# Help with curly toddler hair



## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

Her hair is just crazy curly.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96...t/DSC00748.jpg

When she was born, I swore I'd never cut her hair. I've cut it 3 times already







. The ends get so tangled and when I try to comb it out, I know I'm stretching and breaking some strands, so I have been trimming the ends.

Any advice for a good comb, good conditioner, and good anything else? I currently slather her hair with conditioner, comb through it, then apply some anti-frizz stuff on top.

Help!


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## heatherh (Jun 25, 2005)

Beautiful hair! It's curly and it's a lovely color. I'm jealous









How often do you wash it? Washing less often is usually best for curly hair. Some people don't wash at all. I usually just rinse mine and then apply a good conditioner from the ears down. Always use a big wide tooth comb (mine is actually a big flat rectangle with wide teeth and big spaces) - never a brush! I also don't comb mine at all when it's dry.

You might want to try a spray on detangler. That can help with any knots.


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

She hates having her hair washed, so I only do it about once a week. Do you have any recommendations for a detangler?

I have NO idea where these curls came from







DH and I, and our parents, all have straight hair. I haven't a clue how to take care of her hair. Using a hairbrush makes it look even more frizzy. She won't leave anything in her hair (I tried using some of those fabric-covered stretchy ties to try to cut down on the tangles, but she yanks them out).


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## L&IsMama (Jan 24, 2006)

Oh wow, she's adorable! My ds2 has curly hair, too, but not as thick or as curly as hers! I actually cut his hair today. *sob* Now he looks like Steve from Blue's Clues.







:

Have you tried a spray on detangler, like a pp suggested? And a wide toothed comb, or even a pick? What kind of shampoo do you use on her hair? We found this shampoo at the HFS made by Healthy Times, pansy flower something or other. They also have a conditioner. It seems to work pretty well for my ds. Well, it did when he had alot of hair.


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## L&IsMama (Jan 24, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie* 
Do you have any recommendations for a detangler?

Lor'eal kids makes a detangler that works ok. (Has some funky chemicals in it, though. I have seen kids detanglers at the HFS, though)


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Awww... her hair looks just like my dd's, but more of it









What we do- we wash every other day (a kids shampoo that has conditioner) Then we put TONS of conditioner. Tons. Until I can run my fingers through it. I do run my fingers through it and detangle all of it when it's slick with conditioner.

THEN in the morning, when I go to fix it, I spray it wet with a no more tangles spray. We use target brand, but I hear california babies has a nice one, we can't afford it...









I've found that washing and conditioning every other day keeps it from getting out of hand.

good luck!

-Angela


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

i finally sent my dd to the hairdresser and it took her about a half an hour to get out all the tangles and knots , and two suckers to get her to sit still (i usually end up cutting the knots out







)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ness/JM083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ess/JennaM.jpg


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## LuckyMommaToo (Aug 14, 2003)

We do something similar to Angela. Wash every three days. I put conditioner in and comb it through while she's sitting in the bath, then leave it in. I use California Babies b/c it's all safe -- since I'm not rinsing it I don't want to smell funky or be chemical-ly. In the morning I spray a detangling spray and use a really wide-toothed comb. Since I started this routine her dreadlocks have really become much less frequent.
-Erin


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## Nikki Christina (Mar 27, 2003)

my oldest dd has tons of curly hair







the youngest looks like its going to be curly also..just dosent have alot yet

I dont wash her hair often..maybe every 2 weeks.. but I do rinse & condition it .. we use pantene or aussie moist.
detangler.. i use suave

I dont use a comb.. use a brush..

shes recently gotten where she wants to brush it herself.. i had to show her how to start at the bottom ..she tried starting at the top & that ended up in a big tangled mess!


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## FLMama092485 (Jul 25, 2006)

I use to have curly hair and now dd has it. I have found that the Sauve(sp?) kis products work really well on DD's hair. I was it about every other to every 2 days depending on how active she has been and if she has been to Grandma's or not. (Grandma is a smoker) I use the conditioner and detangler. Also every morning I spray her hair with a spray bottle to get it wet and then appy more detangler to it and pick it out with a wide tooth pick. Since curly hair after being slept on can be a mess.


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## Pumpkin_Blythe (Jun 19, 2007)

Allison has very TIGHT curls, brushing is not an option without a LARGE tooth brush. Most the time, to be totally honest I dry her hair with a towel, flip her upside down and use a hair pick on it!! lol

Ally's Hair

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Kat/fdfdf1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Kat/aaAaa3.jpg


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Pumpkin_Blythe* 
Allison has very TIGHT curls, brushing is not an option without a LARGE tooth brush. Most the time, to be totally honest I dry her hair with a towel, flip her upside down and use a hair pick on it!! lol

Ally's Hair

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Kat/fdfdf1.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...Kat/aaAaa3.jpg

She's gorgeous! She and DD have similar curls. I love the natural highlights.


