My DD's hair is always extremely knotty!! No matter how often we wash or brush her hair. And she hates having her hair brushed because of it and cries during a hair brushing.
Any ideas on how to prevent knotty hair appreciated? Or to make brushing easier?
Have you tried using some spray in conditioner or detangler spray? Helps with the actual combing, but I find little girls seem to love the concept of "special spray" and will happily sit for a combing once it is sprayed in.
Yes should have mentioned we've tried a spray in conditioner and that doesn't help. Maybe a detangler spray would but I haven't been able to find one. Where do you buy it from Astrid?
Gaia baby has one (baby section), otherwise Palmolive have one in a pink bottle (I do find that one a bit stinky and will probably grab the Gaia one next time)
What does the hairdresser say? Sometimes a bit of a tut tutting from them about the knots and how they might have to cut off more hair, can work for getting them to sit for brushing
Also try different brushes and combs, I find my girls are more tolerant of some. They also love someone else brushing their hair and are way less whingy for them.
As a child who's hair always tangled terribly when it was washed, I learned as an adult to a) brush my hair til it's knot-free BEFORE I get in the shower (with a brush with prongs, not a bristled brush, otherwise, it just smooths the top layer and leaves the knots underneath), b) don't rub the shampoo in - use massage-fingers on her scalp like when we go to the hairdresser, and then just squeeze it through the lengths, and comb through the conditioner with a 'rake' (ie, long-toothed, wide-pronged comb)before rinsing, r, and c) to pat and squeeze it towel dry, and never, ever, rub, AFTER the shower. It would have solved many tears and tantrums had my parents known this.
Also, don't let her get it wet unless it's going to be washed - buy her a pretty, well-fitting shower cap, to use every time she's not going to wash her hair. Washing mine every day just makes it flyaway and therefore more prone to getting knotty, even now I only wash it every 3rd or 4th day. If it's going to be windy or damp, tie her hair up to reduce the knotting. If it's in a simple pony tail, you can be fairly certain that the hair pulled flat against her scalp isn't going to be too bad, and you can even brush out the tail before you take the band out.
Oh, and when you're brushing it, do it in small sections, and hold the scalp end of the hair tightly in your hand, so that the brush pulls against your grip when it catches in a knot, and not against her scalp.
Of course, there's always the option of having a much shorter haircut, as well - it doesn't take all the knots away, but it makes them much easier to deal with.
Johnsons make a spray conditioner (strawberry scented).
What type of hair does she have? (curly, straight, thick, thin)
I find when washing my DDs hair if I leave the conditioner in for at least 5 min it seems to help.
Have been meaning to get a tangle teezer for ages, so have just ordered one! We use the sprays and leave in conditioners but some days the tangled just get too bad.
I think I was recommended something similar (might even be tangle teezer) at like hairhouse warehouse or something like that. The lady was giving child grooming advice.
The tangle teezer isn't cheap but it is well worth the money, 4 of my friends have tried ours on knotty kids hair and have gone on to buy their own. It really made my life so much more bearable without dd1 screaming blue murder every time I came near her with a brush! The travel one with the clip on lid thing would be my pick though.
Well you've inspired me to get a tangle teazer. Asos have one for $14 something including free delivery using the code extra10. Hopefully it will help!
I have found a good detangler spray from the supermarket! They only had the kids ones which don't work too well but grabbed a garnier fructis one and it's awesome halfway through the day and no tangles! I am waiting for the tangle tweeze to arrive too.
black_rose - What's the name of the garnier fructis product you got? I went looking and couldn't find any detangler.
I also couldn't find the Gaia baby detangler or the Palmolive one!
I spent ages in the hair care section and finally found one made by Pantene so I got that to try and it's better than the spray in conditioner we've tried.
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Is there a way to prevent knotty hair?
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