A question for parents of girls with long hair

[PrettyCandles]

At what age could your dd brush her own hair reliably, and at what age could she style it herself (I mean a style suitable for school, eg properly parted and gathered into bunches, or plaited).

ask the nanny to show you - tis a skill worth having!

as fas as I know pigtails in the UK means one plait on each side
bunches means one ponytail on each side

no clue what 'ballet bunches' are unless they are when you pin the two plaits on top of your head - usu for little girls as when older you have to have a bun

dd1 did it herself this morning for the first time(brushed, in a pony tail and clip in her fringe), it looked great! She is 8.

How do you do the fishtail ones? Is it just like a french plait but with 4 strands and you take the outside one across the next 2? I've never actually tried it. And I still don't know how to do a bun or ballet bunches.

DTD1 has been reliably brushing her hair for about a year (she is nearly 7).

DTD2 still can't be trusted to do her own. BUT her hair tends to be moer tangly and she has zero patience for anything.

They can pull a reasonable ponytail about 1 attempt in 5, but DP still does it for school.

Califrau is that you in the picture with your silky shiny oh so sleeky hair?

ahhh, thanks.

That's right Issy. I hope my dd's nursery school teacher things the same thing when she sees her hair, though it's secretly me who's done the wonky pony tail

I was 11 before my mum let me wash my hair by myself. I remember the first time she let me do it and I was scared that I'd maybe done something wrong as I was convinced that my hair wasn't drying!! It did dry in the end though!! xx

Awwww . You've reminded me of the first time I washed and dried my hair completely independantly. I was 10 or 11 as well. At that time we used some sort of leave-in conditioner, but I took the wrong bottle (didn't have my glasses on, see) and soaked my head in my mum's setting lotion! Mum wouldn't let me wash it out and start again because it was late on a school night, so she plaited it and I went to bed. The following day I looked like Pippi Longstocking because my plaits had set rigid!