In an ideal world showers would be for one thing and one thing only: staring off into space and letting your subconscious take over. But alas, even showers aren't free of their own to-do list, even if it's just the shampoo-condition-body wash-shave checklist. And if you have curly hair, you know that there's a hidden, often very difficult step in between "conditioner" and moving on with your life, and it's detangling your hair.
Granted, knots aren't limited to curls, but thanks to their makeup, brushing snarls out of dry hair isn't an option unless you're going for the puffy, brushed-out look. If you're not, a ton of shower time is dedicated to disarming tangles. Slip is the magic word in the curl lexicon, and the more of it you have, the easier that knots fall out (so the less time you spend painstakingly in the weeds of your tangles, trying to unfurl the damage without loosing strands). Get your shower back with the new class of detanglers: fast-acting, deep-conditioning, and better-smelling than ever before.
DevaCurl Wash Day Wonder Pre-Cleanse Slip Detangler, $23.12
DevaCurl's formula uses pracaxi oil to loosen up your hair and let your comb slide through, and then you follow with shampoo and conditioner. In a crazy turn of events, you don't have to do anything while the conditioner's in. You just stand there, and it truly feels strange.
Creme of Nature Pure Honey Knot Away Leave-In Detangler, $ 9.49
Power players honey, coconut oil, and Shea butter pull through to moisturize your hair while helping tangles slide out. You don't have to use conditioner afterward, but doubling up makes for the ultimate in soft curls.
SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Extra-Moisture Detangler, $13.35
Coconut oil is the go-to ingredient in the new breed of detanglers for good reason: The slick oil gives you slip to work with, and then you shampoo it out for moisture without the heavy, greasy aftermath. Bottled alongside shea butter, argan oil, and neem oil, SheaMoisture specifies that you can use it both before and after showering, especially if your hair's feeling fragile and ready to break.
Earth's Nectar Nourish, $74.99
It's usually a toss-up with detanglers: Either you get a moisturizing product that's lightweight but doesn't offer a huge amount of slip, or you get slip with weight (and sometimes, silicones) in abundance. This one's a happy medium: It conditions and adds a light amount of slip, just enough to help your comb slide through problem spots. And if the hair on the back of your head has broken combs, the spray nozzle is a godsend.
Where most of the other options emphasize moisture, John Masters' instead opts for a one-two punch of hydration and protein. If your hair's hit a dreaded plateau and you can't grow it past a certain length, reach for this one: It'll strengthen as it conditions, which nixes breakage.
Aquage by Aquage Equalizing Detangler, $18.18
After shampoo but before conditioner, load on some of this lightweight, fluid detangler. A little goes a long way in terms of slip, and especially combined with conditioner, it delivers the long-sought-after shampoo-commercial hair.
This one's best as a prewash, thanks to the four heavy-duty oils involved—the line-up includes Jamaican Black Castor Oil, murumuru oil, sunflower seed oil, and shea oil. You'd expect it to feel accordingly heavy, but the brand uses "dual encapsulation technology" to keep the formula light, which helps it sink in quickly to unravel tangles.
