# Hair suggestions please!



## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

My 9 yo dd has a huge ratted mess in her long curly hair where she's insisted on taking care of it herself. She was twisting it up in a bun and who knows what else she was doing to it yesterday.:smack

Anyway, I now have this huge mess that I'm trying to get undone without cutting it(I hope). I've tried de-tangler, creme rinse, a leave in conditioner, coconut oil and caster oil and it's loosened up a tad. I've tried working with it wet and dry to get it out.

Any suggestions on what else I can use/do to try and get it out before I resort to using the scissors?


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## Wildfire_Jewel (Nov 5, 2006)

The dog groomer where I work swears by cornstarch. She uses it on stubborn matts and only on dry fur. Maybe that would work on human hair?


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## nightfire (Feb 3, 2012)

Sometimes my hair gets that way. Not always sure how, and I sure do remember my mom ripping the comb painfully through my hair! I have straight hair, but its super long and likes to get itself tangled. What I do is use a wide tooth comb to comb it out. I also will spray a detangler on it just so it doesn't retangle itself while I'm combing it out. I also would recommend starting at the bottom and working your way up towards her scalp. Freeing the ends seems to make it easier to get out the knots higher up in the hair without compounding them into a super knot. It will take a little time, but that's the only way I've been successful without actually ripping out all of my hair. If you hold the knot above where you are combing, it might hurt a little less for your daughter. 

Good luck and I hope you don't have to resort to cutting it out!


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

I have curly hair also and have occasionally had it matt up a little, but not like what she has it now. I can't even find the ends, its like one big golf ball size matted glob! I've used the speciality combs and brushes and even resorted to using a fork to try and break it up some.

She's out in the pool now. I had to take a break from the aggravation. I'll let it dry and then try the corn starch. She didn't like it when I told her that her hair looked like an old matted dog.:heh:

I'd go ahead and cut it, but she'd lose most of her hair(about 8") and she likes to put it up in a pony. That and her hair doesn't grow very fast at all.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

You might want to ask this question on the Fiber Forum. They are always discussing ways of detangling and arranging raw wool locks and tendrils.


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## Loriann1971 (Sep 1, 2005)

My 7 year old is the queen of knotted hair. I can comb it out and it is perfect and she will walk across the room and have knots in her hair when she comes back. LOL

These are some of my tricks. 

1. Peanut butter. When she has a massive collar knot at the nape of her neck, I have rubbed it with peanut butter and then used a small crochet hook to pick at the knot until it untangles. 

2 Vinegar rinse. I fill a cup with apple cider vinegar and water in equal amounts and pour it over her hair, concentrating on the knot. Then comb through it. Rinse it with water and comb it again.

3. Last resort trick is to spray WD40 on the knot and it should comb out...just don't do it in an enclosed space and be careful not to get it in her eyes.


My daughter's hair was always so knotted, but once I started washing her hair with baking soda and giving it a finishing rinse with ACV, the few tangles she gets comb out with ease.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

Ok on the opposite side here....
I have a daughter that has a mass of curly locks....
I mean dang..she can shower before bed braid her hair and the next morning take the braid down and her hair is still wet......
Unless religious convictions bar the cutting and it seems not as you are discussing cutting....
Giver her a cute short feminine haircut. Less work..no muss no fuss...easy on her and you.
I let my girls grow hair for the year and when weather gets hot they go get short cuts and donate the trimmings to locks of love.

Locks of Love helps disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss

They understand completely what happens to the cut off hair...I've never forced this...they are happy to help.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

DD has very, very fine hair. She got her very long hair cut last week. She's 14 and has never had short hair. We've had to brush her hair because she just can't get all the rats out. A couple hours after getting all the rats out they'd be right back. I swear all you had to do was look at it and it'd rat up.

The hair conditioner they use at salons seems to work much better than the stuff we've used. DD colored her hair a couple months ago. The conditioner in the dye (semipermanent color by Loreal, I think) took the rats out like no tomorrow. The dye isn't very expensive, between $5-$10, so it might be worth getting it to get the rat out. It comes in small tubes and you don't need to use much product at all. 

