Ahhh tangles. The nemesis of every woman, mother and child. The Achilles Heel of many a hair styling session.

Whether you have hair as thin as filigree or thick as a horse's tail, tangles can -- and do -- rear their ugly heads and make something as simple as combing through newly showered hair into a painful, time consuming process.

That's why, back in 2007, British colorist, Shaun Pulfrey invented the Tangle Teezer -- a plastic, handle-less implement with bristles that as The New York Times says are, "stiff enough to move through the hair but not so firm that they'd pull or break it."

The world was underwhelmed.

Convinced that he had a winner on his hands, Mr. Pulfrey went on the U.K.'s equivalent of "Shark Tank" and tried to get seed money from several esteemed venture capitalists. They didn't bite, called his invention "hair brained" and he was practically laughed off the set. Guess who's laughing now?

As soon as the show aired, viewers who'd been forever flummoxed by tangles, were so eager to try the tool that they crashed the Tangle Teezer website. And, before he knew it, Pulfrey was a hero to parents everywhere -- they even emailed him to thank him for having thought up the "magic brush."

Three years later, the Tangle Teezer came across the pond and landed in the ethnic hair-care aisles of Sally's Beauty Supply stores -- not that many people noticed. At first. Then, as Pulfrey told The Times, it caught on and sold like wildfire. "African-American women were just raving about it on blogs and YouTube. Word was going around, and they were all saying, 'I can't find a Sally's that stocks it.'"

Now, it's become a mainstream hair gizmo that people are clamoring to get their paws -- and tangles -- on. That's why it's currently available not only at Sally's, but at Urban Outfitters, Target and select hair salons nation wide (for a suggested retail price of $16). So, whether it's summer's fun in the waves and chlorine that're making you pull your hair out or if you're just prone to tangles, you may, at long last, have just had your prayers answered.