Curly girl method help

[swimchick1980]

DD8 has naturally wavy, very thick hair. She swims 4 times a week. Until now I think I have been doing everything wrong - towel drying, blow drying (high heat, no diffuser). Her hair is really frizzy.

I am keen to try the curly girl method but overwhelmed by Google searches and Facebook groups.

Does anyone else it for their kids and is there a good summary of products (ideally ones that don't break the bank) and the steps? Any tips for kids who swim a lot would also be very welcome.

Thanks (from a struggling Mum!)

Following with interest - DD is just a toddler but has such curly hair!

curlmaven.ie/how-to-take-care-of-your-kids-curly-hair/

This is a good blog post. I swam a lot as a kid and my mother had no understanding of curly hair so it was a frizzy mess. My skin was also awful! A chelating shampoo is good for removing chlorine. I use a lightweight leave-in conditioner on my son's hair too - wash most of it out but leave a bit in. He's only 3.5 now but as he gets older I'll use a product to define his curls too.

Keep it simple. Silicone free products. Try a co-wash or wash with conditioner. Only brush when the conditioner is on or, if it really needs it, when the hair is wet. Never brush dry or rough it up with a towel
Try a but of mousse to start with. Scrunch in and leave to dry.

Curlsbot is a very useful website for checking whether your hair products are suitable for curly hair.

Can your dc wear a swim hat to keep their hair as dry as possible? Then you wouldn't need to wash it as often.

Swimming wise - I always used to saturate my hair with water before I got in the pool and wear a swimming hat. The idea is that your hair won’t absorb as much chlorinated water if it’s already wet (idk if this is real science) and then use a swimming shampoo afterwards. This kept the worse off.
Curly Girl method wise I have never managed to make it work for me, although I never blow dry my hair anyway. I used a diffuser for a while and found it made my hair more frizzy than air drying 🤷🏻‍♀️ The best thing I have found for my hair is to use whatever shampoo but use a hair oil in the morning.

so good its noughty are amazing products, the detox dynamo works just as good as the strong tresseme stuff to clean your hair. but yeah just use an old t-shirt to dry or a diffuser on a hair dryer, I still use medium heat. and avoid a brush unless you're about to wash it

There’s a Facebook group ‘United curls’ which has very rigid ideas about how you follow the curly girl method but does have great photo albums of products. Products change a lot as manufacturers change their format so it’s no longer curly girl friendly which is the main reason I follow this Facebook group as it does keep up with it.

I wash my hair with a Sainsbury’s conditioner and special silicon brush for my roots, then a faith in nature conditioner. I leave a bit on the ends. I have been known to plop (leave it in a t shirt) but mostly I then put a flaxseed gel - think the brand is eco - and leave it to dry naturally.

Sometimes - if I can be bothered - I refresh with a spray bottle with water and a tiny amount of conditioner and a bit more gel. I can then go about five days between washes.

Some curly girls SOTC - this means scrunch out the crunch. They put on so much gel it becomes crunchy so I think they gently scrunch it to remove the gel. I have never done this.

I also sleep on a satin pillowcase that was about £5 from Amazon.

So as a minimum you could just buy curly girl products and leave it to dry in a T-shirt.

Thanks so much everyone, I really appreciate the tips.

DD always wears a swimming cap but her hair is still soaking afterwards.....

Is it difficult to get her hair to fit under the cap? Could that be letting water in?

Hey thanks for this. Exactly same position. Finding this really helpful.My daughter, also 8, hair not as curly as when she was younger but definitely wavy and gets frizzy. Her scalp is getting greasy and she is also getting dandruff- does anyone know whether if that’s because of what I’m doing to her hair - I’m not following any method and treating her hair like my straight hair. Does this look curly enough to treat differently?! Sorry such a novice with hair as I have dead straight hair.

@Dilbertian

Is it difficult to get her hair to fit under the cap? Could that be letting water in?

I bought a swimming cap from Amazon that's designed for people with lots of hair. It's brilliant!

@Dimsimmum

Hey thanks for this. Exactly same position. Finding this really helpful.My daughter, also 8, hair not as curly as when she was younger but definitely wavy and gets frizzy. Her scalp is getting greasy and she is also getting dandruff- does anyone know whether if that’s because of what I’m doing to her hair - I’m not following any method and treating her hair like my straight hair. Does this look curly enough to treat differently?! Sorry such a novice with hair as I have dead straight hair.

Yes it is my Middle DD is like this I'm curly.

I found dandruff/looking greasy wise that reducing the amount I'm washing it helps along with more gentle shampoos, do it gradually though so go from washing everyday to say every other day and just keep extending it.

Never find a solution swimming wise.

I'll have a look. She wears her swimming club cap and there isn't much room!!

@Sickoffamilydrama thank you so much. Any tips on brand of shampoo? Thank you

Sorry @Dimsimmum only just seen you question Noughty Shampoo or a co wash (although some us conditioner watered down a bit to co wash) I've used AsIAm & Aunt Jackie's co wash both are good.

I love most of the Only Curls products. Never tried the shampoo and conditioner (I use Shea moisture or cantu) but the Only Curls leave in conditioner and gel is great and quite lightweight so shouldn’t be too heavy for her hair. There used to also be videos on the website of how to apply them. Definitely worth a try.