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Add a tiara, and no more tears!

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

My daughter is known around the "palace" as "the lovely Princess Lots-of-Locks," and that's for good reason. Her brown hair, which flows down her back to her bottom, has never been cut (well, except for the occasional trim of the bangs). "This is my baby hair," she'll tell people, holding up the ends of her hair to display the curl. 

Sure, her hair is beautiful, but all beauty comes with a price. In this case, the price was paid every morning, when our little princess would squeal, cry and pound my knees as I tried to brush the knots out of her locks. "It hurts!" she'd whine as I pulled the brush through. "It really really hurts, Mommy. Stop it!"

I explained that, if she wanted long hair, it would have to be brushed to keep it looking nice and healthy. I also offered that this brushing would be easier if she had shorter hair, and pointed out some of her friends who had cute little bobs.

"No, I love my long hair," she'd answer. Then, biting her lip, she'd let me brush through, wincing now and again as I encountered a tangle.

But the next morning, the tears returned. "Stop it!" she'd cry. And at the end of the ordeal, her hair looked gorgeous, but her face was stained with tears and my head was pounding. There had to be a better way to start the morning.

So, I decided to take Libby (and her head full of hair) shopping. "We're going to buy some magic spray," I told her, heading toward the hair care aisle of our local pharmacy. "We can spray this on your hair in the morning and it will help make the brushing easier."

She looked a little dubious, but was pleased to find a bottle of detangler with the images of three old favorites -- Belle, Cinderella and Aurora -- gracing the front. "This is what the princesses use before they put on their crowns!" she exclaimed as she placed it in our cart. 

That simple statement led me to part two of my great -- dare I say hair-raising? -- idea. I bought a plastic tiara which I added to our "hair caboodle" -- the case where we keep Libby's barrettes, scrunchies and hair ribbons. The next morning when she went to pick out the accessory for the day, she spied the tiara.

"Ooh, I want to wear that," she said, her eyes sparkling.

"Well, the tiara is only for special days," I told her.

"Like my birthday?" she asked.

"No, you don't have to wait until your birthday," I told her. Then I explained that she could wear the tiara to breakfast on the days we have no problems -- no tantrums, no squealing, no tears -- while doing her hair.

"I may never wear it," she said.  But I assured her the "magic spray" would help. I sprayed while she counted (12 sprays that day), then she stood stellar as I pulled her hair back into a long braid.

"Was that good?" she asked. In response, I placed the tiara on her head.

Now, all days don't go as easily as that first one, but we have a lot less tears and fewer headaches since the magic spray came into our lives. And you know what? There are days when Libby will forgo the tiara after the brushing. Some days, her beautifully brushed "crowning glory" is all the accessory she needs.