Curlies....I NEED your help please!

[whiteisle]

My little girl, almost 3, has beautiful red/strawberry blonde hair that is a total wreck! It's got natural curl and there is one section at the back that is, I guess, still baby hair and each morning she wakes it is in the most horrendous rat's nest state (great candidate for dreads, LOL). We just recently got it cut into a Suri-Cruise-type-do to try to get rid of some more "baby hair" and get it looking better and it looks great if it's washed and blow dried, but the reality is she isn't up for having her hair washed everyday and won't cooperated with the hair dryer. Now I'm not complaining about any of that. She doesn't need her hair washed everyday and certainly doesn't need the hair dryer either, but I DO need to figure out how to tame this wild mane.

What products can I try that will enhance her natural curl and too, what would be a good daily routine to try to control the frizz and knots?

I guess I could put a little braid in that one back section at night, but again, that's totally up to the cooperation level at the time. It's too short now to do pig-tail braids but hey, she didn't let me go there anyway when it was long enough! Ha!

Ideas?

[Misha]

Hi whiteisle,

Maybe a light sheen of oil before bed on that tangley section at the back would help, and have her sleep on a satin pillowcase (you can tell her it's a princess pillowcase - lol).

For my DD with 3b thick hair, using a widetooth comb, a water spray bottle and grapeseed oil helps with the comb-out in the morning.

HTH

[harley mama]

Try a little coconut oil to tame the frizz. And I agree with Misha, a water spray bottle and grapeseed oil will work wonders. I use jojoba myself but, I suspect any light oil will do the trick!

[lapushka]

You need a spray bottle and oil or conditioner or a special curly (natural) product and a wide-toothed comb. Wet the hair, spread the product (conditioner will work wonders), then gently comb the hair and let it dry naturally. You don't even need to wash out the conditioner.

Using a bit of conditioner or glycerine in the spray bottle (filled with demineralized water) will work too, no need to use anything else but a comb then.

You need to find out what works for her hair.

These are products you might like to consider.
Jessicurl: http://www.jessicurl.com
MopTop's kids line, called Fuzzy Duck: http://www.moptophair.com/

If you go to curlmart you'll find many more (do consider the ingredients, though - it's well marked - look to the left "curl chemistry"):
http://www.curlmart.com/

There's an amazing board specially for curly girls:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/

[Medvssa]

My mother had straight hair and didn't know how to deal with my curls. I recommend you go through some of the threads dedicated to curly hair, like Curly and Wurly, it is another world, really, and you will be making a huge favour to your child :)

[rubyann]

I feel your pain, whiteisle! My 6yo dd has the most gorgeous head full of curls! She's been exclusively conditioner only washing since she's had hair. It was interesting getting her to cooperate, but we managed. I would use a cup of water or hand held shower to wet her hair and then add liberal amounts of Suave Naturals or VO5 or white rain conditioner, work it through, comb through with a shower comb and then rinse. I save the comb out till she's out of the tub now and find that it's easier. She hates water in her face, so I give her a wash cloth to cover her eyes with during the wetting and rinsing portions.

Combing through or morning detangling was accomplished in her highchair or booster seat for a long time, while she had a special toy to keep her occupied (one she could only play with during hair time!). That helped alot. Putting her favorite tv show on also could help a great deal. Anything that would distract her without making her move around too much is great!!! I use the aforementioned spray bottle, some form of non cone conditioner and a wide tooth comb or pick to gently detangle from the ends to the scalp.

I would second the recommendation to check out the Curly and Wurly thread as well as investigating over at naturallycurly.com. There's alot of great info for curlies in both places.

