Long, curly hair .............HELP

[busywizzy]

Please help me.

My DD aged 7 has beautiful long curly hair which everyone comments on, BUT we have a daily battle to brush it as it hurts her, cos it gets so tangled. We haven't been brushing it during the school holidays (and it looks like rats tails) but we're back to school on Monday so brushing must resume

Does anyone have any advice on how to make this a less painful experience (for both of us ). I've tried every de-tangling spray, leave-in conditioner and not brushing it every day but this just makes the next brushing session even worse.

Any advice

do you have it trimmed regularly? You also need to brush it regularly otherwise it will knot (as you've found out). not sure what else to suggest

keep it in a plait while she is at school, and brush it before you wash it.

also don't pile it on top of her head when you wash it, let it drop down her back and wash it 'downwards'

i have similar hair and owuld recommend an afro comb and not a brush -- try to comb it out when still wet after conditionining and use clips to section it out and hhold onto roots so no pulling... I find if it is well combed when wet I can just run afro comb thru it daily and seems to be easier...

My dd is the same age and has the same sort of hair, plus frizz, looks gorgeous down but is too too knotty for it to be an option. For school I put it in a plait straight out of the bath and rebrush it and plait it again before bed.
Or 2 plait pigtails for a bit of a change.
I use leave in condtioner after the bath and its not too bad compared to not using anything.
No miracle for you! Sorry!

A wide tooth comb can really make a difference

My daughter is 5 and has long hair(when wet down past her bottom) whichgrows in ringlets.We use a wide tooth comb and only comb it once/twice a week.We use conditioner everytime it is washed, curldefining cream and anti-friss serum and use detangling spray in between washes.
(all from Avon-I LOVE avon for her hair)
I can't plait her hair as it grows in clumps and nothing will go even and it spoils it for doing anything else , so she has either 2 big bunches for school etc. and 2 little bunches for other things.
She also has a swimming hat as her hair gets tangled in her arms! and this has helped keep her hair in better condition.

With dd's lovely curly locks we use the detangler spray daily it helps to use plenty and leave it to soak in well for about five minutes rather than try to brush straight away after spraying it in, it's a lot easier to get the brush through, but no other pearls of wisdom to add I'm afraid.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to give advice. I have tried most things (afro comb, wide comb, de-tangling sprays left to soak in etc) but we hadn't done the washing downwards thing colditz suggested so I'll try that tonight. I'm also going to buy the bits Nikkie suggested from Avon as plaiting doesn't work for us either as my DD thinks it's 'too babyish' and wants to have her hair loosely tied up 'like the other girls'.

Thanks again. Here's to stress free brushing from tomorrow morning

Also supposed to sleep on a silk pillow to stop the backcombing.
But I haven't found a cheapish one yet if anyone has any suggestions?

Love the silk pillow idea, Nikkie, will have to try that myself.

Everyone's right about combing instead of brushing. I have curly hair and used to HATE my mum brushing it. Never ever brush it now (currently shortish but was long as a child and at various times when I've felt like it). I only comb it when I wash it (every other day). In between I just run my fingers through it. And it isn't a dirty haystack, I promise.

Depends how neat it has to be for school, I suppose - as an adult you are free to have as many curls as you like cascading down your back!

Have you tried Frizz-ease serum? You have to put it on wet hair - just squeeze moisture out but don't towel dry. Works for me. Or Curls Rock curl booster, use just a tuppence-shaped amount. (I get it from my hairdresser). There's a spray in the same range you can use too.

And how do you dry her hair? I just wash and leave, don't blow-dry or anything, but mine is short now - when I had long hair it used to take over an hour to dry naturally (on the journey to work). If you do blow-dry, do you use a diffuser?

I also have curly hair, past my shoulders. I NEVER comb it between washes. I wash it every other day and always use conditioner. I comb it then with an afro comb, put some mousse on it (Frizz ease or sunsilk curly)and leave it to dry naturally. When dry I just shake it about with my fingers to seperate the curls, and that's it! If I haven't got time to wash it, and its a mess, I pull it into a high or low pony tail, (or twist it back and up with a slide)and just pull the comb through the front/top bit to neaten it. I then just dampen it to freshen the curls around my face. Done!

This is really simple and works well for keeping hair less knotty. Wash and dry hair as normal, then put it into a pony tail or bunches, but instead of just putting the elastic at the top, put different colour elastics all the way down the hair, every couple of inches, ending about 2 inches from the bottom. If your DD really hates her hair being brushed, she can sleep in her hair like this, and you can take it out and brush it once a week when you wash it (and it won't be knotty). It doesn't get too untidy, and if the front gets a bit frizzy, you can brush the frizz easily without disturbing the rest and put clips in it if need be. Works really well on DD's mad frizz and she loves it.