madamesiamese asks:
“Every time I wash my hair, I get “Fairy Knots” at the end. I wear twists and twist outs mostly and use a glycerin/coconut oil or castor oil, rose water mist to keep my hair moisturized. I deep condition twice a week and hot oil treatments with olive oil. I use no heat– I only use a plastic cap for my treatments. I think that I’m doing the right things, but the Knots appear and I have cut them. Is this wrong?”
Ahhh! Those dang fairy knots or as some call them single strand knots (SSK)! For those of you who don’t know what fairy knots are, they are those little knots that some of us have at the end of our hair strand. These knots often make our ends feel rough and unmanageable.When snagged by a comb fairy knots can also cause breakage.
For me, I find that I get less (if any) fairy knots by, making sure to keep my hair stretched. This includes, not spritzing my hair with water throughout the week.When curly hair gets wet, it shrinks up as it dries (or as the water leaves the hair, making it lighter and curl back up)so, when you spray stretched hair, it shrinks up. This shrinkage allows the ends to curl around each other and….you guessed it form knots!
Using a great moisturizer and sealing with an oil or butter helps keep hair stretched and defined. The great thing about defining your curls (especially the ends) is, it helps them stay in their own little space which keep them from uniting and forming a fairy knot army!
Here are a few more things you can try:
- Oil Rinsing– This helps seal in moisture and also helps define your ends so they stay in their own space.
- Sealing– Sealing your moisturizers in helps keep moisture from leaving your hair strand quickly which helps your hair stay stretched longer.
- Stain Bonnet– Wear satin bonnet or scarf to bed, this helps keep your hair moisturized.
These are things I do to keep my ends healthy and prevent fairy knots.
Hope this helps!
Do you have any suggestions? How do you prevent fairy knots?
