Curly Hair! - Boynton Beach,FL

Updated on June 01, 2011
L.H. asks from Boynton Beach, FL
25 answers

My 16 month old daughter has really unmanageable curly hair, and it doesn't help that we also live in Florida so there's humidity!

Is there anything I might be able to work into our routine so she doesn't look like a frizzy-head cutie constantly? I have very straight hair so I have no experience with curls at all.

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J.F.

answers from Tallahassee on

I use the Suave Kids products on my daughter's hair (shampoo, conditioner, spray detangler). The Suave Kids Detangling spray works much better for us than the Johnson & Johnson spray, which just weighed my daughter's hair down and made it kind of sticky and crunchy. Her teachers always tell me how great her hair smells and the woman that cuts her hair is always commenting on how soft her hair is (softer than her own little one's hair). I tried using my shampoo and conditioner on her hair when we ran out of the Suave Kids and we eventually got shampoo in her eyes and it was terrible. We switched back to Suave Kids and haven't ever had a problem.

E.B.

answers from Seattle on

My son has tight ringlets. We are in the process of letting them dread-lock. He refuses to let us cut it and It is not worth the fight for us to make him do it. I tell him he has to still allow me to wash his hair, so that he is not the stinky kid.

Although they are not for everyone...I think they are freaking sweet on lil' kids:)

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I buy Aphogee gloss therapy at Sally's Beauty Co. It has silicone in it and it coats the hair shaft and stops the frizz.

I don't know about using so many products on toddler hair and Florida bugs being attracted to hair products.

You can always use things like a touch of mousse and then add hair barrettes and other little pretties that make it manageable and attractive.

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S.R.

answers from Kansas City on

My daughter is 23 months old and has unmanagable curly hair also. Her 3 year old brother likes to call it her "crazy hair."

It is nice after she gets out of the bath. But if it is raining, humid, or she is playing outside her hair turns into a big frizzy poof ball.

I have tried putting mousse and hair wax in it and they help to a degree. But as it has gotten longer it has gotten more managable. Maybe when your daughters hair is a little longer it will be easier.

1 mom found this helpful
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Y.D.

answers from Los Angeles on

Don't use any chemical filled products, SHEA MOISTURE makes a great Curly hair line, all their products are 100% natural and organic and affordable. I use their products on my curly haired 2 1/2 year old.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

why don't you put in some after shampoo leave in conditioner? Maybe that will help.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.R.

answers from New York on

a lot of people arent gonna like this, im sorry, but i would absolutely not put most of those products on a babies head every day. i would look into it first, see what is least toxic, at the very least. my daughter has thin, pin straight hair, but i have unruly curly hair, its exhausting. im jealous of my daughters hair! but how about trying some jojoba oil or something natural? i use that, i love it. or a spray bottle like some moms suggested, with some conditioner in it, there are lots of healthier choices for conditioners. check out the skin deep database at ewg.com , you can look up almost anything, or just get a list of rated products. the lower the number, the better.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from San Francisco on

what's wrong with frizz? unless you are slicking her hair back with tons of gel (which would be ridiculous for a baby!), then her hair is just going to be frizzy. it's beautiful, and you don't want to give her a complex and make her hate her hair when she's older.

what you should concentrate on is keeping the tangles out. one easy way is to get a spray bottle and put water in it mixed with some strong conditioner. i use all-natural ones as they are healthier for the scalp and tend to be less drying. squirt her hair all over in the morning and add extra conditioner with your hands if necessary. then comb through with a wide-tooth comb. leave it to dry without rinsing.

when her hair gets longer, braid it before going to bed. it will be SO much easier to get a comb through in the morning.

good luck mama!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.

answers from Chicago on

My caucasian daughter has EXTREMELY curly hair. We use J & J curly extra conditioning no tears shampoo. Spray no more tangles on in the bath, comb, use conditioner, comb again and then rinse. I recently started using a conditioning curl enhancer(not crunchy/dry mousse) on her hair, but she is 2.5yo. I do not brush her hair when dry and wash it every other night. If I do want to make it brushable....after the bath, I spray more no more tangles, then blow dry it"straight" although it never gets straight, just big and frizzy. This breaks up most of the tight curls and makes it ripe for brushing the following days.

My daughters hair, wet, is to the lower middle of her back, however curly, it is at her shoulders.

1 mom found this helpful

K.A.

answers from San Diego on

My daughter has really fine, wavy hair. All the immediate family have straight as a bone hair, we have no idea where she got it. She's 23 months old now.
I keep a spray bottle of water on her changing table. I get her hair wet so I can comb it out each morning after I get her dressed otherwise it snags really bad. It goes into ringlets and curls around itself making it hard if it's not wet. I always at least pull back the top/front so it stays away from her face and it doesn't end up getting food in it and stuff.
I have several bath books at the changing table to let her look at while I'm fixing her hair to try to keep her from squirming around and getting irritated with having to sit still and do nothing. I'll also let her brush her teeth while I'm doing her hair if she wants to.
I don't want to use all those detanglers or other chemicals in my babies hair, don't even use them in my hair for that matter. I have super long hair (it gets trimmed when I start sitting on and then only a couple inches to get rid of the straggle ends), working with my hair wet works much better then dry too.
The best kind of pony tail holder for baby hair is called a "poly band". Scunci makes some http://www.amazon.com/Scunci-Girl-Tone-Poly-Bands/dp/B003... I've bought them at Target and CVS before and I've seen them other places. Goody makes them too. If I want one of the cute hair ties I put it over the poly band.

