How Can I Keep My Daughters Hair from Tangling at Night?!

My girls have very long, slightly wavy hair that is a nightmare to brush out. They sleep with their hair braided. Problem solved.

This is my daughter's successful anti-tangling regime:
- Detangling hairbrush from Sephora. WELL worth the price. It works.
- Garnier Fructis leave in hair conditioning cream or shine serum. It makes the hair so soft and shiny and leaves no residue. Just a tad will do it.
- Satin pillow case
- hair in pony tail to bed. Doesn't bother her.

She's been doing this since Toddlerhood.
And her hair no longer is a tangly mess.
But nice and shiny and not tangled, the next morning.

And you need to regularly trim the dry ends off of her hair.
Dry hair ends and split ends, makes the hair tangle.

I would braid my daughters hair at night. Plus, if you braid it while it's wet, it makes a cute wave the next morning.

Keep going with the tangle spray. Is your daughter's hair long enough to braid at night? If it is, give that a try. Braid it when her hair is still damp. I tried it on my granddaughters one summer, and it helped; there were a few tangles still, but those were more manageable.

I have long hair. I loosely braid and use a satin case. I have naturally wavy hair, so braiding does not change what it looks like. I know some people with very straight hair who don't what their hair looks like after braiding. If she doesn't mind how it look or has body, braiding is a good option.

I kept my girls hair short until they could manage it themselves (I have NO patience for hair drama LOL!)
They had darling little bobs which were both feminine and easy to maintain. Learning how to wash and brush their own hair was a valuable skill IMO, and one they both mastered by the age of six, because they wanted longer hair!
Give your girl the power and she will rise to the occasion :-)
p.s braiding every night will work too, if you and your daughter are up for that.

Braids. It's the only thing that would work on my hair when I was younger.

2 braids, Laura Ingalls style, should do the trick

I have also heard that using satin pillow cases will help keep tangles to a minimum.

I have long hair and so does my daughter. We refrain from braids because we wear our hair straight. We opt to use little heat as well so ironing out the hair in the morning is not a daily option.

We swear by our satin pillow cases and will not sleep on anything else. We pack our own satin cases when we travel, it's worth it!!

When my daughter was young, she had hair to her butt. She hated the whole brushing process as well. We had a spiny, pokey type comb brush for wet hair, with a squirt or 5 of tangle spray, then a single FAT braid with only a cloth loose type pony binder (not a tight all day type one) to hold it in.

We let it air dry as much as we could before braiding it.

Then for morning, we had a Boars hair brush to quickly get through it Easy-Peasy. She almost always wore a pony tail during the day. A tight type one.

So a wet hair spiny brush and a boars hair morning brush. Did the trick for years and years. When she was 12 she donated 14 inches of hair and has gone shorter and shorter since (shes 18 now and wears a shorter inverted bob)

Good Luck!

We have the same problem and I have heard from many to use only satin pillowcases. I have not made the plunge yet but plan to.

Braid her hair at night. My daughter has curly (not wavy, CURLY) hair. Right now she has it in a short style, which is easier for her to comb and style. But when it's long enough, I either braid it or put it in a ponytail. I have to wet it down to comb the next morning, but the comb slides right through. If it's too short for 1 braid, then put it in 2 braids.

We always used to do a "night-night" braid. Just loose and low with a pony holder at the end. It helps a lot.

As far as not brushing her hair - trust me, bad idea. I have friends who took that tactic, first of all their kids always look a mess and second of all, they are in school now and still don't want their hair brushed. Personal hygeine is something that I am WAY in to! And I tell mine all the time, everyone brushes teeth, brushes hair, etc EVERY DAY. No exceptions on that one.

put it in a loose ponytail with a cloth scrunchi so it doesn't crimp the hair. Then wet it down a little in the morning with a wet comb to get it all back in place.

First know that this too shall pass. I hope someone has suggestions on how to keep hair from tangling while sleeping- but until then, it's ok to leave her hair alone. It won't ruin her to go without brushed hair.
I just read this article & it totally fits your dilemma:
http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/hair-brushing-is-safety-...
Good luck!