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## JAL (Apr 29, 2005)

I have had two friends with super curly hair love and highly recommend a book called Curly Girl, I myself have boring straight hair







but have gotten the book for a few friends.

Beautiful curls by the way! My dd is slightly curly, we will see in time how it turns out!


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Canadianmommax3* 
i finally sent my dd to the hairdresser and it took her about a half an hour to get out all the tangles and knots , and two suckers to get her to sit still (i usually end up cutting the knots out







)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ness/JM083.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ess/JennaM.jpg

I can honestly say your DD has the most gorgeous hair in the world.

I'd let DD's hair grow out more if I knew it would like like that!


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## Pumpkin_Blythe (Jun 19, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie* 
She's gorgeous! She and DD have similar curls. I love the natural highlights.

Thanks hun :0)


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## roostery (Jan 23, 2004)

My DD is seriously curly too. Curly friends have told me to never shampoo, only condition, and to comb it with the conditioner in. Never brush or comb while it's dry. I've found that DD's does best if I get it wet in the morning (when it is a huge frizzy mess from sleeping) and comb it through and then let it dry into its natural ringlets.

There is a curly girl tribe here that talks a lot about how to deal with curly kid hair.

I know that I am going to have to keep DD's hair either really short or in braids until she is old enough to take care of it. It is only a couple inches long in the back but it dreads up at the slightest provocation, and the places that it is longer (sides and top) frizz out really easily.


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## BellinghamCrunchie (Sep 7, 2005)

Here it is today after spending a serious amount of time combing it through with conditioner and bathing:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96...t/DSC00916.jpg

But she hates having it combed. I'm going to try a detangler.


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## Pumpkin_Blythe (Jun 19, 2007)

wow, lol mine and yours could pass as sisters!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Yep. LOTS of detangler. I soak the hair in the morning.

Some have luck with a conditioner and water mixture in a spray bottle.

-Angela


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## kissum (Apr 15, 2006)

Brush it immediately after the bath (or even IN the bath) and then, like everyone else said, lots of conditioner.

ETA: This is my dd







http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...sComing-01.jpg

Her hair is long now though.


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## fishface (Jan 6, 2007)

All the curlilocks posted ITT look like they could be related. I have no tips but am LOVING the pictures of the curly-headed cutie pies!


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## Celery (Jun 28, 2006)

I would say that's too much product for a toddler's hair. Hell, that's too much product for my hair! Using the worng product will just encourage the frizzies.

Wash once, maybe twice a week. Wet it daily. If you need detangling, a spray bottle with a touch of conditioner, otherwise just water.

To style her hair in the morning, wet it thoroughly with the spray bottle, comb with a spider brush, and gently kind of rustle the curls into place. If it's wet enough the comb should do it for you. Then DO NOT TOUCH her hair until the next day.

CURLY HAIR IS NOT FOR TOUCHING!!!


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Celery* 
I would say that's too much product for a toddler's hair. Hell, that's too much product for my hair! Using the worng product will just encourage the frizzies.

Wash once, maybe twice a week. Wet it daily. If you need detangling, a spray bottle with a touch of conditioner, otherwise just water.

To style her hair in the morning, wet it thoroughly with the spray bottle, comb with a spider brush, and gently kind of rustle the curls into place. If it's wet enough the comb should do it for you. Then DO NOT TOUCH her hair until the next day.

CURLY HAIR IS NOT FOR TOUCHING!!!


I have not been able to brush dd's hair with just water since she was a year. no matter if I never wash... no way. And once there are tangles, just conditioner and water don't cut it.

I agree with the hands off... but dd doesn't









-Angela


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## lynsage (Jul 13, 2004)

i wash my curly girlie with a mild shampoo (right now it's jason organic lavender) once a week or so. less in the summer because she's swimming in the pool a lot.

i don't towel dry or brush her hair, i just finger-comb it or use a wide-toothed comb if i find a snarl. her grandma likes to towel dry it, which she does not enjoy.







:

ponytails work for us, but i am a mean mama and give time-outs for taking her elastic out









her first curl: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...by/ziacurl.jpg

defending her grape: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...by/ziaroar.jpg


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## VeganMamaRed (Jun 7, 2007)

My DD has crazy curly hair, ringlets. I have found that if I wash and condition it about once a week it doesn't dry out too much. If I shampoo too often it gets very brittle. I usually mega-condition it to help get the knots out. I put a little bit of Curl Booster (made by FX Special Effects) in it when I am done brushing it. Never brush/comb it dry. I have a spray bottle that I wet her hair with every morning and then brush it and let it dry into ringlets. Curls are hard to manage but mega beautiful, your dd has great curls!


