Help me tame DD's wild hair! Photo Attached

[Heckythump1]

Photo attached of DD hair, she is 2.5 years old.
No matter what I do, it always ends up looking like this!
Last night she had it washed with Child's Farm shampoo and conditioner for curly hair and then a bit of My Little Coco curling custard out through it and blown dry.
What do I do? 🤣
I've tried lots of products but anything I've put in her hair when it's dry just makes it greasy and sticky and then it needs a wash again - we try to only wash it once or twice a week.
Please help!
(Oh and she only had it cut 3 weeks ago, so it doesn't need a trim yet!)

Yes actually, and a child with even curlier hair. For both of us, a little shorter is better.

My daughters hair is the same. A decent co-wash product, a spritz of leave in conditioner after a light towel dry, brush through with a wide tooth comb and then I tie it up damp into 4 small pony tails two at the top two at the bottom.

Comes out lovely and wavy and dry in the morning. I just brush through again with my fingers to separate the curls (sometimes with a little water) and she's good to go.

You can easily get that into pigtails or half up half down pigtails. I’m shocking with hair and I can manage that on my toddlers.

I think you want this…
My hair isn’t curly but it is the most tangly messy knotty hair imaginable. This helps a lot!

Revlon UniqONE Professional Leave In Conditioner, Gifts For Women / Men, Vegan Hair Treatment For Shine & Frizz Control (150ml) Classic, All Hair Types https://amzn.eu/d/cjJXkZy

DD1’s hair was like this at the same age. Wash, condition, dry and then just leave it and hope for the best. We used to clip it back in the day.

Just after she turned 3 she had a massive hair growth spurt and now at 4.5 it nearly hits her bottom. It’s SO much easier to manage as the length weighs it down, and we plait it overnight to prevent tangles.

DD2 seems to be going the same way, unfortunately. My hair is similar but MUCH frizzier.

@User2538309 Yes! One of my fav things at the school gates is seeing the little ones all messy, ya know those kiddies had some fun, as it should be. This wouldn’t have even been an issue back in the day. Bloody society and social media.

Stop using shampoo with sulphates and silicone. Stop washing it at night so you can let it dry naturally. Stop all the brushing, you are fighting it and you need to work with it. Work conditioner through with your fingers. Rinse in colder water. Hair cream on wet hair. Use a bit of mousse on it scrunch it upside down, dry again by squeezing with an old tshirt. Towels fuzz curly/wavy hair. Scrunch a bit then leave it alone so the mousse makes a "cast". Then when dry gentle scrunch cast out. Use a spray in conditioner when it gets fuzzy but Stop brushing. Put a clip in to hold fringe back. She will never have sleek straight hair, it will always be bouncy. It may well get curlier during puberty. Pillow, bonnet as already mentioned are good.
Make sure you don't criticise her hair in front of her or you will be setting her up for low confidence for life. Find a hairdresser who can cut curly hair and help you manage it properly. I would love a photo of it unbrushed and dried naturally as it probably looks totally different. If you absolutely need to hair dryer it only until it's what would be half dry for you. The more you dry the fuzzier/knottier it will go. But I would throw brushes and hairdryer.

Hair cut??

I have wavy hair, mine looked like your daughters when i was younger.
Tie it up. Its long enough for bunches/ pigtails, ponytail, bun. for the sides where its shorter, can you use those bendy clips sold in supermarkets, put them in then press, i found they hold the hair really well.

My dd had very wavy hair, I used to use basic Johnsons shampoo and let it dry naturally. Worked for us and her hair was lovely as a result.
If your dd's hair is sticky are you rinsing out the products completely?

What about a style like this? Would stay in even though her hair is shorter and stay tangle free when she is playing. The little bobbles are easy to take out with nail scissors or a quick unpick

You have lovely hair @Kyse when it is treated right.

Embrace the curl/wave op, do not try to straighten it out, or is all in vain.

@Heckythump1

Meh don't worry about it eh

I've seen a lot worse

One of my dd had hair very similar and we gave up in the end.

It was washed conditioned detangler sprayed and combed and if it looked like this so be it

@bluedomino we don't even bother with the half of that. Simply use the one product- atm garnier conditioner so about £3 a bottle. Dd does it all her self now washes hair with conditioner, runs a bit more through and leaves in. Air dry. Each morning spritz water run a blob of conditioner through. Found that far better that conditioning spray - less sticky! And that's that. Looks a bit flat on top because she's had a riding hat on - but saves faffing around with products waiting for it to dry to scrunch etc for a young child. I also cut it myself curl by curl as no hairdresser I've found seems to know how to cut it 🙈.

Just brush it and put it in bunches. Use clips to catch any short bits. Stop using products other than shampoo and conditioner!

I’ve got curly hair and it’s the bane of my life. In its wild, untamed state it’s just like your daughter’s, no chance of me ever waking up looking tousled, just full on frizzball. My grandad used to call me mad head. Bless him.

In the last few years I’ve discovered the curly girl method which means you avoid products containing certain products and dry your hair in a specific way. It’s a complete minefield though as the curly hair products are spendy and there’s no knowing whether something that works well on one person’s hair will work on someone else’s. And some products marketed for curly hair contain products ‘banned’ under the curly girl method so they are not actually suitable. As an added bonus, some products work great for a while but then don’t…Only curl’s products are available in a kids version, might be worth trying? I’ve actually joined a couple of facebook groups where curlies who have bought and tried expensive products and found they didn’t work can sell them on. My mother was horrified at me buying opened product but I’ve never had a problem and we’re all in the same boat, trying to find something that works.

There’s loads of info online about cgm and even cgm hairdressers (mine cuts my hair curl by curl, doesn’t comb it). I never brush or comb mine, but rather damp it down, put a little curl cream through it then squidge the moisture out section by section using a microfibre towel. Try not to touch it with your hands too much and let it dry naturally or using a diffuser on low heat if you need to use a hairdryer.

Hope you can find something that works for you both.

I'd use the wet tangle teaser when in the bath. Spray with water before brushing to reset. I use an argan oil spray on mine. Just wash with water and don't blow dry it!

I've got really wild hair (at least your dd's is straight) and the only thing that works for me is Pantene Smooth and Sleek shampoo. The I put it in a towel for 5 mins so that it is still damp. I then put some brylcreem on it and comb it through. I then put hair grips in it and blow dry it with a diffuser.

Is her hair dry and coarse to the touch? One of mine had hair like that and also not entirely straight. Hairdresser recommended leaving conditioner in which did help. Also growing it out so there is more weight to pull it down (and easier to tie up). She's a teen now and her hair looks amazing - long and thick, though admittedly reddish purple for now!

Game changing

Have you tried child’s farm leave in conditioner? I find it very good, makes it easier to brush hair out and doesn’t make it greasy at all

Ooh I wouldn't let that within a half a mile of curly dd 😅 - that's for straight hair 😬

My daughter has similar hair and we get it cut regularly and keep it pretty short.

DD’s hair was terrible at that age and she wouldn’t sleep with it tied up or plaited (she does now she’s older). this Aussie spray was the best product out of many I tried. It’s a leave-in conditioner and detangler.

you could try the 'little curls' range?
https://onlycurls.com/pages/little-curls
They give hair advice too..