Extremely Thick Hair Care?

[yogachic]

DD12 has Extremely Thick Hair. She HAS to brush her wet hair out with a brush to detangle. There is no way it can be done with a wide tooth comb. It is very, very tangled even after conditioner. She said she used conditioner on it 3 times tonight after shampooing.

Do you think conditioner with cones could help give her more slip? Do you think hair detangler would even put a dent in the tangles?

I braided her hair in, not 2, but 4 braids, after her shower tonight, and after detangling it for her with a brush.

I have photos of the 4 braids, braided together into 1 huge braid, that is as thick as her neck. Along with a photo of the 4 single braids.
http://i27.tinypic.com/ta56xe.jpg

http://i26.tinypic.com/jrxvu1.jpg

[fae]

Hi yogachic,

I have thick hair and I find that the only thing that works to detangle is poo, conditioner ad detangling spray which is loaded with cones. Right now I am using bedhead products and I also use 3 minute miracle leave in. My hair is utterly prone to tangle and I absolutely wouldntbe able to handle it with out these things.

Your DD daughter has gorgeous hair.

[yogachic]

Thank you Fae.

Right now we have S/C that has no cones, and I think this is problematic for her thick, tangly hair.

[sedonia]

I have no advice but that is amazing hair! I doubt all my hair makes a braid as thick as one of those:cry::cry:

[LongForLife]

I have extremely thick hair as well. I cannot comb mine when wet, or I rip out handfuls of hair. I just started using a wide toothed comb while in the shower with the conditioner still in my hair. Then I rinse, and usually let my hair airdry, or sleep on it wet. My conditioner has no cones, as they seem to make my heavy thick hair even heavier, and I don't like them. I use Burt's Bees Grapefruit and Sugar Beet.
If I want to brush or comb it after a shower, I have to wait until it is dry. I'm serious, you would be shocked to see the handfuls of hair when I try to comb when still wet! :eek:

[physicschick]

A cone conditioner should help with wet detangling, and cone detangling sprays can be helpful for dry detangling. However, I wonder why her hair needs to be detangled while wet. Mine is almost impossible to detangle wet. (On the rare occasions that I need to do so, I generally use a silicone detangler spray.) Even sectioning it for a braid while wet is difficult. However, it combs out much more easily when dry, especially if I used an oily leave-in. I use kimberlily's defrizz spray (aloe and jojoba oil in my mister bottle) as a detangling spray.

I'm sure you've thought about this, but avoiding tangles in the first place might be easier than struggling to comb them out. Can she wear her hair braided as much as possible? I don't necessarily mean wet braiding, though. My hair will turn frizzy and difficult if braided wet.

What is your daughter's hairtype, other than thick? That might help people give you better advice.

ETA: LongForLife posted while I was typing. Yes, I totally agree about waiting for it to dry!

[LongForLife]

:) Yes, I usually wait until dry most of the time.

Oh one other thing that I use as a trick also. Have her try brushing her hair when dry BEFORE she takes a shower. That way it is a little less tangly to begin with. This helps with less tangles after the shower too.

[HotRag]

To oil the ends when damp, has made a big difference to me.
Much easier to comb when wet (or towel dry more exactly).

I need to comb when wet/damp or I get :taz:hair.

[Speedbump]

I am a curly and I have zero success with cones, but I do have thick hair and I can tell you that I have never been able to detangle when my hair is wet. Here are several tips that might be useful:

1) Do very good detangling while the hair is dry, right before washing the hair.

2) If her hair is that tangly, then it might either be too dry from too much washing or it might have buildup from too many products and needs to be clarified. Or it might be a combination of both.

3) Fingercombing is your friend.

4) Deep moisture treatments, like Snowy's Moisture Treatment, help with slip without using cones.

5) Consider not washing as often if she is washing daily. That contributes to dry length, overproduction of scalp oils and I believe tangling. Also, when you wash less often, you hair has better slip because the scalp oil moves down the hair shafts and helps seal them up.

