The most dreaded part of getting my children ready for school in the morning is dealing with my daughter's long tangled hair. It's amazing how tangled hair can get in one night! My daughter loves having long hair and plans to grow it as long as Rapunzel. Since long hair is here to stay I had to come up with some solutions.

When I was growing up I had long hair and had to endure many hours of hair brushing torture. The only solution at the time was a product called No More Tangles by Johnson & Johnson. It helped a little but surely wasn't the answer to my problems. Even if this was the only solution on earth I'd never use it today. If you're not familiar with my feelings about Johnson & Johnson this blog post explains one reason why I won't support them. Just a simple look at the  ingredients in this product would scare any parent looking for safe kids products.

Johnson's Kids No More Tangles Detangling Spray Strawberry

Ingredients: Water, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Benzoate, Dimethicone, Polysorbate 20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triloxane, Hydroxyethyl, Behenamidopropyl Dimonium Chloride, Citric Acid, Fragrance, Ceteth 10, Laureth 4

(Ingredients in bold are rating a score of “3” of higher in the EWG Skin Deep Database)

It's clear that the ingredients in this product are anything but natural so it's off limits for my family. Don't worry, I have good news. I've come up with three shortcuts to dealing with long tangled hair and you won't have to deal with the relentless crying every morning.

#1 The Best Kids Brush Ever

If you do some google searching for tangled hair solutions you'll surely come up with some information on the Knot Genie. I initially came across this hair brush in a natural moms forum. At $10 it's certainly worth a try but I was reluctant to say the least. At first glance it didn't look very magical but I was pleasantly surprised how well it works. We still use this brush today and it does reduce some of the tangled hair torture.

#2 Organic Detangling Spray

When you are dealing with dry tangled hair, a spray is the best way to go. We tried a number of different homemade recipes until we found something that worked. The key is marshmallow root, it's slippery nature and ability to moisturize is why it works so well. I also dabbled with some store bought products but never found anything I was in love with. That's why I'm excited to now have our winning handmade mixture for sale in my online shop.

#3 Shea Butter Conditioner

Another way is to make sure you're dealing with less tangles to begin with. After washing your daughter's hair, use a shea butter conditioner like this one, and use a wide tooth comb to comb it through then rinse as normal. Once the hair is toweled dry put in a loose braid before bed. In the morning there will be very little tangles to deal with.

These little tricks will certainly make your hair brushing task much easier for you and your daughter. These shortcuts have worked really well for us.

What is your best shortcut for tangled hair?