What to do about 2-yr-old daughter's rat's nest hair?

[CanadaSquirrel]

My 2-year-old daughter has such messy hair. Same thing happened with a couple of my older daughters who are now in their teens and I can't remember how I dealt with it. I'm wondering if maybe I should get it cut, if that would help, and if so, does anyone have any pictures of ideas that might work? I wish I could let it grow until she makes the decision herself as to whether or not she wants to have it cut, but with this mess, maybe it's better to trim it, layer it, or something?

I'll try to post some pictures, if I can figure out how to do this again:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/Thanksgiving2003/DSCF4488.jpg http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/Thanksgiving2003/DSCF4490.jpg http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/Thanksgiving2003/DSCF4489.jpg

[jaine]

Well she is only 2, and people start forming memories around age 3 ... probably forming opinions about their own hair a couple of years after that ... so you're not in danger of her resenting you for whatever you decide. :) There won't be anything like "oh no I wanted long hair but my mom made me cut it short!" or "oh no I wanted short hair but my mom made me grow it long!" for quite a while. So I vote for whatever's easier for you to take care of!

[Gypsygirl]

[Your daughter is a little beauty! Look at those eyes! :love:

[Firefox7275]

Maybe work out what exactly is causing her hair to tangle. Does it happen overnight or at nap time, is it down to wind or humidity, are you using products or toys that are too harsh? It looks to be baby fine and wurly, are you treating her hair the same as your thicker straighter hair? :shrug:

[DreamDance]

Silcones saved me with my son's hair when he was 1-1/2. We used the Johnson and Johnson cream leave-in. He stopped taking naps and the tangles stopped, that and a lot of hair grew in that curls very nicely. I stopped using sulfates on his hair when the curls came in so I stopped using cones. We wet his hair down with a spray bottle with a water/eo mix too and then put a cone free curl cream in it. His curls most recently stretched to his waist (he is also 2) and I cut them to make them easier to maintain... Just a few ideas, although it doesn't look as if she has as many curls as my son.

[HuggyBear]

My 2 yr old DD has hair similar to your DD's. I started CO-Washing my DD's hair and that helped alot with her tangles. Her hair lays much smoother now. :)

[CanadaSquirrel]

Well she is only 2, and people start forming memories around age 3 ... probably forming opinions about their own hair a couple of years after that ... so you're not in danger of her resenting you for whatever you decide. :) There won't be anything like "oh no I wanted long hair but my mom made me cut it short!" or "oh no I wanted short hair but my mom made me grow it long!" for quite a while. So I vote for whatever's easier for you to take care of!

well, what i meant was that maybe she'd like to be able to honestly say "my hair has never been cut". i know i wish i could say that, LOL! then there's my older daughters, who all used to want long hair down to the ground, but now they all have short hair...my 18-year-old has a pretty little mohawk in lavendar and black and it actually looks quite cute but i do wish she'd let it grow long coz i always think long hair looks best, but that's just me.... and probably most of the people in this group or we wouldn't have joined!

but, Jaine, i like how you pointed out "whatever's easier for you to take care of!" coz that is of importance right now for sure.

another thing i think of is my daughter might look back on old pictures of herself someday and say, "Mom! WHY did you let me LOOK like that?" (like my older daughters sometimes do about some of the clothes I allowed them to wear!)

[CanadaSquirrel]

Your daughter is a little beauty! Look at those eyes! :love:

Awww, thank you. Yes, I agree. :)

[bunzfan]

My son's hair goes like that once he has slept on it. Once i started treating it like wavy hair it started behaving, i only wash it once a week and after a bath i comb a small amount of conditioner through it.

[CanadaSquirrel]

Silcones saved me with my son's hair when he was 1-1/2. We used the Johnson and Johnson cream leave-in. He stopped taking naps and the tangles stopped, that and a lot of hair grew in that curls very nicely. I stopped using sulfates on his hair when the curls came in so I stopped using cones. We wet his hair down with a spray bottle with a water/eo mix too and then put a cone free curl cream in it. His curls most recently stretched to his waist (he is also 2) and I cut them to make them easier to maintain... Just a few ideas, although it doesn't look as if she has as many curls as my son.

A few days ago, my 17-year-old wavy-red-head daughter said about her little sister when I commented on the mess her hair always is, "Mom, she's got curly hair." It dawned on me that maybe she's right. D17 had the same rat's nest at that age. Then it turned into this in the picture below (middle girl) by the time she was eight, by trial and error of various conditioners and often keeping it in braids. It goes so much curlier when it's short like it is now.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/Thanksgiving2003/pianogirls.jpg


DreamDance, what is "eo"? And what is "cone-free curl cream"? How does one know when something doesn't have "cones" in it? (I have seen that word mentioned many times on long hair boards but never understood what it meant, why some avoid it, why some don't, etc).