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## mothragirl (Sep 10, 2005)

i have no advice (we all have super straight hair), but all of these curly haired kids are sooooo cute!


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## jennnk (Feb 6, 2005)

Andy has super-curly hair, just like his daddy. The hair on the back of Andy's head is kinkier than the top & sides, but none of it is long enough, IMO, for a haircut yet...not that he'd sit still long enough for a haircut







. Difference between them is he has my texture (fine) and color (blonde), whereas George's is thick & coarse & dark. We wash in the tub every night or nearly every night with either home-made breastmilk soap (when it's my bath night) or Aveeno baby shampoo/body wash (when it's George's bath night) plus some natural conditioner I picked up at TJ's. Then it's a quick towel dry & then leave it alone. He knows how to brush his hair (and mine), and sometimes he asks me to put it in a ponytail, but then always takes the hairband out. I try to explain that he needs to leave it in because I get tired of doing it over & over again, but you can't reason with a 19-month-old.


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## lalaland42 (Mar 12, 2006)

Here's my 2 cents. (DD's new pic is linked from my sig)
Here's another: http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l5...2/DSC_0524.jpg

We bathe 3 times a week and I wash her hair and condition it in the bath. While she is still in the bath, I use a wide tooth comb (bamboo from Body Shop) to gently comb out any tangles. Then I rinse and get her out of the tub. After drying off, I use a pea sized amount of my $20/bottle Bumble and Bumble Leave In Conditioner. I know that is crazy expensive for a toddler's hair but I use it too and one bottle will last a year. It really is the best thing I have found for frizz. -I get frizz too in the wet PNW environment. I rarely comb DD's hair outside the bathtub.


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## heatherh (Jun 25, 2005)

Sorry I don't have any specific spray detangler suggestions. I haven't used any in a long time.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie* 
But she hates having it combed. I'm going to try a detangler.

I wonder if the comb itself is part of the problem? I know I've tried some combs that look a lot like my favorite, but almost hurt to use because the teeth are too pointy or something. If she doesn't like it, an uncomfortable comb would just make it worse.

I also agree with the not touching. My curls look better if I mess with them as little as possible. Easier said than done.

I may have to check out that Bumble and Bumble stuff. Did you see they have curly-specific product, too? Interesting...


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## heket (Nov 18, 2003)

Take from this what you will...

I have super curly/ kinky hair. I don't really have the cute spirals I've seem from most pp pics, but more of a square shape curl (if that makes sense.) I've had knots, tangles, rat's nests, etc. What finally worked for me was to have a good conditioner, rinse my hair daily, and brush while I wash showering. I wash my hair with TJ's nourishing shampoo about 2x per week.

Dd doesn't have the same tight curl that I do, but a bit of wave. This approach seems to work for her hair too. I'll wash her hair about 3x per week.

Detanglers don't work for us, so we just go to conditioner in the shower and/or after (as in leave it in.) We use Jason's Sea Kelp Conditioner.

For myself, rather than use a gel or some other hair product, I opt for Burt's Bee's Avocado Butter Pre-Shampoo Treatment. After I shower, I dry off my hair some, then add this in. Works just as well as any gel product and way healthier.







Also lets me leave my hair down, which can be a pain at the end of the day with all the knots that I get.


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## rupiezum (Mar 11, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie* 
Her hair is just crazy curly.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y96...t/DSC00748.jpg

When she was born, I swore I'd never cut her hair. I've cut it 3 times already







. The ends get so tangled and when I try to comb it out, I know I'm stretching and breaking some strands, so I have been trimming the ends.

Any advice for a good comb, good conditioner, and good anything else? I currently slather her hair with conditioner, comb through it, then apply some anti-frizz stuff on top.

Help!

She's beautiful!!









Your DD has curly hair like mine, and like my DD's. Best advice I can give you is to do as little as possible! Here's our routine:

When getting into the shower/bath, tip your head upside down and let it get wet from the nape down. Wash as little as possible, basically when it feels like it really needs it.

Condition liberally, paying careful attention to the ends. Scrunch it into the hair. Don't comb it in the shower/bath; if really tangled, gently work it with your fingers.

When you get out of the shower, tip your head upside down, and wrap turban-style with a thirsty towel (microfiber type). Don't rub it or anything, just let that towel soak up excess water. When you take the towel off, give your hair a little shake to lossen up the curls.