6) If she is a curly or wavy trying to be a straightie, then she is going to have hair breakage and tangles from damage. Curly hair cuticles are not the same as straight and it damages them tremendously when they are forced to act like something they are not. Damage always contributes to tangling and knotting. Regardless of hair type, wet hair is MUCH weaker than dry hair and breaks, stretches and is damaged more easily. While it might seem like a better time to detangle, brushing/combing wet hair outside of the shower and without conditioner is a certain road to damage. (Ask me how I know... :whistle: )

7) If combing does not work for her, it might be her comb and it might be her technique in addition to her hair quality or type. Make sure her comb is seamless, and I have found that starting from the scalp is better to help distribute the oil rather than the method I have often heard is "correct," the bottom up.

8 ) If she needs serious tangle help that cannot be done with dry hair, then combing in the shower with her hair full of conditioner might help. I personally have zero luck with that method but it does work for a lot of people and is worth trying.

9) She should make sure that she rinses with her hair pointed in the direction of growth. Rinsing with your head upside down contributes to tangles because it forces the hair to go in a direction it's not mean to go in, and then it wants to dry like that. She should try rinsing with her length down her back and not over her head, if she was doing that.

10) I have seen on these boards that people have said cold water rinses are better for sealing up the hair shafts, and it might help with her tangling a little bit. Usually people do it for shine, but in this case, that would simply be a neat byproduct. :lol:

Hope that at least one of these ideas helps! :cheese:

Speedy

[CaityBear]

Wow...crazy thick hair! lol That would be kind of like my friend's hair. She would probably make about 3 of those braids maybe? Maybe 4... *shrug* My hair altogether might be just over the thickness of ONE of those. lol

[susiemw]

She has probably already tried this but I would just slather with conditioners (try different ones) and while she has her hair slathered with conditioner use a wide tooth comb or wide pick and starting at the bottom, run it through the bottom inch or two, when that is detangled, move up another inch or two, etc until she is at the scalp.

I hope you and your daughter find a good solution quick. She has great hair!

susan

[Requiax]

I never comb or brush when wet. My hair just refuses to untangle until it's dry. My DD has the same problem, we both have iii+ hair but hers is 1b and mine is 2c. Maybe wait and give dry combing a try?

[tiny_teesha]

COCONUT OIL WILL SAVE HER!
Seriously, it reduces my tangles to ZILCH!
You may need to use a fair amount but if she showers at night it will have absorbed in a heap by morning.
I would also like to mention of those 4 braids on her hair, my hair is thinner then one of those- remind her it is a blessing to have thick hair, it is like a curtain! Mine is so thin i am ashamed of it!

[Kirin]

I go through the same thing (maybe worse??) with my DD13's hair. She's a blonde with an S wave of sorts (think real renaissancy romantic hair), however its SO thick, if i braid it the braid is as thick as my forearm. Oddly it never looks THAT thick. . . but it is!

If i don't like sit on her to detangle it, she'll end up with mats as big as my fist. I've attempted helping her with deep treatments to her hair, but its like wrestling an octopus, and though she loves her long bra strap length hair (and its still growing), she does NOT take care of it and is adverse to a lot of attention being placed on the care of it.

It has properties that drive me nuts! Nuts i say! Its like water repellent! Trying to get shampoo to her scalp (even with a nose bottle) is like impossible, and it can take a half a bottle of conditioner to even make a dent.

*sigh*.

[Delenn]

Just adding my vote for everything speedy said, especially the parts about brushing before you wash and to be sure not to make tangles when you wash. Just tilt your head back and try not to knead your hair too much.

And I just relax and take my time combing when wet. For me there's truly no way around it other than cutting my hair off and that's not really an option right now. I just know when I get out of the shower that combing is going to take a nice chunk of time and sure enough, it does. :)

[Naluin]

It has properties that drive me nuts! Nuts i say! Its like water repellent! Trying to get shampoo to her scalp (even with a nose bottle) is like impossible, and it can take a half a bottle of conditioner to even make a dent.