And how awesome that your son's curls stretch to his waist! Do you have any pictures posted?

[CanadaSquirrel]

My son's hair goes like that once he has slept on it. Once i started treating it like wavy hair it started behaving, i only wash it once a week and after a bath i comb a small amount of conditioner through it.

Thanks, Bunzfan. Now that you mention combing a small amount of conditioner through it, I remember doing that with my older girls in my experimenting on what to do for them. Should try that with little daughter.

[CanadaSquirrel]

Maybe work out what exactly is causing her hair to tangle. Does it happen overnight or at nap time, is it down to wind or humidity, are you using products or toys that are too harsh? It looks to be baby fine and wurly, are you treating her hair the same as your thicker straighter hair? :shrug:

It definitely happens while she's in bed, either at nap time or bedtime. Definitely baby-fine, yes.

[ladyfey]

my 2 year old daughter has exactly the same thing, after sleeping. Nightblooming's Panacea has fixed it completely! I just put some on her damp hair after bath (every other day) and it stays smooth. Now it is starting to grow, since it isn't frizzing and breaking off anymore.

[spitfire511]

canadasquirrel I would also highly recommend a tangle teezer if you can get your hands on one. http://www.tangleteezer.com/order-now/

DD has hair with some curls that is VERY fine and knots in a skinny minute. The tangle teezer is my new best friend - I've even been able to abandon the detangling spray! :)

Good luck - I hope you find something that works for you!

[CanadaSquirrel]

my 2 year old daughter has exactly the same thing, after sleeping. Nightblooming's Panacea has fixed it completely! I just put some on her damp hair after bath (every other day) and it stays smooth. Now it is starting to grow, since it isn't frizzing and breaking off anymore.

Where might I find this Nightblooming's Panacea?

[Cowgirl16]

I'm thinking some smoothing serum might work. :confused: She is ADORABLE! So cute:D

[CanadaSquirrel]

canadasquirrel I would also highly recommend a tangle teezer if you can get your hands on one. http://www.tangleteezer.com/order-now/


Would this be a fair price? The lowest price I find on Ebay is $15.59 plus $4.90 shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Tangle-Teezer-Hair-Brush-Pro-Detangling-Glitter-Pink-/260792758148?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb875af84

[CanadaSquirrel]

I'm thinking some smoothing serum might work. :confused: She is ADORABLE! So cute:D

Thank you. :D

Smoothing serum? What company makes that?

[Arya]

I got my tangle teezer at Sally's Beauty Supply in Ottawa for $14. Is there a Sally's in your city?

Also, I'd recommend a satin pillowcase. Those look like nap tangles to me!

[CanadaSquirrel]

I got my tangle teezer at Sally's Beauty Supply in Ottawa for $14. Is there a Sally's in your city?

Also, I'd recommend a satin pillowcase. Those look like nap tangles to me!


The nearest Sally's, as far as I know, is across the border into Washington State, about seven hours from me. I went there once when I lived an hour away and loved it!

Satin pillowcase! Thanks! Another thing I had tried on my older girls... it's all slowly coming back to me, thanks to you guys reminding me. :)

[ladyfey]

Nightblooming has an etsy store. So go to Etsy.com and look for nightblooming. There are threads on it here at LHC, this is where I found out about it! I also use it on my hair and my son's hair.

[CanadaSquirrel]

Nightblooming has an etsy store. So go to Etsy.com and look for nightblooming. There are threads on it here at LHC, this is where I found out about it! I also use it on my hair and my son's hair.

I just went there and typed "nightblooming" in the search bar, and it brought up things like "night blooming cactus", "night blooming jasmine earrings", etc. Is "nightblooming" the name of a person?

[Arya]

Let me see..there's 2 in Surrey and 2 in Victoria, 1 in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Kamloops, Westbank, Vernon and Penticton in BC. From what google maps says, anyway.

[CanadaSquirrel]

Let me see..there's 2 in Surrey and 2 in Victoria, 1 in Abbotsford, Kelowna, Kamloops, Westbank, Vernon and Penticton in BC. From what google maps says, anyway.

Really???? Oh! Kamloops! That's only 2-1/2 hours from me and I go there a couple times a year. Thanks for the info!

[Firefox7275]

It definitely happens while she's in bed, either at nap time or bedtime. Definitely baby-fine, yes.

