Your hair mats easily due to dryness, damage (lifted cuticles), friction from fabrics/wind, rough handling, lack of regular detangling (especially for curly/long hair), or certain hairstyles, all creating "velcro" hooks where strands catch and knot together, leading to severe tangles. Solutions involve hydration, gentle washing/drying, protective styles, satin pillowcases, and regular conditioning to smooth the cuticle and reduce friction.
Acute hair matting may be due a combination of physical, chemical and behavioural factors. These include: Neglected hair care and poor hygiene. Infestation with head lice (pediculosis capitis)
Fine hair is less... rigid? It's worse at holding its shape, because each individual hair is thinner. That makes it more likely to tangle. And oil lubricates the hair, which makes it more slippery and less likely to tangle, so people with dryer hair are usually more prone to matting because they don't have as much oil.
Aggressive brushing, excessive washing, and using the wrong products can strip your hair of natural oils, rendering it dry and prone to knotting. Rough towel-drying and combing through damp hair with impatience can escalate the situation, leading to more hair breakage and snarls.
How to Prevent Matted Hair. Prevention is key when it comes to avoiding the frustration and hassle of dealing with matted hair. Start with a healthy hair care routine and make a habit of detangling your hair daily using a leave-in conditioner and wide-toothed comb to minimize damage and make the process easier.
The rarest hair type is generally considered Type 1A, which is extremely fine, straight, and wispy, lacking any natural bends or waves, making it difficult to hold a curl but naturally sleek and prone to oiliness. While curly hair types (Type 3 & 4) are less common globally, 1A stands out as the least voluminous and textured straight hair, often seen in people of East Asian descent, though it's considered rare across all populations due to its unique fineness.
Iron Deficiency: Low iron levels reduce oxygen supply to hair follicles, which weakens your strands from the root. Weaker strands break more easily and are more likely to form knots, especially if you have fine hair or long hair.
Plica neuropathica (PN), also known as plica polonica, trichoma, matting, felting, or bird's nest hair, is a common but rarely reported hair disorder. It is characterized by the abrupt onset of irreversible hair entanglement, forming a densely matted hair mass.
HOW TO DETANGLE MATTED HAIR WITH 6 SIMPLE STEPS
Adjust Your Sleeping Position
Consider how you position your head while sleeping. Sleeping with your hair spread out rather than bunched up can reduce stress on your strands. If you tend to move a lot during sleep, try to find a sleeping position that minimizes pulling and twisting of your hair.
Over-moisturized hair looks limp, mushy, and lacks definition, with curls falling flat or becoming undefined and fluffy, feeling heavy and overly soft, lacking bounce and elasticity, and sometimes appearing stringy or greasy at the roots, indicating a protein-moisture imbalance.
Detangling should happen on wash day with wet hair using a conditioner to add slip. The wetter your hair, the better your hair care products can absorb into the hair shaft, making it easier to glide through any knots.
A simple test to tell if you're dealing with protein overload is to take a strand of your hair and stretch it. If it feels dry and brittle and snaps almost immediately, you've got a protein overload and you need to adjust your hair care routine accordingly.
Leave-in conditioner can help detangle hair, supply strands with moisture, and even protect hair from heat and UV rays. It has many of the same properties as the hair conditioner you use in the shower; it's moisturizing, de-frizzing, and detangling.
In extreme cases, cutting them out can be necessary to fully detangle, as very damaged hair is more prone to matting in the future, though this is uncommon. For less severe cases, we've got you covered for how to untangle matted hair at home quickly, without any pain and with minimal hassle.
Can Diet Cause Hair Thinning? Yes, an unbalanced or restrictive diet can lead to hair thinning. Diets that are low in calories or eliminate certain food groups can deprive your body of the nutrients needed to maintain healthy hair.
Sleeping with your hair down leaves it vulnerable to friction, tangles, and breakage, but a too-tight ponytail or bun can put tension on your scalp and lead to damage over time. The sweet spot? A loose braid, a low ponytail with a silk scrunchie, or a soft, high "pineapple" for curls.
Are you making these common detangling mistakes? Most people don't realize: ▪️ Dry detangling = instant breakage ▪️ Wrong tools = cuticle damage ▪️ Rushing = more knots, more loss 🔑Learn the science-backed detangling method that reduces breakage in our Grow Your Hair Like a Pro course!
Often, what causes hair tangles is simply your haircare routines. Maybe you're using the wrong everyday conditioner for your hair type, causing dryness or excessive moisture. Perhaps you're sleeping with wet hair or over-brushing your hair after the shower, which leads to frizz and breakage.
Hair follicle damage and loss can result from a lack of vitamin B12. However, a B12 shortage frequently comes with other signs and symptoms, including weakness, exhaustion, and tingling or numbness in the hands and feet.
Rapunzel syndrome is when you swallow hair and it makes a hairball (trichobezoar) in your stomach and small intestine. It happens because you have an uncontrollable urge to pull out and swallow your hair. It's named for the fairy tale about a young girl with very long hair.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to attack your body. Your immune system attacks your hair follicles because it thinks they're foreign invaders — bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi — that cause infection, illness and disease.
Here are 10 unexpected signs of a vitamin D deficiency that may surprise you.
If your hair tangles easily, it's not just texture—it's a sign your strands need more hydration, slip, and the right kind of care. By understanding your hair type and giving it the right detangling routine—before, during, and after the shower—you'll finally get soft, smooth strands that stay knot-free.
When vitamin levels dip too low, hair follicles struggle to sustain healthy hair production. Nutrient deprivation interferes with their intricate processes, putting hair at risk. Deficiencies can trigger excessive shedding, slow growth, thinning, dull and dry strands, changes in texture, and patchy hair loss.