Prevent baby dreads

[Sunshineliz]

I have a 2-year old daughter that still has fairly short "baby" hair. The problem is that almost every morning she wakes up with what I can only call "baby dreads" on the back of her head. It really looks, and feels, like dreadlocks and is hard to fix. If I try to comb it out I can sometimes get it detangled but it still looks "fuzzy" (for lack of a better word) kind of like the strands are kinked a little. Best fix is a shower with lots of conditioner and careful detangling. But I can't always do that.

I assume she gets these from rubbing her head around while she's sleeping. Even if I fix it in the morning, it can get "fuzzy" again during the day from her head rubbing on things. Still, I have two older daughters whose hair didn't do this. What is causing it and how can I prevent it?

I wish I had a pic to show what I was talking about. You can see her "nice" hair in my album, if need be to understand her length and texture. She's the blonde:)

[cupcake0619]

One easy fix would be to soak er hair with detangler and comb it out.

[whitestiletto]

Try a satin or silk pillowcase. I didn't want to buy one so I just wrapped an item of silk clothing around my pillow. You can usually get a silk scarf for cheapo at the thrift store.

Definitely condition her hair when you wash it, but I'm sure you do that already. Aloe or glycerin can add slip to hair, maybe try using glycerin as a leave-in when her hair is damp after washing. I mixed aloe with conditioner the other day just for in the shower normal use, and it made my hair really slippy.

[torrilin]

Is her hair finer than your other daughters? It looks like it might be...

IME fine hair (even the straight and slippery kind that's loaded with slippery conditioner) is very fond of forming mats and snarls. Splitting like mad is also fun for it. The only real solution I've found is to keep it braided or in some other contained style. At her length... that's not an option.

[Pierre]

As an alternative to a silk pillowcase, you could wrap her hair in a Buff at night. They make small ones; they're sized by the perimeter of the head just above the ears.

[Sunshineliz]

Yes, her hair is extremely fine--seems to me they must call it "baby fine" for a reason.:) Her curly older sister is rather fine as well--and prone to tangles, but not this bad--but I don't think her hair is nearly as fine.

Hmm...I wonder if I could wrap a piece of satin around her pillowcase (or sew it?) My hope is to prevent it as much as possible rather than detangle it. Especially since she has quite the 2-year-old temper when mom messes with her hair.:rolleyes: I'm not sure what a Buff is, but if it is like a satin sleep cap I got one of those for DD5 and it helps her curly hair with frizz--but even she ends up with it off by morning usually. DD2 would probably think it is funny for a minute and then pull it off.:p

I've never had any "detangler" in the house. Not sure what's in those things... Perhaps some extremely diluted conditioner in a spray bottle?

whitestilleto do you mean aloe juice or aloe gel? Where do you get glycerin? Perhaps that would be good to leave-in her hair after she bathes?

[spidermom]

I know exactly what you mean! My son had it bad. Spray-on detangler was our friend.

[MermaidOH]

Both my daughters (5 & 6) get tangly hair although one has super thick hair and one has baby bay fine hair both have waves and curls. I use a couple teaspoons of GVP Conditioning Balm (from Sally's) in a small spray bottle and fill the rest up with distilled water and spray my girls hair with that and use a wide tooth comb to de-tangle they are old enough now where they will spray and comb each others hair and do a good job. Also I do sometimes spray and braid their hair at night to keep it from getting tangled, maybe a option when your little one is older. I also second the satin pillow case. Good Luck!

[Sunshineliz]

I captured a picture when she woke up this morning! It's been worse than this, but this is her morning fuzz-ball:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=7617&pictureid=109323

And this is the best I could get of the dreads. Like I said, they've been worse, but you get the idea--matted strings.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=7617&pictureid=109324

It's amazing how matted it gets. I'll have to try mixing up some conditioner and water in a bottle this morning. I'll try the satin pillowcase too.

I wonder if this fineness has anything to do with how long it always takes my kids to finally grow some hair?! She's never had a haircut--my kids never get out of "baby hair" until they're about three or so.

[EtherealOde]

She is definitely rubbing her head against something at night. It could be her pillow, or even her hand, unless you spend some time observing her after she is put to bed you won't know the cause for sure. The best thing probably would be a silk sleep cap if you can get her to wear one and keep it on all night. That way, no matter what the cause she will be less likely to get so tangled while she sleeps.

It's a little hard to see her length in the post, is her hair long enough for a couple of french braids at night too? Even the catapillar style faux french braid could do a lot to minimize the damage she is getting nightly. That can't be good for her hair, it is going to cause a lot of breakage if it hasn't already.

[Cowgirl16]

I think spray detangler would work. I found some suave for children that smells like apples :) I think she still has her baby hairs and as it gets longer and gets cut off her new hair will be different. My GD has the same hair in the back :D I don't think you could get a child that young to wear a buff; they are all over the place when they sleep. You could try a silk pillow case .

[QueenJoey]

Haha, it's like looking at a blonde version of me from when I was little! I've always been a very restless sleeper, and my parents say I used to pull and twist my hair in my sleep.

I high-five your daughter for letting me know I'm not the only one!

My only tip is to give her polyester sheets and pillowcases. My sister used to have them, and when we'd have "slumber parties" in her room, I'd slide around alot, but it definitely cut down on the tangles.