*sigh*.

Kirin, have you tried applying shampoo to your fingers and then sliding them into her hair at her hairline, directly onto her scalp? This way, you bypass the hair almost entirely. That's what I do for my hair and it helps a lot. If you section her hair into 2-4 sections, you might be able to apply shampoo to all of her scalp fairly quickly.

My hair also eats up conditioner... and water. I bought a 32-oz bottle of conditioner two weeks ago and I think I will need to buy another bottle next week. My hair is just shoulder length, too. :rolleyes:
To the OP, Speedbump has given some excellent suggestions. Personally, I can only get a comb through my hair when wet, either while under the shower spray with water flowing through my hair or with gobs of conditioner. Anything else is impossible and results in tears and breakage.

And oil is your friend! Good luck!

[yogachic]

Thank you Everyone for your wonderful input! I appreciate you taking the time to stop by and give your great advice.

Physicschick~ We have always detangled our hair when wet, right out of the shower, just a habit. With me, I have to let my hair dry, combed out nicely with product in it, for it to look presentable and not all frizzy. My dd12 could get away with letting it dry first, then detangling dry, she has straight hair.

I'm not sure of my hairtype, or hers, since the list is no longer at easy access.


Speedbump~Her hair could be on the dry side, it has felt really dry/weird before I detangled, it was wet.

She uses no product on her hair besides S/C. I think clarifying could definately benefit.

She washes every 3-4 days.

She has straight hair.



Kirin~ DD12 one braid would be as thick as my forearm too. Even 2 braids are Huge.

*** I also forgot to add her hair is wet in the braid photos.


Things I will be telling her to try for sure are:

*Brush before wash
*Coming out in shower with comb with cone conditioner in.
*Keep braided as much as possible.
* Detangling spray for dry hair.

I told her to braid her hair while swimming the other day, I thought it would help keep it from tangling, she said it was so tangled it wasn't even funny. I think it could be her texture of
hair. When she swims in chlorine, her hair gets gummy and stringy, and feels really odd too.

[yogachic]

A few more photos of her thick hair today. No Flash
Her ends look really dry and bad, but no splits.

http://i32.tinypic.com/e96ibd.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/hsvsds.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/23mre4i.jpg

[Naluin]

A few more photos of her thick hair today. No Flash
Her ends look really dry and bad, but no splits.

Wow. If her hair gets much longer, that braid could really hurt somebody. :)

Maybe her hair tangles so badly because her ends are bad? Oiling them regularly may really help.

[yogachic]

Wow. If her hair gets much longer, that braid could really hurt somebody. :)

Maybe her hair tangles so badly because her ends are bad? Oiling them regularly may really help.

The ends actually look worse then they feel. I'm sure a trim would only help.

[Curlsgirl]

When I first came here I had no splits but that didn't mean I didn't have a lot of damage. I didn't start getting splits until below BSL. How long does she want to grow? If she wants to grow any longer she will have to start protecting her hair especially while swimming. I couldn't get a comb through my hair except when wet with a lot of conditioner on it when I first came her either but now that my hair is healthier I can do it either way. I do find that cones help a lot though to prevent tangling. I am now using a cone as my second conditioner in CWC. Using a diluted SLS as the shampoo I don't find I get any buildup. Her hair is beautiful by the way! Coconut oil coconut oil coconut oil could save it in my opinion and if she uses heat to STOP it!!!!! Sorry if you said and I missed it.

[thankyousir74]

WOW her hair is beautiful!! sorry that i can't offer much advice about tangles (i used to have that problem too, but now its short and finger combing works), but all in all, happy growing and i hope your tangles become unfurled

[Rain]

My 12yo has extremely thick, straight hair that used to tangle like crazy. She loves her silicones. Matrix Sleek.Look (and the Sally's knock-off) used to be her favorite. Right now, she really loves Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship. She will randomly bring it up and tell me how much she loves it. Seriously. :lol: She only shampoos the scalp but conditions all over.

