Find out if it's because she's worried about getting sucked down the drainhole - I remember being terrified at one stage of that very early on.
Or maybe she had an ouchy experience - like shampoo going in her eyes or pulling scalp if you were shampooing her hair - and that's put her off?
Also (cos I'm assuming it's your youngest DD we're talking about) maybe her depth perception is kicking and she's now aware the water seems 'deep'?
SUGGESTIONS
Put a rubbery mat in the bottom so it's not slidey & she can see the bottom
Add bubbles or food dye - provide a 'fun' distraction
Use a hand held shower tube (you know, the rubber ones that fit over the tap) and sit her in the bath (with the plug out) and wash her that way
Hop into the bath yourself and sit her on your lap (so she feels secure)
Take her thru the shower with you.
Put a toy over the drain hole when you're letting the water out so it drains out slower and doesn't make a loud scary noise.
Re the hair - perhaps it's a good idea to have a hairdresser cut the matted parts out (instead of shaving!) and try again but use conditioner & a wide comb *every* time you wash her hair.
The drain is ruled out as i take her to the louge room dry and dress her then go back for DD1 then take the plug out so Bellah doesnt actually know there is a hole lol
I will get one of those shower hoses and see if that makes a difference, I wont put her in my shower as its crap!! Its either freezing cold or boiling hot and constantly changes i think that would put her off more!
I thought it was because i still used her bath seat but i tried without that and ive tried bubbles/no bubbles
I might try having a bath with her too, it may help show her its a safe place nothing scary
DD went through the same thing for a couple of weeks - I would just pop her in and give her a quick wipe over with a flannel and then let her get out (luckily for us, she still doesn't have much hair, so that wasn't an issue). I also bought a bigger rubber mat than the one we were using, and it had ducks on it. I don't know whether she just got over the phase or if the mat helped but she was soon back to loving the bath again! I'd persevere (sp?) - a friend of ours has trouble getting her daughter anywwhere near the bath now because when she went through the same phase, they gave her showers instead.
My DD went through a phase of not liking the bath. As soon as her foot hit the water she'd scream. So I got in the bath one day and got my DH to pass DD to me. Then I slowly put her feet in and she got a bit upset so I lifted her up. Then I slowly put her feet back, up again, etc. Until she was happy with her feet in the water. Then did the same with her legs, belly, etc. Until she was all the water and then we played in the bath. I didn't worry about washing her. Then next time she went straight in with me and happily played and I could wash her. I went in a few more times and then she was happy to be in the bath on her own again. HTH. Good luck.
Probably right off the point here, but DD1 went through similar and it turned out she had really dry skin that we hadnt picked up on..
Check her legs to see if they're dry, if they are we just rubbed on the moisturiser every day constantly (all day) and after a couple of days she was right again!
Maybe no help but thought I would throw it out there!
Everyone else has given the same suggestions I would re: the bath. Can I suggest you put a 'leave in' conditioner in her hair rather than just normal one that would still need to be washed out. We use one for my son as he hates having his hair washed/water over his face, etc. and it is fantastic.
- I remember being terrified at one stage of that very early on.
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