Hi there, Sally15.  A couple of things come to mind.  Using conditioner regularly concentrating it from the ends up to the bottom of the ears and then finger combing or using a plastic wide tooth comb to spead the conditioner evenly through the hair may decrease tangles.
Sleeping with your hair in pigtail braids will allow your scalp to breathe and keep tangles to a minimum.
When you are combing or brushing, begin at the ends and work up from bottom to roots, carefully.
In general I don't recommend brushing-combing on the whole is less hard on your hair.
You may wish to apply a leave in conditioner or apply a tiny bit of oil (jojoba, olive, sweet almond and coconut are used alot around here...) on the ends when its wet.

Good Luck!!!

Hi Sallie, I'm sorry to hear about your tangles.  I can totally sympathize!   I use conditioner every time I wash my hair, and then finger comb it before I even get out of the shower, as it tends to start drying quickly, making the knots harder to get out.  I've also used VO5 detangling spray in conditioner, which works very well, but I think that finger combing helps me the most.  Good luck, and I hope you have better hair days ahead!

Im kind of new here but my hair gets tangled very easily, here is what has worked for me, starting from the biggest to the least but still slightly helpful.

1) I used to brush my hair once (maybe twice) a day. I have since started combing it, because its hard to remove knots with a comb I find I comb my hair like 4 times a day on average which really decreases knots.

2) I bought a silly little "satin night cap" from walmart for like $1.50. I wrap my hair up in a bun (but dont secure it with anything) and put on the cap. It took me a bit of getting used to but makes a HUGE difference in the knots in my hair when I awake, I dont wake up with any knots now...if you dont want to do that I'd say just put it up at night.

3)keep your hair straight when showering. dont pile it up on your head or anything in the tub.

4) I wear it under a hat when needed. I just wrap it up in an unsecured bun and stick it under my hat on cold or windy days, or when walking places. in hot weather I just stick it up in a messy bun kind of thing with a scrunchie. I can pull them out easy when I want it down.

5) use scrunchies or "ouchless" hair bands as they dont get tangled in hair as easily.