Definitely try a satin or silk pillowcase (you might sew one, or there are 50% silk 50% cotton on eBay at a sensible price). Perhaps make up a simple de-tangling spray with a little light conditioner and water? For Nightblooming you would need to change the Etsy search bar from the default 'handmade' to 'shops' or 'people'.

I wouldn't personally use cones unless you are dealing with totally unmanageable or very long hair, because most cones necessitate using a sulphate shampoo, which may be unnecessarily harsh for baby hair or skin. Personally my wurly hair calmed down overnight when I stopped using sulphate shampoo and coney conditioner. That is not to say they are evil or anything, I'd willingly try again if my hair type or length changes. There is a balanced explanation of the pros and cons of cones in the Articles section (clicky at the top of the page). :)

[spidermom]

Both my children had hair like that. I kept the spray-on detangling solution very close at hand; it helped so much. I found that cutting it shorter didn't help much, but plenty of the detangling spray did.

[ladyfey]

etsy.com/shop/NightBlooming.

[Arya]

Really???? Oh! Kamloops! That's only 2-1/2 hours from me and I go there a couple times a year. Thanks for the info!

according to google maps....

Sally Beauty Supply
75-1395 Hillside Dr, Kamloops, BC V2E 2R7, Canada
+1 250-314-1213 ‎

why not give em a call and see if they carry tangle teezers/whatever else you need? :D

[GRU]

Sally's also regularly offers free shipping with X amount of purchase... if you're going to get a TT, get yourself AT LEAST two, b/c one will always go missing and/or your other daughters will want one too!

[LaDollyvita33]

Try the tangle teezer! I just ordered mine! 10 bucks! I watch Torrinpaige on youtube and she did a whole little demonstration, it looks wonderful!

[GRU]

I also want to recommend CO-washing and leave-in conditioner.

And bless you for caring... my mom just kept my hair boy-short until I was 10yo, simply b/c she didn't want to have to "deal with" my curls.

[alyanna]

Awww!

You daughter is adorable and I don't think you should do anything in particular to her hair. It's baby hair! Just wait until it grows out and you can trim the ends a bit if you want and then you can start treating it like kid hair, with a routine and everything.

Now it's just baby hair and it needs to be left alone :o

[spidermom]

P.S. - My son's hair used to matt up like that, and it wasn't and isn't the least bit curly. It was exceedingly fine is all.

[Misti]

My 2-year-old daughter has such messy hair. Same thing happened with a couple of my older daughters who are now in their teens and I can't remember how I dealt with it. I'm wondering if maybe I should get it cut, if that would help, and if so, does anyone have any pictures of ideas that might work? I wish I could let it grow until she makes the decision herself as to whether or not she wants to have it cut, but with this mess, maybe it's better to trim it, layer it, or something?


Do you use shampoo on her hair? I find that shampoo is very harsh on super fine hair. If you use it, you might want to consider going to conditioner cleaning instead. My son is 8 and only this summer has he been shamppod. Before now, he didn't need anything other than a very mild vinegar rinse once a week. Usually just water was enough. Now that he's getting older, his hair is getting a little more oily when he gets very hot, so we use conditioner on it once every week or two. Nothing more than that is necessary -- maybe ever, but certainly while they still have silky baby hair.

[DreamDance]

A few days ago, my 17-year-old wavy-red-head daughter said about her little sister when I commented on the mess her hair always is, "Mom, she's got curly hair." It dawned on me that maybe she's right. D17 had the same rat's nest at that age. Then it turned into this in the picture below (middle girl) by the time she was eight, by trial and error of various conditioners and often keeping it in braids. It goes so much curlier when it's short like it is now.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k222/Thanksgiving2003/pianogirls.jpg


DreamDance, what is "eo"? And what is "cone-free curl cream"? How does one know when something doesn't have "cones" in it? (I have seen that word mentioned many times on long hair boards but never understood what it meant, why some avoid it, why some don't, etc).

And how awesome that your son's curls stretch to his waist! Do you have any pictures posted?

I didn't mean to take so long to respond.. sorry. EO is essential oil. Silicones end in cone generally in the ingredient list. My favorite cone-free curl cream is Shea Moisture Curl Cream. You can find it in the "ethnic" section in most drug stores.

[GRU]

I didn't mean to take so long to respond.. sorry. EO is essential oil. Silicones end in cone generally in the ingredient list. My favorite cone-free curl cream is Shea Moisture Curl Cream. You can find it in the "ethnic" section in most drug stores.

Also ending in -conol or -xane -- a lot of people don't realize that the -xane endings are also 'cones.