My daughter has gorgeous, long, thick hair that curls at the ends, and forms sweet little tendrils around her face … once in a blue moon. The other 99 percent of the time, it's a tangled, twisted mess or back in a ponytail or braid to avoid said tangled, twisted mess.
Our battle with the hairbrush is not fun, and we've tried a host of detanglers. Some of them work quite well, but when I see the list of chemicals in them, I think I'd rather go back to the battle of the brush. Sure, there are natural detanglers out there, but they are expensive, and my daughter has a LOT of hair. So I've found a host of recipes for homemade detanglers that are easy to make as well as effective for adults and toddlers alike. Here are five of my favorites.
1. From Green Mommas, this herbal detangler recipe calls for water, marshmallow root (which can be found in natural food stores), apple cider vinegar, and oils, such as olive or coconut.
2. From Naturally Curly, this recipe uses aloe vera gel, essential oil, and grapefruit seed extract.
3. This homemade coconut oil detangler will leave your hair smelling tropical. You simply heat the oil and comb a few drops through hair at a time.
4. This lavender detangler recipe calls for just 1 cup of lavender water, one vitamin E capsule, and 1/2 tsp. of jojoba oil.
5. Finally, an old standby is to take any natural conditioner, mix it with some water in a spray bottle, then mist onto hair. You'll have to play with the right combination for the hair you're working with, but start with a one-third conditioner to two-thirds water ratio. It works great on wet or dry hair.
What types of detanglers do you use?
Image via Elizabeth/Flickr
