# Hair keeps breaking



## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

Raine has cottony and ultra fine hair. I keep her hair in a medium length about 4 inches long. She mats so easily and whenever I brush her, even while using detangling spray, her hair would break in chunks. I use Madan brush and Greyhound comb and I try to be as gentle as possible, using my fingers to pull the mats apart where possible. I use NS conditioner and every few weeks use Fur Butter but her hair just breaks so easily. Now some parts of her hair are spiky from all the breakage. Is there anything I can do to help prevent her hair from breaking? Any products I can use?


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## CeeCee's Mom (Sep 14, 2006)

Try Crown Royal Concentrate Plus Conditioner........it will help with the tangling between shampoos.......


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Some maltese just have hair that is more delicate and is difficult to keep from matting, no matter
what you do or use. 

I'll make a few suggestions. Try using a scalpmaster or cc brush for awhile. I love the Madan
brushes and use one, but for more delicate coats it may do some damage. 

I would also bathe her every 5 days to keep dirt and dust at a minimum. If she's scratching you
might check on food allergies. 

Try using a good moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Also, be sure to use a detangling
spray when you brush inbetween baths. That will help keep the breakage to a minimum.


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

I don't know much about the products you're using but NEVER brush wet hair. When hair is wet it's at it's most delicate state - It stretches, and when released it snaps thus causing breakage. Always use a comb, and try one with widely spaced teeth to start, moving on to more closely spaced as her hair dries. Save the brush for dried hair. Hopefully others will be able to give you more tips.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

I have never used a comb when drying a maltese. I always use a brush.
The secret is to work out all mats BEFORE bathing. This way you will not
lose as much hair as soap and water will lock in existing mats.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

I noticed her hair doesn't break as much when I brush her right after bath (I do brush all the mats out before bath as well). It just seems to break more on the days following the bath. I usually bath her every 2 weeks as her hair seems very dry (hence, the Fur Butter treatment every other bath). On her normal bath day, I use Nature Specialties Plum Silky shampoo follow by their Re-moisturizer. I only lightly rinse out the conditioner. I used to use Coat Handler conditioner in the past but found it wasn't hydrating enough so I recently switched to Nature Specialties line but her hair still feels dry to me. 

QUOTE


> 'll make a few suggestions. Try using a scalpmaster or cc brush for awhile. I love the Madan
> brushes and use one, but for more delicate coats it may do some damage.[/B]


I'm going to check these brushes out. Thanks. Her hair is super delicate and fine. It can get all tangled just from me petting her. :smheat: 


QUOTE


> Try Crown Royal Concentrate Plus Conditioner........it will help with the tangling between shampoos.......[/B]


I'm going to order some. She has more products than I do!


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

One other thing in case someone doesn't know. When you are brushing/blowing the coat dry,
always brush by layers starting from the bottom and working up to the top of the topline.
You can use an alligator clip to hold the top hair out of the way while drying the lower layers.
Also, when encountering a mat, you can soak with detangler and then work from the end
of the mat up. You will, hopefully, lose less hair this way.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

The Madan brushes vary in how soft they are based on color. You may want to look at a softer one depending on what you have. I like my scalpmaster for shorter coats. It doesn't brush through my heavier coats, however. 

I would bathe every 7 days. A clean coat is less likely to mat. If you use good conditioners, you won't hurt the skin. Does she have flaky dry skin? If so, some of my clients have had good luck using selsun blue shampoo. Otherwise I usually recommend a hypoallergenic, soap free shampoo.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

QUOTE (JMM @ Aug 30 2009, 02:16 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824062


> The Madan brushes vary in how soft they are based on color. You may want to look at a softer one depending on what you have. I like my scalpmaster for shorter coats. It doesn't brush through my heavier coats, however.
> 
> I would bathe every 7 days. A clean coat is less likely to mat. If you use good conditioners, you won't hurt the skin. Does she have flaky dry skin? If so, some of my clients have had good luck using selsun blue shampoo. Otherwise I usually recommend a hypoallergenic, soap free shampoo.[/B]