Without the dye's conditioner I've found that spraying the heck out of a rat with conditioner and/or detangler and then separating each hair by hand works best. It takes a long, long time but if you go slowly you can get rid of a rat on the head of very tender-headed kid.


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## jbowyer01 (Aug 4, 2008)

My mom use to use mayonnaise on us. Gently wash her hair and rub mayo in and slowly work out the knots then rinse really well.


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

If you're reduced to scissors (and why not?) then don't cut across - cut through the knot parallel to the length of the hair, top to bottom, ONCE; then see what you can disentangle. You should get some of it loose that way, then for each insoluble tangled knot left, do another ONE cut parallel to the length of the hair.
This will cut across tangled bent-over hairs, of course, but not as many and not as short as cutting the knot right out.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

suzyhomemaker09 said:


> Ok on the opposite side here....
> I have a daughter that has a mass of curly locks....
> I mean dang..she can shower before bed braid her hair and the next morning take the braid down and her hair is still wet......
> Unless religious convictions bar the cutting and it seems not as you are discussing cutting....
> ...


I'm all for a short, feminine, wash-and-wear style, expecially for the warm weather.


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I've had long hair most of my adult life but had never worried with knots and tangles to the degree I've been dealing with the past few months. Initially I had a significant hair loss and I don't know yet if that was due to the knots and tangles or if the knots/tangles were due to the hair loss. I know the texture of my hair has changed but I don't know why. I'm 62, so that probably has a lot to do with it. lol.

What I do: wet hair with a detangler spray. Allow that to soak in and then begin a lukewarm rinse of water until the hair starts to relax. Then I use my fingers to begin picking apart the knots beginning at the ends and working up. I finger comb all of it. That's followed by a normal shampoo and rinse, ending with an application of the Bed Head leave-in conditioner which I only leave in for about an hour and then rinse out with lukewarm water. I then air dry it by finger combing the entire length and end by pulling it into a cloth scrunchie to complete the process. I wrap my hair around into a bun to help keep down the tangling.

My hair is still long but it's thinner now and shorter, reaching only below my shoulders.


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## Pam6 (Apr 9, 2009)

For my two DD's, one with fine and curly (3 yo) and one with fine and straight (7 yo), I put them both in the shower with me, add a ton of good conditioner, and then start from the bottom and brush it out. While she is under the water rinsing it out I continue to brush until it is washed out.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

I have found thru experience that commercial hair shampoos stink! I use a diluted Dr Broehmers(sp/) castile soap and I do opil my hair with cocomnut oil/ A lot of curly haoired people swear by conditioner only washing and not very often!I wash my hair about once a week and it has never been in better condition!

I would try natural peanut butter it has a lot of oils and the butter might help you brush it out. I suggest learning about oils I bet it would help a lot with her hair!

I have BTDT, my eldest has very fine hair thta would matt liek thta, well I went away once for 4 days and DH let her go to th einlaws and htye washed her hair with baby shjampoo! Well I came him to a softball matt at the base of her neck(and sure DH let her go to school like thta he didnt see anything wrong with it!) I had to cu toff her mid back length hair into a pixie that night I was so angry and sad I cried the whole time!!


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

soulsurvivor said:


> I've had long hair most of my adult life but had never worried with knots and tangles to the degree I've been dealing with the past few months. Initially I had a significant hair loss and I don't know yet if that was due to the knots and tangles or if the knots/tangles were due to the hair loss. I know the texture of my hair has changed but I don't know why. I'm 62, so that probably has a lot to do with it. lol.
> 
> What I do: wet hair with a detangler spray. Allow that to soak in and then begin a lukewarm rinse of water until the hair starts to relax. Then I use my fingers to begin picking apart the knots beginning at the ends and working up. I finger comb all of it. That's followed by a normal shampoo and rinse, ending with an application of the Bed Head leave-in conditioner which I only leave in for about an hour and then rinse out with lukewarm water. I then air dry it by finger combing the entire length and end by pulling it into a cloth scrunchie to complete the process. I wrap my hair around into a bun to help keep down the tangling.
> 
> My hair is still long but it's thinner now and shorter, reaching only below my shoulders.