Spray liberally with a leave-in conditioner. I make our own with distilled water and conditioner. With DD's hair, I use a incredibly wide-toothed comb and tease out the tangles at this point, very gently, because otherwise she looks like a tumbleweed.

If it's a super frizzy day, I'll sometimes mix a little curly girl gel with conditioner and scrunch it into the ends of her hair.

I toally recommend the "Curly Girl" book - lots of fabulous tips and so on, and I think you'll find it super helpdul. Everyone's curls are different, and it can take a little playing aroundto find the best routine - and your best routine may change with the seasons!

Finally, get thee to the Curly Girl tribe: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ighlight=curly - where you will get plenty of great advice!


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *BellinghamCrunchie* 
I can honestly say your DD has the most gorgeous hair in the world.

I'd let DD's hair grow out more if I knew it would like like that!

aw thanks!







:


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## Igraine (Jul 1, 2006)

http://www.geocities.com/utherpendragonfly/pic4.html

MY baby girl has the same curls with similar colors as the other baby girls! She has had her hair cut at least 3 or four times. I had to keep my hair shorter as a child because I had the same problem. The longer it got the worse the snarls.

I also have curly, red hair. I brush dd's hair after the bath with a mild shampoo. I also put defrizz in her hair. She now is constantly pretending to rub the defrizzing in her hair. It is so cute. She rubs the top of the container and then "rubs" it in her hair just like I do!


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## KLK7 (Jan 31, 2004)

i wanted to second the book rec of Curly Girl. It will give you tons of tips on how to deal with curly hair long term.


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## sithlord_kev (Feb 8, 2007)

I have frizzhair when it gets too long. my wife said to try coconut oil in my hair. sure enough it works! i put it in after i wash my hair and towel dry it. then i comb it through with a comb. my hair ends up just being curly without the frizz.
i forgot where she bought it, but its comes in big jars.


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## InDaPhunk (Jun 24, 2005)

I use the Ouidad product line for adults. She has a kids line you might try. Pricey I suppose, but hair is one area I tend to spend money on since I'm stuck with it every day. I think there's a 30 day window to send back the products if you don't like them:

http://www.ouidad.com/productadvisor_krly.asp

There's good info on the site about curly hair and how to style it, treat it, etc.


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## hippie_mommy (Jun 23, 2007)

Another recommendation for the Curly Girl book







It is excellent, and even has a section just for curly kids. Most libraries carry it.

For my curly hair, any kind of brushing/combing is bad. I finger comb with conditioner in and don't rinse it out completely. I do the same for my dd. The Curly Girl recommendation is to stop rinsing when the hair feels like wet seaweed. Then I scrunch a bit with a towel to dry it and put on a light product to hold it. Most spray-in conditioners include a -cone ingredient (like dimethicone) and that works against the natural curl. There are a lot of good, natural, -paraben and -cone free gels to choose from. In the morning I use the lavendar mist spray from the CG book to pep my hair back up, but don't use any other product.

Her hair is beautiful, and she is so lucky to be able to learn to work with her hair now. My parents were just confused about it and I grew up thinking that I had horrible, unmanageable, impossible hair. It turns out that we just didn't know what we were doing







Now I love my curly hair!

Good luck


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## trini (Sep 20, 2005)

I'm taking notes off this thread to use with my curly-haired boy! Lately I've just been relying on the "cute factor" and ignoring the fact that his hair is a rat's nest of tangles.


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## Swirly (May 20, 2006)

This website also has many great tips for curly haired folk and has a busy message board.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/index.php


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## Yo Becca (Apr 17, 2005)

This is how I handle my super-curly hair:

wash it with a moisturizing shampoo
slather in conditioner and with the conditioner in, brush the tangles out with a big, square paddle brush. I've also had really good success with a Detangling Comb - but mine broke and I can't find another. Brushing/combing out the tangles WHILE the conditioner is in makes it much less painful and ugly. Then i rinse it out and use mousse and let it air dry. I fI go more than 2 days between washings, I get huge knots. For me, washing more frequently is better.

to fight it being dry (which it gets at times, especially in the winter), I will periodically apply pure Jojoba Oil. You can get a very small bottle at the HFS, rub a small amount onto the ends, then I braid it sleep with the oil in, and wash it in the morning. You can brush it easily with the Jojoba oil in, and it stays very well conditioned for days.

