My relaxed hair had become a matted, tangled mess. In some spots, I actually had little dreads forming. My hair is long, bra-strap length, and I was determined not to have to have to cut my hair down to about 1/2" so I had been using softening and moisturizing conditioners and combs to work through the tangles. I had been working on my hair for close to a month. I decided to try a dreadlock remover and came across this one. Crazy as this sounds, between this product and a dessert fork, I was able to remove the remaining tangles. I only cut 4" because of damage and was able to retain about 12". I know that if it wasn't for this product, I would not have been able to successfully remove the worst mat and would have been forced to cut most of my hair off. Of course, it's better if you never let your hair get into this condition but if for reasons beyond your control it does, I highly recommend this product.