WASH DAY / SECTIONING
If shampooing and detangling your entire head at once turns wash day into a project, stop treating all of your hair like one giant section. Here’s how to divide it up—and what to do with each section once you have it.
Sectioning is one of those curly-hair tips that sounds almost too obvious to matter.
Then you try detangling one-quarter of your hair instead of all of it at once.
For long, thick or tightly curled hair, smaller sections can make it easier to reach the scalp, distribute conditioner and work through tangles without repeatedly disturbing hair you already finished.
And no, you do not need a perfectly symmetrical eight-part grid.
You just need sections small enough that you can comfortably work through them.
Medium-density hair: Start with 4 sections.
Very thick, long or tightly tangled hair: Try 6–8.
Shorter or lower-density hair: You may only need 2—or none at all.
The correct number is whichever makes your hair easier to handle.
When should you section your hair?
You can section before getting into the shower if your hair is manageable enough to separate comfortably.
Part the hair roughly down the middle, then divide each side again to create four sections. Secure each one loosely with a clip, scrunchie or twist.
If your hair is very tangled, though, do not force dry sections apart just for the sake of sectioning.
Wet the hair first, add conditioner or another product that gives you slip, and separate it gradually with your fingers.
The point of sectioning is to make wash day gentler—not introduce an entirely new wrestling match before the shampoo even comes out.
Do you really need four sections?
No.
Four is simply an easy place to start because it divides the head into manageable areas without creating 14 tiny sections you now have to keep track of.
If one quarter of your hair still feels enormous, divide it again.
If four sections feel unnecessarily fussy, use two.
You cannot easily reach the scalp underneath it.
The comb keeps getting stuck halfway through.
Conditioner is only coating the outside.
You keep grabbing hair from areas you already detangled.
Make the section smaller and keep going.
Should you shampoo each section separately?
You can, especially if your hair is long or dense.
Working section by section can make it easier to get shampoo onto the actual scalp instead of mostly moving it around on top of the hair.
Undo one section, reach underneath it with your fingertips and gently cleanse that area of the scalp.
Then move to the next.
You do not necessarily need to coat every inch of your lengths in shampoo. Focus the cleansing where oil, sweat and buildup are actually collecting: the scalp.
If your hair tangles very easily while washing, loosely twist or clip each section again once you are finished with it.
How should you section for detangling?
This is where sectioning earns its keep.
After applying conditioner, work on one section at a time.
If that section still feels too dense to comfortably detangle, split it in half.
Start with your fingers to separate obvious knots, then use a wide-tooth comb or detangling brush if you prefer one.
Work gradually from the ends upward instead of starting at the roots and dragging every tangle down the entire length.
Hair science helps explain why being gentle matters: combing creates friction, snagging and repeated mechanical stress on individual fibres. Research has also found that conditioners can lower combing forces and reduce some forms of breakage.
If you have to fight your way through a section, make the section smaller before you make the force bigger.
What do you do with a section after you detangle it?
Put it away.
This is the part that can save you from detangling the same hair twice.
Once a section is completely detangled, loosely twist it and clip it out of the way.
Then move on.
By the time you finish the last section, the rest of your hair should still be separated instead of having quietly reunited into one giant wet tangle behind your back.
1. Saturate the section with water.
2. Add enough conditioner to create slip.
3. Finger-detangle the obvious knots.
4. Work from the ends upward with your preferred tool.
5. Twist or clip the finished section away.
6. Move to the next one.
How tight should the twists or sections be?
Loose enough that they are simply keeping the hair organized.
You do not need to tightly twist conditioned hair from root to tip or secure every section with a tiny elastic.
A few turns of the hair and a large clip may be enough.
If you can feel pulling around your scalp, loosen it.
This is organizational hair—not a finished hairstyle.
Should you rinse your conditioner in sections too?
If your hair tangles easily, try it.
Undo one section, rinse it thoroughly and gently keep the hair together as you move to the next.
You can retwist each section loosely after rinsing if that helps prevent the hair from tangling again.
If your curls stay relatively organized without doing this, there is no reason to add another step simply because somebody online does it.
Sectioning should remove work from wash day, not create administrative duties.
Should you apply styling products in sections too?
This can be especially useful when your hair is dense.
Applying leave-in, cream, mousse or gel to one large mass of hair can leave the outside thoroughly coated while sections underneath barely get any product.
Instead, keep some of your wash-day sections and apply product through them one at a time.
You may need fewer sections for styling than you did for detangling.
For example, you could detangle in eight sections but style in four.
There is no rule saying the section count must remain loyal throughout the relationship.
How do you avoid losing volume when you section?
Sectioning does not mean you have to create perfectly straight parts that remain visible after styling.
Once your product is distributed, gently shake, rake or arrange the roots so the sections blend back together.
If you want lots of volume, avoid flattening every section tightly against the scalp while styling.
You are using sections to distribute product and control tangles.
They do not need to become permanent borders.
What if the back of your hair tangles way more than the front?
Give that area smaller sections.
Your sections do not need to be equal.
If the nape tangles easily, divide it into two smaller areas.
If your crown is much denser than your sides, give the crown more sections.
If one side of your head barely tangles at all, stop creating unnecessary work there.
The whole point is to respond to how your hair actually behaves.
Who probably doesn’t need to section?
If your hair is short, relatively low-density or already easy to shampoo and detangle as one section, you may not need to.
Sectioning is a technique—not a curly-hair requirement.
If it makes your routine faster and gentler, keep it.
If you have spent ten minutes creating pristine sections for hair that would have taken five minutes to wash normally?
We may have over-engineered the situation.
The bottom line
Start with four sections and adjust from there.
Make them smaller anywhere your hair is especially dense or tangled. Clean the scalp section by section if needed. Detangle one area at a time, and put finished hair away so you do not have to do it twice.
The best sectioning method is the one that makes wash day feel smaller.
Disclaimer: This article provides general hair-care information and is not a substitute for advice from a dermatologist or other qualified healthcare professional. Persistent breakage, scalp changes or sudden hair loss should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.