DD4, my little princess, has very long hair. She loves her hair. I remember over a year and a half ago when I got my hair cut short her biggest concern was that I was going to make her cut her hair!
An active 4 year old girl makes a mess with long hair, and I hate having to brush out tangles. I have vivid memories of the pain of having my tangled up hair brushed out as a child (sorry mom-guess I’m scarred for life). So I usually use homemade detangler spray to help out.
Detangler is so simple to make that I don’t know why anyone buys those overpriced bottles of the stuff in the store. All you have to do is mix a decent conditioner (personally I have about 3 cases of VO5 I bought at a caselot sale for $.33 a bottle over a year ago-I don’t like Sauve conditioner which never seems to work for me) with water in a spray bottle. The ratio is about 1 part conditioner to 6 parts water. I don’t measure, I just squirt a decent amount in the little squirt bottle and fill the rest up with water and shake. It smells pretty because I have Freesia scented conditioner, and it works. (here is an actual recipe for those of you who need exact proportions!)
An added bonus is that on days that I don’t have time to wash my short hair before heading out the door I just spray it down with the mix and then comb out the bedhead and let it air dry (I don’t blowdry anyway).
Something I have just rediscovered and started using is a very old, old trick. I actually thought of it because I have been rereading all of the “Little House on the Prairie” books. I have started braiding the little princesses hair right before she goes to bed. It doesn’t have to be particuarly even or pretty-it just needs to be braided. I do my own sloppy version of a french braid, DH just pulls it to the nape of her neck and braids it normally. Now when she wakes up we just undo the braid and the hair is barely tangled at all. Guess sometimes the best tip is an oldy but goody!
This is a great idea no matter what your age. I’m 50 and I prefer to have my hair at least shoulder length. Thanks for a great tip!
:)Clare
Glad to help 🙂
I know it is winter where you all are…. but to keep tangles out when in the water (salt water especially) I put a generous amount of full strength conditioner in my hair before getting into the water. It keeps the tangles out and helps minimize sun/salt damage.
I’ve also heard that a few drops of essential oil mixed in with water does the trick as well. Plus a way to save money (and your hair as well!) is to only shampoo the roots of your hair and only condition the ends.
I love this tip and it works well. My only question is how long can the mixture stay fresh?
missnewwoman-I’m not sure. Since I just use a small spray bottle and have to use it on Princess’s hair every day, it doesn’t stick around long. I would assume that conditioner is full of various preservatives-so it probably would last quite a long time 🙂