With DD, I wash her curly hair at night, then it gets tanlges when she sleeps. So I use a spray detangler and brush it gently. We currently have Suave, but it actually seems to weigh down her curls and make her hair too stringy. previously I used a Johnson and Johnson detangler and I liked it much better - it reduced her frizzies. I pull the front back into a little ponytail to keep it out of her face. I use the "no snags" tiny elastics that are meant for tiny little braids, but they do snag and I throw them away after 1 use usually.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yo Becca* 
We currently have Suave, but it actually seems to weigh down her curls and make her hair too stringy. previously I used a Johnson and Johnson detangler and I liked it much better - it reduced her frizzies. I pull the front back into a little ponytail to keep it out of her face. I use the "no snags" tiny elastics that are meant for tiny little braids, but they do snag and I throw them away after 1 use usually.

We had the same problem with the suave. We were using johnson and johnson (the plain one- they have some newer ones in fancy bottles...) and tried the Target brand in the same kind of bottle. Seems the same and is cheaper









-Angela


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## Treasuremapper (Jul 4, 2004)

Just between us moms of kids with curly hair - I think kids with curly hair are the cutest, don't you? All of your kids are just sooo adorable.

I like Circle of Friends detangler, because it has a good smell and works well. My kids do not like the smell of California Baby detangler, and with curly hair, gaining cooperation is a huge part of grooming the curls. http://tinyurl.com/2k4g2u The CB is probably the crunchier choice, though.

Another unexpected product choice for shampoo and conditioner is working really well with my daughters' curls: http://www.cheerchicsproducts.com/cheer_004.htm
Please do not judge a shampoo by its cover, it smells good and works well, making the curls soft and beautiful and manageable. I do not know about its crunchy credentials and we stumbled across it almost by a fluke.


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## anabellee (Jul 3, 2005)

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ee/22mths2.jpg

he won't let me cut it. i asked him if i could and he yelled "NO OUCH!!!"
i love having a curly haired kid. except everyone calls him a girl


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## mbhf (Jan 8, 2005)

my 2yo has really nice curly hair, and here's what works for us-

wash rarely, only when dh does the bathing and only because he thinks it's gross to not wash his hair.

comb only when wet, with a comb not a brush.

we use spray conditioner to wet it most days, and after baths.

and since i loved all the pictures of cute curly haired girls...

here he is a few months ago
and more recently here

and my 4yo doesn't have curly hair but it is wavy and isn't it beautiful?


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## erinsmom04 (Sep 5, 2006)

What great hair.. but I understand the pain.. I am a mom of a curly haired girl and I have it... and no one in my family has it.. I should have stock in J&J for the amoutn of the de-tangling spray we use.. I also when I wash her hair use a ton of conditioner and comb it when it is full of conditioner.. We don't even own a brush... Will she let you put a hair band in it? My DD has started letting me do braids on her hair, or even pig tail braids... but thankfully she is good about not pulling stuff out.. heck I even have her sleep in pony/pig tails to help cut down on the tangles (we call them tangle bugs).. trust me she does also sit and scream/cry when I comb her hair but there is no choice.. She has only had her hair cut 1 time in 3 yrs and that was 6 months ago..


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## BBerryBliss (Sep 20, 2004)

I wash my 3 year old son's hair once a week and do the same conditioner/comb throu method a lot of other posters seem to use. We also recently got some spray on detangler and it works well. Our biggest problem is keeping his hair out of his face so food stays out of it. He'll wear a ponytail but takes it out eventually. He doesn't want a hair cut and I really don't want to gice him one if he did, lol.

Pic 1
Pic 2


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## annamama (Sep 23, 2005)

I want to share a pic of my ds too!!








http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c2...i/Image4-4.jpg

I wash his hair about once a week and use a spray-on detangler every morning. No combing. I love his hair







:

eta - obvious, but he was playing with my make-up that morning.


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## Canadianmommax3 (Mar 6, 2006)

what cute curly kids!!!







:


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## april77 (Apr 26, 2003)

My dd is a curly girl, we love it now that we have worked out a great routine. Another recommendation for the Curly Girl book! (http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Lor...814503&sr=1-1). Also, I would recommend finding a stylist that is really knowledgeable about curly hair and comfortable cutting it. Don't let a stylist tell you it's just like cutting straight hair, it's not true. When my stylist said she cuts her MIL's curly hair and they get along great - I knew we had a keeper.

Anyway, here's our routine:

Wash (with shampoo) as little as possible. In the winter it's less than once a week, unless she gets into something. In the summer it needs it more often b/c of pools, playing in the dirt, etc. At least once a week, sometimes more depending on the tangles, we wet her hair, slather on the conditioner (we use California Baby), let it sit for a few minutes, then comb out the tangles with a wide tooth comb or a pick. Rinse and let the hair dry. Like a PP said, the less touching curly hair the better, but tell that to a toddler/preschooler.