ETA pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/bluecelt/hair/th_0616cb45.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/bluecelt/hair/0616cb45.jpg)

[nappywomyn]

No suggestions, but my gods, she has a GORGEOUS head of hair!!!!!

[sibylla]

I´m with tinyteesha. Coco nut oil!!!I also swim in a pool everyday=putting coconutoil before swimming and two braids.

[Little_Bird]

My hair is not extremely thick, but it is fairly thick, and I find that the cones do work well for me. I detangle with a wide tooth comb with no problems at all.

Your daughter has very pretty hair, hopefully you can find a way to make it easier for her and for you :flower:

[getoffmyskittle]

I have no good suggestions as my hair is medium at best, but oh my God, that is probably the thickest hair I have EVER seen.

[kwaniesiam]

:thud:

Agreed, no help sorry, but one of her 4 braids is so much bigger than all of my hair combined into one :bigeyes:

[yogachic]

When I first came here I had no splits but that didn't mean I didn't have a lot of damage. I didn't start getting splits until below BSL. How long does she want to grow? If she wants to grow any longer she will have to start protecting her hair especially while swimming. I couldn't get a comb through my hair except when wet with a lot of conditioner on it when I first came her either but now that my hair is healthier I can do it either way. I do find that cones help a lot though to prevent tangling. I am now using a cone as my second conditioner in CWC. Using a diluted SLS as the shampoo I don't find I get any buildup. Her hair is beautiful by the way! Coconut oil coconut oil coconut oil could save it in my opinion and if she uses heat to STOP it!!!!! Sorry if you said and I missed it.


No heat is used on her hair. Just air drying.


My 12yo has extremely thick, straight hair that used to tangle like crazy. She loves her silicones. Matrix Sleek.Look (and the Sally's knock-off) used to be her favorite. Right now, she really loves Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship. She will randomly bring it up and tell me how much she loves it. Seriously. :lol: She only shampoos the scalp but conditions all over.

ETA pic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/bluecelt/hair/th_0616cb45.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/bluecelt/hair/0616cb45.jpg)

I have been considering trying Long term relationship for some time now, Its time i just buy it and try it, for her and I. :)

**Thank you to all the wonderful comments on dd12's hair.

I can hardly wrap my hand around that single braid.

[danacc]

Her hair is gorgeous!

I'll chime in on trying to detangle when dry. I've seen a lot of input from folks with curly hair that they must detangle when wet, but as a wavy who used to be straighter, I always detangled when dry. Detangling when wet doesn't work for me, and on top of that, it causes more damage.

Definitely detangle before washing; I'm glad that's on your list of things to try. Once the hair is dry, try a detangling spray with cones directly on any mats or stubborn knots. Johnson's No More Tangles is the only one I have personal experience with; it definitely helped with the matted-haired kids I was assisting.

[FlowerHair]

With thick hair you just have to let go and accept that it cannot be perfectly detangled all the time. I just detangle my hair with my fingers/finger comb in the shower with loads of conditioner in my hair, rinse a little and then air dry.

Her hair is really thick and shiny!! I love it!

[darl_in1]

My DD13 has very thick (probably 6-7") very curly hair. I woouldn't recommend cones. Actually, I finally had success with her hair using this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=6713). Her hair is much better now it has more moisture and she can detangle it ok. She also uses cone-free condish (VO5) as a leave in before she detangles. She wets her hair every morning and then either uses sondish and detangles. Then she applies the cocaloe creme and styles. She uses the cocaloe instead of gel now.

What brush does your DD use. Having thick hair myself, I can say that neither DD nor I could ever use anything other than a Denman D4 or D5. Anything else only touches the surface of our hair.

Before I got her to use the cocaloe I had to regularly cut the tanglers out of her hair.

I've adapted the recipe for her recently to use West Indian Castor oil instead of the Avocado oil as her hair needs a heavy oil.

