Tween with curly hair - easy routine?

[rosseyv]

Really struggling with my soon to be teen daughter. She has long curly hair, which I usually plait on wash days, which leaves it quite silky and nice the next day. It's the following days that are tricky. She won't wear any kind of hair wrap or turban overnight. The next couple days her hair looks frizzy and unkempt. I just dread someone at high school commenting about it, or people thinking I'm not helping her with her self care. It still looks nice if pulled up in a pony but she refuses to wear her hair up at all.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? Also nice products that really work that I could get her excited about using? A simple curly hair routine that she could manage? At the moment we just use £1 bottles of shampoo and conditioner from Aldi.

Both me and my DD wash with whatever shampoo and conditioner we have in.
Then style with a bit of curl cream, we use a pot of boots own brand, a squirt or two of spray gel then either air dry or diffuse.
On days between washes we spray with spray gel scruch to distribute and again either just leave or diffuse.
I don't do any of the extra steps like separating/creating clumps, brush curls or plopping as we both have really curly hair that doesn't need encouragement but I believe if hair is more wavy that curly it can really help.
Edited for spelling.

I would wet the hair on non wash days just use conditioner and then scrunch with hair moose and leave to air dry

Get some Only Curls conditioner. Not cheap, but worth it. For nice curls you are going to have to pay more for products.

My DD and I use normal Aussie shampoo and then a curl cream and air dry. On non wash days DD (who has much curlier hair than mine) uses a spray bottle to wet hers a bit then a bit more curl cream and air dry.

Intrigued about the curl creams. DD and I both have very fine hair. I've tried curl cream in the past and it's felt heavy. Is it just a case of use a very small amount?

How curly? There's a lot off difference between loose corkscrew curls, mine and coils. I use a curly shampoo and conditioner and my hair stays curly until I next wash it.

She has fine curly hair - loose corkscrew curls. But obviously massive tendency to frizz.

I have fine wavy hair and loved Only Curls. Your daughter's hair sounds amazing.

Just buy the range, follow the instructions on the website, done.

No brushing and only dry with a diffuser.

But honestly, where there are curls or waves there will be frizz. I think we are obsessed with it now, compared with films of the 70s where actresses have curly frizzy hair and it is beautiful.

Myself and my tween have curly hair. Here’s what works for us (and I’ve tried all the methods - expensive products!)

Use a silicon and paraben free shampoo and conditioner. (Alberto balsam do good ones)

I use the LMG method - leave in conditioner, mouse then gel. Go for the strongest holds (5 in gel for ex.) I like vo5s curl mousse.

Put loads of mousse and gel raked through the hair a brush helps distribution - you want so much that you can literally hear a squish! You can twirl the hair to encourage curl patterns Either diffuse or air dry.
Never use a towel - just a T-shirt is ideal!
then scrunch out the crunch when dry by rubbing hands (sometimes with the tiniest bit of argan oil - rub down like you’re praying with the hair between hands!)

We always have a good hair day with this method and then I just use mousse the next day to top up occasionally spraying with water first to reactivate curls and diffuse dry. Also never use a brush on dry hair. Hope that helps!

DD uses a T-shirt as a turban after washing and her hair turns out in gorgeous waves. She has DMIL’s brown mane .
Then she uses an oil for any frizz at the temples.

Boots Pink has got to be one of the best curl cremes out there and costs less than a fiver. It doesn't always follow that more expensive is better.

OP, in answer to your question I think it all depends on what her hair type is and whether it's thick/thin/fine etc. I'm a 2C/3A and have to wash my hair every day if I want it curly every day. If I'm not going anywhere then I'll just use a wide tooth comb on it on the second day and pin it half up with a hair clip. By the third day mine really needs washing.

@rosseyv Ah just noticed your above post about her hair type. It sounds similar to mine then.

My routine is: Wash every morning with a shampoo bar (sea salt ones work better I find) and a conditioner bar. Comb the hair out in the shower then use your fingers to sort of shake it out so it's not stuck together. Then turn your head upside down whilst the hair is still soaking wet and scrunch curl creme (I use about a 50p sized scoop of Boots Pink) followed by a strong hold gel into the curls. Like someone mentioned above you need to hear the squelch noise to know you have enough. I then use a microfibre towel turban to 'plop' the curls whilst I have breakfast. Next I use a diffuser to dry my hair upside down until it feels slightly crispy and is almost totally dry. Last step is to flip my hair back over and then not touch it until it's completely dry. When it is, I scrunch out the gel casts which leave it soft and curly for the rest of the day :)

OH and getting a proper cut by a curly hair specialist also really, really helps. I go to Unruly Curls in London four times a year.

Mine washes every night with conditioner only, brushed through with a wet brush under the shower. Uses a towel carefully to get the bulk of the water out (squeezes not rubs) and goes to bed with it damp, no product no heat.

Mine is more wavy, I use shampoo and conditioner, microfibre towel turban then rough dry it with a hairdryer to about 90% dry. Brush the crown smooth then use a tiny amount of gel/curl creme mix to scrunch the curls. De-crunch when bone dry. Second day brush through dry and repeat the gel/creme routine. 3rd day possibly the same, or re-wash if the product has built up.

I just dread someone at high school commenting about it, or people thinking I'm not helping her with her self care. It still looks nice if pulled up in a pony but she refuses to wear her hair up at all.

I would be extremely surprised if people thought that you didn´t help her with her self-care because of this.
If her peers do make remarks, she´ll either adjust her hair care routine (and / or embrace ponytails, buns etc). Or she´ll decide that she is happy with her frizzy hair and doesn´t care...

Having long hair but being unwilling to ever wear it up (be that in a ponytail, bun, plait) is however rather silly in my personal opinion. Especially if your hair texture is anything but completely straight.

It requires so much time and effort (if you want it to look presentable everyday). I therefore wouldn´t suggest time consuming / elaborate hair care routines... She will find those soon enough if she´s interested.

My hair care routine (sounds like I have a similar texture and length as your DD) consists of either combing out the curls on day 1
Or enjoying the day 1 waves/curls, combing it thoroughly on day two and combatting the frizz with serum and plaits / a bun. Misting it and blow drying it over a brush (takes about 5 - 10 minutes) works for day 2 as well.

That´s the simplest routine I´ve ever managed to find. Leaving the curls after day 1 unfortunately leaves me with really big tangles and knots, especially if I use curl mousse our creams.

I can't see that a silk pillowcase has been mentioned, should help with the frizz overnight.

I've got frizz-prone curly hair and find this spray pretty good for looking more presentable between washes:

lovenoughty.co.uk/products/hello-curls-define-reshape-curl-primer?variant=39258512162898&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAiAjfyqBhAsEiwA-UdzJEnpwn3xLRx2tMfAeh8afAZHMsxkdGw0WFv7-3IZkKiXAbdcO5PsOhoC7V4QAvD_BwE

I have a 13yo with curly, textured hair. It makes a big difference to use products suited to their hair type. My DD's soaks up any moisture given to it, so things like shea butter help a lot. Everyone's type is different, it's not just curly/straight or frizzy/smooth. I suggest buying sample size products to see what works and what doesn't.