In the mornings we spray her hair with water with a few drops of lavender oil in it (also works great as a pillow spray to help them sleep at night). Then I lightly pick out any tangles. She hates this part but I try to do it most days, otherwise she starts to dread.

Now that her hair is longer we put in really tight braids while it is wet and they will stay for 2-3 days. That keeps us from having to deal with tangles. It' s super fuzzy by day 3 but it's out of her face and doesn't have to be bothered with for a couple of days.

We also switched to one of those satiny pillowcases and it really does help with the hair overnight. She's a restless sleeper and used to wake up with the worst tangles.


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## april77 (Apr 26, 2003)

Here's a pic of my dd, she just had her hair cut so it's looking very contained in this shot

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...=8CZMmTdm1bMv8


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## Changed (Mar 14, 2004)

My DD had super super curly ringlets. We used giovanni frizz-be-gone and never had any more problems. I also NEVER used shampoo on her hair after hearing of a conditioner only no poo program. I bought a huge bottle of sebastian kinky conditioner at target on clearance once and it lasted 2 years! Wide tooth NON PLASTIC comb is important.


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## cristinaoketch (Dec 20, 2005)

all you ladies are making me laugh, i guess since i have curly hair and my daughters hair is curly, but on a completely different level than most of the posters.

from my own experience w/myself and my dd, i wash mine and her hair about twice a week, and i do not brush it unless it is in the shower, with enough conditioner so you can run your fingers through it first.

i use different products on my hair, but for my dd, i use the Quidad curly kids condtioner, and then just some leave in conditioner as styling product for dd.

so this is what I consider curly hair









http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...h/Princess.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...adDaughter.jpg

make sure you keep detangling and conditioner, the more you do it, the less you will have episodes with knots and tangles


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## AJohns (May 5, 2007)

My nephew has killer-curly hair. Only his bangs have been trimmed & he's three.

NO SHAMPOO & NO HAIR DRYER!! We only use water on his head & if & when we shampoo, we use a J.R Liggets (sp?) shampoo bar - MAYBE twice a month or if he gets really dirty.

I heard SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) is to blame; the poo in shampoo. A good leave-in conditioner & a wooden brush is we use on him.


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## trueblue4 (Jan 10, 2007)

If you like natural products the giovanni line is great! I have thick wavy hair to my butt and my dd has curly hair. I use the shampoo, conditioner and the leave in conditioner. My hair combs out well. On my dd I wash it 1 times a week and use the leave in conditioner to comb out. Works GREAT!!


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## berkeleyp (Apr 22, 2004)

my dd has very curly hair but not as much of it yet. It still gets super tangly. She too hates having her hair washed and conditioned. I use california baby conditioner a few times a week, which works great, and also california baby detangler every day. It works really well. If she really hates conditioning, you could probably also dab a little condition in and leave it in to keep it from tangling.


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## gabysmom617 (Nov 26, 2005)

My monkey has a









Here's what I do:

I wash his hair in conditioner. (No shampoo!) When it was long enough (he got his first hair cut about a month ago) I made sure I combed it out (go to the store and get the comb with the widest spaced teeth that you can find) and combed it out while it was STILL WET.

For curly hair, any styling or combing out should be done while it's wet, not dry. Less tears, less breakage, and easier all the way around.

Then just leave it be, until it's time to wash it again.

She's adorable by the way.







:

Oh, ETA:
I was his hair in the bathtub. I get in there with him, and lean him back in my arms and take a cup of water and rinse his hair out. I used to do it while he was nursing, but baths have gotten far too interesting to nurse now that he's older, but usually he will lean back in my arms long enough for me to rinse it out. Then I let him get up and play in the water while I slather conditioner into it, and I let him play and leave it in for a while, then I lean him back in my arms and rinse it out. I can't imagine how I would manage to wash his hair any other way.


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## jrayn (Jul 6, 2005)

I have been learning how to care for dd's hair through trial and error and occasional tips here and there, and am VERY satisfied with what I have learned and my new knowledge from this weekend!

I reccomend www.oyinhandmade.com
The hair products smell really great and they are natural ingredients, I even use the conditioner on my hair and I have regular straight hair.
I agree with the others that say no shampoo and brush when hair is wet.
I also put in a little oil when I brush her hair, but she has dry hair so it doesn't look greasy afterward.

The info I received yesterday was from a woman that had really curly hair, she noticed right away that I used a pick on my dd and she said I should use a soft bristle brush like the one from the link. She said the pick will comb the curls out, making the hair frizzier!
http://www.johnhelmer.com/products/full/137.jpg

This is totally coutner intuitive to what I would think would be the right brush, but I tested it with a brush my grandma had, still not believing that this would work and..... it was not brushing curls out... I got a brush, today we took our shower, conditoined with the oyin honey hemp conditioner, sprayed with the greg juice, put a little avocado/coconut oil in her hair, and brushed her hair with it, and it was just beautiful! I was sad to have to braid it, but since we were just staying home and playing, no point in letting it get tangled through daily activities at home...

