Question for the Long-Haired Ladies...

I never let them get started. Honestly, when I get up in the morning I do something with my hair to corral it, braids, twists, multi-tie ponytail, barrettes, whatever. Its like picking what clothes you're going to wear that day, you pick out your hair apparel too because a really bad snarl is the pits! When they do happen you just have to take your time. Grab the snarl and gently start at one side sliding out a few hairs at a time, that's one technique. I have three boys with hair nearly to their butts and they can REALLY get it tangled sometimes. One has super straight hair and the technique above works really well for him too. One has kind of curly hair but its very fine so his tangles come out with a good brushing from the bottom up. The other has the thickest hair I've ever seen and he gets these dreads going in the back like you wouldn't believe and you know what, I just cut them out sometimes and the hair's so thick you can't even notice it. (I don't recommend this, but he's a boy and some wild hairs don't really matter to him at all) My husband has super, super curly ringlet kind of hair and he gets these dreadlock kind of mats too but he doesn't have enough hair left to go chopping them off and I have to yell at him when he starts tearing at them so for him I sit down and spritz a TON of leave in conditioner, then gently work from the bottom up and slowly slide out each dreadlocked snarl. For some reason this technique can take a frizzy mass that's sticking out about two feet on all sides and turn it into the most gorgeous ringlet curls you'd ever want to see.My number one defense is still to get them to wear their ponytail holders though. Prevention is the key!Good luck with your hair!Best wishes,DawnHi, guys! What do you do when you get a really bad> tangle/snarl in your hair? My hair is very wavy and is> constantly matting. I've used all kinds of products,> but sometimes nothing works. I've even been tempted to> cut them out! Just curious as to how the rest of you> handle snarls. Thanks!> Jen

> My number one defense is still to get them to wear> their ponytail holders though. Prevention is the key!What sort of ponytail holders do they wear? I ask because I have a younger brother (almost 12 now) with long hair, and he really can't afford to be seen wearing anything "girly" at school (he's in Chicago public schools, after all!). I'm looking for something he can use to keep his hair under control that still looks masculine. He gets awful tangles sometimes--his hair is even finer and more fragile than mine, and it curls, which makes it worse.Laura Janelswanson@sunflower.bio.indiana.edu

Hi Laura Jane!Actually, I make them their own hairties, or should I say we kind of make them together as little crafts projects. They get to choose and string the beads and I do all the other hand work for them. They're fanatics for their favorite colors, (green, purple and red) so we search for not too girly beads and work with those. My husband has been wearing some small discreet fimo ceramics (a sort of tie dye pattern to them) for a couple years now and he's actually had other men ask him where he got them! When was the last time you saw guys discussing tips on how to accessorize!! But recently he's really taken to some sterling silver hogan beads and some carved carnelian and I'm hoping to use something similar to launch a whole mens line with Karen and Jeff. They're much smaller beads than the womens stuff with plain black elastic and subtle earthy kind of tones to them. Stay tuned! The guys have actually expressed lots of interest because its very tough to find hair items designed just with them in mind so your question is quite timely!Very best wishes. Take care of that lovely hair of yours!Dawn