Great Detangler.

So, I have been dreading the task of combing out and redoing a section of MayMay's yarn braids, as I promised myself I'd do this week. The problem with leaving them in too long is, they still look nice enough but they start to "lock" up--in other words, turn into little dreadlocks. Some parents do this on purpose and from all I've heard it's a very nice, low-maintenance and attractive hairstyle for kids if it's done right and maintained well. But I don't really feel locs are best for my girls at this point. Yarn braids have been good though, for MayMay.

Anyway, I read online about some good creme rinses and conditioners to be used as detanglers in this situation. And carted myself over to Sally's to go look at them. And was disappointed.

Petrolatum was the first, or if not, without fail the second or third, ingredient in all of them. The problem with petrolatum is it clogs the pores and also only coats the hair/skin instead of moisturizing. Coating can be good in some instances, like if your kid has an allergy to a certain food she eats and the skin absorbs it and tends to get eczema or some kind of outbreak after. This is why Eucerin works so well for Eczema... it has petrolatum and provides that barrier. But if my goal is detangling, I want the hair to be soaking IN all that stuff, getting soft and slippery, not gummy and waxy.

I decided to make my own comb-out.

Here's what I used.

In a spray bottle, Put:
1 cup coconut oil (at summertime room-temp it's liquid, but if it's cold you'll have to melt it on the stove.)
1 tablesoon pure vitamin E oil,
1 tablespoon of Herbal Essences Hydralicious reconditioning conditioner (any good combing conditioner would work... to make the hair slippery)
1 tsp honey
fill up the bottle to the top with water
shake it up before spraying.

It works soooo well. There were some nasty mats on the back of her head especially, but they combed right out after I sprayed this in and let it sit for a few seconds. She hardly cried, and this is a sign we're not tearing and ripping and damaging because let's just say MayMay is a crier :) We're working on it. I gave her a treat after today's hair session for "being good" (which means, don't cry at every single move I make, even if I"m not even touching your hair (chuckle) don't move your head, keep still and sit up straight). She did great, partly because of this comb out, I think.

Try it and tell me what you think.