A Few of Our Favorite Things {Hair Care}

When it comes to hair and the almost-six-year-old set, it is an ongoing challenge. But dare I say, we might have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. And to that end, it’s time to share a few things that have worked. I might even go as far to say as they have created a little magic in the morning.

And a heckuva lot less stress.

Madeline’s hair is a texture completely unto its own. Nothing like mine. Nothing like Nick’s. And nothing that is easy.

And it’s long.

And she hates having it washed or brushed.

Because of the tangles and knots.

And no matter what I do, we are forever working on getting the knots and tangles out. Which make for teary mornings and frustrated starts to the day.

The first thing that has helped is a wet brush. And we have several. I stash them everywhere. Contrary to the unusual name, the brush doesn’t need to be wet to be used. But if you hold the hair towards the top of the roots when brushing, the wet brush goes through easier. And she fusses less. These can be found at your local beauty shop and most mass retailers (i.e.,  Bed Bath & Beyond and Target).

And it is the same principal with these Knot Genies. There are many other brushes like the Knot Genie that claim to be magic detanglers, including many as seen on tv versions. A similar concept to the wet brush, the bristles on the Knot Genie are thinner and in varying heights, and work well on particularly challenging knots.

But what about preventing knots to begin with …?

Therein lies my problem and frustration. She wants her hair long, so no getting around that. She sleeps on a satin pillowcase, which, although we’ve been using it for awhile now, I’m not convinced it helps. I put her hair in a braid every night before bed to prevent it from knotting up and tangling. She constantly wears a ponytail. We brush it religiously every morning and night.

Nothing prevents the knots and tangles. Her hair can go from zero to holy hell in a matter of minutes. We work tirelessly to get the knots out, but for me, the mystery was … how do we prevent them from happening to begin with? Nothing was working.

I think it’s purely a hair texture thing. But I was desperate.

We had a pow wow with some of our favorite hairstylists, and they recommended two things that have been positively life changing.

Life changing. A phrase I don’t use lightly.

The first was this Intensive Repair Shampoo and Conditioner from Dove. After a few uses, it made Madeline’s hair more manageable. More comb-able, and it also will strip out any product build-up you may have. The hairstylists mentioned that they were surprised at how well it worked, given it was an inexpensive  product. Me too.

And then we used a deep repair hair masque. The maraschino cherry on top of the life changing sundae. The package said to leave it on for seven minutes. While it was on, I combed it diligently through her hair, making sure every single piece was well covered. And as I did, the tangles and knots came right out. No tugging or fighting necessary. Not one tear or yelp from the peanut gallery. After the seven minutes was up, I rinsed it out, towel-dried her hair, and then braided it.

Her hair was the softest thing ever.

And the next morning when we took the braid out?

Even softer.

As if that was even possible.

And not a tangle or knot in sight.

Madeline was beyond happy, flipping her hair this way and that, exclaiming how good it felt.

“We should wash it every day with this stuff, Mom. This is awesome. Feel it!”

And when she came home after a full day at school?

Still perfect.

So if you have a crying child that has hair that is prone to tangles and knots. Try this stuff. Get a wet brush, this type of detangling brush, this shampoo and conditioner, and do this masque.

Life changing.

Tomorrow? A recipe!