I’m a straight-haired mother of two gorgeous babes, one of whom has the tightest blonde Shirley Temple ringlets you ever did see! Curly Girly, Halo Top, and Old-lady Winnie are just a few of the nicknames she’s collected over the last 21 months as a curly hair kid.
As you might imagine, a huge learning curve existed when it came to finding out how to properly care for the curly hair toddler. Around the age of nine months, it started growing, not down, but up and out. So my go-to hair care to just brush out all the tangles everyday started to fail me.
Here are a few hair care tips for curly hair kids that I’ve learned over the last year. I hope you find a few tips to help yours!
- Do not brush out the curls.
This breaks up the curls and although quite adorable, will add to the frizz. Get a box of assorted combs. My favorite is this ginormous wide tooth comb, but I also like the fine ones for those days when we have to get the big knots out of the back. I think that’s the biggest difference between straight and curly hair—this notion that tangles are OK. Sometimes you just have to leave them. - Try using only your fingers on wet hair.
Use your fingers when the hair is wet and conditioned to gentle detangle any curls that have lost their direction. Twirling in the direction of the curl will help keep it in place and bouncy. I love doing this with the curls around her face or ones that aren’t quite long enough to make it into the pony tail.
-Favorite conditioners: SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Shine Conditioner,
Beautycounter Not a Knot Kids Conditioner - Sometimes less is more.
Give the hair a break for a while from shampoo and only use water to get out food and baby messes. We’ve learned that shampoo has a drying effect, the opposite of what a curly girly needs!
-Best spray bottle: Flairosol
-Favorite hair smoothie/style product: Honey Baby Naturals Honey Shea Butter Hair Smoothie - Keep it moisturized.
Too much conditioner on someone with straight hair is a nightmare, so when I was told to use leave-in conditioner on my toddler, I thought, “But she’ll have the greasiest hair ever!” I couldn’t have been more wrong. The moisture of the leave-in conditioner made her hair bouncy, shiny, and so gorgeous. Try mixing half-water with half of your favorite conditioner for a quick spritz in the morning. - Accessorize.
Use headbands until the front grows enough to meet the back. Her hair is probably the length of her shoulders if were straight. But it’s not. Like I said, it grows out and up so we’ve had to get creative with pig tails (more like pom poms), front braids, top knot (which doesn’t include the back inch or so of her hair) and bows…lots of bows.
-Favorite Bow: Double Ruffle Bow - Empower her (or him) and let the curls go wild.
Have you seen many curly-haired book heroines or dolls? Me neither. On my search to find relatable toys and books for my daughter, I was a little stumped. Here are a few that we’ve found that have brought more curly goodness into our home!
-The American Girl: Truly Me Doll
-Book: Curlee Girlee by Atara Twersky
-Movies: Brave’s Merida & Moana - Seek out information.
I am always asking friends, hair dressers, and blogs on how to manage and take care of my daughter’s curls. A curly-haired friend suggested the site Naturally Curly and it’s been great for product reviews and community.
What hair care tips for curly hair kids do you have? Let’s share!
My son inherited his curly locks from me. Some tips I can offer.
1. Just like you mentioned–only brush hair when wet, either fresh from the shower or saturate with multiple sprays from spray bottle and comb/brush
2. You also mentioned skipping the shampoo. We also do this. If it feels greasy on the scalp then it is time. My son has super shiny curls, so I just brush wet and let dry. You can also just use conditioner and rinse, by the way.
3. Air dry hair–For my boy, brush/air dry. My hair- I put a dime of hair cream on my palms and run through hair. I’d use half or less for a kiddo. I like “Curls Rock”. Comb wet. Grab thick sections of hair and twist. Don’t fuss with them. Air dry or let them dry on your way somewhere in the car using cold AC. Resist the urge to touch. Then gently tousle curls or just shake/flick your head. Do not use a hair dryer.
3. Trim hair to desired shape. Do not cut traditional bangs. They will not stay down. They have a life of their own. My boy has long pieces of hair that I trim lightly just to stay out of his eyes. I cut his hair when it is slightly damp, trim the fly aways when dry…while keeping everything pretty long, but still above the neck. My hair–trim away dead ends or make layers by pulling top section up and trimming top section slightly shorter than bottom section. Air dry, then trim for shape. Curly hair is very forgiving. You never see crooked curly hair. Just lots of springy curls.