ETA: I found cones to be a 'quick fix' that were helpful in the short term, but prevented the hair from absorbing moisture and made it worse in the long run. Coconut oil (which is one of the few oils that scan actually be absorbed into the hair shaft) made a dramatic improvement. The first time she ever used the cocaloe (we had 'accidentally' run out of gel) all her friends at school said her hair looked great and asked what she used on it - that was enough to convince her to stick with it. So I really would recommend the coconut oil, if nothing else.

[manderly]

Great googly-moogly that girl has got some crazy awesome hair!!!!

Everyone has fantastic advice, and I wanted to also chime in that while her hair in general looks awesome, her ends look a little angry. I know that my hair turns into a ratty mess when I need to do some trimming. Perhaps 1/2" off the ends would make a huge difference??

[chainedangel]

My hair is thick like your daughters. Maybe even a bit thicker.
I'm surprised nobody has suggested a S&D. I know you said her does are damaged but not split, but I notice that many of my splits are much higher than expected. I second the deep treatment. Clarify, assess the need for protein or moisture and address it.

[Medvssa]

I suspect that combing wet/dry working for some people and not others has much (but not all) to do with coarseness or fineness of individual strands. Fine strands of hair seem to clump togheter when they are wet, which makes combing while wet a bad idea.

When it is moisturized, I can comb my hair when it is wet from the roots to the tips in one movement, the comb goes through it like a warm knife through butter, without previous detangling and after not combing or brushing for days. I think this is a combination of my curls and coarse hair. For the same reasons, I think, it is quite difficult to comb my hair when it is dry.
I have observed the exact opposite in 1a F hair.

[lookingglass]

BEAUTIFUL HAIR!

To detangle my thick hair, I wet my hair, load up with VO5, detangle 90%, then use a big blob of AO Honeysuckle Rose, let it sit a few minutes, wide tooth comb, and rinse SOME of it out.

[Ohio Sky]

Things I will be telling her to try for sure are:

*Brush before wash
*Coming out in shower with comb with cone conditioner in.
*Keep braided as much as possible.
* Detangling spray for dry hair.

I told her to braid her hair while swimming the other day, I thought it would help keep it from tangling, she said it was so tangled it wasn't even funny. I think it could be her texture of
hair. When she swims in chlorine, her hair gets gummy and stringy, and feels really odd too.

I've gotten the gummy hair thing before, for me it meant I needed to clarify.

I know I'm not the first to say this, but add coconut oil to that list. So many have great results ith it, you can't afford not to try it.

Your DD has beautiful hair, and I hope she can figure out how to coexist peacfully with it. :lol:

Just think what those thick braids braided together would like if she grew her hair longer! It's the kind of thing that thin hairs can only dream of. :o

[AnimaSola3o4]

I didn't read through the whole thread... but in my experience, YES cones help with detangling tangly hair! I went cone-free (wether using cone free S&C or using BS/ACV rinses) for like 6 months... and my hair was a chore to detangle during that time. I've since switched back to cones, and it's an absolute breeze to detangle. I even wear it curly most of the time, and it's still not anywhere near as bad as it used to be with cone-free!

[AnimaSola3o4]

And FWIW, my hair used to be that thick too. :( I could barely get my hand around a low ponytail when I was a kid, but now my hair has thinned out quite a bit as i get older. Don't get me wrong, it's still thick enough.... but its lost a lot of its childhood thickness.

Also detangling sessions when I was a kid would end up in me bawling my eyes out and hating my mother with an intense fiery passion. It really really hurt me a lot because she would force it or something... I also have always had a sensitive scalp. It's the main reason why my hair was short most of my childhood, because i would cry and cry when my mom would brush it. Not sure where I was going with this, but kudos to you for wanting to make the process easier for your daughter!

[Snowblood]

I could barely get my hand around a low ponytail when I was a kid, but now my hair has thinned out quite a bit as i get older.

..and your hands got bigger. ;) You´ve got beautiful hair btw.

