Meshing is a term that I gleaned from Chinwe’s blog. It is the perfect term because it really does accurately describe the way some kinky curly strands can easily intertwine and form a cobweb-like structure. If you have hair that meshes easily, you may often find yourself having difficulty handling it such that it does not break or form knots. Here are some tips for preventing kinky hair from meshing.
1. Protective style for shorter times, Redo the perimeter often
Hair that meshes easily will also often shrink tightly and tangle when exposed to water even when in a protective style and especially at the perimeter. Therefore, the longer you keep a protective style and wash/condition your hair in the style, the more likely you are to get meshed hair. You should experiment and learn the limit that your hair should be kept in a protective style. In all cases, do consider not ever keeping own hair twists or braids for longer than a month without at least redoing the perimeter every 1-2 weeks.
2. Detangle more
In general, detangling is often the time when hair breaks the most. This can lead many naturals to detangle in less frequent periods and especially when hair is not in a protective style. If you have your hair free for a week and you can easily track its shrinkage over this time, you may actually save yourself a lot of time and effort if you chose to do a mid-week detangling, stretch and restyle rather than wait for the week to end. Allowing the hair to continually shrink without trying to stretch it gently will promote meshing.
3. Stretch your hair before parting
Parting is the devil for hair that meshes easily. This is especially true if you choose a conservative stretching method (e.g braiding or twisting) or attempt to part on semi dry or dry unstretched hair. Hair that meshes easily does so because of multiple kinks and tight curls. Stretching hair allows you to retain texture but at the same time smooths out kinks and curls to reduce meshing of the strands. Curlformers and African threading are two heatless methods to get really stretched out hair without placing too much strain on the hair.
4. Avoid water, avoid glycerin, avoid water based moisturizer.
This tip is for hair which is being kept free, open and stretched. This hair should be treated as you would a heat-treated style. You need to avoid water and water based ingredients as well as humectants if you want to keep the style stretched and mesh free. You can certainly apply a water based moisturizer prior to stretching although glycerin would still remain a no -no as it has the ability to attract water to it later on. Tucking your ends into a large flat twist, updo or bun will help to maintain the moisture while you avoid water.
Ladies, how do you keep your hair from meshing and tangling?
