Considerations about Tangle Teezer and other similar brushes

***ReiKa*** · March 6th, 2015, 06:15 AM

Squiggy, great explaination, you couldn't have been more thorough

that is what I was worrying about...
Anyway, I don't use my TT that much anymore, more often on summertime at the beach cos I think it does very well on wet hair. My hair now is in good condition and doesn't get that tangled anymore. I would use the TT only for huge knots in the back of my head, on a daily basis I just use a wide tooth comb.

**missblueeyes** · March 6th, 2015, 07:01 AM

Originally Posted by lapushka

I've had my TT for over 2 years now, and it's used weekly for a one-time detangling session (after the WT comb). It's still going strong and it doesn't look like it needs replacing yet, but it's stored on its back (so the teeth don't bend and suffer).

That's why I recently replaced mine with one of the portable TT's that have a lid. I always left it on the bristles.

**rina06** · March 6th, 2015, 07:02 AM

I love my tangle teaser, but I dont brush my hair backwards to find a part with it while wet. Wonderful for just about everything else though.
I have a question about the wet brush though, it has those balls on the plastic bristles - i thought that was damaging for the hair? Am I missing something in the way it is structured?

**Squiggy** · March 8th, 2015, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by *ReiKa*

Squiggy, great explaination, you couldn't have been more thorough

that is what I was worrying about...
Anyway, I don't use my TT that much anymore, more often on summertime at the beach cos I think it does very well on wet hair. My hair now is in good condition and doesn't get that tangled anymore. I would use the TT only for huge knots in the back of my head, on a daily basis I just use a wide tooth comb.

Glad it made sense! I don't use my TT quite as often as I did when I first got it. I still like it and use it a few times a week, but I find my wide tooth comb is just better at detangling and does so in less time. It does feel nice on my scalp, though!

**animetor7** · March 9th, 2015, 12:59 AM

I really like my tangle teezer. I use it for daily detangling and it has definitely helped with damage, but I think that's because I'm a straightie and a finey. I think that at least on curly hair, any sort of regular brushing is damaging, detangling, sure, but brushing seems to be damaging. So, like so much on the lhc, your mileage may vary with the tangle teezer and similar brushes.

**librarychick** · March 9th, 2015, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Wildcat Diva

I think there was some discussion in past about how the plastic bristles did get beat up over time and THEN were all rough looking and scary themselves, microscopic gashes and nicks in the teeth and the like. I believe a beat up TT could be not so good. I've replaced mine a few times over and anyways I keep losing them and kids and husband take them, etc. I like mine and use it weekly (not daily). I can't dream of living with detangled hair unless it's oiled heavily anyway. My hair isn't down with that. Tangles right back up when you breathe.

THIS. I brush my hair, turn around to grab a stick or some sort of tie...boom tangled again. *sigh* I brush my hair about 2-3 times per week. I'm bad, I use a flat paddle brush, but I do start from the ends and work up.

Originally Posted by animetor7

I think that at least on curly hair, any sort of regular brushing is damaging, detangling, sure, but brushing seems to be damaging. So, like so much on the lhc, your mileage may vary with the tangle teezer and similar brushes.

This sounds about right to me. I did get a knock-off TT and I do like it...but I lost the darn thing (probably in the pit that is my purse...) and have gone4 back to my usual brush.

My hair tangles while I'm brushing it, to the point that when I comb it takes 30 minutes...and the ends are tangled again by the time I'm done detangling the crown. Bah. The only way to avoid this seems to be a paddle brush, or the TT.

**Anje** · March 9th, 2015, 01:15 PM

I took a good look (and feel) at my newish Tangle Teezer; the bristles are definitely round in cross-section and don't appear to have any mold seams on them except perhaps near the tips. Now the tips seem fine to my scalp, so I'm not particularly worried about it. My old TT is somewhat more scarred up and might not be as good for hair. It's also completely full of cat dander, which was one of my motivations for replacing it. It seemed high time that I got a new one and Linus could have a hand-me-down TT of his own! (Seriously, I've had that thing since before you could get them Stateside.)

Now that said, I know that my fine hair can and will damage before the bristles of the TT bend. I still need to be careful when using it -- it's not a magical device for me, even though it works pretty well. And the fact is that I have that same challenge using any other brush (Denman, for example) or comb. The TT pulls less at a knot before yielding, but it still tightens and stretches the hairs of that knot.

Originally Posted by librarychick

My hair tangles while I'm brushing it, to the point that when I comb it takes 30 minutes...and the ends are tangled again by the time I'm done detangling the crown. Bah. The only way to avoid this seems to be a paddle brush, or the TT.

Speaking for myself and my hair texture, when my hair is like this it's a sign of major buildup, probably protein. It was dry, snappy, had unusually kinked ends, tangled faster than I could untangle it, and was sort of rough to the touch. Anyway, my point is that for me that's not at all normal and can be fixed. It took my eliminating all my protein-containing products for a while and a week of daily SMTs, but it was fixable! I guess my point is that you probably don't have to just live with it.

**MINAKO** · March 9th, 2015, 01:45 PM

I previously only used my TT in the shower to clean my scalp and found a brush that has just as many bristles, but they are longer and with rounded tips. Im not reaching for the TT anymore at all. Outside the shower, by the time im done detangling with my comb i wont need anything else on most days.

**librarychick** · March 9th, 2015, 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by Anje

Speaking for myself and my hair texture, when my hair is like this it's a sign of major buildup, probably protein. It was dry, snappy, had unusually kinked ends, tangled faster than I could untangle it, and was sort of rough to the touch. Anyway, my point is that for me that's not at all normal and can be fixed. It took my eliminating all my protein-containing products for a while and a week of daily SMTs, but it was fixable! I guess my point is that you probably don't have to just live with it.

TBH my hair has always been like that to one extent or another. Even now, at the most manageable, I still have to be very careful. I'm doing NWSO, but cheating with a cornstarch dry shampoo every 3 weeks or so. It's the easiest to de-tangle right before it's too greasy to manage, lol. When it's 'clean' it's actually worse - ditto after any clarifying products/ I do need to trim the ends again, and that will help some - it just tangles really easily.