As a cosmetologist (in a prior life) I agree with most of the ideas that have been presented for detangling hair. Your post jumped out at me, though. You might want to visit your doctor to have your thyroid tested. Hair loss can be a sign of an underactive thyroid, especially if you are also losing eyebrow hair.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

TheMartianChick said:


> As a cosmetologist (in a prior life) I agree with most of the ideas that have been presented for detangling hair. Your post jumped out at me, though. You might want to visit your doctor to have your thyroid tested. Hair loss can be a sign of an underactive thyroid, especially if you are also losing eyebrow hair.


Very true. If you are looking at a friend (or yourself in the mirror) and the outer half of her/your eyebrows are missing this is a symptom of a thyroid problem. 

I tried all of the above mentioned solutions (except for cornstarch) on my Goddaughter and nothing worked. I ended up cutting her hair and keeping it very short. She looked as cute as a pixie. And no more tangles and tears. Tangles were hers, tears were mine.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Conditioner! Put a glob of conditioner (good quality, not the dime store cheap stuff) on the dry rats nest and massage it in. You want it to be "wet" from the conditioner. Using a comb, sit and very slowly try to work an end out then slowing work up from the bottom. It's going to be a slow process and a bit painful (hope she's not a tender headed child like my DD....DD often ends up in a light case of tears).

Once she's tangle free again try this: I mix one part of a good quality conditioner to 8-10 parts water and keep in a spray bottle. You just made spray in conditioner, or "detangler". Use this on wet hair to help keep tangles down. DD has straight hair, but I find we need to use the "detangler" between washings as well.


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## bama (Aug 21, 2011)

wig brushes work well also. i use an american girl doll brush on dd4's hair. it takes the knots out much better than anything else we have tried.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I can't believe no one has mentioned Cowboy Magic, Show Sheen, or Survivor. These are all available at most feed stores and will slide apart the most tangled baseball bat mess a horse's tail can get in, even with burrs! My daughter used to steal the Show Sheen when she was a little girl to easily get tangles out of her hair, with little to no breakage or hair loss.

These days though I use Survivor on this tail. I just put a few drops on a hairbrush and start from the bottom, and it slides apart. His tail has little spirals all the way down that aren't very easy to untangle when they're four feet long; and he poops on his hair!


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

I use Cowboy Magic (detangler & shine" on my dogs (LONG) hair and an my own hair...fantastic stuff! And it says, right on the bottle "Recommended for horse and human use". Love it!

Mon


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Dreadlocks


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## sewsilly (May 16, 2004)

goodness,,, it's hair. Especially for little girls that can't manage it themselves, cut that mess short and cute and keep moving. My only girl has super curls and until she was old enough to manage it herself, a pixie was too adorable for words. The important things in life are what matter.. lengthy hair isnt one of those things.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Thanks for all of the help everyone!

I didn't really want to cut her hair short as she wants to be able to pull it into a pony tail. That and her hair grows very, very slowly. She's 9 1/2 and her hair is(was) just about 1/2 way down her back with having only occasional trims.

The mess was bigger then I first thought, about the size of a lemon. With cornstarch and 4-5 parallel cuts I was able to finally get it taken care of. Then I had to even it up, so she lost about 4-5 inches.

I think she's learned her lesson and I told her that if it happened again I was just going to whack it off and not mess with it.

Now hopefully her bro learned a little too, while he was laughing at her predicament. His hair is extremely thick and curly and he doesn't want it cut. He's rocking an afro right now and I warned him that if he didn't watch out, he was going to be next.

On my next outing, Coyboy Magic, Show Sheen or Survivor is coming home with me, maybe all 3.

Horseyrider, it looks like you have a beautiful horse and his tail is gorgeous!


