How to stop curly hair tangling horrendously?

[Domainian]

I don’t want to brush it as it makes it puffy. I have nice defined curls for the first few days ( I use curl creme) which then tangle into an awful mess (that takes me a painful hour or two to sort out). I’ve tried a wide tooth comb etc, still the same issue

Only comb it through in the shower/when you wash it, while it's lathered with conditioner.

Leave it alone otherwise.

Well, wash again and comb through with the curl creme, surely. I never brush or comb my hair at all Unless I’m about to wash it.

You can revive your curls with a home made curl reviving spray if you prefer not to wet your hair thoroughly every day:

sevenroses.net/diy-glycerin-hair-spray-with-aloe-vera-and-rose-water-for-curly-and-wavy-hair/

My DS has very curly hair (ringlets). We comb when wet about once a fortnight using a brush designed for Afro hair. It’s much easier than any comb and stops it getting matted. We also use curl cream after every wash.

Oooh watching. My dd3 has waist length curly hair. It gets very dry and knotty.

Always plait at night
Try and avoid products with sulfates and silicon
Wet your hair in the shower and finger comb in between hair wash days.

have you come across the curly girl method op? it's a method that really works and doesnt have to be expensive and combines a lot of what the other posters have been saying - only brush when wet, no sulphates. But they also have methods such as using gel to set the curls which you then "crunch out". With curly girl each curl pattern has a different name, so my daughter has 3b curls. You can then find lists of good products for. that curl type. With my daughter it has been very hit and miss over the years but she currently uses Garnier ultimate blends coconut water conditioner to wash her hair, then shea moisture curl enhancing smoothie as a leave in conditioner and then eco gel.olive oil gel. She also sleeps with her hair covered at night.
Its taken a lot of trial and error over the years to find what works best for her but this current combination seems to be working very well

Put it in a high pony tail in the night. Have a look at the curly girl method... no sulphates etc
I wash mine just in conditioner and detangle then. I use mousse and gel to style. After that I refresh with a bit of conditioner and a bit of water. Don’t comb or brush!

What do you do with it when you go to bed?

I wash and condition my hair (curly) everyday. It's time consuming but sorts the issue.

As above poster said... your products don’t have to be expensive... I like Superdrug own pink conditioner with pump top and you can use Pantene mousse or Tesco own gel etc. There are dearer brands too. Asiam coconut co wash is lovely .

Just shake it out and let settle . Or have shower with it still in pony and then shake it out when bit damp as the steam will have revived it ..or damp hands with bit of conditioner

@Useruseruserusee what brush do you use ?Can you link or describe ?

Have found these

I wash my curly hair every other day. Comb it in the shower with a wide toothed shower comb once conditioner is on it. Style it with curl gel and then no brushing/combing until the next wash.

If I occasionally leave it three days before a wash its a lot more tangled. I'd personally be looking at washing it more regularly to keep on top of the tangles.

I think lots of conditioner and detangle it in the shower. If you can plait it or put it in french braids this might stop it from getting badly knotted.

Only ever brush/comb (I prefer brush) when wet and preferably loaded with conditioner.

I don’t wash every day but I will soak in the shower and then brush and style as normal.

I wash and condition every day. After my shower, I brush it with a tangle teaser and comb to get the parting straight. I never brush or comb at other times.

I don't want to brush my hair in the shower as the drain is slow and blocks very easily. If I brush before I shower, would that work?

I don't have tight curly hair but it is very wavy and used to get really matted and knotted underneath at the nape of my neck during the course of the day. I ended up getting an undercut done and it's totally solved it! Maybe getting some weight taken out of it combined with the advice from other posters would help. Do you have a good hairdresser who can give you advice?

@Dilbertian

I don't want to brush my hair in the shower as the drain is slow and blocks very easily. If I brush before I shower, would that work?

It’s because you want to be doing it wet, with product in it ideally - so most people do it with their conditioner, if you use leave in though you could do it when you’ve put that in.

Satin pillowcase helps mine a lot

@Dilbertian - there are handy gizmos you can stick into your shower drain to catch hair.

Don't brush or comb it dry ever - you will end up breaking a lot of hair.