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It was 8:45am on a bright sunny Saturday morning and I was sitting bedside with tears in my eyes. Not because of another sad love song, or anything quite that mushy but because I am what our aunties and grandmothers have referred to as “tender-headed”. Can we talk about the struggle to comb through two-week old flat twists? These are the moments when I clearly hear the call of the creamy crack.

MUST READ: Real Girls, Real Curls: A Ghetto Fashionista Struggles With Her Natural Journey 

After I spent my entire life with relaxed hair, my natural tresses are going to take some getting used to. This is the ugly side of natural hair that few people tell you about… the struggle to detangle, the inexplicable knots that form at the ends, the urge to run to straighter and dare I say, more manageable pastures. As with anything, the more I work at it, the better I will become so hopefully with each style transition the knots, and tears will be fewer.

Here are some tips for detangling your newly (or not so new) natural tresses:

Ends to Root. I realize this advice probably sounds illogical, because we have spent our entire lives coming our hair from root to ends, however when you are detangling,  it is important to comb from end to root. Otherwise, you may end up losing a lot of hair, as natural hair tends to knot on the ends.

Moisturize. I will often spray a leave in conditioner on when I am attempting to detangle my tresses, trust me when I tell you a little leave on can go a long way when you are combing out braids.  Sherrie Wood, Digital Brand Media VP for Luxe Glam Collective indicated: “ I saturate my hair with conditioner and finger detangle. If I have to use a comb it’s a wide tooth comb”.

Detangle in sections. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to section your hair off when you are detangling.  Even when I’m taking my hair down from braids, or the up do’s that I have grown fond of, I take it out in sections and comb and detangle in small sections.   After each section is detangled, I twist it up; otherwise the already daunting task would be overwhelming.

The most important advice I have for my fellow naturalista’s is BE PATIENT. Natural hair can be beautiful but it does require a fair amount of trial and error and incredible patience especially when you are first transitioning. Enjoy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Ghetto Fashionista keeps her eyes peeled to the runway AND the hood. She is always fabulously ‘dipped’ in the latest fashion BUT she has a secret. She does not spend full price to look her very best. No, the ghetto fashionista is resourceful! For more stories on life, beauty and style check out the Ghetto Fashionista.

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The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.