As long as you have natural hair, you pretty much have single strand knots. They are also known as SSK’s in the natural hair community.
When I started off on my natural healthy hair journey, I had no clue what single strand knots were and I didn’t know my hair could naturally curl up on itself because not many people talked about it then.
I only began to notice it, after I did my big chop. You can read my hair story here.
Every time I washed my hair in sections, the ends of my natural hair at my nape, which is the kinkiest part of my hair, will feel very rough and I always wondered why that was.
“Here’s the thing, the tighter your curl pattern is, the more your hair can shrink. The more your hair shrinks, the more it curls up on itself forming Single Strand Knots. “
So how can you prevent or reduce the appearance of Single Strand Knots on your Natural Hair? Here are four ways below that have helped me in the past 4 years of being natural.
- Use heavy butters or oils on your ends- Whenever you are moisturizing your natural hair, try to use a heavy butter or oil on your ends. This weighs your ends down, thus, preventing it from curling up on itself.
- Twirl your ends- When styling, twirl your ends around your finger to clump your curls. This makes your ends curl in the same direction and prevents SSK’s.
- Keep your Natural hair in Stretched styles- Once you begin the follow the steps above, your ends will mostly be smooth when styling. Keeping your natural hair in stretched styles will also prevent SSK’s when you re-moisturize it with a water based spritz.
- Wash your Natural hair in twists or braids. This has been the best method to reduce single strand knots on my natural hair over the past few years. SSK’s take place mostly when your natural hair is wet, therefore, most SSK’s happen on wash day. In other words, when you wash your hair in a twisted or braided section, your hair is already clumped together and that automatically prevents your ends from curling on itself.
Oh and don’t forget to concentrate your deep conditioner on your ends. They are the oldest part of your hair and the most susceptible to breakage so they need more love!
I hope this helps. You can read more posts on tips and tricks here and here and you can find me on YouTube below
6 comments
I definitely agree. My ssk’s have been driving me nuts, and no matter how much I trim my hair, they keep coming back. My hair is about halfway down my back and the my new favorite thing is stretched styles. I don’t even like having my hair down, unless it’s in a stretched twist out. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!!
Hi Chinwe,
I usually just read and move on. However your response to every reader and genuine concern and love for each and every single one of them is astonishing! And I just certainly had to tell you how wonderful you are. When I was in the Caribbean I used aloe to coat my hair, after a little coconut oil. I usually wear wash n go’s. My hair was as beautiful as can be around that time, 2 years ago. Unfortunately now at shoulder length it’ has multiple single stand knots, major shrinkage and breakage. And I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. But it won’t seem to keep the length Gained in any protective styles I do. I read your Aloe Vera use blog and loved it so much that it brought me to this one about these heart breaking knots. You have given me so much insight already. Anyway, I’ve decided to grow my own aloe in Georgia and use it as a gel everyday again. Thanks for the tips on how to decrease single stand knots. And I hope through browsing through your entire blog, I can find and use a few tips to bring my beautiful mane back to life again.
Blessings ❤️
Empress
Hi Empress!
Thank you so much for taking time out to comment on my blog. I really appreciate it!! I pray your aloe plant grows bountifully and rich like your natural hair is going to be. To be honest the main reason why we get single strand knots apart from the fact that it’s natural is that we allow our hair to shrink too much. If you can add measures to prevent that like how I wash my hair in twists, I guarantee you won’t have so many single strand knots anymore.
my hair is short and stressful to twist before washing. And have found that every time I do, the part of my hair that is braided isn’t clean.
Oh dear! thats terrible. Do you squeeze the lather of the shampoo into the braided parts while you are washing? Because that usually helps me.