Advice for getting curly/frizzy hair to hold this style (toddler boy)

[MagusBride]

My son has type 3 hair that is springy but slightly frizzy, so we're not sure what kind of product can hold his hair into a style like the one shown below (for special occasions/portraits).
We've gotten it to stay like this for short durations by using a pomade, but the hold doesn't last very long (maybe an hour or less) and it curls back up. His hair is also rather dense.

Thanks!

https://i.postimg.cc/gcqHKr6c/Hard-Part-Taper-Fade.jpg

[cjk]

Hiding your natural texture is a losing proposition. Anything with enough hold will look like his hair was glued to his head.

You might try something with super firm hold like la looks extreme blue gel.

Men's grooming products like lay rite and dippity-do might be helpful, but they never worked that well for me. Even krew comb didn't hold enough for me.

[blackgothicdoll]

Why not just let his hair curl up?

He can still wear the same haircut though it is curly, maybe just gel down the sides but let the top stay curly if that makes sense? As the sides are cut short anyway it'll be a smooth look, I think.

[shelomit]

I have a (non-toddler!) colleague with probably 3c-ish hair who wears his hair like this 99% of the time. I think he combs it out and sticks it down flat with some kind of product at the very crown of the head, but he always has a kind of nest of curls bouncing above his ears on either side of his head. And there's a little bit of visible wave to the crown-of-the-head bit too, although it seems to stay in place well. It's a very different effect on curly hair--doesn't look at all bad on him, but very different than what's in this photo.

I don't think our working relationship is quite of the type that I feel comfortable asking him how exactly he gets that hair to remain in place ( ;

[CuteCrow]

Comb it wet, apply the strongest gel/wax you have, hold it down with Bobby pins as it dries, and pray for it to stay like that.
But I agree with everyone else, unless you want to flat iron his hair it would be much easier to work with his texture. A bit of leave in conditioner and some gel will keep most of the frizzines away. Still, he's a toddler, don't expect his hair to stay styled more than 15 minutes lol

[MagusBride]

I've actually never thought to pin it down with something as it dries; I could try that.

Sorry that I didn't clarify to everyone in the OP, but I don't mean to use this as an everyday style for him - this is just for picture days when he's dressed up, such as Christmas portraits, haha. Most of the time, we just let his hair be.

[Nini]

Why not take pictures that represent how he is most of the time? :)

[CuteCrow]

A lot of people like to look different to their normal selves for "fancy" pictures. I understand that.
You could try pinning it down or also wrapping his hair with a scarf as it dries to keep it from curling up, for a special occasion it should last long enough to take the picture :)

[cjk]

You could try pinning it down or also wrapping his hair with a scarf as it dries to keep it from curling up, for a special occasion it should last long enough to take the picture :)

I might be the only man you've ever met who actually used to want hat hair.

I had a fitted baseball cap that I would use to tame what I now know was curls in my front, combed my hair back after getting it dry with the hair dryer while still warm, and then put the cap on.

It actually resulted in a much sleeker hairdo, not unlike what you showed. Though my top was far longer.

You said he's a toddler. All boy. Barrettes and bobby pins will be fought, his baseball cap may not be.

[CuteCrow]

I might be the only man you've ever met who actually used to want hat hair.
Actually, where I'm from most men prefer hat hair :lol:
I didn't suggest it as with curlier hair or usually makes it also frizzier and it won't lay down that we'll. But she could try that too and we what works for her an her kid
Also, being a toddler I'd say nothing I going to last long, not even a cap, they often hate anything you put on their heads but it's worth a try.

[lapushka]

Yeah, having a son with 3b hair, then posting a picture of a child with pin-straight hair and even expecting your child's hair to do the very same is a... bit much. :flower: Sorry it is the way that it is. It just is not possible. Yes, you *can* do a tight parting and have the roots lay down a bit, but it is going to pop back up inevitably, as you experienced.

Why not get it cut in a style that is suited towards his curls? Wouldn't that be better? Forcing hair into something it's not is like cjk said, a "losing proposition".