My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Parenting

Toddler haircare!

13 replies

takealettermsjones · 12/10/2021 21:13

My DD is 15 months and has a decent amount of hair. It's down past her collar and ears, and it was in her eyes until I bit the bullet and trimmed a tiny bit off her fringe this week!

I realise this is a silly question but I'm just not sure how to start caring for her hair properly. We currently don't do anything besides wash and comb it, but it does look all over the place. I suppose it's just the length but it looks messy, like it's never combed.

I'm not sure whether to start blow drying this early because I don't want to damage the hair and she's also been a bit frightened of things like hand dryers in the past.

Just looking for experience really of young kids with longish hair - what did you do?

I realise this is really trivial btw! Thanks for any help 🙂

OP posts:
Report
Fallagain · 13/10/2021 08:54

The Boris Johnson look is fine and cute on toddlers. I only started to blow dry but not style my kids hair when it was too wet for them to go to bed.

Report
HappyAsASandboy · 13/10/2021 09:39

Just wash and comb it. Pin it back with some hair slides to keep it off her face, on in a ponytail if she gets a sweaty neck.

No need to blow dry it. I'm not really sure it would make any difference to the style of her hat anyway, once she's rubbed her head all over a pillow, done three rollypollies and put half her lunch in there Smile

Messy toddler hair is just part of their charm Smile

PS if you don't want her to have a fringe as she grows up, don't trim it now. Just pin it back with hair clips abs the hair will learn to grow backwards from the hairline instead of forwards ....

Report
Fdksyihfd · 13/10/2021 09:45

My DD had hair like this; she’s now 4 and it’s only in the last year that it’s been able to look vaguely tidy. Mainly I found it helpful to every 3 months have it trimmed to encourage it to grow. I tried using hair slides and hair bands but my DD wasn’t a fan. It used to bother me as it just always looked all over the place but I just had to go with it

Report
grey12 · 13/10/2021 10:19

DD2 is 3.5yo and has never had a haircut..... covid and a lot else happening..... anyways, it's not super needed

I struggled with her hair A LOT! but that's because she's has curly hair and I had straight. So for her hair I wash with baby shampoo and then put quite a bit of Cantu conditioner and slowly slowly detangle in the bath. Usually by hand, pulling the strands apart until the wide comb can pass through. This is a time consuming but gentle way of doing it and no hairs fall out. After the bath I put some curl spray and fluff the curls up: palm up and scrunch the hair up

I'm saying this because curly hair, if nor managed properly gets in a mess!!! She was looking like a witch before who occasionally had a beautiful single curl coming through....

Report
Flowersinthefireplace · 13/10/2021 10:21

@grey12 don’t you find that an hour later it’s witch like again though?! My daughters is!

Report
grey12 · 13/10/2021 10:28

This was taken when we came BACK from a bday party! They stay well Wink

Toddler haircare!
Report
rageagainstbing · 13/10/2021 11:19

@grey12

DD2 is 3.5yo and has never had a haircut..... covid and a lot else happening..... anyways, it's not super needed

I struggled with her hair A LOT! but that's because she's has curly hair and I had straight. So for her hair I wash with baby shampoo and then put quite a bit of Cantu conditioner and slowly slowly detangle in the bath. Usually by hand, pulling the strands apart until the wide comb can pass through. This is a time consuming but gentle way of doing it and no hairs fall out. After the bath I put some curl spray and fluff the curls up: palm up and scrunch the hair up

I'm saying this because curly hair, if nor managed properly gets in a mess!!! She was looking like a witch before who occasionally had a beautiful single curl coming through....

I do the same with my DD long curly hair which has never been cut. I also found that Boots own coconut conditioner by the handful works wonders. Plus it's only £1.

Also plaits. If I plait it straight from the bath and before bed every night it stops the inevitable matting she gets overnight. It's reduced the screaming by about 50%. She really hates me touching her hair so anything to prevent that is a bonus.

Her hair does generally look wild most of the time though whatever I do.
Report
LakeShoreD · 13/10/2021 11:24

Cantu kids products as mentioned by PP are really good, we use the shampoo, conditioner, then comb it through using the detangling spray.

Report
grey12 · 13/10/2021 11:43

Btw, her hair doesn't see a brush unless it's very wet! Otherwise it destroys the curls

Report
MeadowHay · 13/10/2021 11:55

My DD is 3.5 and has fairly thin, slightly wavy hair. We've always just shampooed it about once a week and we always blow-dryed it roughly once it was a bit long to go to bed with wet, so she's well used to the hairdryer. I have been thinking whether I should start using a heat protection spray though? We started shampooing twice a week a couple of months ago as it was starting to get pretty grotty mid-week. It's brushed gently after drying, and every morning, and after a nap (if we are at home). She has a short bob atm and it's cut a few times a year. She hates getting her hair washed and won't wear hairbands of any sort or hair bobbles, so short is the most practical. She did have a fringe initially but then needing to get that trimmed so often was a pain so we grew it out as luckily she will wear hairclips. She now doesn't have one but does have quite a deep side parting so always needs clips in one side to keep that back off her face. I was hoping for an easier centre parting but her hairdresser said it just doesn't fall that way for her naturally so won't really sit well like that, which is what I've found when I've tried to clip it like that.

Report
grey12 · 13/10/2021 12:11

@MeadowHay try clipping it when it's wet. That usually sets the hair in more that direction. That's what I used for my hair when I got a funny fringe once

Report
user1000000000009 · 13/10/2021 14:04

Dd has tight curls so lots of conditioner spray and scrunching. Her hair is down her back but it was easier managed when it was shorter.

Report
takealettermsjones · 14/10/2021 14:35

Thanks everyone! It's good to know that messy toddler hair is just an accepted thing. I was thinking people might see her and think I never comb it!

@grey12 what beautiful curls!

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.