Calling out to mums with curly haired children...

[ElBombero]

Bathtime is becoming increasingly distressing for my DD

Her hair is long and very curly (she's only 2) I use kids shampoo and conditioner, then more conditioner, was out but then it's the brushing that's the ordeal, I use a tangle teezer.

She asks me not to do it, I have too but cries all way through "mummy it hurts, mummy no, stop it, please" it remains knotty and I know it must really hurt, breaks my heart.

Any tips??'

I am completely converted to the school of don't brush it.

I don't brush mine either anymore. (Straight but long and very fine. Was hideous as a child with fist sized knots)

Regular trims, washed as rarely as possible, lots of conditioner, mostly dry before bed (if not plaited up)

Nice hair bobbles too - so you don't pull her hair. Then you can put straight into bunches for sleep and leave it a few days.

I hope they love their beautiful hair the future and don't GHD it!

Original sprout deep conditioner

All four of my DCs have inherited my curly hair, ds2's is the most curly.

I know you don't want to cut it but a regular trim is a must as its the rough/split ends that cause a lot of the tangles in my DCs hair. It only needs to be 1cm cut off the make a huge difference in the amount of tangles. It also sits better once its the same length, my dd2 had a bit of a bald patch when she was a couple of months and this made the hair in the middle shorter than the sides as it grew longer and caused awful knots at the back until I got it trimmed.

In addition to all the advice here, I've found that washing my and the DCs hair in the shower gets quite a lot of the tangles out as the shower seems to act a bit like a brush as daft as it sounds. Also not washing it too vigorously -smoothing the shampoo from root to tip and gently rubbing the scalp - seems to prevent as many tangles.

I was dad's hair once a week at most. We brush before washing, then comb through when the conditioner has been on for ages and add serum before drying. Agree to about patting not rubbing and putting in a ponytail or plaits as much as possible.

DDs not Dads. DF can was his own hair

Plait every night without fail.

I have nothing to add to this, just wanted to say jilted that the idea of you washing your dads hair made me

And make sure you're brushing from the ends up: hold in small sections, with your hand holding the hair between the ends and her scalp - this way it should never hurt - if it's knotty it'll tug your hand rather than her scalp.

Oh, and I wouldn't bother with shampoo either, just conditioner's fine.

Honestly? A haircut would help. A 2 year old doesn't care how long her hair is and I'm sure she'd just rather it was easier and less painful to brush.

I have wavy hair rather than curly, but can make it go really curly using the following method.

Regular trims, usually every couple of months.

Wash with a silicone free shampoo, smoothing the shampoo through gently. I usually shampoo twice and use Korres shampoo (from Waitrose), then condition and leave on for around 5 minutes. Comb through with a wide toothed comb then rinse with clean water.

Squeeze the water out in a ponytail shape.

Wrap a very thin towel round the dead in a turban style and leave for 5 minutes, then remove.

I then use a marks and spencer hair turban. Place on the bed, then lean forwards and scrunch the hair on top of the head, lower the head onto the turban, then wrap it round, so that all the hair is piled on top of the head. Leave for around 30 minutes, by which time the hair should be almost dry.

I put my hair up, normally in a high ponytail, bun, twist or just scrunch it to my head and pin in place with grips.

I only wash once or twice a week. On none wash days I shake my hair out, run my fingers through a few times to give it some shape, scrunch some argon oil on it (just a few drops), then put it up again.

Hope this helps

To sleep I put my hair in a loose ponytail on top of my head so that it doesn't tangle and knot.

Both my dcs have very curly hair - ds1 was a proper blond afro when he was 2 However, I also have ridiculously curly hair and so I have largely stopped washing the dcs hair at all. I get it trimmed every school holiday and washed every 2-3 weeks. I never brush it and they look adorable fine.

The key with curly hair is not to mess....

The detangling spray is dark and lovely, we are currently using the Avon intensive conditioner. Put it on just after shampoo and leave for about 20 mins then rinse with clean water from the tap, not the bath. We use a tangle tease, working in several sections from the end up.

Hope this helps, it is horrible having your little girl so upset.

I've found body shop rainforest moisture shampoo and conditioner the best for my 2 year old dd who has very curly hair that tangles just by looking it. I use a medium tooth comb and comb gently when wet in small sections.

Body shop stuff is sulphate free which avoids build up of crap in the hair.

I've tried so much stuff and this is a winner. I'm mixed race (African/white),so have personal experience of curly hair. I use the body shop stuff on mine and it rocks.

I also comb it every day and night when wet. No problems with dd getting upset because I make sure it is very wet and twist it into small sections and comb from the bottom up.

I use frizzy ease dream curls conditioner on my (very curly) hair but also find it quite good for my son's afro.

Brush it out first with the Tangle Teaser brush first before the hair wash.

Oops, should've added that I don't always wash the conditioner out. I put a blob on his hair in the bath, comb it out and pat his hair dry, keeps it moisturized for a few hours at least (ridiculously dry hair!!)

Also I would never use a tangle teaser on dd. It would cause split ends. Get a cheap packet of combs from an afro hair shop and use the wider teeth ones (not as wide as a wide toothed comb iyswim)

Thanks everyone

For my dd (5 yrs) I have always used lots and lots of moisture and as little washing as possible. I use Curly Q cleansing cream and coconut dream conditioner about once every 10 days, just the conditioner once in between and for everyday styling spray with lots of water with a little olive oil in it and Africa's Best detangling lotion. Now at age 5 she is able to comb it quite well herself if it is very wet and creamy, which is great if it has got taffley as it doesn't hurt if she does it herself. Back when she was 2 I would do her hair whilst she did her favourite activity (water play at the sink getting completely soaked) which distracted her enough from the pain and faffing of my early attempts.

Hate the idea of tying back her hair all the time, but think this maybe were my problem lies...

Once her hair is brushed, it gets scruched and stays down for the next 24 hours. It's so gorgeous red right curly hair that falls beautifully around her face but it's obviously just get knotted throughout the day etc.

Just one last question which brush/comb are you using in bath?

I have a Body Shop detangling comb but often just comb through his hair with my fingers... My hair is really curly (I'm mixed race black/white and have very very curly but not afro hair!) and I never ever use a comb on mine, always just tease out knots with my fingers while conditioner is on!

Try not to wash it too much as it does dry it out quickly, but when you do tangle teeze with conditioner in it. I found regular trims really made a difference as did Aveda Be Curly.