For a lot of mothers and fathers, washing and styling their kid's hair can be quite an ordeal. Detangling alone can be tedious and time-consuming. Here are a few tips to help reduce the amount of tangles in your child's hair.

1) Apply oil or conditioner to the hair before washing. This will help keep their hair soft and manageable during the washing cycle. Apply to dry hair and comb the hair to distribute the oil and work out any pre-existing knots or tangles.

2) Next, divide the hair into four sections. Wash and rinse one individual section at a time.

3) Focus on washing the roots, not the hair and massaging the product into the scalp in circular motions. Squeeze the product down the length of the hair.4). Rinse and immediately apply a creme rinse or detangler and twist back up. Move on to the next section. Continue on until all sections are washed and conditioned. Let the conditioner penetrate for a few minutes.

5). Unravel a section and rinse. Spritz with a leave-in and apply a light natural oil or moisturizer. Natural oils and pomades like shea butter or avocado oil work very well on kid's hair. Grab the hair by the roots and start detangling from the ends to the roots. Continue on, rinsing and detangling section by section. Then, braid, twist, roller set, Bantu knot, air dry or style as usual.

The point is to wash, condition and style the hair in sections so the hair does not become one big tangled mess. By keeping large sections separate, you are better able to retain control of the hair. Also, it allows the products you use to penetrate the hair and make it easier to style. It may seem like extra work, but once you get the hang of it, working in sections can really reduce the time and energy spent detangling your child's hair.