Prevent baby dreads

**Sunshineliz** · August 1st, 2011, 07:21 PM

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** · August 1st, 2011, 07:34 PM

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

**whitestiletto** · August 1st, 2011, 08:00 PM

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 02:36 AM

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 03:39 AM

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 08:18 AM

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.

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.

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 08:31 AM

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

**MermaidOH** · August 2nd, 2011, 08:32 AM

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 08:49 AM

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

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.

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** · August 2nd, 2011, 09:58 AM

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.