Oh, I also used the suave detangler, and it helped, but I had to use so much and I think it dried my hair out a bit. Maybe diluted conditioner would work better?

[lapushka]

I get this too (not as bad, though) when I have a scarf on and my hair's either loose or there's hairs poking out of my updo at the back. Wet it and give it lots of slip with conditioner. Having it combed out as is, is horrible. Lots of hair comes out and it hurts.

BTW, oil or glycerine might be too heavy for her hair, I know it is for mine.
Do try the satin pillowcase!

[Asahinasan]

My two year old DD's hair does the exact same thing... baby dreads every single morning, after car rides, and if she is just being super fidgety on the couch...

Spray detangler and a wide tooth comb are our friends... (well that and a good timed Yo Gabba Gabba video and some food to occupy her while I'm combing out her hair... )

its like I'm coming at her with fire in a jar instead of a comb and spray if I don't have the video on with food in front of her, at least then I only get the halfhearted protests of "no mommy, I don't want it" but she lets me anyways...

I use the Loreal Kids Tangle Tamer (in Burst of Sweet Pear) and it smells really good in my daughters hair... in mine its just WAY too sweet, so I can't stand it in my hair! haha!

Only thing I don't like about it is that its a cone, but it seems to work well enough in her hair without any build-up which is funny because I can't even use a tiny bit in my hair without it smelling awful sweet, and caking my hair up and making it look like I just dumped bacon fat down my hair... :( oh well...

[Sunshineliz]

She's a restless sleeper--she is ALL OVER the bed tossing and turning. I'd always thought the short hair was just slow growth determined by genetics (it took me a long time to get any hair too--I had a lot less than her at her age) but now I'm wondering if it is just breaking off.

If you look in my album you can see her length better. I can't manage braids of any kind at this length. She has a "tail" that goes to her shoulders, but the rest is like layers with the shortest about ear level and the longest at neck level.

Hmm... with her all over the bed I might need to see if I can manage some sort of satin sheet for her toddler bed. However, until the last few months she was a co-sleeper with us and has now been moved out into a room with her sisters. It isn't perfect though yet as I am rather weak and tired and let her sleep with us when she cries for mommy during the middle of the night--gotta be stronger!:) Besides the fact that I don't know if I could stand sleeping on satin myself, she needs to be in there on her own. Hopefully I'll get that down, and the satin sheet.:)

ETA: wow I missed four posts while writing that--I'm a little distracted while writing (got four extra kids today:)) Glad to know I'm not the only one. I'm a little hesitant on the detangler spray as I had bad experiences with it when young--it almost seemed like my hair got 'sticky' with it. I think I'll try the diluted conditioner spray. And of course some satin. Hopefully this hair will finally grow and I can do better things with it, especially at night.

[Cowgirl16]

Oh, I also used the suave detangler, and it helped, but I had to use so much and I think it dried my hair out a bit. Maybe diluted conditioner would work better?

I actually gave the detangler to my husband because I wanted to try the Mane and Tail detangler. He hasn't said his hair was too dry and to be honest I haven't noticed any difference in the condition of his hair :shrug: I thought the diluted conditioner might be too heavy for her baby hairs?

[QueenJoey]

I actually gave the detangler to my husband because I wanted to try the Mane and Tail detangler. He hasn't said his hair was too dry and to be honest I haven't noticed any difference in the condition of his hair :shrug: I thought the diluted conditioner might be too heavy for her baby hairs?

You're probably right. My hair did feel dry, but I it might have been just naturally that way. Maybe it's different now, because I haven't used the stuff in almost 10 years, but I remember my mom telling me it had some alcohol in it. If that's the truth, then that was definitely the culprit. And conditioner would be too heavy only if it's not diluted enough. There should be mostly water and a bit of conditioner. Maybe a ratio of 1:6 conditioner to water.

[Cowgirl16]

You're probably right. My hair did feel dry, but I it might have been just naturally that way. Maybe it's different now, because I haven't used the stuff in almost 10 years, but I remember my mom telling me it had some alcohol in it. If that's the truth, then that was definitely the culprit. And conditioner would be too heavy only if it's not diluted enough. There should be mostly water and a bit of conditioner. Maybe a ratio of 1:6 conditioner to water.

I looked at the ingredients list and saw a lot of cones but no alcohol (not that I could tell anyways). Maybe a really diluted condish like you said:D

[Khiwanean]

Maybe a ratio of 1:6 conditioner to water.Though I'm sure the ratio would depend on how thick the conditioner is, this is probably a good ballpark.

I don't know how it was when I was that little, but I always used to get what my mom called a "rat's nest". It was just this huge knot of matted hair at the nape of my neck that I would wake up with in the morning. I never enjoyed my mom trying to untangle that. Detangling spays helped a little, but not a whole lot.

I still got them to varying degrees up until my freshman year in college. I'm not even sure why I stopped getting them. Maybe I'd rediscovered conditioner at that point?

I know braiding at night has helped with tangles and matting, but her hair just doesn't seem long enough for that. A sheet of satin or other slippry fabric over the pillows on the bed would probably help. Less friction to cause the hairs to rub up against each other that way.