Matted Hair Blog
The short answer
This blog is my own set of guides to matted, tangled and knotted hair, written from the cases I have worked on. Each guide answers one question, from what causes matting to which brush is safe to buy.
I am Vitalii Prisacari. I take mats apart by hand, dry, from the tips to the roots, in my studio on Adenmore Road, Catford, London SE6 4BT. I have worked with more than 1,000 clients since 2020. My 27 qualifications, the VTCT Skills Level 3 Diploma in Women's Hairdressing among them, are listed on my credentials page.
If your hair is matted tonight, you do not need to read every guide first. Keep it dry, put nothing on it, and send me a photo on WhatsApp. I usually reply within an hour.
Complete Guide to Matted Hair Restoration
Start here if you are not sure what to do first: what happens before anything touches the hair, and the aftercare once it is open.
Read Full Guide ResearchWhat Causes Matted Hair? Statistics From My Case Files
The largest group of my clients, 42%, matted after depression, illness and hospital stays. The wrong washing technique comes second.
Read the Study GuideHow to Detangle Severely Matted Hair Without Cutting
For when nothing you have tried is working. I show the order my fingers work in when dematting, and the point where a tool is finally allowed in. Across my clients, 99% were saved without cutting.
Read Guide PreventionHow to Prevent Hair From Matting
Brush at least three times a day. The morning brush and the last one before a whole night on the pillow matter most.
Read Guide TextureHow to Detangle Matted Afro & 4C Hair
Coils that hold on to each other are not always matted. The first check tells you which you have, long before anyone reaches for scissors.
Read Guide ProductsBest Hair Mask for Matted & Dry Hair
Which masks help dry hair, and why coconut oil, which sets solid when cool, makes matting worse.
Read Guide CareMatted Hair After Surgery, Hospital, or Illness
After days in a hospital bed, the back of the head mats against the pillow and nobody has brushed it. I come to the bedside anywhere in London, and that matting almost always comes out without cutting.
Read Guide ServiceMatted Hair Removal in London
Removal is £100 per hour, and the grade of the matting decides how many hours it takes.
View Service TextureA Curly Hair Routine That Actually Works
Wash day to day five, from a towel that does not rub up frizz to working out small tangles while the conditioner is in.
Read Guide ToolsThe Best Detangling Brush, Tested on Matted Hair
Flexible pins against paddles against wet brushes, compared on tangled hair. On a mat, my fingers go in before any of them.
Read Guide ColourBlonde and Bleached Hair Maintenance: What Bleach Changes and How to Care for It
Bleach permanently raises the cuticle, so lightened strands catch on each other and tangle faster than before. Washing and toning both have to allow for that.
Read Guide ToolsWhich Hairbrush for Which Hair Type
Your hair type decides the brush, and whether you brush wet or dry. A good one costs about £5 to £30.
Read Guide CareProtective Styles: The Benefits and the Hidden Risks Nobody Mentions
Braids, twists, sew-ins and wigs protect hair only when worn correctly. Most of the damage I see happens at takedown, when the hair is washed before the shed hair has been separated out.
Read Guide ColourHair Dye and What It Really Does to Your Texture
Permanent, semi-permanent and bleach change the strand in different ways, which is why coloured hair tangles more easily.
Read Guide HealthHair Thinning in Women: What to Check First, in Order
Thinning in women usually has a cause that can be found. Your GP can test for two of the common ones, iron and thyroid.
Read Guide GrowthHow to Actually Grow Longer Hair
Hair grows about 1 to 1.25 cm a month no matter what you buy. Rough detangling breaks off more of that length than heat or bleach do.
Read Guide ProductsLeave-In Conditioner: How and When to Use It Properly
Too much leave-in conditioner leaves hair coated and limp. The right amount depends on your hair type, and it works between washes, not in place of your rinse-out.
Read Guide ProductsDry Shampoo: What It Does, and the Hidden Cost of Overusing It
Dry shampoo absorbs oil but cleans nothing. Between real washes, the powder and the day's shed hair stay on your head.
Read Guide GuideWhat Is Matted Hair?
If your fingers get through, it is a tangle. A section that stays solid is a mat, and the five grades run from tangles to full fusion.
Read Guide GuideWhy Does My Hair Mat So Easily?
Usually because some of the 50 to 100 hairs you shed each day stay in and wind around the strands still growing. A few days without a brush can be enough to start it.
Read Guide CareMatted Hair After Depression
If weeks passed and the hair was left, start here. A session stops for a break whenever you ask, and you never have to explain the hair.
Read Guide CareMatted Hair in Elderly and Dementia Care: A Carer's Guide
For carers. Some of it you can safely do today without hurting the person, and the rest I can do at home, on a ward or in a care home.
Read Guide CareMatted Hair Extensions: Removed Without Losing Your Own Hair
Do not cut the track out. I remove matted extensions bond by bond, dry, and keep your own hair.
Read Guide PreventionHair Matting at the Nape of Your Neck
The nape usually mats first. It rubs on collars by day and the pillow by night, and gets the least brushing because you cannot see it.
Read Guide ProductsBest Products for Severely Matted Hair
No detangler opens a severely matted section on its own. Slip product goes on only once a section has started to open. Some products help at that point, and some make a mat tighter.
Read Guide HealthPlica Polonica: What Excessive Matting Is Called
Plica polonica is the medical name for hair felted into one solid mass. It is rare. If the scalp underneath is sore or weeping, see your GP first.
Read Guide ServiceProfessional Matted Hair Detangling Service in London
Not every booking is a mat. Knotted and tangled hair gets the same hands, one knot at a time, until it is all open.
View ServiceNew guides are added regularly. For immediate help, call or WhatsApp +44 7902 020201 for a free 10-minute matted hair assessment.
From one photo I can tell you the grade, the hours and the price before you spend anything. I also work in homes across London for a £200 flat surcharge, and Klarna and Clearpay both let you pay in 3 at 0% interest. Before and after photos of hair saved without cutting are in my gallery.