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Our Ambassador Frankie, @frankiesaysrelaxaboutt21 and our friend Bella, @thewondersofbella both found Denman through a friend who recommended them so we asked their Mums to share a few insights into why they love their Denman so much so this article can try to help others.
Frankie is 8 years old. She has a dual diagnosis of Down Syndrome and Autism. She also has sensory processing disorder, and is pre verbal. She loves water and spinning around. She is a model for A Special Face Agency and recently featured in the first bridal shoot for disabled models with Models of Diversity. Her favourite foods are crisps (Skips and Wotsits) and yoghurts.
What is the biggest misunderstanding people have when it comes to having a child with Down Syndrome?
They are always happy 😆
I can assure you at times Frankie can be quite the diva, she has the same emotions as anyone. She has days where she is happy, sad, angry, excited.
Frankie always looks so beautiful. Can you talk us through your daily hair care with her?
For me, since Frankie was a baby, my biggest aim was pride in her appearance. I’m not the best mother stylist but I do try to give her a really positive self image. We use a detangling spray on her hair each morning, Frankie stims a lot (Autism) and so her hair around the ears can become quite knotty, we use our Denman D90L Tangle Tamer on the sides, and the D93M on the rest to style it. If I want a really good parting then I pull out the D6. She loves to chew her hair so it’s rare it is ever left down.
What makes Denman the perfect brushes and the ones you and Frankie choose?
It was my sister who brought Frankie her first Denman, she had seen me really struggle getting Frankie’s hair done. It used to cause huge meltdowns because of Frankie’s sensory issues with her hair. We used the D90L and I’m not joking it was a huge game changer, before Frankie would lash out having her hair done, but with this she didn’t at all. It was then that I shared this huge achievement with her followers on Frankie Says Relax About T21, the response from parents struggling with the same issues was huge. That’s when Denman reached out and asked if Frankie could be an ambassador for them, and we’ve never looked back. Our page with the help of Denman has provided what I would say sensory aiding brushes to many of her followers.
What are your top tips for other parents who might be reading this?
I was at the point of cutting Frankie’s hair off before I found Denman. This isn’t an exaggeration. My anxiety every day when it came to sorting Frankie’s hair was through the roof. I would get head butted, bitten, pinched and scratched because she hated her hair being touched. We never ever had to chop it off. My girl now has gorgeous long blonde hair styled daily. DENMAN literally changed our lives.
Bella is 5 years old, she has Down Syndrome, developmental delay and sensory processing disorder. Bella is a little ray of sunshine on a rainy day. There is no other way to describe her sassy determined little self.
What is the biggest misunderstanding people have when it comes to having a child with Down Syndrome?
The biggest misunderstanding is people assume people with Down Syndrome can’t. They can’t do this or that because they have Down syndrome, when in actual fact they probably can, they just need a little bit of help to get there.
Bella always looks so beautiful. Can you talk us through your daily hair care with her?
We spray her hair with a detangler before we brush it with one of the Denman D90L Tangle Tamers. She doesn’t always like to sit and let me do her hair so I give her her own brush and a doll and she does her doll’s hair whilst I do her hair.
What makes Denman the perfect brushes and the ones you and Bella choose?
The Denman brushes were actually recommended to us by a fellow mum who also has a child with Down syndrome, and since we tried one it has been the best experience of hair brushing we have had and we haven’t looked back.
What are your top tips for other parents who might be reading this?
I’d highly recommend trying a Denman brush if you have a child who doesn’t particularly like their hair brushing, as they are gentle on the scalp and with a bit of tangle tamer the knots glide straight out.
