at every step.

@healthyhairdiary: Detangle before, apply oils and finger detangle then go in with a wide tooth comb. Washing in sections is also key to help prevent more tangles. Whether or not I just came out of a protective style, I detangle before I wash my hair.

Woah... with all this advice, what I used to do before these braids is foggy. I'm definitely going to apply these steps when I eventually take these braids out.

Share your experiences about tangles/detangling in the comment section. 

Which of these tips works/would work best for you?