I use the pink Madan brush. It works quite well on Raine's hair. I'll try to use more detangler spray and comb even more gently. I was afraid too much detangler was going to make her hair greasy but I guess that won't happen if I bath her every week. I was afraid if I bath her too often, it was going to dry her hair out even more. She doesn't have flaky skin but her hair is really fine like cotton balls LOL. She loves to rub along the sofa and her day bed which makes her even more matted. I'm going to ask the groomer to shorten her hair by about 1 1/2" and shave down her belly this Wednesday. Her neck and chest also matted a lot as well. It's at least a 1/2 hour brushing every night and within the hour she's all tangled again. :smilie_tischkante:


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

Is her hair also thick? If so you can have your groomer thin out some of the fluffier sections for better managability.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

QUOTE (PreciousPrince @ Aug 30 2009, 07:31 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824185


> Is her hair also thick? If so you can have your groomer thin out some of the fluffier sections for better managability.[/B]


She has lots and lots of hair and after I finished brushing her she looks all fluff up like a cotton candy. I'm going to ask about thinning out her hair. It sounds like it may help with our situation more than just shorten it. My groomer is also a reputable Maltese breeder and she shows her dogs. I never thought to ask her about thinning even though I've seen it mentioned here on SM. Perhaps this will allow me to keep her hair a bit longer?? It'd so nice to not have to cut her hair too short.


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

QUOTE (cleooscar @ Aug 30 2009, 02:35 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824098


> QUOTE (JMM @ Aug 30 2009, 02:16 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824062





> The Madan brushes vary in how soft they are based on color. You may want to look at a softer one depending on what you have. I like my scalpmaster for shorter coats. It doesn't brush through my heavier coats, however.
> 
> I would bathe every 7 days. A clean coat is less likely to mat. If you use good conditioners, you won't hurt the skin. Does she have flaky dry skin? If so, some of my clients have had good luck using selsun blue shampoo. Otherwise I usually recommend a hypoallergenic, soap free shampoo.[/B]


I use the pink Madan brush. It works quite well on Raine's hair. I'll try to use more detangler spray and comb even more gently. I was afraid too much detangler was going to make her hair greasy but I guess that won't happen if I bath her every week. I was afraid if I bath her too often, it was going to dry her hair out even more. She doesn't have flaky skin but her hair is really fine like cotton balls LOL. She loves to rub along the sofa and her day bed which makes her even more matted. I'm going to ask the groomer to shorten her hair by about 1 1/2" and shave down her belly this Wednesday. Her neck and chest also matted a lot as well. It's at least a 1/2 hour brushing every night and within the hour she's all tangled again. :smilie_tischkante:
[/B][/QUOTE]


I use the pink Madan also. I find it a bit sharper on the ends than the cc or scalpmaster. If you work through the hair a layer
at a time the scalpmaster or cc will work.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Keep in mind that not all coats take well to thinning. Having multiple lengths of hair can cause additional matting.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

QUOTE (JMM @ Aug 31 2009, 01:34 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824483


> Keep in mind that not all coats take well to thinning. Having multiple lengths of hair can cause additional matting.[/B]


Thanks, that's good to know. I'll ask the groomer when we see her on Wednesday if she thinks it'll work on Raine. Last January we cut her hair down to about 2" but it still matted afterwards. Bless her heart though, Raine is so patient and will let me brush her for hours as long as I do it gently and don't hurt her. I just hate seeing clumps of hair broken off. She's going to run out of hair eventually. Yikes!


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## Kutsmail1 (Dec 26, 2007)

I would definitely have a routine bath schedule. Zippy has a similar coat. I find if I bathe her one time a week, her coat is so much more manageable.

There are some products I have found very useful. The Crown Royale is one as recommended earlier. Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine is another.

I have recently started using the Pet Silk line in addition to that. It has made a difference and I love it.

When I dry Zippy after a bath, I use Show Sheen in the drying process. It has cut down on tangles and also helps repel dirt which causes more of a problem with tangles.

From another thread on SM, I learned the value of Flax see oil, and fish oil. Since I have been using these, I have seen a big difference in Zippy's coat. 

