Crazy toddler hair

[whatsonyourplate]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but any how:
My 2 year old dd has crazy curly hair. She hates having it washed and won't let me brush it, as a consequence it has some massive knots in the back which are turning into dreadlocks. When I do manage to wash it you can see some of it is really long, nearly to her waist.
So is there a miracle product to get the knots out (a tangle teezer doesn't touch them), should I cut it all short, take her to a hairdresser or what?

[CMOTDibbler]

Take her to a hairdresser and have it cut into a short bob and keep it short.

[Snozberry]

I'd take her to a hairdresser and have it cut short, it's the easiest option while she's only two. My 2yo only has about 2 inches of loosely curly hair and it takes very little maintenance.

[Thurlow]

I'd go to a hairdresser and get it cut short for now, if it has knots in it. Then investigate good shampoos and a tangle teezer to keep it tidying. By the time it's grown a bit longer your DD might be old enough to appreciate that it's either short hair, or longer hair that she lets you wash and brush.

[squoosh]

Definitely get it cut for the moment. Then investigate ways to take care of curly hair. I believe brushing is a no-no, and only washing with conditioner helps.

[lelf79]

my DD has super fine hair but had masses of it when she was born i found this to be a miracle worker on her hair. Just a few sprays after washing then tangle teezer helped hers

[whatsonyourplate]

Thanks, sounds like a trip to the hairdresser is in order. I'm a bit embarrassed to take her as the knots are so bad, but she is probably more likely to sit still for the hairdresser than me. Also some of the knots are pretty close to her scalp so it's going to have to be quite short. Luckily it seems to grow quickly.

[Sparrowlegs248]

There's a product for horses called Cowboy Magic. The stuff in a tube is brilliant. A couple of my friends use it on their DC hair! You only need a tiny tiny blob, rub it in your hands then smooth through hair then comb. Its brilliant! It will last several days (weeks) between washes.

[GushiStuff]

Get her hair trimmed at least, to get rid of any dry bits.

To be honest, short curly hair on a toddler might be more of a pain than long hair.

My DD has lots of coarse, curly hair, and over the years I have found it less of a faff (still a faff...but less so!) to do the whole wash, condition, comb and then plait thing than to deal with a crazy, curly bob that is too short to be put up off her face (loose hair is also a nit magnet in that age group, I find!).

Can you braid hair? Would she sit in front of CBeebies for a bit while you did it? I braid my DD's hair on a Sunday night and it lasts a good few days if its done fairly tightly with product in it.

General tips for dealing with curly hair:

Dont wash it too often.
Dont brush it when dry.
Condition it really well!

I use a very gentle shampoo on DD's hair on a Sunday, slap on loads of conditioner, comb through while wet and conditioner soaked, rinse, tangle teaser it again, then blot with a towel very gently and style (plaits usually).

If I need to restyle during the week, I wet it with a spray bottle of water and put a leave-in conditioner in it before I go near it with a comb.

[whatsonyourplate]

This doesn't really show how knotty it is but gives you an idea of the curls. I usually put clips in the front to keep it out of her face.

[whatsonyourplate]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have ordered some Cowboy magic and will give it a try as a last ditch attempt to get the knots out. If it works I'll get DD's hair trimmed, if it doesn't I'll get it cut short. I'll report back!

[sneepy]

DD2's hair looked very like that from behind when she was 2. It was completely unmanageable. Went to the hairdresser and she got a gorgeous little bob with a fringe. It was so much easier to wash & comb out that she got used to having it looked after. It's long now, and wavy, not curly, but super thick so we do lots of conditioner, wide tooth comb and plaiting at night to keep it under control.

[winklegirl]

My DS (5) has vvvv curly hair, and long for a boy. We get it wet in bath and spray with Organic Sprout Detangler and use a tangle teaser on it. We try and do this every other day and it usually does the trick, though he still complains - best to have lots of toys in bath for distraction. He likes hair longer, so I warn him that if I don't brush it I will have to cut it shorter....he still complains.

[Sparrowlegs248]

I hope it helps OP. I used it to dangle a horses mane once, it was a foot long and deadlock and knots. The lady who sold it to me used it on her daughter which was at boarding school. She did her hair with it each weekend.

[SewButtons]

I found a bottle of frozen detangling spray in Poundland and used that on my 2year old charges hair. She wouldn't allow anyone to brush her hair except me with her "magic princess spray" . It smells awful and sickly sweet though so I would decant a nicer product into it, as it's mostly the princess bottle that I found effective.

[andadietcoke]

We have the same one! It smells awful! The Child's Farm detangler spray smells lovely by comparison though. We also use Original Sprout curl cream.

[poocatcherchampion]

I keep my dds chopped as a Bob. Any longer and it gets knotty.

We wash it once a week and use some loreal pear detangler spray on it when wet.

I reckon that if you cut it shorter the high up knots will be solvable.

[dancemom]

I would buy a bottle of cheap conditioner and while in the bath just slather the whole lot into her hair and just keep working into the knots with your fingers - maybe prop the iPad up with some cartoons on to keep her distracted?

[TelephoneIgnoringMachine]

My DD's hair is nearly as curly as that, however I never let it dry "down". I always french plait it while it's still damp, which actually seems to relax the curls a bit.

I also make sure I only use shampoo free of SLS & SLES, & don't wash too often, as per the curly girl haircare rules. Currently using one by Burts Bees. When she's older, we'll investigate going no-poo. Not feasible at present as you need to be able to rinse really well, which she hates. You have my sympathy re the hair wash hatred.

[Stillyummy]

Just wanted to second that cowboy magic is great! www.cowboymagic.com/cowboy-magic-detangler/

[whatsonyourplate]

Very late update. I bought some cowboy magic, and though it was very slippery (a bit like a very silicony hair serum) and ok for smaller knots, it wasn't magic enough to get the big knots out.
I intended to book the hairdressers but kept putting it off and putting it off. In the end it was a photo nursery took of an activity which showed the back of DD's head which made me realise how horrendous her hair looked!
The hairdresser was amazing with her and DD was really good despite sitting there with tears rolling down her cheeks at one point. Her hair looks really cute short and I can get a tangle teezer through it, can't believe I put it off for so long. The back now looks like this:

[poocatcherchampion]

Wow it looks really good.

I was just reading this thread for interest and about to post that I cut my two yos into a Bob today with this problem. Then I came across a previous post about how I was cutting my 3yos hair. I would have given the same advice today - so that's nice

[CMOTDibbler]

Her hair looks lovely short! You can really see the curl now