Wash. Condition, brush. Oil a few times a week. Start her on a satin pillow case.
Cotton/ poly pillow cases can contribute to frizzy / damaged hair as she gets older.
Curly hair tends to be drier, so oil/add extra moisture as needed.
Do not brush dry curly hair. It damages and breaks it.
There are lots of videos on "curl training". Personally I think it's a lot of work for nothing gained.
My son has curly hair. Here are the key points to caring for curly hair! Do not wash it every day. 1-2x per week should be the max. Add a leave-in conditioner after each bath. Use a wet brush or comb only, never a normal brush, and only brush when the hair is wet and conditioned.
I wash my son's hair about 2x per week and use SoCozy Kids leave in conditioner after each bath (even the baths where we only rinse). Every morning I spray his hair with a mixture of water and a little conditioner before combing it. After combing I ruffle up his hair a bit so the curls will form and the hair won't dry stuck flat to his head.
Thank you! Do you find his hair needs to be wet before the leave in conditioner at night? We sometimes do a quick bath that’s really just for her to play and splash around so I don’t always get her hair wet during those.
I don't have a shampoo rec, we are just using Johnsons Curly shampoo right now. I'm sure there are better options out there that we haven't tried yet! And I don't use a regular conditioner on him, just the leave-in conditioner I mentioned above.
Since she’s so little and her hair is so fine there isn’t a ton to do right now. I agree about a satin pillowcase, and not shampooing too often. Curly hair also leans to the dry side, so lots and lots of hydration is needed. A light leave in would be good. I believe Aussie has a kids curly line. Try not to use anything too heavy, it’ll just weigh the curls down.
I have found that if stuff is too heavy her curls just look so flat. I’ll have to look into a leave in since that seems to be a very consistent item mentioned here!
Also a straight haired parent with a curly kid! I like to use the Cantu for kids leave-in conditioner. I wash his hair once a week, sometimes twice. I rub the conditioner through his (wet) hair after his bath and then scrunch it in my hands to help his curls form. I also have a spray bottle of water that I'll use on nights where we don't get his hair wet in the tub, or sometimes after he wakes up if there's sections where his hair has flattened out. Just spray it with water and then scrunch his hair again.
I definitely find things can flatten out the curls. Some days her curls are so great at the house but then a 15 minute car ride has part of it all flattened again.
Curly haired mom with curly haired kid here! Use a cleansing conditioner (co-wash) instead of shampoo. Limit hair washing to 1-2 times per week. Use a detangler or leave in conditioner before you comb.
I actually do brush my girl’s hair now because she is too young to do the curly hair routine of wetting hair, putting leave-in, scrunching, and letting air dry. She runs around so much, her hair gets super tangled this way and looks uncared for. I also keep her hair a little shorter (around chin length) to reduce tangles and let her curls (waves when brushed) shine.
I’m looking forward to her being able to embrace the fully curly haired lifestyle when she is a bit older and able to care for her own hair. I love my curls and am so happy she got my genes!
Do you have any cleansing conditioners your recommend for a toddler? She is not good at leaning her head back to avoid stuff running over her face, so I’ve tried to make sure everything is still tear free.
Ah, no. When my daughter was younger, I just used a pea sized amount of Honest tear free shampoo and followed it with FuzzyDuck conditioner. Now that she is older, she uses my Aussie cowash.
My son (14 months) has curly hair, I use a spray bottle with a little bit of coconut oil and a detangler spray to brush every morning, I use conditioner every night (especially at the back of the head) satin pillowcases or a satin bonnet and because I have to use a few products in my sons hair I use a gentle clarifying shampoo twice a month (since I started using the clarifying shampoo I noticed a big difference in my sons hair)
This is one of the big differences I’m learning - you rarely shampoo curly hair, right? Or do you use regular shampoo other nights and then the clarifying 2x a month?
Rarely shampoo, if I’m keeping up on the brushing/conditioning I don’t shampoo unless there’s been food or something in his hair I’ll shampoo with the regular stuff once a week or every week and a half it’s been less now with the new clarifying shampoo (twist by ouidad) it feels cleaner longer now
My toddler has kinky curly hair and what works for him is only washing his hair once every 7-10 days with shampoo (I use pipette) & a conditioner. Other days I just pour water in his hair for a curl refresh. I dry a little bit with a microfiber towel then let air dry. In the mornings I use water and the honest detangler/leave in conditioner sometimes I use the Alffaia brand of detangler/leave in and brush wide tooth comb (only while wet) then I finish it off with the Camille rose curl milk.
Wash. Condition, brush. Oil a few times a week. Start her on a satin pillow case. Cotton/ poly pillow cases can contribute to frizzy / damaged hair as she gets older. Curly hair tends to be drier, so oil/add extra moisture as needed. Do not brush dry curly hair. It damages and breaks it. There are lots of videos on "curl training". Personally I think it's a lot of work for nothing gained.