Even a 6, my dd sometimes kvetches about having her hair care. My answer is usually "I can take care of it with some scissors. Short hair is so easy to care for." That usually produces a vehement response, as she is very into growing her hair long:) Wonder where she got that idea:shrug:

[cocolover]

I would second the silk pillowcase. There is a great seller on ebay and they even have rose petal pink ones, I think their seller id is feelingpampered. I have one of their's and I'm really happy with it. It was just over $20. It has really helped my hair to not be a wreck in the morning.
Usually curly hair can handle a lot before it gets limp or greasy, so lightly diluted conditioner sprayed onto the underside in the morning will really help to detangle. When used consistently, you may find her hair becomes less tangly. As long as my hair is well moisturized, it doesn't tangle at all.
Aubrey's organics Honeysuckly rose is a great product for curly hair, really safe to use on kids also since they can have more chemical sensitivities than us adults. You could dilute it in a spray bottle, just don't do more than a few days worth at a time, as you are diluting the perservatives in the product.
HTH

[suicides_eve]

for my daughter i make her sit in the morning while watching tv and work on her hair...

she has bsl 3/b hair and it's a handful. I lightly mist her hair with cone free conditioner/water mix. don't touch it after wards it causes and curls to come out to be frizzy. Also a bit of aloe gel will help, stay away from gel with alcohol. it's drying

if using a blow dryer ( which i personally would not do to my daughter who is 3 as well) make sure she is wearing ear plugs.. My mom is a sound scientist for the government and I've heard all about and seen her test results on hearing loss and noise.

[suicides_eve]

Even a 6, my dd sometimes kvetches about having her hair care. My answer is usually "I can take care of it with some scissors. Short hair is so easy to care for." That usually produces a vehement response, as she is very into growing her hair long:) Wonder where she got that idea:shrug:


lol i tell dd the same thing that usually gets her to hold still while i fix her hair up lol:D

[julyllove]

Spray a little water on it with a little bit of conditioner. Let it air dry and don't touch or comb it while it dries, so the curls won't separate. You won't have to do much, so the fact that she doesn't cooperate much becomes a non-issue.

HTH

[whiteisle]

Thank you everyone!! I have tried the spray bottle with water and condish, but that doesn't seem to quite be enough. I may try the water with oil spray and see if that does any better. Can you mix coconut oil in the water? It's what I use and have on hand.

LOL! I have to tell you this...tonight I did indeed manage to get one little "french-style-type" braid right down the center back of her hair where it loves to get all knotty. It looks hilarious! DH really raised his eyebrows when he saw it and looked at me like I was crazy. I just explained what it was for and he totally got it. He too is aware of the dread potential back there! LOL We'll see it she keeps it in there tonight. She loves pulling her hair down if I've managed to do something with it.

I'm also going to check on a new pillowcase for her. I'm sure that would make a vast improvement.

It's a little late tonight for me, but tomorrow I'm going to check out the curly and wurly thread to get some hints into the world of curls.

Thanks again everyone! Such an awesome place here!

[Debra83]

Two products I learned about through here that I'm amazed with:

1) mixed chicks leave in conditioner....on their site they have videos of how to use the product. This is an amazing insite even if you just want to use any old conditioner. The technique is the key.

2) Eqyss Survivor Detangler. Awesome. Can use on wet or dry - just a dab and rub hands and smooth through hair. Lets me fingercomb my hair very easily and makes it soft. I use it on days I don't have time to air dry as in the technique above, or on days I don't have time to wet my head at all....yes, I have a habit of sleeping in sometimes!!!

[Lady Lilya]

My mother had straight hair and didn't know how to deal with my curls. I recommend you go through some of the threads dedicated to curly hair, like Curly and Wurly, it is another world, really, and you will be making a huge favour to your child :)

Ditto.

My parents just ended up cutting it very short, and brushing the hell out of it which somewhat brushed out the curl but mostly made it frizzy.

[DecafJane]

I would go for something with improved slip rather than enhancing the curl, if you have having problems with increased matting. Thicker, coarser curly hair on adults can cope with sleeping all night on a pillow, but if her hair is so fine that it isn't managing, then perhaps it would be better to put something in it that is designed to give it more slip and make it smoother and softer, and forget about the curl for now.

I had ringlets as a child (still curly when I let it air dry naturally), and my mother kept my hair short as she didn't know how to manage it.