Zippy isn't a show dog either...she is a "show off busybody", but I understand the each of us want to do the very best we can in taking care of their coats.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

QUOTE


> She has lots and lots of hair and after I finished brushing her she looks all fluff up like a cotton candy. I'm going to ask about thinning out her hair. It sounds like it may help with our situation more than just shorten it. My groomer is also a reputable Maltese breeder and she shows her dogs. I never thought to ask her about thinning even though I've seen it mentioned here on SM. Perhaps this will allow me to keep her hair a bit longer?? It'd so nice to not have to cut her hair too short.[/B]


She is changing coat out. If I remember right she is around 15 to 18 months old. What no one ever told me about Maltese is that they change out coat at around that age. The coat becomes a nightmare and needs daily brushing. Bathing every 3 to 5 days to keep it moist and the biggest thing is when the coat is around 4 to 6 inches long is when it tangles the most. 
All this time I thought I was ruining coat, but in reality they (dogs) were changing coat out. As an owner/handler it takes me longer to finish a dog than a more known owner/handler or pro handler. Jolinda did this while out with Greg and then I find out they change coat out 2 or 3 times in a 4 or 5 year span. 

QUOTE


> Try Crown Royal Concentrate Plus Conditioner........it will help with the tangling between shampoos.......[/B]


This also works for that type of coat. Then I use Hansen's Cherry Re-Moisture and leave them in it for 10 minutes then rinse out. I also use a detangler that is costly, but works....... http://shop.ivsanbernard.us/index.php?main...dex&cPath=8 It loosens the mat so it can be carefully pulled apart.

JMO Tina


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

QUOTE (Tina @ Aug 31 2009, 08:46 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=824634


> QUOTE





> She has lots and lots of hair and after I finished brushing her she looks all fluff up like a cotton candy. I'm going to ask about thinning out her hair. It sounds like it may help with our situation more than just shorten it. My groomer is also a reputable Maltese breeder and she shows her dogs. I never thought to ask her about thinning even though I've seen it mentioned here on SM. Perhaps this will allow me to keep her hair a bit longer?? It'd so nice to not have to cut her hair too short.[/B]


She is changing coat out. If I remember right she is around 15 to 18 months old. What no one ever told me about Maltese is that they change out coat at around that age. The coat becomes a nightmare and needs daily brushing. Bathing every 3 to 5 days to keep it moist and the biggest thing is when the coat is around 4 to 6 inches long is when it tangles the most. 
All this time I thought I was ruining coat, but in reality they (dogs) were changing coat out. As an owner/handler it takes me longer to finish a dog than a more known owner/handler or pro handler. Jolinda did this while out with Greg and then I find out they change coat out 2 or 3 times in a 4 or 5 year span. 

QUOTE


> Try Crown Royal Concentrate Plus Conditioner........it will help with the tangling between shampoos.......[/B]


This also works for that type of coat. Then I use Hansen's Cherry Re-Moisture and leave them in it for 10 minutes then rinse out. I also use a detangler that is costly, but works....... http://shop.ivsanbernard.us/index.php?main...dex&cPath=8 It loosens the mat so it can be carefully pulled apart.

JMO Tina 
[/B][/QUOTE]

I think it's very possible that she's changing coat. I didn't know they change coat a few times over their first 5 years. :huh: Goes to show how clueless I was even though I have 5 Maltese over the years but then I always kept the other ones in puppy cut. I was just thinking to myself that this experience is so similar to when her adult coat was coming in around 9 months. We finally gave up then and had her hair trimmed shorter last January. Things were going well for a while but this last 4-6 weeks, her hair would tangle so much more and break all the time. Even her top knot hair was getting spiky--punk rock-ish (Rod Stuart spiky style) and I normally wrap it with paper. She's 18 months now and I thought her coat changing days were over. Blah. 

We took her to the groomer yesterday and trimmed her hair aroudn the body to about 2" while keeping the head/ears/face long. She looks very cute but I miss her long hair look. We'll try to grow it out again over the fall/winter. May be all the new products that I just ordered will help (I think I need a bigger house with bigger a closet/bathroom just for her). She'll always be my little princess even though she looks a bit like a boy right now. I'll try to post her new pic as soon as I have a chance to download it.


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