How to handle tangles in DDs hair?

[bisous]

DD has hair that goes almost to her waist when it is wet. When it is dry, she looks like Shirley Temple. It is the same color and its just as curly and bouncy. She gets comments about her hair all the time.

I feel like we are handling it pretty well. I read "The Curly Girl Handbook" and it was tremendously helpful. What I'm struggling with right now is tangles. Especially in the back of her hair (where it gets mussed from her car seat--she's still rearfacing) she gets these tangles that are hard for me to handle. Most days I just don't have the time and I just let them be--probably most people don't even notice!

Still, I think I either need better tools or a better routine. I often don't "do" her hair until after I get the boys off to school in the morning. "Doing" her hair involves spraying it with a conditioner/water mixture but it doesn't involve brushing it out. I only do that when I wash her hair about 2x per week. Once her hair is wet it takes hours to dry properly. How do I handle the tangles daily without leaving her hair really flat? I don't even care about the look of the tangles, I'm more worried about leaving them in and making them worse.

Anyone with a curly girl want to chime in?

[icunurse]

After years of playing around and help from a Devacurl stylist and some of my co-workers of different races, I finally kinda have it down. My DD has long, thin, very curly hair that will go from waist to just below the shoulders when dry. We condition the heck out of it. Redken has a new curly line and we use the no foam shampoo, conditioner, and Ringlet cream and it has made taking care of her hair SO much easier. To get tangles out the next day, all I do is finger comb to break up the big knots. Then I spritz and use more Ringlet to scrunch, let air dry. I've been seeing commercials for silk sleep caps that I'd like to try, but DD is so small for her age, I need to do more research if I can find one in her size. Otherwise, might try a silk pillow case.

[123LuckyMom]

Have you tried putting her hair in a high pony while she's in the car seat so the only hair that gets smushed is the underneath of the back? My hair's not as curly as you describe, but I sleep with my hair in a high pony (like on top of my head) so my curls won't tangle, frizz, or squash out. I've started using the invisibobble, too, to lessen the indentations from the fastener. Now I can put my hair up for a bit and not really have to fix it when I take it down. That might help with preventing tangles.


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[BunnyBee]

I have curly hair and so do a couple of my DDs. The only thing I've found is to wet it, brush it with a Wet Brush, and let it dry again. Spritzing with detangler/watered conditioner won't get it as sopping wet as washing it will. Do you use one of the special hair towels? I have a waffle weave one I love so much I will take it on long vacations. It gets so much more water out of my hair. Do you pull it back while she sleeps? We get most tangles at night. The Invisibobble (or knockoff) works pretty well. I can't sleep in anything or leave my hair pulled up long without getting a headache, and my curliest DD (who has about 4x as much hair as any human should) is also sensitive.

[marymoo86]

I don't have a good one. We spray wet - really wet condition and wet brush. Seems to dry in an hour or so. We do braids sometimes at night but not a huge help. Really need to try the satin pillowcase to see if that helps.

[ExcitedMamma]

Definitely do try a satin or silk pillowcase. That really helped my DD. I think you should try washing her hair more to keep out the tangles. Even if you're just washing with conditioner. I know DD's gets really tangled if we go more than every other day. What about trying braids? My DD is still growing out her hair so I haven't tried it yet but I know it's always recommended for curly hair. Maybe it would keep the tangles at bay for longer.

Oh and to dry it have you tried clips? I know my hair and DD's air dries faster when I put sections up. Plus I think it dries with less frizz and fly always like that.

[cheme]

Yes, I know the silk pillowcase really helped my friends curly haired daughter.

[bisous]

Awesome points. I don't know about washing more frequently. It is such a production! I can experiment with it. I feel like I spend a disproportionately large amount of time on DDs hair as it is, lol. I guess that is what happens when you have mostly boys with short, stick straight hair though.

I am going to try a satin pillow case for sure. I think I'll try those Redken products--those sound appealing. I'm intrigued by the invisibobble--might try one of those too. I dont' know if I can put her hair up when she's in the car. I'm just not sure if it will help or if she'll comply. Using clips to dry is genius. I think that will help shape too. So I probably need some. Any recommendations? I also would love a link to the waffle weave towel you love, BunnyBee.

I wish I could link a picture of her hair. It is super curly, but very fine so it gets weighed down easily. She also gets cradle cap esque type stuff really easily. So again, maybe that is an argument for more frequent washing? I have been using really strong dandruff shampoo every time we wash, then rinsing it really well, then using tons of conditioner, then partly rinsing that. Combing with my fingers in the bath and then waiting hours to dry.

[BunnyBee]

Awesome points. I don't know about washing more frequently. It is such a production! I can experiment with it. I feel like I spend a disproportionately large amount of time on DDs hair as it is, lol. I guess that is what happens when you have mostly boys with short, stick straight hair though.

