Latest / The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast / Why Does My Kid's Hair Keep Matting? | The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast Ep. 29

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Why Does My Kid's Hair Keep Matting? | The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast Ep. 29 · The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast

• 0:00
  [Intro music]
• 0:21
  Jess: Welcome back to The Pixie Garden Hair Podcast. I'm Jess with Delena Markland. Delena, this one is for parents. You brush your kid's hair in the morning, and by bedtime there is a knot at the back of their head that feels like felt. Why does that keep happening?
• 0:36
  Delena: The first thing I look at is the shampoo in the bathtub. Most kids use a two-in-one, shampoo and conditioner in the same bottle, and those just do not have enough conditioner in them. There is not enough slip. Without slip, the hair grabs onto itself, and it mats.
• 0:53
  Jess: Slip. Say more about that.
• 0:55
  Delena: Slip is what lets one hair slide past another instead of catching on it. Conditioner is what gives hair slip. A two-in-one cleans, but it does not leave enough conditioner behind, so the hair stays rough, and rough hair tangles.
• 1:08
  Jess: So what do you tell parents to do?
• 1:11
  Delena: Switch to an adult shampoo and a separate conditioner, even for little kids. Shampoo the scalp, then condition the lengths, so the hair actually gets the slip it needs. It is a simple change, and it is the first one I recommend.
• 1:26
  Jess: What if there is already a mat?
• 1:28
  Delena: Do not start pulling at it with a dry brush. Wash it first with a good shampoo and conditioner, because slip is everything here. Then work a chunk of conditioning balm right into the mat and give it a minute to soften.
• 1:41
  Jess: And then the comb.
• 1:43
  Delena: Then the comb, and how you hold the hair matters more than the tool. Hold the hair above the mat, between the mat and the scalp, so when you work at the knot you are never pulling on your child's scalp. Pulling on the scalp is what hurts. Go slowly, one small section at a time.
• 2:00
  Jess: Which comb do you reach for?
• 2:02
  Delena: The Bamboo Comb. It avoids static, and it moves the natural oils from the scalp through the hair, which is safe and healthy for it. If your child has long hair, switch to a boar bristle brush once the mat is out, the Smooth and Polish brush. And if they have curls, use a curl brush that settles into the curl instead of raking through it.
• 2:22
  Jess: Can you do this on wet hair? Everyone says never brush wet hair.
• 2:27
  Delena: You can, if you do it right. Wet hair is full of water, and it actually has more elasticity than dry hair. The damage comes from pulling, not from the water. So the rule is slip first. Conditioner in, or a leave-in conditioner, so the comb glides instead of drags.
• 2:46
  Jess: What about when it is really bad? A big, solid mat.
• 2:50
  Delena: That is when you bring them to a stylist. In the salon, for an extreme mat, I can make a couple of careful snips with thinning shears in the densest heart of the mat, which loosens it without cutting a chunk of hair off. That is a professional tool and a professional judgment call. Please do not try it at home with kitchen scissors.
• 3:09
  Jess: Any everyday prevention tips?
• 3:12
  Delena: Keep it simple. Real conditioner every wash, not a two-in-one. A gentle comb. And catch tangles while they are small, because a small tangle is a lot easier on both of you than a mat that has been building all week.
• 3:25
  Jess: Where do parents find what you mentioned?
• 3:28
  Delena: thepixiegarden.com. The Bamboo Comb, the Smooth and Polish brush, and a shampoo and conditioner bar set, so the shampoo and the conditioner are separate.
• 3:37
  Jess: All linked on this episode's page with the full written guide. See you next week.
• 3:41
  [Outro music]