I today curl series, we’re going to talk about a somewhat taboo subject…how to dry detangle and poo.

However, it may not be the poo you initially thought of so get your mind out of the gutter because we’re talking about shamPOO! Yes, pre-poo sounds ridiculous but it can actually be a very important step for some wavy/curly/coily headed people. I did an entire video about it, which I’ll link below. This post will give you the quick run down if you can’t watch at the moment.

If you are someone who’s constantly suffering from lack of moisture, a lot of hair fall and breakage, then this process could be a life-saver for you. I personally have very fine curls and lose quite a bit of hair during the week (which is natural for curly hair) but it’s exacerbated by my anxiety condition.

Using an oil for a pre-poo treatment is a way to help place moisture extra moisture and nutrients into your hair. This helps keep your hair from drying out during the shampoo process. If you are someone who gets hygral fatigue (over moisturized hair) very easily then using an oil can be a better process than deep conditioning. The best way to think of it is an oil are not necessarily a way to hydrate your hair but certainly a way to help keep them from being DEhydrated. This is great for people who have low porosity hair or type 4 coils, where it’s a bit more difficult for moisture to penetrate the hair follicle.

My personal favorite oil is the Righteous Roots Oil. I’ve used this hair oil since my day 1 natural hair journey. It has a multitude of uses (scalp massages, pre-poo, scrunching out the crunch etc). I cannot recommend it enough.

If you grew up with curly hair then you know that feeling when you lather your hair in conditioner and can finally pull your fingers through it. It was an amazing feeling, it didn’t hurt your head and left you with soft, juicy curls. Well, color me shocked when I learned that isn’t technically what’s happening!

Whenever you add water to your hair the hair follicle swells and absorbs whatever product you’re putting on it. You’d think this would be great, it’s getting all the nutrients and good stuff from your conditioner and stylers. Well, what they don’t tell you is that while your hair is ‘swollen’ it is actually at its weakest. Meaning, even though we weren’t feeling the breakage happening as we detangle, it was still there, leaving us with clumps of hair that we assumed we’d feel if we used a brush while our hair was dry. We thought we were saving ourselves some pain but in some cases, we may have been doing more harm than good.

I felt lied to but as I looked back, I realized that I was losing a decent amount of hair every time I detangled in the shower. This led me to experiment with dry detangling and the results really helped me better understand my hair.

1. Section hair
   1. This helps us make sure we don’t use too much oil but also that we coat all the hairs evenly
2. Depending on the size of your sections, add the oil to your hands and work onto the hair
   1. Focus heavily on the ends and mid-shaft, only working up to the scalp once those are done
   2. Oil too close to the scalp will leave you with clogged pores causing new issues
3. Grab a brush specifically made for detangling (look for flexible bristles that don’t pull against the head)
4. Start brushing the ends and work your way up the section until the brush glides smoothly through
5. When finished clip that finished section back so you don’t put more oil on it
6. Take down next section of hair
   1. Be careful when pulling apart the hair, since this is usually day 4+ hair it will be more knotted
7. Complete pre-poo oil treatment and dry detangling across entire head
8. Wrap in a bun or clip back, allow the oil to sit for 10-30 minutes
9. Shampoo and condition as normal
   1. Because there will be a barrier of oil on the hair it may take a little bit for the shower to actually saturate the hair
10. Style as normal

That’s the importance of pre-poo oil treatments and how to dry detangle after one! If you try them out I’d love to hear how it worked for you. If you have any questions or suggestions please leave a comment below, I love hearing from you guys :)

TOOLS/PRODUCTS USED IN VIDEO:

Righteous Roots Oil

Behairful Brush (use code ESSENTIALLYERYNNE for a $ discount)

Leave In

Cream

Gel

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. This is at no extra cost to you and all products linked are ones I use personally and/or paid for myself