Here is a pic from April... slacking on uploading pics to photobucket, but it shows a good close up of her hair.. (I am LOVING the curly babe pics!!!!)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a86...il12007012.jpg


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## kissum (Apr 15, 2006)

I just wanted to say that I am going to have to use some of these tips on me! I have DD's hair down, but mine is longer and so I think some of these tips will be useful. Thanks guys!
Oh, and because my last pic was really old, this is my dd's hair
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...m/DSC02088.jpg


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## whooopsy (May 29, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cristinaoketch* 
all you ladies are making me laugh, i guess since i have curly hair and my daughters hair is curly, but on a completely different level than most of the posters.

from my own experience w/myself and my dd, i wash mine and her hair about twice a week, and i do not brush it unless it is in the shower, with enough conditioner so you can run your fingers through it first.

i use different products on my hair, but for my dd, i use the Quidad curly kids condtioner, and then just some leave in conditioner as styling product for dd.

so this is what I consider curly hair









http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...h/Princess.jpg
http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/a...adDaughter.jpg

make sure you keep detangling and conditioner, the more you do it, the less you will have episodes with knots and tangles









my daughter has similar hair as yours, only a little bit less volume







but: her hair became frizzier !!! i think i have used the wrong products!







oh, and her hair is really dry!

are you sure that a conditioner does not make the hair even drier????

BTW, your daughter is soooooo cute !!!!!!


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## Kirsten (Mar 19, 2002)

I have curly hair - and one of my three dds does also, though hers is more just wavy now as she's older and wearing it longer.

In my ever so humble opinion...







assuming you want curl definition and dislike frizz:

*NEVER use a brush, ever, for any reason
*NEVER use a regular (fine tooth) comb, ever, for any reason
*detangle only when wet and full of conditioner - best to use your fingers to do the detangling in the shower/bath
*NEVER rub their hair dry with a towel
*loosely wrap hair up - starting upside down - in a turban style to remove some water
*while upside down (bent over at the waist), apply product gently (I like a strong mousse)
*stand up, but do not touch until it is dry!
*can tousle lightly with your fingers from underneath for a little body when it is 100% dry

Leave in conditioner doesn't work on me or dd1 because our hair is too fine; just weighs it down and makes it stringy. Plenty of conditioner in the shower (like half my palm) to coat all of it, work tangles out with my fingers, then rinse seems to work for us.

My mom didn't know any of this so I lived with frizz for many, many years.


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## ewe+lamb (Jul 20, 2004)

So I've stopped 'washing' our dc's hair with conventional shampoos really and I never use kids shampoos it just dries out so much it's crazy, we rinse their hair and use cider apple vinegar once a week and maybe once a month we use shampoo and I have to say that their hair has improved SOOOO much since we started doing this, the other thing I started doing with dd was braiding her her and putting beads in, it looks super cute and is great for the hot summer. Avocado oil, sweet almond oil or olive oil is great as well, my gran used to use beer (i.e. stout - guiness style beer).
Forgot to add that I only brush their hair when I can run the brush under a cold water tap, and i do that every time we brush - it makes life SO much easier!!


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## hottmama (Dec 27, 2004)

My youngest has really curly hair and my oldest had curly hair when he was younger (it's short now).
Here's my oldest at 2: http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...t=8fbd1db0.jpg
And my littlest, now:
http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y25...t=DSC_8887.jpg

I don't use shampoo on the little guy. I just use a good conditioner (I use the kind that comes with my hair dye-- that stuff is super strong and surprisingly SLS/paraben-free), then comb it out while it's wet with a wide-toothed comb and my fingers. I don't try to get every tiny tangle out, just the visible ones. Attacking it too hard would break hair and remove some of the curl. I only use my fingers to get tangles out when it's dry.


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## bean's mama (May 2, 2007)

Both my DH and I have curly hair and we passed it on to our ds. What I have found to be helpful is to put California Baby Super Sensitive conditioner in his hair when it is dry, like a leave in conditioner. Then I spray it with the California Baby de-tangler spray and comb it out with a pick.

I agree, never use a brush to comb out curly hair. My mom had straight hair and I have mamy painful memoriesof her trying to untangle my snarls and she used a brush.


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## ewe+lamb (Jul 20, 2004)

Whooopsie - you sent a private message but I can't reply to you - so I've just posted here instead - hope you don't mind!

