Little Girl with Tangly Hair

[mish_mish]

it's not really a belly dance topic, but it is a beauty topic...

My daughter has very fine, straight hair. Before we wash her hair, we comb it out, wash and then condition it. Then we just comb any tangles out (using the spray detangler if needed).

The problem is when she sleeps, she wakes up with a giant dreadlock in the back of her head that takes many many painful minutes each morning to unravel.

Does anyone have any suggestions to keep her hair under control when she goes to bed? I'm worried a pony tail will break her fine hair and cause damage, but I don't know what else to do.

It's so frustrating.

[darkangel7631]

mish_mish the only thing I can think would be a pony tail cause the other way, u and her defiantly wouldn't like...its what I had to do when my hair got like that but the reason why my hair would get bad tangles and what not was cause when I got a perm it messed up my hair after it faded out! really bad! Well what I had to do was get my hair cut short.....but I know that there is a better way then that out there. I have used a pony tail it hasn't hurt my hair atleast not yet....It might be different for different people though.

[mish_mish]

We may have to give the pony tail a try. She likes her hair down (she's 5), but she HATES the hair combing nonsense, and school starts next week and I do not have a lot of time in the morning.

[shaynaz]

Like in the olden days, braid her hair. Although, it will be wavey when you take it out but at least there wont be a tangle.

[kina]

or a satin pillow case might help.

[mish_mish]

Good ideas!

[Athallia]

Have you tried pig tails??

[mish_mish]

She has them in right now, actually, but they are uncomfortable for sleeping.

[mish_mish]

Here's the little girl in question (not the one in the hat!).

[mish_mish]

Sorry it's so huge! I had resizing problems with photobucket.

[Nat242]

She's a beautiful girl!!!

I would second the satin pillowcase. Also to prevent knots, either tie it in a bun at the very top of her head, so it won't be uncomfortable to sleep on, or two braids on either side of her head. It depends what position she sleeps in which one is more comfy.

[kina]

what a cutie!

[darkangel7631]

~shes adorable mish_mish~

[tamrahennatx]

Do you blow dry her hair before bed or is she going down with damp hair?

My girl has fine hair, and we have had the same problem, but recently I've started blowing her hair dry and smoothing it with a round brush before bed. When she wakes up, her hair is still smooth.

[zumarrad]

As an adult my best friend had some success with putting her own hair into five plaits at night.

I had long, commented-upon hair as a child, and it was fine, but there was a lot of it. I did tend to get tangles in the back and the only way to remove them was painful combing when it was wet. But mostly it was pretty good. I do remember several things that might help: one, I didn't get my hair washed more than once a week, and two, I had it all combed out when it was wet and allowed it to dry outside in the sun. I never went to bed with wet hair till I was an adult. It wasn't overworked hair.

I tended to wear it in a ponytail at my nape most of the time because I really felt any kind of tugging or tightness at the roots, to my mother's dismay when wanting to put it in high bunches or a half ponytail high on the head. I could not STAND it being pulled at all. That is something you might have to contend with in terms of putting your daughter's hair in buns or bunches at night. Plaits are less uncomfortable for some reason.

[mish_mish]

We did kind of a funky bun on top of her head before she went to bed and she seemed to like it! I told her I wanted to see if we could avoid the tangles.

She's pretty tough--I can see her wincing when I comb out the tangles (as gently as possible so I don't break off her hair)--then she says, "I didn't even say 'ow' at all!"

We could try the blow dry method too--she'd love that--such a little wanna be adult. I am not one of those moms who insists on baths/hair washing every night, but she probably gets her hair washed 3x a week.

I'll try the bun and see how it looks tomorrow. She's a wild sleeper so the bun may be a goner--some nights I've found her on her floor (she doesn't wake up), half under her bed, facing the wrong direction...I don't know how she does it!

[mish_mish]

Thanks for the compliments...I think she's pretty cute, but it's genetically programmed into me.

Here is my son...he looks just like I did at 9--everyone thought I was a boy. Now, with his long hair, everyone thinks he's a girl! He has a TON of thick wavy hair--it doesn't get tangled as badly as his sister's hair.

[Samirah-NH]

I have baby-fine hair too. When it's really hot & I want to sleep with it 'up' I put it in a high pony tail so it's not uncomfortable to sleep on. Try the Goody Ouchless hair elastics. They're a very smooth elastic that doesn't snag or pull the hair at all. I found with regular rubber bands & the fabric-like elastics, I was always losing a lot of hairs when I removed them because I had to wrap them several times to get them tight enough to hold. But not with the Ouchless. They're a smaller diameter & much less damaging. They come in clear or a packet of lots of fun, funky colors.

I second (or third) the satin pillowcase idea too. And I bet she'd enjoy it too... what little girl doesn't feel like a princess when she's sleeping on a satin pillowcase?

[Nepenthe]

Originally Posted by mish_mish

it's not really a belly dance topic, but it is a beauty topic...

My daughter has very fine, straight hair. Before we wash her hair, we comb it out, wash and then condition it. Then we just comb any tangles out (using the spray detangler if needed).

The problem is when she sleeps, she wakes up with a giant dreadlock in the back of her head that takes many many painful minutes each morning to unravel.

Does anyone have any suggestions to keep her hair under control when she goes to bed? I'm worried a pony tail will break her fine hair and cause damage, but I don't know what else to do.

It's so frustrating.

Braid it before bed is one option. The other option is to tell her (if she is old enough to understand this) to put her hair neatly over one shoulder when she gets in bed. If you spread it out all over the pillow, it will tangle. My hair is exactly like that in texture and breakability and tangliness. At night I'm pretty careful with that - I've gotten used to it now so that I don't have to even think about keeping it in position.

[Nepenthe]

Mish-mash - your kids are so beautiful!

[Heidi.]

Silicon(like Silk Therapy) drops,as well as a satin pillowcase helps with this issue.
My girl(soon to be 13)always braids her own hair before bed nowadays.

Other than that,I just had to add that your kids are so lovely!,


Hugs Emma-Bessa

[Bellydancingcaroline]

Here is my curly hair tips download for children (I have major mad curly hair) - warning - this is LONG

1. Use those hair bands that have a metal bobble on them rather than trying to put a normal band 'around and around', make sure the bobble isn't a big decorative one, as this can get tangled up. When it comes time to take it out, you just have to pop the metal bit out rather than do the painful pull of elastic down the hair. (You put the bobble in by winding the elastic around until it hooks onto the bobble). It will occassionally spring off by itself, but this is a small price to pay for the pain free removals.

2. Try to wash hair less often. Add a day to wash times each week until you are washing it once a week (I'm currently on 5 days, and can't stand to leave it any longer!).

3. Don't brush between washes, unless dreadlocks start to form, in which case you can bring a wash day forward.

4. Only brush when wet (yes, I know this goes against all the guidance).

5. Shampoo ONCE only,

6. Do not pile all the hair on the top of the head when shampooing, as this is a tangle maker, instead, wash it like it's a piece of cloth.

7. After shampooing, totally smoother the length of the hair in conditioner (avoid putting conditioner on the scalp area).

8. Make sure the water is still warm on the head if possible, as it may have gone cold and this adds to child yuk factor.

9. Use warmed towels, put one thick one around the shoulders, over a warm dressing gown with fluffy slippers (v.cosy & warm).

10. Put on favourate TV show, radio, music whatever

11. The combing - Have several sets of combs (COMBS not BRUSHES). First start with a really wide tooth comb, an afro comb will do. Now get your daughter to hold her hair in the mid section, the idea is to take the tension away from