Matted Hair

[Saranne772]

A child in my church (4 years old) accidently got her hair caught in the hair dryer causing a very matted knot. Her hair is mid back length and her mother doesnt want to have to cut it right back but it is looking like she is going to have to.

I am going to try to remove the matt tomorrow afternoon. I am currently thinking of trying coconut oil and a wide tooth comb. Any other tips, ideas etc.

I really want to save her having to cut the hair- she has lovely hair and neither the child nor the mother wish to cut it!

[Anje]

Maybe something more slippery than coconut oil, like a coney conditioner or a lot of spray-on detangler, would offer more slip.

I've gotten little mats like that from hairdriers too. Just one more reason for longhairs to avoid them!

[Samikha]

You might take a look at this thread (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=12854) on how to get out dreadlocks, as the problem is similar. I hope you're successful, and that the poor girl isn't tenderheaded.

[magpielaura]

A really rich, slippery condishener left on for a bit first would help, then gradually picking at the edges with a hairstick.
As long as the hair wasn't burnt or shredded too much its amazing what you can untangle. A friend of mine had to cut off long dreads and managed to unravel the last 2 inches by her scalp so she had almost shoulder length hair. You are just limited by your patience! Good luck!

[bunnii]

I'm also going to suggest a slippery conditioner, depending on how big the matt is you could be there a while.

[Saranne772]

Hmm looks like condish is the best. Ill have to invest in some.

Also, I've not seen the matt- its only been descriped to me so far. Ive gone and left my mobile at this families house so I cant contact them at the minute because of that! Im not sure if they would want me getting her hair wet you see. Ive said Id try coconut oil but it looks like that is not the best thing.

[Tabitha]

Im not sure if they would want me getting her hair wet you see.

Surely better wet hair, that will dry in a few hours, than to cut the hair off altogether?

Something like FrizzEase serum is ultra-slippery - pure cones.

[JessTheMess]

I've heard baby oil works wonders at getting out matted knots.

[Dolly]

I'd try one of those coney detanglers made for kids' hair.....lots of slip......

[Bronwyn Grace]

My horse's mane gets mats similar to that all the time and I have used this stuff called "Cowboy Magic detangler"... it's very, very slippery and made it easy for me to comb out his tangles and a semi-wild horse's dreadlocks in under oh, two minutes. :) It's safe to use on humans - I've used it on myself when I have tangled my hair up by twisting it.

[Xandergrammy]

I'd try one of those coney detanglers made for kids' hair.....lots of slip......



I use one of these made by Circle of Friends that works really well on matts and pesky tangles.

[burns_erin]

On DH's hair I use alot of grapeseed oil. For his really bad matts i take an applicator bottle to apply the oil so i can wallow the tip into the matt to get the oil thouroghly penetrated. i also work from the sides of the bottom of the matt instead of just the bottom in general.

Good luck!!

[Magdalene]

I've used sweet almond on mine with decent results. I'm interested in that cowboy stuff!

[Tabitha]

I'd try one of those coney detanglers made for kids' hair.....lots of slip......

As you're in the UK, I believe Superdrug do something similar in fruity flavours which might appeal to her and aren't too expensive.

[Bronwyn Grace]

I've used sweet almond on mine with decent results. I'm interested in that cowboy stuff!

Here's the site for the Cowboy Magic products. :D

http://www.cowboymagic.com/products-detangler-shine.html

I wish I still had pics of Roheryn before-and-after... she was a half-wild rescue horse of mine that I tamed and broke for riding... her mane and tail both were a mess of dreadlocks and burrs and after I used that it was silk, seriously. I know that's horse hair and not human hair (a little off topic too, lol), but it was still amazing.

It makes my hair really shiny and managable too, but you have to be careful because it can be a little greasy.

[ccmuffingirl]

You can dampen the spot where the tangle is, put conditioner on it, and let it soak in for 15 minutes to a half an hour. After than you can gently try detangling it with a comb.

[saoriiroas]

Like magpielaura said: you are limited only in your patience

I had dreads when I first started growing out my hair, I spent something like 6 hours over 2 or 3 days detangling.... Just sit her in front of a good, age appropriate movie (the long Harry Potter ones come to mind) and maybe work on it in sessions. If some individual hairs are too hard to untagle, I would suggest cutting a single hair here and there, rather than the whole piece. When I would care for my friend's dreadlocks, sometimes one lock would start matting into another, and by cuting less than 10 hairs I was able to separate large pieces that had become entwined. Good luck!

[Slug Yoga]

I wonder how well just a wide-toothed comb would work, once you started to get the mat out? Maybe you could bring several combs, some of which are wider toothed and some of which are finer toothed, for different stages in the process? I feel confident you should be able to get the mat out with a ton of conditioner :)

[Saranne772]

Well, I washed her hair and worked on the matt. It came out. A section of hair was damaged badly and came off in my hair (but was only a few hairs thankfully) and the rest of the knot I eased apart. She was a very patient child!

I dont think she will ever use, or allow a hairdryer to be used, on her!

[burns_erin]

Congrats on getting it out. It is always freaky to see the ball of loose or broken off hair that will come out of a matt ins't it.

[kunibob]

Well, I washed her hair and worked on the matt. It came out. A section of hair was damaged badly and came off in my hair (but was only a few hairs thankfully) and the rest of the knot I eased apart. She was a very patient child!

I dont think she will ever use, or allow a hairdryer to be used, on her!

Phew!! Congratulations! :cheese: