How do I stop my ends from knotting??

I have been wearing my hair in braids for years now but have always had a problem with my ends knotting when my hair is loose and curly even though I do not wear my hair out. (Its always in a bun when not braided or straightened and I have only recently stopped braiding it due to my psoriasis.) I'm worried that if this continues I'll lose all the length I gained while it was braided since every time I take them out for a break (and don't flat iron my hair straight) I end up with a million knots only at the ends

About a year ago I learned about wet combing and have been doing that assuming that was the culprit. But it doesn't seem to help. I don't use sulfate shampoo and I recently trimmed off more than an inch of hair in some places. (Which left my ends smooth and healthy looking.) When I wash it, I wet comb with hello hydration as a leave in, and braid it into sections to air dry. Once it's dry and unbraided my ends are a tangled mess again but the rest of my hair is fine. What am I doing wrong?! How is it possible that my ends are curlier than the rest of my hair when I just trimmed it?

maybe try to finger comb your hair before you comb while wet.

Question: Are you combing from tip to root?

Yes, I finger comb first and I'm combing from the tips to the roots to avoid breaking my hair.

I recently read on BGLH where someone with the same problem said she runs a hot comb through just her ends to avoid them getting knotted again once dry. I guess I'll try that.