[k_hepburn]

:thudpile:

Your DD's hair is truly amazing! Going by those initial pictures her hair is about four times as thick as mine (since each of those braids is about as thick as my single one) - and I don't actually have either fine or thin hair. So, I won't be able to give you any advice from directly comparable personal experience, but one thing that did spring to mind was: Exactly what technique does she use for shampooing / conditioning her hair? I've found that my hair tangles a lot less if I wash it simply standing under a shower head than if I bend over to wash and rinse it over a bath tub. Also, when applying shampoo and conditioner, I don't actually mess the hair about much. For shampoo, I start out at the forehead, then work backwards and downwards from there, working at it in sections, rather than piling it all on my head like a big mushroom head of shampoo-y hair. The water running down the length of the hair when rinsing it pretty much as the hair is supposed to lie when dry seems to kind of auto-detangle it. For conditioner, I disturb the hair even less, again working from forehad backwards and downwards up to the neck, then pull it forward over one shoulder to do the rest down to the tips. Again, same auto-detangling effect when rinsing. The only time my roots get tipped up-siide-down in the whole process is when I wrap my hair in a towel to dry at the end (I can get a much better hold that way).

Greetings

katharine

[yogachic]

K_hepburn She washes standing in the shower. Switching her to cones S&C has really helped. I bought Herbal Essenses Long Term Relationship, the smell is heavenly, and she said it has really helped. Its much softer and alot easier to comb out.

[AnimaSola3o4]

K_hepburn She washes standing in the shower. Switching her to cones S&C has really helped. I bought Herbal Essenses Long Term Relationship, the smell is heavenly, and she said it has really helped. Its much softer and alot easier to comb out.

That's what I use. :) Did you also buy the leave in? I had a hard time with the smell tbh, in the beginning it made me kinda nauseous. :/ But I've acclimated to it and now i like it.

[AnimaSola3o4]

..and your hands got bigger. ;) You´ve got beautiful hair btw.

I was thinking about that when I posted that sentence actually lol but even in comparison it's quite a bit thinner. My hands are still very small too ;) It's kind of a genetic thing i have small hands and bent fingers (clinodactyly) hehe. I got it from my dad, my twin bro has them too.

sorry for the hijack!

[lora410]

Oh my, that is some seriously thick hair. I would either try cones, try getting her hair thinned out or you could also combing her hair in parts. It sounds like she may need cones.

[yogachic]

That's what I use. :) Did you also buy the leave in? I had a hard time with the smell tbh, in the beginning it made me kinda nauseous. :/ But I've acclimated to it and now i like it.

Hello AnimaSola, I didn't see a leave in that goes with it?

[Altocumulus]

Wow, she has amazing hair!

My DD has very thick, straight hair too, and we discovered that she can't use any cones at all. They make her hair gummy and impossibly tangly. We thought it was from chlorine when she was at camp, but it wasn't, it was from the shampoo she was using to protect her hair from chlorine. She alternates CO with S&C using cone free products and has a much easier time detangling.

Good luck!

[RavenDream]

I use the Long Term Relationship leave-in, but not the s/c. It can be very hard to find, my local CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart are usually sold out of it. The only place I can seem to find it is Target.

I have noticed it has a slightly different smell than the rest of the line. The smell is still good and it gives my hair amazing results. It actually helps contain frizz for me too.

[heidi w.]

I see someone mentioned detangling spray. That's good. I do recommend this in the case for really thick hair, especially kids with that because it's important to reduce those tears and frustration.

I found that not all wide tooth combs work on my hair (but I am not thick). It really mattered the width between the tines. I have heard from others that they have similar issues, they just explain it differently, as in "I couldn't use that comb!"

Another technique, while in the shower, pile the hair with conditioner and let it sit on for a while. Then using a plastic extra wide tooth comb, use the power of the shower water and dip the comb in a vat of conditioner, coating the comb. Work slowly from the bottom not to pristinely detangle but to organize a bit. This may improve the effect the conditioner has. ETA: continue to coat the comb with conditioner as needed.

What I mean is that when we wet our hair, eventually for all of us it becomes kind of chunked or clumped in ropey sections, where a lot of hair is bound up. This means that the inner hair in these sections may have less wetness, a little less warmth and definitely receiving less conditioner.

