No Tangles, No Tears: The Recipe for Managing Girls’ Hair with A Few Inexpensive Children’s Hair Products

My daughter has fine, wavy hair. I swear it gets tangled if you look at it funny. If we don’t keep it up with her hair, it can take 15 minutes in the morning to comb out all the snarls. Raise your hand if you have time for that.

Yep, that’s what I thought.

There’s a simple recipe for keeping girls’ hair tangle-free without taking endless time in the morning. It just requires a few inexpensive children’s hair products and a little time before bed!

The Ingredient List

Sulfate-Free Shampoo

Just use your own shampoo – no need to buy something new.

Bath Visor

The bath visor is called The Bath Princess Crown in our house for obvious reasons. It’s an ingenious little device that mostly keeps water out of your child’s eyes when you’re washing their hair. It totally revolutionized bath time for my older daughter, who despises getting water in her eyes.

Argan Oil

Argan Oil is a natural product for smoothing the hair. I actually bought it for my hair, but didn’t finish the bottle. My hair stylist gave me the idea to use it as a detangler and conditioner for my girls’ hair. It works perfectly, especially in the summer months when their hair gets super dry from the pool.

Wet Brush

I’m honestly not sure why the Wet Brush is so magical, but it is. My theory is that it pulls more gently on the hair and distributes the force across the scalp instead of just in one spot. Regardless of the explanation, this the only brush I use on my kids’ hair.

Wet Comb

Partner to the wet brush, the Wet Comb is really excellent for tough tangles and thicker hair.

Detangling Spray

Detangling spray is pretty important to have on hand. Spray in dry or wet hair, and let it sit in the hair for a minute before combing or brushing. It always eases the really tough knots and makes the combing go a bit faster. 

Wash Once a Week

I wash the girls’ hair once a week, usually on Sunday night, with my own sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner. If it’s summer, I try to wash their hair after every pool trip, although that doesn’t always happen! You can use a bath visor to keep shampoo, conditioner and water out of her eyes while washing. (This thing seriously revolutionized our bath time when we bough it!) After washing her hair with shampoo, put the conditioner in and then let it sit for a short time while you clean the rest of her body. Then rinse out the conditioner.

After my girls are out of the bath, I pat their hair dry (trying not to tangle it up again!). Then I pull out my secret detangling weapon: Argan oil. I bought this for myself and never really used it, but it’s magical on my kids’ hair. A little goes a LONG way with Argan oil, so a dime-sized amount will be enough for your kiddo’s hair. Comb the oil through her hair with your fingers until it’s distributed. Then, wash your hands with soap to get the oil off!

After you’ve put in the oil, comb or brush her hair. We really like the Wet Brush and Wet Comb. Since you’ve just used conditioner and Argan oil, you should have a pretty easy time getting all of the snarls out (I hope!). Once you’ve combed her hair, braid it very loosely and secure the end just enough to keep the braid in overnight.

This does take some time, but remember: we only do this once a week! And the work will really pay off in the morning.

On Non-Washing Days

On the other nights of the week, your routine can be a little quicker. Just spray your daughter’s hair with detangling spray and loosely braid! This will help you stay on top of the snarl situation. Plus, the braids will make your daughter’s hair look super cool and wavy in the morning!

In the Morning

In the morning, it’s as easy as taking the braid out and running a comb or brush through your kiddo’s hair. The front hair may fall out of the braid a little overnight and look like a big mess, but the back – which is the long and snarly part anyway – will stay in. It should be pretty easy to comb quickly!

If your daughter will let you do her hair (unlike mine), here are some favorite hair styles in our house to get the hair out of the girls’ faces. (Fair warning, I do have two sisters so I grew up doing hair, but I don’t think I’m particularly talented!)

Dutch Braid

This one is our favorite styles, and it’s not hard at all! It’s the BEST for keeping my daughters’ hair out of their faces. Sometimes it even lasts multiple days!

Half Up, Half Down

We call this “Get your hair out of your peanut butter toast.” This is apparently so simple that I couldn’t even find a video for it! Just pull half of the hair back into a ponytail, leaving the rest down.

Double Pony

This hairstyle is a favorite because the hair near their faces never, ever stays in a ponytail. This variation starts with the half-up, half-down hairdo. Then put the rest of the hair into a ponytail! This will keep the hair both out of her face and off of her neck!

Stay Ahead of It

A few consistent steps with these children’s hair products will keep girls’ hair tangle-free, and free up your morning for the other ten million things you have to do! This process is so painless that your kids will thank you too!