Why are people so precious about little girl curls?!

[Curlyhaircatastrophy]

Semi light hearted
My daughter has lovely curls. The kind that are commented on wherever we go. Everyone loves the curls.

Every morning there is the battle of the curl. By this I mean her hair is like candy floss when she gets up. Then we have the tussle of detangling spray, a wide tooth comb and inching my way through it all, to the chorus of “mummy stop!”. Yes, I have researched and tried many shampoos/conditioners and sprays. I have tried only washing her hair when absolutely needed.

Her hair is much better and easier when I give it a little trim every now and then. Family and friends are genuinely offended when her hair is cut.
“How could you cut her lovely curls?!”
“Why on earth would you cut those curls!”
“Her hair is too short!”

Now my daughter has never had long hair, it just doesn’t grow. So she sports a curly bob that gets neatened up. When cut, the curls bounce beautifully and our lives are peaceful for a while.

Why are people so affronted by cutting her hair?! What is it about curls?! Why does she need to have long hair?

For full disclosure she is 3 years old and has zero opinion on her hair or length of it

I use Moroccan Oil on my seriously tough to brush curly hair really helps.

Aveda products are lovely - they are also Curly Girl method (I didn't know this when I used them and my hair was lovely)

Im interested in your rmtrimming technique OP, I have a little boy with little girl curls at the back, although randomly the front is poker straight and falls over his eyes (so I clip it back with a sparkly slide)

I think he needs a trim but ds1s experience at the hairdressers was awful (they did such a bad job). Do you just trim along the bottom or do you trim up the back too? He has layers of curls.

Wow reanimated despise? Very strong word!
As a matter of fact I DO feel guilty now, life is so much easier with her short hair and seeing how much she loves it I only wish I did it longer.
When she actually asked for it cut, we did it. Not straight away, because she kept changing her mind because she wanted "Rapunzel" hair.
In hindsight, I would have cut her hair sooner but I can't change that now 🤷‍♀️

Curls are cute on boys and girls!! Much better then boys with shaven heads!!!

I've got curly hair and found a tangle teezer was useless until I tried the one for thick or Afro hair. It's made a huge difference.

*sooner, not longer

These are my daughter curls. I never brush when dry anymore. She has her hair washed twice a week, I use an Argan oil shampoo from Amazon, the spray in Argan leave in conditioner, brush with the wet dry brush and then leave it until the next wash. Saved my sanity and dd’s scalp

"Because curls in western hair are unusual and therefore seen as special."

No they're bloody not 😂 what part of the 'western' world do you live in? Because everywhere in the UK naturally curly hair is pretty much a common sight.

OP stop using shampoo full stop. Just condition them and rinse. Curly hair does not need shampoo at all. Ever.

Eh what? My red hair was very curly when I was little. I was a gorgeous child...

@YourDaughter I am very jealous of your daughter's hair. My curls are crap half wavy curls 😭

Oh YourDaughter - I just saw your pic! That was me! She is beautiful - such a lucky girl!

Also to any other Liverpool Mums here... have you noticed how many boys have lush curly, or crazy thick hair now they grow it out?! (Ketwig fashion) 😮 and now that scouse Mums let their baby boy's hair grow too? 😍

Thank you . I do try to not go on about her hair too much, but despite my beliefs about looks etc. I know that with her hair colour and the curls her hair is going to be an important feature in defining her self confidence. Not the only feature by any means, but still an important one. I want her to love her hair and not care what others think; if she loves it and thinks it’s beautiful, it won’t matter if she receives negative comments (I hope!).

I think curls are so loved because they are often only a fleeting part of childhood, and cutting them off means the straight hair coming through becomes more obvious. I have curly hair and DD is mixed race so has even more curls, we both have silk pillowcases which eliminates knots forming overnight. You can get them on amazon fairly cheaply and they work much better than a tangle teezer, they still hurt if you have really curly hair prone to matting like we do. I do still have to brush out DDs hair as she wriggles around off her pillow in the night but it has made it a shorter task.

So Ive added a pic of the miracle that has saved our mornings!! Ever since I was given that tiny bottle (Beauty protector, protect and detangle) it changed everything for me and my super curly headed 3 year old who too has had her curls commented on since they grew as well as being patted by a variety of stangers in a way none of my other children ever were Anyway its £20 a large bottle online when the sample ran out I thought for cost I'd try the Aussie Miracle hair thats in the background, its not a patch in the expensive stuff which I'll be buying when the Aussie stuff runs out!!
As for why people love the curls??...I dont know why but we all love them too

Curly girl method
Here's my before (using shampoo, silicones etc and it was coloured) and after (no shampoo, no silicones, no drying alcohol, no brush...)

Thanks for all the support (mostly) and suggestions! Definitely going to try not shampooing and just conditioning! Hair is an emotive issue but overall I think she needs to be comfortable rather than “pretty”. Thanks for all the curly love and support

My two had the most adorable gorgeous curls when they were babies

That’s all gone now

I wish that had never been cut as neither one of them have their curls, but I know it was a necessary evil

That last photo wasn’t supposed to be they

I honestly think unless you are one dealing with it, people don t understand. Dd hair when dry is at chin. Wet it's at small of her back!!! Hence the palmers stuff (which is also cheap). But I do trim ends as no matter what they get extra dry and ratty.

People are weirdly precious of little girls hair in general I think. I hate seeing little girls (and boys, but haven’t seen so many) with hair past their shoulders.

I have curly hair and none of my boys do. I wish they did so we had some similar features!

I don’t think it’s got anything to do with ‘ curls in western hair are unusual and therefore seen as special’ i think it’s just because a cloud of curls makes the baby/toddler look even more angelic! In years gone by you’d wet rag your girls hair.

Ohhh nooooo you cut her curls?!?!! Nooooooooo my daughter and son have these curls btw and I sympathise with the combing.

@DianaPrincessOfThemyscira why do you hate long hair on a child?
My DD has very long curls (age 3, waist length hair) but then both her parents and her cat are all long haired...

It's not fun for vacuuming but none of us want our hair cut, and I've always given her the choice.

Speaking from a mother of an nearly 12 year old who once had the most beautiful curly hair and now would either straighten it to an inch of its life at every opportunity or happily give up hair hygiene and grow dreadlocks...

I was a bit like you when she was little, it was a nest in the morning, a nightmare to brush and while everyone said how lucky she was to have curly hair I just thought it brought extra work...

Now I would give anything to go back to the beautiful right ringlets that made everyone comment, I got her hair cut when she was about 7 and they just never grew back the same though it’s definitely got more of a curl/wave back as she is hitting puberty..

Enjoy this hair stage because it’s so adorable and it seems for most doesn’t last!!