16 Best Detanglers To Untangle Your Hair

Pattern Beauty has been on a roll this year! The Detangling Nectar is one of their most recent curly hair products that help detangle and nourish curly, coily, and tight textures at the same time. This slippery formula can be used for detangling as a pre-shampoo, during styling, and even as a refresher when you’re just not ready for an entire wash day. Made with super smoothing sea moss, ultra-hydrating aloe vera, and strand coating grapeseed oil, this nectar of the curly gods saves you time and leaves a light, clean, floral, earthy scent along with defined and juicy coils.

A pre-shampoo treatment that detangles and primes your hair to prevent moisture loss? Sign me up! Though the clarifying nature of shampoo is necessary for healthy hair and scalp, having a moisturizing pre-wash step before your shower can help prevent tangles from starting in the first place. This Curlsmith recipe has fermented rice water to support hair growth, fructose as a natural humectant, prebiotics to promote a healthy scalp, and fruity, fragrant extracts that double as vitamin-rich nourishment for your strands.

Kinky Curly’s Knot Today is the OG curly girl leave-in detangler in the curly hair community for a reason. This creamy herbal conditioning leave-in formula has organic marshmallow root, organic slippery elm, and a botanical infusion of water that untangles as it helps hydrate and smoothes the hair cuticle by reducing friction to prevent future knots. You can rinse out this detangler as well, so if you prefer to use this pre-shampoo. A tried and true product with years of rave reviews is always a good place to start when you’re struggling to figure out what works to detangle your hair.

Just like your favorite aunt, or someone like an aunt, this detangling solution melts your tangles instantly. With Shea butter, olive fruit oil, and cocoa seed butter in the formula, this detangler has a thicker texture with softening properties that help those knots slip right out. You can use this on wet or dry hair for all hair types as well, and it comes in a 3oz travel size, a 12oz, and a slightly larger 16oz bottle.

The reviews on this detangler have raved about the mucinogenic (super slippery slip) properties of the marshmallow root and aloe vera-based formula. Alikay Naturals is known for island-inspired natural products that work with your natural hair. The calming botanically-infused jasmine scent makes detangling feel like a literal breeze while the slip reduces tension, so less breakage and more time for yourself. The hibiscus flower extract helps strengthen damaged cuticles to keep your hair looking as healthy as possible.

If the tropical scent combination of Tahitian gardenia flower and mango butter doesn’t pull you in, then the reviews of this detangler should at least make you want to try it out. This after-shower detangler sets your curly style while giving the moisture, elasticity, and shine your hair needs. 

Blue Malva herb, broccoli seed oil, and coconut nectar all come together to bring a lush detangler with a subtle vanilla and cake batter flavor – I mean scent – to help unknot your natural hair. The Knot Sauce has an excellent slippery feel to quickly comb through those tangles from the ends to the root. Your hair will feel touchably soft, but don’t touch it too much if you want to prevent even more tangles.

This lightweight detangler is a deeply moisturizing styling product that you can use pre- and post-wash to get the knots out and keep moisture in. Formulated with the brand’s namesake Fair Trade Shea Butter, sea kelp, and Argan oil, this cruelty-free and ultra-nourishing conditioner is a great foundation for hair that gets frizzy and dry often. You can use this detangler to minimize breakage by gently combing from the ends up to the root – depending on how tangled your hair gets. It easily pairs with other Shea Moisture products to mix and match your way to a lasting style.

This lightweight leave-in detangler comes in spray form full of moisturizing ingredients that infuse emollient oils, fragrant herbs, and flower essences with a touch of bee-friendly honey to pack in the hydration. The fragrance is a delicate lavender with certified organic plant extracts that help with moisture retention and manageability. Organic rice proteins help strengthen the strands, and tamanu oil has the fatty acids to make your hair even softer. 

This brand is famous for its shampoo and conditioner set that touts hair repair and growth. Well, now you know they have a detangler that can give you the same glorious results using an exclusive pH-balanced formula that gets rid of tangles while eliminating dry and damaged split ends. According to the reviews, the shine you get with this spray is unreal, and the natural herb extracts help prevent excessive breakage. If you don’t mind silicones in your hair care product, this is an excellent detangler for hair that may be hard to comb.

Created by black female scientists and perfected by black hair care professionals, this Pantene hair treatment has argan oil as its star ingredient in this detangling milk. It has its signature ingredient, panthenol, to strengthen your hair. Though it does have silicones, it is sulfate-free and dye-free. You can rest assured you’ll get those sleek strands or defined curls you want.

Cantu is known for their products made for naturally curly, coily, and kinky hair, so of course, they created a detangler spray with shea butter that softens, panthenol that strengthens, and glycerin to help hydrate. It’s free of silicone, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, gluten, paraffin, and cruelty. If you have thicker hair, this could be a great detangler and refresher spray to get moisture and shine into those locks.

Oribe is one of the more luxurious brands, and this color-safe detangling primer, with its equally luxurious light scent of delicate fresh fruit, is no exception. The Oribe Signature Complex blends watermelon, lychee, and edelweiss flower to defend against oxidative stress, prevent excessive photoaging, and stop your natural keratin from deteriorating. Rich in vitamin C, the tropical hibiscus extract locks moisture in and keeps softness touchable. The Detangling Oil Blend – which includes pomegranate, apricot, and coconut – makes an effortless styling session by smoothing the cuticle and separating the strands to literally ‘run-through’ it with your hands.

The Golden Milk Blend in this moisture luxe detangler spray makes it a truly unique product. Originating in India and known for healthy hair care recipes, golden milk is an anti-inflammatory drink made of coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, honey, and coconut oil. This tangle treatment is meant for our self-care wash day to provide soothing ingredients as you comb through knots and give textured hair much-needed nourishment.

This lightweight multi-benefit priming detangler spray is the first step for your styling that can give you a shiny finish, cut blow dry time down, and soften rough strands. It’s also a heat protectant that leaves hair smoother than before and is safer from thermal and environmental damage. This brand was created by a collective of chemists, hairstylists, and creatives on a mission to ‘kind + clean’ products while helping in the fight against cancer through company and customer donations.

This 3-in-1 formula is a staple in a lot of natural curly girl cabinets because using a product that can co-wash (wash with hydrating conditioner-like ingredients), condition, and detangle is a time and money saver. The sweet almond oil and pure African shea butter bring emollient properties to this moisturizing creme, while the coconut and olive oils add slip to the formula in the shower and out of it. Many users have given it top marks in reducing breakage and preventing split ends.