The way I work around this is that I flatten such clumps by very gently fanning a section of hair along the length of such a clumped section of hair, ensure the inner hair are now wet, and apply a glob of conditioner.

If she has tangles like this you may want to do some experimenting with different conditioners. Silicones may help her or it could be inciting more tangles. It could be either way in her case. (You didn't mention the brand and if there's cone whatever in it....and I didn't read this entire thread if you did...so apologies if I missed that.)

If she's thick and has any body whatsoever (as I observe in your signature picture), then she might like more of a pick style comb, the kind that is often found in the 'ethnic' section of a beauty supply store or even your local Walgreens. These pick combs are typically really long tines, somewhat narrow and not uber fat teeth, relatively inexpensive and may help a bit.

There should be no need to condition 3 times because doing it once v. 3 times doesn't change effectiveness. What does change effectiveness of a conditioner is the heat of the water. Those cuticles need to be open. If the temperature is too tepid or lukewarm, they won't open as easily. Also, if she's not rinsing shampoo out really well before applying conditioner this could be an issue. Further, if she has been applying stuff to her hair after it's dry, we may have a case of buildup at this juncture -- and whenever buildup occurs, the effectiveness of one's conditioner can definitely seem to "suddenly" not work.

I hope some thoughts in here help. I'm betting the detangling spray will be a plus.

ETA: Uh, yes, for this hair type I also recommend some kind of leave-in (whether it's an oil OR a purchased leave-in)....find a person matching your daughter's hair type and see what they do. Some of these folks like CO washing, or do both the oiling and a leave-in (usually leave-in then oil too in that order -- the order is what I'm getting at).

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Wow, she has amazing hair!

My DD has very thick, straight hair too, and we discovered that she can't use any cones at all. They make her hair gummy and impossibly tangly. We thought it was from chlorine when she was at camp, but it wasn't, it was from the shampoo she was using to protect her hair from chlorine. She alternates CO with S&C using cone free products and has a much easier time detangling.

Good luck!

Second this thought too!

heidi w.

[WritingPrincess]

. . . snip . . .
I told her to braid her hair while swimming the other day, I thought it would help keep it from tangling, she said it was so tangled it wasn't even funny. I think it could be her texture of
hair. When she swims in chlorine, her hair gets gummy and stringy, and feels really odd too.
I see no one has mentioned a swim cap. If I swim with my hair braided, it seriously takes me half an hour and loads of conditioner to detangle. One time I missed the second half of my practice entirely because I was brushing the tangles out. That was before I switched to a comb and started using coconut oil. The only way I can avoid using a swim cap (and I have a 3 inch circumference, but F/M hair) is to put my hair in a low ponytail, wet it down with tap water (this reduces how much chlorine the hair can absorb), put conditioner in it, braid, and tie off. The ponytail holder at the top is necessary or else it's like my hair stretches and the entire braid moves down, leaving the upper portion of my length unbraided, if that makes any sense. Then I fold the braid in half, use another elastic to hold it, flip it up and secure with a large claw-type clip. Granted, her hair is much shorter than mine, so she could skip folding the braid in half, but maybe that'll make a difference. Even with a swim cap, I half to wet my hair first and I usually put a little conditioner in it too. Hope that helps!

[flapjack]

L'oreal kids detangling sprays are really great. I used to use those as a kid and they helped so much, especially in the summers... knee length hair on a ten year old who swam like a fish... you can see where that ended up. The sprays and handfuls of conditioner saved my hair every time.

[3c_Gemini_Curls]

I use the denman brush for detangling. My hair is super dee duper thick :( One of the reasons why Im glad its not comepletely blunt.

[aprilmay]

What gorgeous hair! I have used Biolage spray, leave in conditioner in the past. I have thick hair and it alone helps me detangle and leaves my hair shiny. It is kind of expensive, but if smells nice and I like their shampoo too. I may need to treat myself to more!