I think you'll find adding a small amount of water just takes the sting out of the vinegar. Don't worry after I stopped using conventional products their hair went back to 'normal' within a few days - a week tops. You can use Bicarbonate of Soda as the 'shampoo' and conditioner is the Apple Cider Vinegar - that seems to be the vinegar to use. It's not too hard to find. We still have a few tugs in the morning but not nearly the way we had before - I wish my Mum had found out about this sort of thing when I was wee LOL


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## whooopsy (May 29, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ewe+lamb* 
Whooopsie - you sent a private message but I can't reply to you - so I've just posted here instead - hope you don't mind!

I think you'll find adding a small amount of water just takes the sting out of the vinegar. Don't worry after I stopped using conventional products their hair went back to 'normal' within a few days - a week tops. You can use Bicarbonate of Soda as the 'shampoo' and conditioner is the Apple Cider Vinegar - that seems to be the vinegar to use. It's not too hard to find. We still have a few tugs in the morning but not nearly the way we had before - I wish my Mum had found out about this sort of thing when I was wee LOL

hello and thanks for your answer









i will certainly try this out the next bath-time









i also heard that lava erde\rhassoul should be working pretty well. have you heard of it? you can get it pure or also mixed as a paste, here is a link just for information http://www.logona.co.uk/shop/lepowder.html

have you ever tried rhassoul? it shall be very common with africans i heard. have you ever used it ?








:


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## mely (Feb 16, 2005)

Well my daughter's hair is starting to grow in wavy instead of curly - and of course I have to share a picture

http://www.ssb4.net/users/11900/fairdsc06917.jpg

I wash her hair with J&J baby shampoo - she hates having her hair washed and combed as it is - so I go with a no tears product and there's lots of good coupons out for J&J. Then I get a palmful of J&J Buddies No More Tangles easy comb conditioner. I use a wide comb to comb her hair while it's still wet and full of conditioner, and then rinse. After we rinse and the hair starts to dry - I will comb it out a little more with the J&J Buddies No More Tangles Easy Comb Spray.

I'm sure I look like a total J&J fan - I'm not really - these are just the hair products that have worked the best for us so far


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## honeybunmom (Jan 11, 2007)

I didn't read every response thoroughly, but, I think the only suggestion I did not see is to comb from the ends, not the roots. I have very tightly coiled hair. AKA kinky! LOL! And dd started out like this with stick straight hair and I didn't know what to do. Learned pretty quickly it had to be washed much more frequently than mine. Fast forward to 14 mos and it looked like this. But, now, at 20 months, it's really down to her shoulderblades. In any event, we pretty much just use California Baby Shampoo/Body wash to cleanse. Sometimes I skip that altogether and just use the California Baby Conditioner. I leave that in and comb it through with the finest comb we have to that it is distributed well over every strand. Now, I've wisened up and I put it in a pony tail on top of her head. Every day, I either put her hair in a single pony tail or pig tails. She's had enough hair to comb since she was 7 mos old, so, I've been combing hair since then, so I guess she is used to it. She rarely puts up a fuss and if she does, Sesame Street usually helps. Dh would prefer for me to let her go "au naturale", but I have no interest in combing out those tangles.


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## eleven (Aug 14, 2004)

Detangler is your friend!! I wash my older girl's hair maybe once a week or every two weeks sometimes. Whenever we need to leave the house, I spray her hair with water to dampen it, then spray detangler on. I slowly work through it with a brush from the bottom up while holding on to the hair that I'm brushing so as not to pull.

I have curly hair and it took me soooooooooooo long to figure out how to work it. I don't use a brush on mine and will teach my two curly girls how to use their fingers as soon as they're old enough.


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## IsaSF (Jun 9, 2005)

My son has curly hair and is mixed race. I wash his hair once a week at most but rinse it with water asnd use Aubrey leave in conditioner and curl activator nightly in the bath. I have curly hair and use it too. It is all natural and smells good too. I also use a natural bristle brush.
Isa


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## Titus2fam (Aug 9, 2005)

Here's my curly girlie: http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h3...elandmusic.jpg

We wash once a week, and my girl loved dirt! So we do need to shampoo. When she gets out of the tub I put baby lotion (Johnson and Johnson's works WAY well! Experiment with how much so as not to get to dry or too greasy.) in her hair and start to comb it from the bottom up. (I lotion it every a.m. and brush it out.) As she gets older I'll make sure she has a satin pillowcase and put her in Little House On the Praire braids before bed.

For kinkier hair (and if hers changes), I'll shampoo once a week, condition and comb through, and rinse. Then use pure coconut oil daily before comb-out. (((((HUGS))))) sandi


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