Single Stranded Knots

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Have you ever looked at a strand of your hair and noticed a dark dot on it? That, my friend, is a single strand knot. Single strand knots (ssk) occur most often on curly or kinky hair. This results from a single strand of hair wrapping around itself and forming a knot. The more curly the hair is, the more likely you are to get them. Likewise, fine hair is a little more prone to knotting as well.

While they are almost impossible to completely get rid of, there are ways that you can minimize ssk.
1) Keep your hair, especially your ends, very moisturized.

2) Consider sealing wet ends with oils like coconut oil or olive oil or butters like shea butter, to allow the hair stands to easily glide past each other.

3) Keep your ends in tip top shape. If you notice a lot of splits or a sudden increase in ssk, then it is time to trim. Splits encourage knotting.

4) Make sure your hair is thoroughly detangled from root to tip with a product that gives your hair good slip. Hair that is improperly detangled contains shed hair that wraps around other stands of hair (particularly those with splits or knots),to form double stranded knots. Also, pull hair up and out of tangles & knots, rather than tugging downwards on knots. This is something that I learned during my first year natural.

5)Limit wearing your hair in its completely shrunken state (ie: constant wash and gos). Shrunken hair is a play ground for the curls to play. Use braids and twists to stretch the hair before unraveling, to rock a larger and more stretched fro. Or do rollersets and the occasional straight hair style to keep knots at bay. Focus on stretching the ends above all else. #2 & 4 become especially important should you decide to wear your hair in its shrunken state (you may need to detangle more frequently).

6) Avoid playing in your hair too much. Knots are created when two pieces of the same strand are pulled in opposite direction. A lot of times, we create these knots on our own.

7) Be aware of how your hair reacts. Some people notice that combs actually encourage knots in their own hair and prefer finger combing. Take note if that applies to you.

8)Keep your ends protected (ie: buns) as much as possible.

9)Do the occasional search and destroy with a good pair of hair shears, to decrease the number of them if they become a problem. DO NOT PULL OR SNAP THEM OFF OF YOUR HAIR! This weakens the hair and leads to splits.

10) Consider washing your hair in sections, braids, or twists as it gets longer, to minimize tangling.


Realize that these knots come with the territory of having curly hair. Do not let it drive you crazy and give you OCD. If you spent everyday cutting them off, you'd loose a lot of your progress. Half of the time, they come right back so you'll just drive yourself crazy. They are pretty harmless for the most part. But, if you do notice that they are causing you problems, then beginning snipping them off and getting rid of them.


Happy Hair Growing,


Bee