I had the same problem with my DD's hair. I have 2 solutions:

1) the braid. but we didn't always have the patience for this at night, and eventually DD decided she wanted straight hair

2) night cap. bought it at Sally. hers is satin. (think little house on the prarie.) she pops it on as she's laying down and her hair remains neat and tidy all night long. also keeps her hair oils off the pillow which I credit her beautiful teenage skin to. dh and i certainly weren't pimple free when we were teenagers!

Hi CM
You could probably try this:
Depending on the length of your daughter's hair, you could probably part her hair and tie each section in two loose braids or ponytails (loose enough so that they don't hurt at bed time). That way, there's no pressure on the crown or the nape. I used to do that when my little one had longish hair. So in the morning I just had remove bands, brush the hair slightly and tie hair again. Saved time and effort. I won't hurt if the braids or ponytails aren't too tight. My daughter is about the same age as yours and I wouldn't recommend using any products on the child's hair yet - leave-in conditioners, de-tanglers in my opinion, contain some amount of chemical however much 'herbal' they might claim to be. Natural oils like coconut is the best. I used to have a very tough time with her very thick, curly hair and had to recently (very sadly) chop off her locks, hoping to grow them back when she understands about maintaining them. Best of luck with your little one.

I use the detangling spray too after bath. I also blow dry her hair and then put in two braids. Then in the morning I take them out and spray her hair again and brush it.

I highly recommend two braids.

I don't know what her texture of hair is but do what you do with the detangler spray products ( i use organic spray) at night and separate it into 4 sections (comb out from bottom to top one section at a time) (the bristles on the brush you're using may be too large) and braid it into 4 brands and use the small plastic "rubberbands" on the ends (hair doesn't wrap around those like the rubberbands, they just slide off) and take it down last after you've put on her clothes and before breakfast. Do this method in other styles that you might like as well at a later date. It may be a little wavy when you take it down but at least it will be less painful and still cute. It may also help her to sleep in a little silk night cap which helps keep hair in place at night as well (if you style it at night (colorful ponytail holders) and just get up and go in the morning) p.s. sleeping in bands doesn't give my 4 1/2 yr old or my now 19 y/o stiff necks. :)

my mom used to braid my hair into one loose braid each night. it cuts way down on the tangles and bonus gives just a hint of wave.

Hi there,

Do you use conditioner on your daughter's hair? I would suggest using either regular conditioner and a detangling spray, or just using leave-in conditioner. My daughter's hair used to be the same way, but it's better since we started using conditioner. Also, using a wide-toothed comb (not a brush) is better. Start from the ends (not the top) to minimize hurting her, and make sure to spray and comb while her hair is still quite wet. And if you're not already doing this, I recommend that you towel dry her hair gently to reduce tangling.

Best,
R.

my daughter was like that and one day we bought her a pillow case with her initial on it, she just had to have it, and it turned out to be the solution. It was a satin type of material and from then on her hair was perfect every morning.
So, buy a satin pillow case.
My other daughter that didn't help much, but she always had longer hair. Finally at 4 1/2 she decided she wanted it cut really short. The stylist cut off the ponytail worth that we were donating then said, "her curls are so beautiful" I said, um, she is not the one with curls - this one (older daughter) is... turns out under all that straight long hair that tangled all the time was a beautiful curl. So, your other solution may be if her hair is straight, there may really be curl underneath so you can treat it like curly hair or cut it short.
Good luck, try the pillow case first.

With one of my daughters, I put a loose braid in at night. No tangles in the morning. Worked like a charm.

Just loosely braid her hair before bedtime.
One braid is good or you can part her hair and do two braids.
You can also do French or Dutch braids.

Some of these are pretty complicated braids, but they are fun to look at and will give you ideas.

http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/Braiding_Tips.htm

http://www.braidedimage.com/Braided_Image_Hair_Braiding/P...

I put my daughters long hair in a loose braid. She gets frizzies around her scalp from lying on her pillow but at least she doesn't end up with the gawdawful rats nest that she would get if it wasn't tied back at all.

Kids tangle spray (we used to use Johnson and Johnson) is actually terrible, leaves a sticky drying residue that builds up and will make it worse. The other suggestions are great, braids and satin!