Brushing My Daughter's Hair - OW!

Good idea! I'll try that with my five and six year olds - both have long hair and one is definately prone to nasty tangles. If you don't already have solutions that work - I use adult leave in conditioner (comes from Sally's or whereever and is in a bottle with a pump) and it helps a ton! The kids' no more tangles stuff didn't do jack to either of my girls' hair. I've also been known to throw a braid in before bed - it keeps hair from knotting and makes it "wavy" for the morning which they both like. :)

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S....great games...i would like to give you another tip that may help also...when your little one is in the tub and you are washing her hair..use a bit of conditioner and comb it right there in the tub...the wet hair and conditioner will make it smooth as silk...when you rinse her hair..do it from top to bottom (dont flip her head or ruffle it when the water is rinsing it) and when she gets out...dry it from squeezing the hair with a towel...not ruffling it...it will be so much easier to brush it...also if you have to brush it when its dry..start at the very bottom and work your way up to the top, it will keep the pulling to a minimum...i can give this advice with about 38 years of experience since i have had hair down to my bottom almost all my life, and my daughter is a very tender headed girl herself. i hope this helps :)

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Hi S.,
Have you tried a pic? If not, get a pic or a wide tooth comb & start combing from the bottom of her hair & work your way up. If you can, section her hair into 3(2 sides & 1 back) then hold a section in your hands when you're combing so she wont feel you pulling. Good luck :)

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Another suggestion would be to brush from the bottom up. When you brush from the top, you're just compressing the knots! I found this out the hard way - from MY mom doing it to me. I have very thick hair and it was always difficult for her to brush. Wish she had known this trick! Another thing is to brush it again BEFORE bed, not just in the morning. Good luck! Love your game idea. :-)

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Hi S. ...I feel you pain when my daughter was younger she thought it was trauma as well. She is almost 7 now and had almost knee length red curly hair. What i do is wash her hair in the tub and then put half palm amount of Panten Pro-V in her case for red heads , in her hair and let it soak until right before she gets out. I've been using it about two years I haven't had a tangle since. I also nevr leave her hair out at night, I put a simple braid to prevent tangling. I hope this might help you.

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kudos on the animal name game .i also have a hellatious time with my little ones hair she has thick frizzy curls that need to be tamed before kindergarten every day! one thing that helps is a little baby lotion rubbed in with detangler . but i am definately going to try the game thanx oh also i brush her hair before bed and braid it. good luck By starting at the bottom and workin your way up there is less trauma and drama !

What a great creative idea! I worked for many years in a hair salon for children and I wish I'd thought of that then!!:) Thanks for sharing!!
D.

Great tip, my daughter hates when I brush her hair.

S.,

Thanks for the great idea. My 5 year old has long/curly hair that get's tangled more often than not and we have tried every detangler/conditioner and yes it helps, but we still have those stubborn snarls. I will try this out. Thanks again, J.

Love this thread! Our nearly 4 y.o. daughter LOVES her long hair, but has two mom's who've had short hair for a long time now, and we've have forgotten the trials of snarls. Reading all the responses, I think we don't have it too bad, but thanks everyone for lots of suggestions that will surely make it easier!

My daughter has her dad's fine blonde hair and my natural curls...not a good combination! Her hair always gets super tangled, and she's a tender-head. It was a fight to get her to endure sitting down for a brushing twice a day, but she also loves her long locks (about the middle of her back). I have started to braid her hair before bed and, voila, it's so easy to brush in the mornings! We use Pantene detangling spray, not that kids' stuff, and a Conair Ouchless brush.

My daughter has long thick hair that tangles easily and when she goes to bed at night i brush it out and put it up in a scunchie/hair tie loosely and when she gets up in the morning her hair is not as tangled plus it keeps it off her face. she tends to get hot and sweatly at night. Another tip i've learned over the years to is to keep a water spray bottle close by and wet her hair down before i put it up or try to style it in pony or pig tails. Good luck girls!!

Thank you for sharing that idea with us. I have a 4 year old with very fine hair and she HATES to have her hair brushed. I also have a 7 year old who has thick curly hair and is growing it to donate to Locks of Love. It is so long now that the ends are constantly tangled and she cannot get the tangles out herself.

It sounds like a great idea, will try it this a.m. with the younger one!

S.,
It felt painful just reading your email...
Some things that worked for me with 3 girls with long, tangly hair:
1.Brush hair before shampooing and before bed.
2.If hair is snarly, brush bottom part first and work up from there, a few inches at a time.
3.Use conditioner.
4.If snarly, use detangler product. There are many good ones now...Frizzease, etc.

Mom,

just wanted to share something,
have you tried the hair detangling spray.

starting with a wide tooth comb gather her hair into a single ponytail at the back of her head

starting at the bottom then work your way up,

then split the hair in 2 ponytails, and do the same.

and if she get a rats nest at the base or nape of her neck

spray that and then gently brush out with a soft bristle brush and then comb out.

a head band around her hair and head to protect it from snarling , and a pony tail,

Also RE-combing it before bed, helps

Good luck

Mom, and thanks for the game advice. Great trick.

EDIT:

Also try treseme, leave in conditioner specially for underneath, the only thing is it can look a bit oily.

Sounds like a GREAT Idea! I have another one for you, this time to get RID Of the tangles! I have a 6 yr old daughter with hair down past her bottom. We have recently stopped using all shampoo & conditioner - we wash our hair with 1 Tablespoon of baking soda to 1 cup of warm water...I need 1 cup, her hair takes 3, easy. Mix it up before the shower/bath 'till the cup of bs/w is clear, then gently work it through your/her hair. Then rinse with warm water...and then use this Naturally Detangling rinse: One to One & one-half tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar to one cup of Cool water. The smell does NOT stay in your hair, never fear! Once you rinse that out of her hair, you can let it dry, then brush it out - you will be AMAZED at how easy it is to brush, and so will she! My daughter was INSISTING that we cut hers OFF before we tried this. No shampoo took the tangles out like this rinse, and NO DETANGLING SPRAY (we went through several bottles) worked as well as this simple rinse. The coolest thing is, you've probably already got this stuff in your kitchen. :)

Best of luck!

Lots of great suggestions and ideas here. Cool! I have another idea. When you run out of detangler, you can take a spray bottle and mix conditioner with it. I put about two or three tablespoons of conditioner in roughly a cup or a cup and a half of water. Shake it up and spray to help detangle.