Her hair is badly knotted

Where are most of the knots?

• Mainly at the ends

  Do this

  Hold a section and work from the ends upward

  Take a section, about a third of the total. Hold it 10cm from the ends to protect the scalp. Work the bottom 5cm free with the wide-tooth comb, then 10cm, then the full length. Move to the next section only when the comb passes through the first without catching. Switch to a brush only once the comb runs clean.

  See: Wide-tooth comb

• Tangled throughout the full length

  Has anything happened to her hair since it was last combed?

  • She slept with it loose

    Do this

    Spray the whole length, divide into sections, start at the nape

    Sleep tangles are dry tangles. Moisture is the first fix. Spray throughout and let it absorb for a full minute before touching. Divide the hair into three sections. The nape will be worst. Do that first. Work each section from the ends upward before moving to the next. Trying to work through the whole head at once takes longer and hurts more.

    See: Wide-tooth comb

  • It got wet and dried without combing

    Do this

    Spray and wait before you start. Don't comb dry

    Hair that dried tangled has each strand locked against its neighbors. Spray throughout and wait a full 30 seconds, longer than feels necessary, but it makes a difference. Wide-tooth comb from the ends upward in 5cm passes. Don't attempt the full length in one stroke until the lower sections run clean.

    See: Wide-tooth comb

  • Nothing specific: it's just like this today

    Do this

    Section it, spray each section, comb from the ends

    Divide the hair into two or three sections and clip each one separately. Working a contained section is faster than fighting the whole head. Spray each section before combing it. Wide-tooth comb from the ends upward, 5cm at a time. Move to the brush only after the comb passes through each section without snagging.

    See: Wide-tooth comb

• Particularly at the nape of the neck

  Do this

  Clip the rest up and tackle the nape section first

  Friction against a collar or pillow concentrates tangles at the nape. Clip or loosely twist the rest of the hair out of the way and work only that lower section. Spray it lightly and use the wide-tooth comb from the ends upward. Once the nape is free, the rest is usually much easier, and keeping the sections separate stops freed hair re-tangling with the knotted parts.

  See: Wide-tooth comb