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!)

Get one of these.

Yibaijia Hair Towel Wrap, Hair Turban Towels, Microfiber Hair Drying Towels for Child, Women, Wet, Long, Thick Hair(2 Pack, Pink & Purple) https://amzn.eu/d/3LJ0vGy

I just let DS go to bed with wet hair but wrap him in one of these first. He's curly.

Similar to my little girls hair. You need to treat it as curly hair. Look at the curly girl method.

Curly hair tends to be quite dry, so go for a good quality, adult shampoo and conditioner that's free of nasties, not kids shampoo, it's just not good enough. Shea Moisture for curly hair is good or Cantu products. Leave in conditioner is good, as it needs job greasy moisture adding.

Absolutely wash and dry naturally, or use a diffuser if you really have to dry it quickly. Just gently lie a normal hairdryer, but with the attachment. Lastly, get a silk or silk blend pillow case.

I feel like people are really having a go at me now. I asked for advice because I have no idea what I'm doing with it. Not to be told I'm ruining her hair and doing it all wrong - I know I am already or it wouldn't look such a state!

We don't have a shower unfortunately, so yes it is washed in the bath.

I've attached a photo of it again this morning, washed last night with shampoo and conditioner and left to dry naturally.
I don't think it looks much better.

Can someone tell me if her hair is curly or not? Because some are saying it is and some are saying it isn't 😩

I'm more confused now than I was in the first place! 🤣

And what should I do with it this morning?
She's not good at sitting still to have her hair done, because she's two!
Also if you can't brush curly hair when dry, how do you brush to put it in a ponytail?
We have a tangle teezer, but I do find it a bit useless on her hair.

I'm only wavy, so not much help for this morning, but just wanted to say that a microfibre towel is amazing if you don't want her going to bed with wet hair. Don't towel dry it the normal way, but squeeze sections of hair upwards in it (as if compressing a spring) to get most of the water out then put her hair into it in a turban. I've got super thick hair and the microfibre is the best thing ever for it!

Once you’ve brushed it in the morning give it a quick spritz with water and leave it.
After drying her hair, make sure you give it a blast on the cold setting. If her hair still has some residual heat when she goes to bed, it will end up setting in whatever tangle she gets in whilst shes falling asleep.

Brushing it would help!

But some people are saying to brush it because it's curly! 🤣 I literally can't win!

That looks fine, honestly. It has a definite wave so it's not going to look smooth and sleek
I just gather mine up to put it in a ponytail and smooth over the top with something like a dab of leave in conditioner if needed

You can always wet it with a spray bottle, add some leave in conditioner, and I use a cushioned paddle brush on mine when wet (it's the only time I brush it)

Not to brush it when dry I mean!

To me her hair looks in great condition. I have curly hair and never blow dry as it would look like that. When I was a child all my Mum did was wash it and brush it. My hair was very messy as well. I even had it cut really short to try and tidy I up, and I also used to brush the curls out which just made it worse! I also can't get on with the curly girl method that people rave about. I wash my hair every morning and my hairdresser says my hair is in great condition.

Ignore the people telling you to brush it when it's dry, you're just going to end up with a puffy mass of hair
You hear it a lot around wavy/curly hair "just brush it"
Yeah ok, what now as I have this lion mass of hair

Her hair would be curly if caring for it as such - I've said a couple of times what I do in the morning, spritz with water then run conditioner through but you need to have a silicone free conditioner for that. And you'd need to wash the silicones out with a strong shampoo first (the child's farm is ok for this). You use fingers or a wide tooth comb while wet to tie up. Curly hair is never going to look dead neat at the scalp tied up anyway.

Recommend investing in a good hairbrush. Mason Pearson are the best; pricey but will honestly last her until she becomes an adult. They're amazing. If that's too expensive, you can get a reasonably good knock-off by Denman but it will have a shorter lifespan.

As her hair grows, you will be able to tie it up a bit - bunches, plaits, half-in-half out were all favourites in our house. Stops it from getting so tangly while out and about.

Save the blow sting and treatments for when she's bigger and has more patience to sit there. Little girls need to look clean and tidy but not styled IMO.

Here's an Instagram reel if it helps where she brushes while wet, think her daughter is about 3

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CT733x3IPxQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I think her hair looks lovely!
The more recent photo it's falling into loose waves. I wouldn't brush it.
If you want it to look smoother, I would either spray it with a detangling spray and very lightly comb through with a wide tooth comb.
Or get some hair creme and just rub it in your hands and smooth over.
She's never going to have sleek tidy hair until it's long enough to plait flat. Embrace the wild.

You've had some conflicting advice here, no wonder you're confused! From my experience - now adult DC: wash with a baby shampoo, comb through with a wide tooth comb. No hairdryer, no conditioner. Wide tooth comb in the morning. Keep it short until she can sit still. Little girls don't need to have long hair. When she's older she'll sit still and show more interest, then you can ponytail it or whatever.
The microfibre towel is a good idea.

i just don’t understand what you feel is wrong with her hair. This morning’s photo looks absolutely fine!

Thick, wavy hair is a bit unruly - but that’s one of the lovely things about it!

Use a hair clip if it’s in her eyes. As do think about keeping it short while she’s little - it makes a massive difference to drying time, tangles and (depending on how thick her hair is) could also result in more defined curls and less frizz because it will have less weight.

(I used to put a programme on the tv and quickly attack my DD’s hair while she was watching!)

Try not to stress - you’re managing fine. Just avoid hairdryers where possible, brush when wet (with shampoo or conditioner in), avoid brushing dry. If you feel it looks greasy the morning after washing then stop with the conditioner for now and see how that goes. Use a quick spritz of water and run your fingers through it first thing.

Just looked at the picture again - honestly her hair is gorgeous!!

I used to comb while DD was watching tv starting at the ends and working up taking a very small amount of hair each time. Pulling causing the hair to break makes split ends which make the matting worse

I used to do that, @Reigateforever when they were strapped in the buggy! Minimising wriggling.

She has beautiful hair. Just wash with water for a few weeks (shampoo only if it really really needs it). No hair-drier. Bit of leave in conditioner in the morning maybe.

Research protein v moisture conditioners. I found the child's farm stuff quite drying on my daughter's curly hair, it's much better since we switched to something more moisturising.

That's adorable! All little shoulders and cute loveliness 🥰

This helped with growing out fringes when there's lots of short layers... it did require some permitted fave TV in the mornings to get it done but with nice soft small hair bands it stayed in all day. When they are little just have fewer sections.