I am going to try a satin pillow case for sure. I think I'll try those Redken products--those sound appealing. I'm intrigued by the invisibobble--might try one of those too. I dont' know if I can put her hair up when she's in the car. I'm just not sure if it will help or if she'll comply. Using clips to dry is genius. I think that will help shape too. So I probably need some. Any recommendations? I also would love a link to the waffle weave towel you love, BunnyBee.

I wish I could link a picture of her hair. It is super curly, but very fine so it gets weighed down easily. She also gets cradle cap esque type stuff really easily. So again, maybe that is an argument for more frequent washing? I have been using really strong dandruff shampoo every time we wash, then rinsing it really well, then using tons of conditioner, then partly rinsing that. Combing with my fingers in the bath and then waiting hours to dry.

https://www.amazon.com/Aquis-Microfiber-Towel-Waffle-55-Inches/dp/B00005NATZ/

Amazon says I bought it January 2013. They don't last forever. I eventually had to toss the one before it because it got weird. But this one is still fine nearly 4 years later. :) I think I bought the first one from Marshall's or TJ Maxx. They come in different sizes too.

[rin]

She also gets cradle cap esque type stuff really easily. So again, maybe that is an argument for more frequent washing?

I can't comment on the curly care aspect, but I have been prone to cradle cap type stuff my whole life, and I've found that more frequent washing makes it far worse; for me there's always been a balancing act between washing enough to keep my hair nice but not so much that I get various dry scalp issues.

[123LuckyMom]

I can't comment on the curly care aspect, but I have been prone to cradle cap type stuff my whole life, and I've found that more frequent washing makes it far worse; for me there's always been a balancing act between washing enough to keep my hair nice but not so much that I get various dry scalp issues.

I would actually try stopping the dandruff shampoo. I used it with my son on the advice of my pediatrician, and it dried him out! He didn't get better until we cut WAY back on the soap, shampoo, and even number of baths (also on the advice of the ped). I'd try washing her scalp with something super gentle and chemical free. Then condition the heck out of her with a chemical free conditioner. It takes the scalp a few weeks to adjust, and her hair may get greasy and scalp be yucky for a little while until things settle down. Ultimately, though, my experience has been that moisturizing her scalp will be better at getting rid of the cradle cap type situation than the special shampoos will.


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[urquie]

DD has long, fine curly hair... in kindergarten I only brushed the outer layer of her hair - the tangles were just too hard to work out each morning! We solved that problem by braiding her hair right before bed... she hated it (still doesn't like anything done with her hair 7 yrs later!).

With lots of tangles present, we used to use a pick comb in the shower, while conditioner is in the hair (using Costco's Kirkland shampoo and conditioner, paraben free.). Also, we only scrub the shampoo into the scalp, without messing up and further tangling the rest of the hair, using finger tips - not full hand lathering,

We use a pick comb or wet brush on wet hair, but the tangle teaser is our favorite brush for dry hair. It's so nice that the kids can brush their hair themselves now... though sometimes they need help if they don't brush it well at night. Braids also helped in a 5-point car seats and for swimming.


I'm hoping this microfiber hair towel will help dry their hair quicker... watch camelx3 for pricing - I got the pink/berry set for $8 as Prime add-on-item.

https://www.amazon.com/Turbie-Twist-Microfiber-Towel-Light/dp/B01LZ72VNB/ref=lp_2602796011_1_2_a_it?srs=2602796011&ie=UTF8&qid=1477506453&sr=8-2&th=1

[marymoo86]

I can't comment on the curly care aspect, but I have been prone to cradle cap type stuff my whole life, and I've found that more frequent washing makes it far worse; for me there's always been a balancing act between washing enough to keep my hair nice but not so much that I get various dry scalp issues.

coconut oil and soft brush will help. Lavender hydrosol got rid of it for my DD.

Don't wash more frequently!

[rin]

coconut oil and soft brush will help. Lavender hydrosol got rid of it for my DD.

Don't wash more frequently!

For me the thing that works is just using a very gentle shampoo/conditioner, and washing no more than 2x/week, max. I often stretch it out to every 4 or 5 days. Agreed with PPs that the dandruff shampoos were never helpful and just created more scalp issues.

[ExcitedMamma]

For clips I don't know what you call them but those little ones that you just push together. Kind of like two triangles that you pop together. I know for my hair if I pull the top up, sorta of like a lesser version of Elaine from Seinfeld, it dries faster and I like the way it looks better. I can pull out the clip and it has a nice body to it with less frizz. I do the the same for DD and just pull back the top and clip in the middle.

You might find that you spend less time on her hair if you do it more often. I know with my DD by day 3 it's a lot more tangled and hard to brush out in the bath than it is on day 2.