My 3 year old has ringlets for hair..Help!

[Jesusmaryjosephandtheweedon]

I dont know how to ensure her hair is kept in good condition. She has proper "Irish dancing" style ringlets. I have to fully spray it down with a conditioning spray every day as every morning it is very fuzzy from her sleeping on it. When its wet it is halfway down her back but when dry it sits at the nape of her neck so its very springy.

What products should I be using on it? I try only wash once a week but only use regular shampoo and conditioner and then the Johnson's conditioning spray daily.

Pic attached

looks like you have been managing perfectly. curly hair tends to be dryer than straight so don't over wash. if you comb the curls apart it take a while for them to reshape into the little strands so don't comb too often. don't brush her hair while dry unless you want the full puff effect.
products...trial and error. plus don't be afraid to approach fellow mom's who's daughters hair is similar and ask what they use.

Yep, you are mainly there. Only wash once a week or fortnight. Use a specific curly hair shampoo, then use a specific curly hair leave in conditioner (don’t shampoo, rinse; condition, rinse). Leave to dry naturally. For the love of all things good, don’t brush the hair or it will go fuzzy/frizzy and won’t go back to what it should be until washed next. Just gently tease any knots/tangles out with fingers and water as necessary.

Either use a pure silk pillowcase or pure silk sleep cap - pillowcase is better for young child. That way hair won’t get knotted/frizzy overnight.

Lastly, go to a hairdresser well versed in ringlets and they will dry cut it curl by curl which is how it should be done. Takes ages, hard for a kid, just take a movie on a device for them.

I use the Shea moisture products on daughters Afro hair.. no nastily chemicals in it as products stay longer in her hair

I used the curly girl method on my curly DDs drop about age 4.

No shampoo, just a wash in the bathtub with a little tresemme conditioner maybe once a week in winter and a good deal more frequently in summer as it gets hot where we are and we swam quite a bit in the local public pool.

I spritzed it with a mix of tresemme gel plus a lot of water in the morning occasionally, but never brushed or combed it except when it had conditioner in it in the bathtub.

Your child has absolutely beautiful hair BTW.

Wow, what fab hair. The colour and the curls.

'Drop' = from

Also, use a wide tooth comb, rather than a brush on her hair. That will be a game changer for detangling her hair, without making it fuzzy.

I have ringlets. My hair is not as beautiful as your dds though!

I use K18 on my hair. It's very expensive at £55 but each bottle lasts at least a year. You use it on damp hair after washing and it helps it set in its natural position (iyswim?).

I also use a wide tooth comb and never brush it.

But also recommend the curly hair method and finding a hairdresser experienced in curly hair for cuts.

My son is mixed race and has very similar hair. I wash every weekend, if he gets it filthy (he goes to forest school and regularly gets mud in his hair!) co-wash in between. I put use leave in conditioner and brush every night, then tie it up now it is long enough. I use shea moisture products on both our hair.

My DD has very curly hair. She's an adult now and she also uses the Shea Moisture products, but I used to use Black hair shampoo, conditioner and detangler when she was younger, though she's white. Also sleeping with a silk or satin pillowcase helps it not tangle overnight.

Though I should admit, when she was younger, we just kept it short-ish and gave up on trying to keep it neat all the time. Bit of a nightmare when she got nits though! She also got fed up with people assuming she was a boy because her hair was short.

My 4yo ds has ringlets, we use curling custard (from boots) after a bath. We wash with water only, and don't brush as pp have said

Keep growing it and get the hairdresser to cut it blunt rather than shaped or with any layers - that will help it to weigh down and stretch out a bit. If you get it longer and all one length it will hang in ringlets rather than being sort of circular around the head. It does take a long time with curly hair as it does spring up a lot.

Shoulder length when dry is a good length for little curly girlies. Long enough to stretch out when down, but not too much of a struggle to detangle.

Only brush it when it is wet. We use a continuous water spray for styling. If it looks a little fuzzy in the morning you might be able to just spray it with a bit of water and scrunch it with your hands to refresh the curls. Or if it's really tangled then wet it down completely, detanglign spray, brush it out completely and let it dry naturally. We use a tangle teaser type of brush. Any comb just gets snagged up.

Always use conditioner after shampooing. Always allow to dry naturally.

I’ve no more advice to add but that’s the most gorgeous hair - ringlets and red. So beautiful!

Thanks all for the advice, I'll look up the curly hair method.

People always comment on her hair. It is an amazing colour, we've no idea where the red came from! Back generations I guess. Thanks for the compliments.

Anyway I'll keep with the washing once a week and maybe try find a more appropriate shampoo and a leave in conditioner. Also I'll invest in a wide tooth comb and satin pillowcase.

Thank you all.

Beautiful hair and colour!

Not necessarily re the hairdresser. I go to Unruly Curls in Notting Hill and they don't use the curl by curl method there unless someone specifically requests it.

OP, you could also use some curl cream for definition and a diffuser to dry her hair if you don't want to leave it to dry naturally, which is what I do for extra volume :)

My DD has curly hair. We only brush in the bath with conditioner on it and using a tangle teaser. I also put argan oil through her hair when it's damp, this seems to reduce frizz and knots.
Your DD has beautiful hair!

I have no advice (I have curls, but get th cut out with the shortest pixie cut I can!)

But I wanted to say your dds hair is gorgeous!

Definitely look up curly girl method or a modified cuy girl. Superdrug has a great range of curly/coily/black hair products. Garner hair food are very reasonable for example.

She has gorgeous hair. I married a red head and my first words to the obstetrician after she said 'it's a boy', were ' does he have red hair?'. He doesn't unfortunately - he's got very dark blond hair but I love him anyway.

There needs to be red hair on both sides of the family and there's none on my side.

stunning hair - wish I had it, curls and colour!!

Please save this thread to remind her, if she ever needs it (hopefully she wont), that her beautiful, beautiful hair is envy-inducing.

Lucky girl!

Gorgeous hair!! I can second the benefit of a silk pillow case. I was sceptical but it makes an enormous difference. I get the Lilysilk ones from Amazon. They do a smaller cot pillow size as well which I use for a memory foam pillow but might be good if she's in a toddler bed. Buy the silk washing stuff as same time as you can't put them in a normal wash.

Absolutely beautiful
I had curly hair now wavy and always loved it
If you let it grow a little longer it should fall into long ringlets and are easier to manage
Use very gentle organic hair products
My mother shaped it into separate ringlets as a child
It was her pride and joy
If you brush it when it is dry it will frizz

Wide-tooth comb when wet, separate with fingers when dry, don't over-wash, no heat styling, plenty of conditioner on the ends, if it's really tangled after waking a little spritz of water mixed with conditioner and then finger separate the curls. Twist round fingers to get the shape back. You don't need anything fancy until she older and the hair texture may change - in which case go for salt-free, silicone free products (all widely available now). It's gorgeous hair!! Source: have ringlets.