Dry curly hair prone to matting

[QueenCadbury]

My dd who's 2 has curly hair. Although this is my first experience of curls as I and other dc have straight hair I was managing to deal with it fairly well. However lately it's become really dry and prone to matting. It's not particularly long as it's seems to grow outwards rather than downwards so I'm not convinced a cut would help.

Any recommendations what shampoo etc to use???

My hair used to be very curly but has flattened out with age.

I would suggest let it grow, as it gets longer the weight will pull it down and it won't look so much like it's growing out - I find if my hair is any shorter than shoulder length it's like a cloud around my head!

Might be worth doing a search on here for 'curly girl' method as there have been a few on this - basically it involves not using shampoo at all and washing hair with silicone free conditioner. I tried it for a while and it does work but I missed shampoo!

Don't wash too often and when you do use sulphate free shampoo lots and lots of conditioner and look for a leave it conditioner. (Boots Naked range is suitable) Wide toothed comb helps - I have bad, bad memories of my mother tugging the head off me as a child with a hairbrush. In the morning's, use a spray bottle to mist it with some water, run a little bit of conditioner through and comb out gently to remove knots.

My sister has amazing mid back length, thick, blonde curly/wavy hair and she swears by putting it into a loose ponytail or bun right on the top of her head for sleeping as that helps to stop it matting.

BTW it will never look tidy!!! My mother had straight hair and she despaired about me and my sister looking unkempt. Curls are beautiful but they are not neat or shiny and that aspect messed with my mother's neat instincts - that may or may not be an issue for you

HTH

Curly hair is prone to dryness because scalp oils can't travel down the hair shaft so easily.

One thing you can do is a pre-shampoo treatment: oil it up with olive oil (really slap it on until it's soaked through) leave for 30-60 minutes and then wash out and then a conditioner.

Mind you, running after a greased up toddler might make this impractical, so maybe try oiling her hair up just before her bath.

Thanks liberty. Maybe it's about time I took a brush to her hair! So far I hadn't been using one as everyone seemed to tell me never to brush curly hair. I'll have a look for that naked stuff as I need to stop using the l'oreael kids stuff.

Yes, it does mess with my neat instincts but dd1 can be dressed in the nicest clothes, have the loveliest hair and within 5 minutes looks like a bag lady. I do not have neat children. Sigh.

My dds hair is exactly like this. She's nine and I am just getting on top of it now.

I don't use any shampoo.
I only use sulphate free and 'no cone' conditioner.
Once a week I cover it in coconut oil overnight.
I Plait it before bed.
She sleeps in a satin hat.
I use a mason Pearson brush.

The hat, though utterly ridiculous, has been the best thing. It's made a huge difference.

Noo did I say it wrong - don't use a hairbrush!!! Comb with a wide tooth comb while it's damp with a little conditioner. A brush will break it and make it fuzz but it does need combing to prevent the matting.

Sorry liberty I read it wrong . I'd better buy a wide toothed comb.

learn thanks, I'll try some oil at bath time.

savoy which conditioner do you use? Can't quite see dd sleeping in a hat yet but once she's older I'm sure I can bribe persuade her.

Just reading up on the curly hair method now. Who knew curly hair was such a pita

I have v v dry hair and use this as a conditioner (sometimes as a treatment but works as a normal one too) it's really thick and you don't need much
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005CRBBR2

Forgot to say I use a no sulphate shampoo, then comb through conditioner with fingers
While its still wet I put curl cream on and then just leave it to dry. I don't own a hairbrush or hairdryer

My 2 DD's have mixed race corkscrews. I've tried everything over the last 4 or so years - here are my pearls of wisdom:

Avoid 'cones' - silicones etc. Feel good, but ultimately lead to more problems.

Boots NAKED range (mentioned above) is the best I've found for the price. There are very expensive products which might be good but I can't afford them. NAKED range is often on 3 for 2 offers. If your local Boots doesn't stock NAKED products you can buy online and get it delivered for free to your local branch.

I wash hair once a week and brush it through with the conditioner on to get all the knots out. As good as the NAKED curl conditioner is, I have recently taken to using Aussie 3 minute rescue as a conditioner - to get the knots out. It makes a huge difference.

