How to detangle matted hair and dreadlock-like knots without cutting: 10 tips that actually work

If you are reading this, chances are that you, or someone close to you, has a badly matted knot in their hair. It has started to look like a dreadlock, and it seems impossible to brush out.

Almost everyone's first thought is: "I'll just cut it all off."

Don't rush.

Over the years I have detangled hundreds of very difficult cases. Some of my clients had hair that had been matted for several weeks, others for several months. People came to me after serious illness, after depression, after long periods confined to bed, and after braids had been taken out the wrong way.

In most cases the hair can be saved. Yes, detangling can sometimes take several hours. Sometimes you will need help from another person or a professional. But it is always worth trying to detangle the hair first.

In this article I will show you how to do it, explain why these knots form in the first place, and tell you which mistakes to avoid.

Tip 1: Don't panic, and don't rush to cut

The most common mistake is to solve the problem in a few seconds with scissors.

When a dense, matted knot sits just a few centimetres from the scalp, it can seem like there is no other way. That is why many people simply cut it off, together with a large section of hair.

A knot like this almost always sits close to the scalp, and I will explain why below.

Even if some of the hair does have to be shortened in the end, it is still much better to keep as much length as possible than to cut the whole section off at the root straight away.

The most important rule to remember before you start:

Don't decide to cut until you have tried to detangle the hair properly (that is, if you want to keep your length).

Tip 2: Understand why hair mats like this

Most people think it is simply very tangled hair.

In fact, it is a little more complicated.

We all shed hair naturally every day, usually around 50 to 150 hairs. Most of the time we find them in a brush, on a hair tie, or in the shower.

Sometimes, though, the shed hairs cannot work their way out of the rest of the hair.

There can be different reasons for this:

• The hair has not been brushed for a long time.
• The person has been through depression or a serious illness.
• They have been confined to bed for a long time.
• Or the hair has been in braids for several weeks.

In all of these cases the same thing happens.

A hair has already fallen out of the scalp, but it stays caught among the other hairs. Gradually more and more of these hairs build up. They move freely through the rest of the hair, and some of them end up, so to speak, "upside down". The roots of these shed hairs catch on each other and on the hairs that are still growing.

Constant friction against clothes, the pillow and the rest of the hair gradually creates a dense, tightly matted knot that can look like a dreadlock.

That is why the sooner you notice the problem, the easier it is to fix.

The longer the hair stays matted, the more shed hair builds up inside and the tighter the knot becomes.

There is one more situation in which hair can mat very badly in literally a single day.

It happens when braids are taken out the wrong way.

While you wear braids, your hair keeps shedding every day as usual, but the shed hairs stay trapped inside the braids. If you wet your hair right after taking the braids out, without first carefully brushing out all the shed hair, the hairs quickly start tangling with each other.

The result can be a very tight knot formed during a single wash.

That is why, after taking out any braided style, you should first carefully brush out all the shed hair and only then wash your hair.

It is important to understand that a knot like this is not made only of hair that is still growing. A large part of it is hair that has already fallen out but stayed trapped among the rest.

Tip 3: Find the core of the knot

Take a good look at the hair.

Almost every matted knot has one densest part. To keep things simple, I will call it the core.

Sometimes it is one large, tight knot.

Sometimes it is several smaller ones.

It is this core that holds the rest of the tangled hair together.

It is very important to understand that your job is not to brush through the core on the first try. That never works.

Your job is to make it smaller, bit by bit.

Tip 4: Don't start detangling at the scalp

This is the most common mistake.

When the knot is close to the scalp, it seems completely logical to start detangling right there.

That is usually how relatives, friends, or people who have never detangled hair like this before try to help.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work.

The brush hits the tight knot. The hair is pulled taut and torn out at the roots, it hurts, and the knot itself only gets tighter.

You actually need to start brushing somewhere else entirely.

First, brush out the hair below the matted area.

Then gradually loosen the hair along its sides, section by section.

The matted area will get smaller and smaller until you reach its centre.

Tip 5: Choose the right brush

When detangling badly matted hair, it is not only how you brush that matters, but also what you brush with.

Your main tool is an ordinary hairbrush.

Brushes with thin plastic or metal bristles work best. They catch a small amount of hair and let you separate it from the core of the knot little by little.

Don't use brushes with thick wooden bristles or large plastic tips. They are too coarse for work this precise and cannot catch individual hairs well.

When detangling, don't use the whole surface of the brush, only its top edge.

That way you catch only a small amount of hair at a time and can control every movement much more precisely.

Remember: right now your job is not to brush through all the hair at once, but to gradually loosen small sections of hair around the core.