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## dancingfatcat (Jan 1, 2008)

So sorry you had to resort to cutting it. I can and have been able to get tangles larger than a lemon out of the curliest of hair, even dreadlocks! I do what Ohio dreamer suggested. It may be a little time consuming but you don't have to use the scissors. It just requires patients and a few rest breaks. Work at it in small bits and when you can start to pull it apart some than work in tiny sections. Like I said, it takes time but it can be done.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

I am a little late here, but if it happens again, you can make a few cuts into the tangle with thinning shears. This is what I do with bad mats on dogs as a last resort. The thinning shears will cut through just enough hairs to allow you to brush it out, without having to chop full chunks out. The staggered, thin cut will allow the section to blend in with the rest of the hair w/out leaving a big, blunt hole in the hair.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

The important thing is that you are trying very hard to save her hair. After the corn starch, take her to a beauty parlor. You will probably get the same answer, that the hair has to be cut off, but it will be from a beauty expert. It's a girl thing.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Terri in WV said:


> My 9 yo dd has a huge ratted mess in her long curly hair where she's insisted on taking care of it herself. She was twisting it up in a bun and who knows what else she was doing to it yesterday.:smack
> 
> Anyway, I now have this huge mess that I'm trying to get undone without cutting it(I hope). I've tried de-tangler, creme rinse, a leave in conditioner, coconut oil and caster oil and it's loosened up a tad. I've tried working with it wet and dry to get it out.
> 
> Any suggestions on what else I can use/do to try and get it out before I resort to using the scissors?


I went through a similar situation with my DD waaaay back when. She also insisted on "doing it herself" and it was a nightmare. One noon, she cam home from school,ate her lunch. Then I told her to get a chair and a towel! I took a scissors and have her a bob and bangs! She looked darling and she also learned to take care of her hair!


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

Horseyrider said:


> I can't believe no one has mentioned Cowboy Magic, Show Sheen, or Survivor. These are all available at most feed stores and will slide apart the most tangled baseball bat mess a horse's tail can get in, even with burrs! My daughter used to steal the Show Sheen when she was a little girl to easily get tangles out of her hair, with little to no breakage or hair loss.
> 
> These days though I use Survivor on this tail. I just put a few drops on a hairbrush and start from the bottom, and it slides apart. His tail has little spirals all the way down that aren't very easy to untangle when they're four feet long; and he poops on his hair!


I had a post once, about my very long hair tangling, and I believe you directed me to these wonderful products. I use the cowboy magic conditioner a few times a week, and the silicone stuff (I think vetrolin was what my feed store had) on really bad rats. I squirt a drop in, work it thrpough and comb it out. No buildup or anything on my hair either, just wonderfully shiny and manageable


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

She was doing fairly well at taking care of it. Then she decided to do some twisty bun bull that left it a mess. I think she's learned her lesson, the first thing she did when she got up this morning was give it a good brushing to make sure there were no knots in it.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

Ardie/WI said:


> I'm all for a short, feminine, wash-and-wear style, expecially for the warm weather.


Ok... ya got me on this.... what kinda "style" can possibly be both short and feminine???


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## CountryWannabe (May 31, 2004)

First wash all that oil and mayo out with Dawn. Rinse, rinse then rinse some more. If Cowboy Magic doesn't work, look for a product called "The Stuff" at the feed store or ask your local friendly dog groomer to sell you some (it's not cheap) You want the concentrate, not the ready to use Stuff.

Mix some Stuff with your regular shampoo (quarter Stuff, three quarters shampoo) and mix well. Shampoo dry hair with this, working it gently throughout the hair - squeezing not rubbing - mats and all. Leave in for around 5-10 minutes then rinse VERY well. Squeeze as much water out of her hair as possible, using a towel or (better) an absorbent chamois thingy. Mix a spray of Stuff one ounce of concentrate to seven ounces of water. Spray liberally (no time to be a Conservative here) into her hair, squeezing it through as you go, paying particular attention to the mats. Let hair dry **thoroughly** before brushing out, starting at the ends and working up. 

The Stuff is a silicone based product, so not for use more often than necessary. It will also leave surfaces slick, so it is better to spray it outdoors or on carpeting if possible. 

Mary


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