Anyone got any tips for managing DD's hair?

[MrsGulDukat]

My DD has got awkward hair.

It's wavy/curly but it grows weirdly and there is no form to it. She's loads of hair up top and it gets a trim every 12 weeks.

I switched to Sulphate free shampoo which has improved it a bit, but its just so dry and frizzy.

It wasnt an issue as much when it was shorter and it didnt bother her, but she's 13 now and its getting longer (as she wants it) and it's just so lifeless.

Anyone else had unmanageable hair that you've tamed?

To be fair @CremeEggThief she’s 13. She wants her hair like the other girls. No amount of body confidence and hair positivity will help a teen who isn’t liking part of herself. And learning to care for/dry/ treat her hair is a lifelong thing before the hair dying etc kicks in. I wish someone had taught me how to dry and care for my hair etc at that age

@MrsGulDukat
the banana treatment works lovely under a shower cap for a longer bit of time

Use this haskbeauty.com they helped my daughter hair , she have a combination of wavy, straight hair and it get badly frizzy and matted in the morning

It's curly , you need to ask a curl cream and diffuse it .. stop brushing it !! My mum did that to my hair as child because her hair is straight and she didn't understand my hair !

@MrsGulDukat
I think your daughter has beautiful hair right now with her lovely waves.. so I imagine when she tries some of the products suggested here, she will have the best hair around

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

I'm gonna trawl amazon for some products and we'll experiment to see what works.

Looking at that picture I can pretty much guarantee that various conditioners would make negligible difference. Either she straightens it if she wants it to look smooth like her peers, as that the only way that’s going to happen, or go curly girl. If you don’t have hair like this then it’ll be an adjustment for you. It’s all about a good cut for curly hair, and as others have said never brushing it. Scrunch in some curl cream or gel when very wet then blot it from underneath. Don’t rub the hair at all and don’t touch it at all until it’s fully dry. When dry, you scrunch the hair again to loosen the hard cast that may be fired by styling products. Suggest you look at some you tube videos on how to do a curly wash day, it’s practically the opposite to what you would do for straight hair. Once you’re used to it, it doesn’t have to be any harder than styling straight hair.

For what it’s worth, I think all hair types can be attractive including your daughter’s.

Good luck , as I said above with some curl product ( literally any curl cream ) put on when it's wet and diffuse it she will have curly hair . Have a look on your tube for tutorials .

My DD has embraced her curls, and our hairdresser recommended My Little Coco Curling Custard, from the baby section in Boots. Before that she used the cheap pots of pink Boots curl creme.

Plus herbal essences sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner.

Wrap hair in a microfibre turban thing, then leave to dry naturally, no heat!

That is not dissimilar to my hair - it can go really really curly/wavy with encouragement but also just look a bit 'straight gone wrong' if not handled well. I can look either super curly or dead straight.

Deciding I loved curl and going full on curly girl has been the answer. Sulphate free shampoo, silicone free conditioner - prob a leave in, and gel to hold the curls as they fall out v quickly.

Also only dry with a diffuser. There are loads of brands like Curly Ellie, Jessicurl, Boucleme, Only Curls, the list goes on and on and lots have styling guides + videos.

That's not bad! You should've been mine before I got it under control. My hair is just a little curlier than your DD's (2B to 2C waves) and what really gives it more shape as well as control is using a hair mask instead of conditioner every time I watch it.

I bought this one in a bargain earlier this year, but they do ones that are anti-frizz, too. They also seem to last forever.

Plus, basic advice, such as no brushing when dry (will break any pattern she has, just run fingers through it to unkot).

I wonder if she could do with some product run through it? You need to combat the frizz element and lock in the moisture.

My daughter has incredibly thick hair - very curly when wet. We tried everything including full ‘curly girl’ and variants of it to the extent of buying the extortionate curly girl gel etc from the US or body shop no sulphates etc hair products. She developed an allergy to the ‘organic ‘ type products which we promptly binned and we went back to the chemicals! The thing that made the most difference was finding that rare creature, a British hairdresser who knew how to cut and style curly hair. Many claim to do so but give their ignorance away by insisting on cutting it wet then ‘drying it off a bit first’ pre styling which means they frizz it up to an extent the kid looks like she has a full Afro then they have to rip through it with brush etc at maximum heat to get it flattish again until it’s fried and bone dry. Others put so much product gel etc on it that she looked like an oil slick. My daughter learnt from two good hairdressers and now uses a Dyson to smooth dry her hair then a steam pod to take frizz away on wet days. Trial and error I’m afraid. Good luck.

If your daughters hair is more wavy than corkscrew curls then I’d second the suggestion of leave in conditioner or maybe an old fashioned styling mousse which works for my finer hair.

When her hair gets longer I would recommend experimenting with plaiting it. I have very thick, wild hair and from a teenager learnt to French plait it myself (see YouTube tutorials) and it really suits it. A ponytail didn’t work for me as the hair is too thick and goes in every direction, but the plait makes it lie nicely.

Also, when wearing the hair down use bobby pins to clip sections at the front out of the way. It holds back the rest of the hair so it doesn’t get in your face.

I don’t bother to straighten my hair anymore as I like the slightly wild look of it! Embrace what she has!