Tip 6: What to do if there are hard, pale spots inside

Sometimes there are dense, pale spots inside the matted hair. They can be small or larger clumps that look like dried chewing gum or white powder.

Most often this is a mix of leftover hair products, sebum and dead skin cells that could not be washed out properly because the hair was so tangled.

If you come across a spot like this, take a fine-tooth comb.

Its job is not to comb through the hair, but to help you pull individual hairs out of this hard part.

Carefully catch one or a few hairs and pull them upwards, towards the roots.

Just as with the core, work gradually from all sides. With every hair you pull out, the hard part gets smaller.

Once only a few hairs are left in it, the pale clump can usually be slid down along the length of the hair and removed without much effort.

Tip 7: Detangle dry hair and don't experiment with home remedies

Don't pour oil, shampoo, conditioner or other home remedies over matted hair in the hope that the knot will "fall apart on its own".

In most cases this only makes the job harder.

My own experience has taught me that badly matted hair is best detangled dry.

Tip 8: Use a good detangling spray

When detangling, hair doesn't need moisture so much as good slip.

The spray's job is not to wet the hair but to reduce the friction between the hairs.

This makes individual hairs separate more easily, the brush glides through more gently, and the risk of damaging the hair drops significantly.

Unfortunately, not all sprays work the same way.

That is why I recommend a good professional spray made specifically for detangling long hair.

Tip 9: If the knot won't come apart, split it, don't cut it off

Sometimes the hair is matted so tightly that even after several hours of work the core hardly gets any smaller.

In this situation many people decide to simply cut the whole knot off close to the scalp.

I recommend trying a different approach first.

Don't cut it off. Split it instead.

Carefully make a cut through the core along the direction of the hair, not across it.

Your goal is not to cut off a section, but to divide the hard core in two.

Then try detangling each half separately.

If needed, you can split each half once more.

Yes, this does shorten some of the hair.

But it is still much better than cutting a whole large section off right at the roots.

In most cases, this lets you keep a lot more of your length.

Tip 10: Wash your hair the right way once it is detangled

When you finally manage to work out the last matted spot, you will probably want to wash your hair straight away.

That is the right thing to do, but you still need to be careful when washing.

Try to let the water run down your hair in the same direction you brushed it.

Don't change the direction of the hair while washing, and don't wash it with your head tipped forward.

After hours of careful work, it would be a shame to tangle the hair again.

Apply shampoo mainly to the scalp. You don't need to scrub the lengths. The lather that runs down them as you rinse is usually enough to clean them.

After washing, apply conditioner or a mask to the lengths. Gently comb it through with a wide-tooth comb, leave it on as directed, and rinse.

A few final words

Not every badly matted knot is something you can detangle on your own.

To detangle the hair well, you need to see clearly what is going on inside the matted area. You need to know where its core is, which hairs are already free and which are still caught in it.

These knots most often form at the nape of the neck. That is exactly where you can barely see your own hair and where it is hard to control every movement.

So it is completely normal to ask for help.

If you can, go to a professional who works with braids or locs. People who do this work see situations like yours regularly and know how to save as much hair as possible.

Detangling is usually charged by the hour. Believe me, no professional wants to work longer than necessary. On the contrary, everyone wants to finish the job as quickly and gently as possible, with the best possible result.

And I would like to put one very common worry to rest.

Many people are afraid to go to a professional because they fear being judged. They worry someone will ask them: "How could you let your hair get into this state?"

No.

For a professional, this is work just like colouring, cutting or braiding hair. Nobody will shame you, blame you or look at you with disgust.

Hair can mat like this for many reasons. After an illness. After depression. After a long time confined to bed. After braids were taken out the wrong way.

A good professional understands this very well. And understands just as well how important it is for you to keep as much of your length as possible.

Before you book, they will usually ask you to send a few photos of your hair. They need them to get a rough idea of how much work there is. From the photos they can estimate how long the detangling will take.

Sometimes a situation that feels completely hopeless is solved in an hour.

Other times detangling takes five hours or more.

But very often the hair can be saved.

If you can't or don't want to see a professional, ask someone close to you for help. Your mum, a friend, your sister, your husband, or anyone you trust.

And before you start, ask them to read this article carefully.

I really hope my advice helps you keep your hair.

And remember: badly matted hair is no reason to shave your head, and no reason to feel ashamed.

It is simply a problem that has a solution.

With love,

Olga Olikova

Important

This article is about ordinary severe matting, or matting that formed after wearing braids.

If you have open wounds on your scalp, signs of infection, severe pain, bleeding or other health problems, see a doctor first.

Looking for a braider near you? Find one on the map. Want braids that don't pull? Read Safe braiding.

Guides