I use a blend of pure argan oil and macademia oil post washing - buy online and mix together at home. This keeps the hair soft and lovely.

it took 5 years for DD1's hair to stop growing out, and 'drop' at the back. Finally this has happened. I do brush her hair (using Tangle Teaser brush) every couple of days when I redo her pig tails. Now her hair is longer keeping it tied back or in plaits make a huge difference to knots.

DD2 (2yo) hasn't had her hair cut yet - I'm too scared she will scream the joint down! (She can be VERY loud) :) She has major matting at the back issues.

The Tangle Teezer brush is OK for DD2 - but no longer suitable for DD1 - she needs the stronger Tangle Tamer now (both at Boots).

When the hair is shorter I give it a spray in the morning with a blend of water/NAKED conditioner and if at nursery/school a few drops of tea tree oil. Spray hair liberally and 'fluff' curls with fingers.

Becool, can I ask, do you use the NAKED shampoo on your 2 year old? I have two mixed race little girls. The eldest is 2.5 and although I have been ok with the shampoo I have been using, but her hair has gone through another change and it is getting very dry and matted. I'm looking for a different shampoo. She hates having her hair washed, so I always use a leave in conditioner.

My DD is mixed race too. The Naked range completely knackered her hair.

Naked range doesn't work on mine. Except for mask I linked to before I use l'oreal everpure. I think the pink one is for coloured hair but seems most moisturising. No sulphates or silicone

Naked do a couple of children's shampoos - we use the JAM (red) one. I use it on 2yo yes. It's ment to also be a detangler - seriously I don't know what a detangler would do in our house. I am not aware of any detangling impact at all.

I've only recently out of desperation started using Aussie 3 minute miracle on them. I prefer to use the NAKED/natural Curl Conditioner but although it is quite rich, the Aussie stuff cuts the brushing & combing time in half. And when your 2yo is crying/screaming that is very attractive.

I forgot to mention above I use a combination of wide tooth comb & brush on the wet hair/knots. I know you aren't ment to brush wet hair, but there is no way we'd be getting knots out without using both.

I need to start a thread on nice short curly hairstyles for girls!

Thanks again everyone. I found a wide toothed comb lurking in the back of the bathroom cupboard and washed her hair in conditioner and combed it through tonight. She went to bed with beautiful, soft, gorgeous ringlets. Bet it'll be a matted mess again by morning

I find a wide toothed comb can't deal with my tangles, I use a denman tangle tamer and coconut oil along with detangling spray for kids.

I have two mixed race dd's.

We use Luster's Pink hair range. I comb the hair through when the conditioner is in. Once dry I use the oil moisturiser, comb through and plait.

My mixed race niece swears by Soft N Free curl activator.

Plaiting hair before going to bed definitely helps - it keeps the curl in but stops it matting.

Also, find a hairdresser that 'does' curly hair - a lot of them don't. Curly hair needs to be cut in a different way to straight hair. I would say, after many disasters at the hairdresser, that this is one of the most important things in terms of curly hair looking even half-way decent - I spent my entire childhood with shit hair because the (very expensive for our town) hairdresser my mum took me to didn't have a clue about how to handle my hair. It actually had a massive impact on me and my self-esteem etc. I am not a hairdresser but what I have gleaned from years of listening to them when they do my hair is that you have to cut into the curl and also that cutting curly hair is more about shaping/moulding it.

It's best not to brush at all and curly hair doesn't need it - I haven't brushed my hair in years; I just condition it and then do it with a wide-toothed comb before rinsing the conditioner out.

Serum is great for getting the curls to sit nicely and be all defined.

I think it's trial and error with finding the right conditioner for the right hair.

In fact, I use different conditioners on my two dc. Their hair looks the same but I have found that it responds differently to different conditioners.

The hats have made the biggest difference. Although it looks like I have two tiny bakers racing around my house at bedtime!

Wallison if my DD's didn't get their hair deknotted at least weekly, they would have dreadlocks.

Savoy what are these hats please?

I have used one of those thick hairnets from Boots on DD1, held on with clips. It ALWAYS comes off after an hour or 2 in bed.

Queen this is why I now wash the DD's hair on a Sat or Sun morning - so at least we get to enjoy a day of gorgeous curls before they are ruined by bed!

sleep cap.

You can get children's ones too. They are called sleep caps or satin bonnets...

DD has curly hair, with flatter, straight hair on top. The Body Shop spray in conditioner is quite good, and is silicone free, if memory serves. We still use baby shampoo on her, a Green People one I think.

stitch, your link is taking me to a page about measles!