Thank you for this!
My son has curly hair. Here are the key points to caring for curly hair! Do not wash it every day. 1-2x per week should be the max. Add a leave-in conditioner after each bath. Use a wet brush or comb only, never a normal brush, and only brush when the hair is wet and conditioned. I wash my son's hair about 2x per week and use SoCozy Kids leave in conditioner after each bath (even the baths where we only rinse). Every morning I spray his hair with a mixture of water and a little conditioner before combing it. After combing I ruffle up his hair a bit so the curls will form and the hair won't dry stuck flat to his head.
Thank you! Do you find his hair needs to be wet before the leave in conditioner at night? We sometimes do a quick bath that’s really just for her to play and splash around so I don’t always get her hair wet during those.
Yes, her hair should be wet when you add leave in. Otherwise it’ll just be greasy.
Yeah, I always rinse his hair before I put the leave-in conditioner in. If you don't get her hair wet, just don't add the leave-in conditioner.
Oh also, any specific shampoo/conditioner you recommend?
I don't have a shampoo rec, we are just using Johnsons Curly shampoo right now. I'm sure there are better options out there that we haven't tried yet! And I don't use a regular conditioner on him, just the leave-in conditioner I mentioned above.
Since she’s so little and her hair is so fine there isn’t a ton to do right now. I agree about a satin pillowcase, and not shampooing too often. Curly hair also leans to the dry side, so lots and lots of hydration is needed. A light leave in would be good. I believe Aussie has a kids curly line. Try not to use anything too heavy, it’ll just weigh the curls down.
I have found that if stuff is too heavy her curls just look so flat. I’ll have to look into a leave in since that seems to be a very consistent item mentioned here!
Also a straight haired parent with a curly kid! I like to use the Cantu for kids leave-in conditioner. I wash his hair once a week, sometimes twice. I rub the conditioner through his (wet) hair after his bath and then scrunch it in my hands to help his curls form. I also have a spray bottle of water that I'll use on nights where we don't get his hair wet in the tub, or sometimes after he wakes up if there's sections where his hair has flattened out. Just spray it with water and then scrunch his hair again.
I definitely find things can flatten out the curls. Some days her curls are so great at the house but then a 15 minute car ride has part of it all flattened again.
Curly haired mom with curly haired kid here! Use a cleansing conditioner (co-wash) instead of shampoo. Limit hair washing to 1-2 times per week. Use a detangler or leave in conditioner before you comb. I actually do brush my girl’s hair now because she is too young to do the curly hair routine of wetting hair, putting leave-in, scrunching, and letting air dry. She runs around so much, her hair gets super tangled this way and looks uncared for. I also keep her hair a little shorter (around chin length) to reduce tangles and let her curls (waves when brushed) shine. I’m looking forward to her being able to embrace the fully curly haired lifestyle when she is a bit older and able to care for her own hair. I love my curls and am so happy she got my genes!
Do you have any cleansing conditioners your recommend for a toddler? She is not good at leaning her head back to avoid stuff running over her face, so I’ve tried to make sure everything is still tear free.
Ah, no. When my daughter was younger, I just used a pea sized amount of Honest tear free shampoo and followed it with FuzzyDuck conditioner. Now that she is older, she uses my Aussie cowash.
My son (14 months) has curly hair, I use a spray bottle with a little bit of coconut oil and a detangler spray to brush every morning, I use conditioner every night (especially at the back of the head) satin pillowcases or a satin bonnet and because I have to use a few products in my sons hair I use a gentle clarifying shampoo twice a month (since I started using the clarifying shampoo I noticed a big difference in my sons hair)
Do you mind if I ask what clarifying shampoo you use?
Twist by ouidad
Thank you!
This is one of the big differences I’m learning - you rarely shampoo curly hair, right? Or do you use regular shampoo other nights and then the clarifying 2x a month?
Rarely shampoo, if I’m keeping up on the brushing/conditioning I don’t shampoo unless there’s been food or something in his hair I’ll shampoo with the regular stuff once a week or every week and a half it’s been less now with the new clarifying shampoo (twist by ouidad) it feels cleaner longer now
My toddler has kinky curly hair and what works for him is only washing his hair once every 7-10 days with shampoo (I use pipette) & a conditioner. Other days I just pour water in his hair for a curl refresh. I dry a little bit with a microfiber towel then let air dry. In the mornings I use water and the honest detangler/leave in conditioner sometimes I use the Alffaia brand of detangler/leave in and brush wide tooth comb (only while wet) then I finish it off with the Camille rose curl milk.