Help with curly hair (toddler)

[gruffalopuffalo]

My one year old has very curly hair. She has a bath every night and it's towel dried then it dries fully while she's sleeping. It's always frizzy when she wakes up (she moves around a lot in her sleep).

Frizzy hair isn't a real concern for us now, but I'm sure at some point it will be, e.g. getting proper photos done, special occasions, when she's older and actually cares. So please can someone tell me how to deal with curly hair? Obviously I can't use a hairdryer on her but could use a "product" although not an aerosol or anything really chemically. Her hair is currently just washed with a baby shampoo or all-over baby wash.

Do you wash her hair every night? I don't think that is necessary, especially with curly hair.

My DD's hair becomes knotty and sometimes slightly matted as she moves a lot at night so every morning I brush her hair with a little water. That alone makes her curls shiny and bouncy.

I never brush without water.

Thanks! I must try to fit that into the morning routine . Do you use a proper bristle brush then? I've just been combing her hair after shampooing it in the bath as I thought brushing it was bad. It's still short though so I haven't really had to deal with tangles yet.

I do wash it most nights, mainly because it's full of food and dribble (and paint and all sorts on nursery days, too).

Don't use a towel to dry use a cotton t shirt. Also I use Johnsons detangler conditioning spray before styling or brushing. Just a couple of sprays is enough.

We loosely follow the curly girl method on my daughter who has very curly hair. Since following, my daughters curls are looking amazing and more defined

Don't towel dry- use cotton tshirt or microfibre towel

Throw the brush away- wide tooth comb only when wet

Don't wash every night- highly recommend child's farm shampoo

There is a couple of good curly girl pages on Facebook for full method technique.

Good luck

Thanks. I have a child's farm all over wash that I've not opened yet that will be used after the current baby shampoo runs out.

One of her towels (possibly two) are microfibre so I'll bear that in mind (and try to find a t-shirt we can use when it's in the wash).

I'll also pick up a detangling spray.

Can't get away with not washing most of the time though - I could when she was a bit smaller but now her hands are straight in her hair during mealtimes for some unknown reason.

When dd was little we used some Afro hair products as her curls were really tight. We (very sparingly)used Dark & Lovely for kids. It really helped keep the curl & no tangles/ matting.

Wash much less frequently, and don’t use shampoo, just conditioner with no nasty synthetic chemicals, so from health food shops.
Also either dilute something me conditioner and put on spray bottle to comb through when dry, or apply a tiny bit of conditioner on wet hands to dry hair to style and avoid combing altogether.
If she suffers badly from tangling go on British Curlies website for a detangle spray.
Peruse the whole Curley girl thing.
Curley hair can be complex, in that what suits one Curley head may not suit another. But you can find out her curl type with CG, and try the advice for that type.
Mine works better as long hair, as the curl is quite hard to manage when short.

I'd recommend the curly girl method . There's a uk group on facebook

The curly girl handbook has a chapter on curly children. Consider it an investment for her lifetime of curls! Luckily there are lots of natural products available now

A handbook! I see! I've requested to join the Facebook group. How do I get the handbook?

Have a google, you can buy it on Amazon, eBay, bookshops etc

This is the handbook

Silk pillowcase. Stops her hair drying out compared to cotton.
Will be less frizzy

I'm mixed race, and have very curly hair. So do my two dd's.

Would recommend curly girl method.

No brushing. Wide tooth comb, or finger comb when hairs being washed. (When it has loads of conditioner on.)

I would recommend as I am coconut co wash.

Also an oil such as castor oil is good to retain moisture after washing. Apply sparingly when wet.

Those microfibres turban things from wilcos are good. You plop them on your child's head and twist them round and button up and they stay put whilst they run around after the bath. We also have a tangle teezer, although lots of people prefer combs, and I like a spray leave-in conditioner with coconut oil.

Sorry, apply the oil to the hair when its wet.

Can't you make a little headscarf out of a muslin for mealtimes?

I wash DD's hair once a week with Child's Farm shampoo, then comb through when its soaked in Original Sprout deep conditioner. I spray it with diluted leave in conditioner in the morning and finger comb out the worst knots.

I was exactly the same when my little one was born as I've got European poker straight hair and his dad has Afro hair. We've ended up with tight European curls. I asked every mum I found with curly kids how they managed (even at the supermarket checkout!)

I found the "It's A Curl" products amazing (don't bother with anything other than shampoo and conditioner) but it's very expensive to get it shipped to the U.K.

He's now three and I wash his hair twice a week. Like you, I let it dry overnight in bed. We only use a wide tooth comb and I swear by coconut oil. It's amazingly nourishing and a great natural product to define curls. I now use Child's Farm as it's more easily available.

Just take a £2 blob of the solid oil from the jar, work it into a liquid in your palms and run through the hair when damp. Comb through after if needed.

Use a cotton t-shirt to dry as pp said. Do not rub hair dry, just wrap it in the t-shirt and leave it. Don't wash every night (this is the worst for curls and causing frizz!), make sure you get a good leave-in conditioner and use this when it starts to get frizzy between washes. Use a silk pillowcase, and maybe consider a co-wash instead of using shampoo (avoid alcohols and sulphates). I have very curly mixed race hair that would dry out hugely if I didn't do all of the above!

Quick question regarding the coconut oil. I used this on my toddler ds and it smelt very very musty. Unbearably musty so had to stop using is this just me with my sensitive nose or could it be the brand of coconut oil I was using? (Very expensive organic one!)

Both my DDs have super curly hair that comes from my DH so I have no experience in dealing with it. I wash their hair at night and then wet it to brush it in the morning so it doesn't frizz. I then use a frizz free serum on it which works well to stop it frizzing

@RumblyGrumbleNoise you don't need extremely expensive coconut oil. I have mixed race curls (very frizzy) and use coconut oil. I use extra virgin from the supermarket! Literally just smells like coconut and my hair goes in to tight coils. Pure coconut oil is pure coconut oil. Most expensive isn't always the best in my experience!

@RumblyGrumbleNoise - I'm the same as @KimKurl and just use whatever I found in the supermarket. I really don't like coconut but actually don't mind the smell of it on his hair. I only use a small amount and just before bed so it's not so strong in the morning. Am currently using this one...

In the summer I do tend to spray his hair with water so it's damp and add a little more coconut oil to define the curls. I do this when he first wakes up so the product has soaked in enough before he goes outside in the sun to play at nursery.

@kimkurl @booklover21 thank you for tips.
Not sure why it was smelling so awful. Maybe I will try and use a cheaper version. Feel like I've tried so many things and just in a frizzy cycle of using bottles of Johnsons leave in conditioner which is easy to just spray.
I've tried Lush r'n'b which was lovely but the amount I needed to use meant I was getting through so much.
I've tried the castor oil tonight as I already have some hoping that makes a difference. Off to order some silk pillowcases too!

My DD is mixed race with tight curls. I use the dark and lovely detangler spray for kids and a tangle teaser brush.