1 mom found this helpful
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R.J.

answers from Seattle on

- Never brush it dry

- Always brush it wet WITH conditioner in it (Curly hair -caucasion- usually needs to be 'washed' every day or it will tangle/dreadlock. You can use shampoo each time OR just get it wet, condtioner, brush, rinse). Basically style it (part, etc.) with the brush or comb IN the shower.

- Do NOT rub with a towel, period. Just squeeze out the extra water

- Put "product" in it while still wet
((Since you're in FL, you *probably* don't need to worry about drying it. When I lived in FL wet hair provided both natural air conditioning AND was totally dry airdrying in next to no time. If you DO need to dry it; AFTER the product is in, low speed and hold a towel behind the hair so it does NOT blow around. Essentially, you want to mimic air drying. Once the curls are dry they can "take" a lot of movement, but until then they'll just fall apart into a frizzy giant mess))

- Style after product, while wet. If you have to comb/brush to style... like for a ponytail.. you will need to 'reform' the curls by twisting them around your fingers. Ideally you don't let a comb or brush within 10 feet of curly hair from the moment you step out of the shower.

- Leave it "alone" as much as possible. While drying curls are 'fragile' and will break apart getting 'bigger and bigger' (wild woman of borneo bigger and bigger). AFTER it's totally dry you and beat the bejeebers out of them and they'll stay formed (as long as you don't brush them), but while dryING (esp when mostly but not quite dry) they'll break apart and get frizzy/wild/unmanageable.

______________________________________________

Since she's YOUNG especially (aka probably doesn't have a lot of length yet) I'd STRONGLY recommend ****Bumble & Bumble Get Straight Gel****. ((It does NOT make curly hair straight, or even wavy, one bit. Every last curl stays just as curly)). It's VERY expensive but it hits the 'curly hair trifecta'. Soft (not even crisp, much less sticky or crunchy)/ Glossy/ & Run-Your-Fingers-Through-It. It's $25 a bottle, and with curly hair you ALWAYS need to 'saturate' it (every single last bit of hair need the product in it, regardless of the product, or you end up still frizzy and unmanageable. I know this is the *hardest* part for straight haired people to 'do', because it's the exact opposite of what you do with straight hair. But it's really important. If you don't use enough, you may as well not use it at all. I know it will be hard. But it's really important no matter *what* product you use that you saturate her hair in it. It will dry gorgeous, not like straight hair which -with the same amount- will dry disgusting. To give an idea as to "amount" of product... with shoulder length (on me... so about 12 inches blown out straight, 6-8 inches curly) I use about 1/4 cup of Get Straight gel OR about an orange sized ball of mousse.

Which brings me to option #2. Bumble&Bumble Get Straight is the best expensive product for any climate (and gets the trifecta.) The best 'cheap' product I've found for curls in any climate (hot, cold, humid, dry) is Garnier Fructis Curl Construct Mousse. You can't run your fingers through it,... but the curls will be shiny/crisp (but also crisp is NOT crispy... just distinct... and crisp is 1000 times better than MOST product which leaves curls crunchy or sticky).

For a hot hot hot climate, you have another cheap option as well. In FL I'd often use "pink" LA LOOKS gel. It does leave hair crunchy (you have to rescrunch *after* it's dry to get rid of the crunch) but it holds through humidity and active play *slightly* better than GF Mousse. I still prefer the mousse, but it's another possibility. It is NOT a good option in cold climates... because it can take hours to even days to dry. I used it in FL mostly because it kept my hair wet for at least 3-4 hours and I worked outside.

For (what I'm imagining) to be 3-4 inches of hair I would suggest starting off with apx a heaping tablespoon of Get Straight Gel OR about a golfball sized ball of mousse. Figuring out the exact size is a bit experimental.

1 mom found this helpful
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T.W.

answers from Syracuse on

I wouldn't start using products on a 16 month's old hair, it just seems much too young for a baby. I'd stick with water and conditioner or try jojoba oil. If that doesn't work, what's wrong with being a frizzy-head cutie at 16 months?:)

B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I have crazy curly hair, and I think for her age, a little bit of hair oil would work great. It would keep it from frizzing but wouldn't put chemicals on her hair. Something like Frizz-ease.

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

A satin pillowcase!
Do not use all those chemicals that previous posters suggested.

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D.H.

answers from Miami on

My daughter has extremely curly hair as well and I am 1/2 Korean so I have no idea about curls either! We use Tate's Organic Leave in Conditioner. It's awesome and all natural and keeps her curls looking great. We have to spray with water and reapply a bit after naps/sleeping, but generally it does a great job. We chose this one because my daughter has very sensitive skin. It says on the bottle that you can use it for lots of other things as well. We first found it at an organic store but now we buy it on Amazon. Good luck!

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M.D.

answers from Minneapolis on

I had curly hair as a kid, my twins have out of control wavy hair and the best thing that works for that is the Paul Mitchell for kids, I get it at Ulta and it is great at managing the out of control and frizzy hair.

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M.B.

answers from Jacksonville on

I have curly curly hair (which only appeared AFTER I had my first daughter) and had to learn to take care of on my own. After years of trial and error, I came up with this: Garnier Fructis 2-in-1 and finish off with Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Humitdity Smoothing Milk. What I do is as soon as I'm finished (I don't even get out of the tub), I flip my head over and glob my hair with this stuff (glob? maybe that's too strong of a word...). Then, I let it air dry (no pik, no wide tooth comb, nada). Now understand, I have hair past my bra line, curles from root to end...So it takes about 2+ hours for my hair to air dry (I will get up and jump in the shower by 5am if I have an early appointment). As it gets closer to dry than not, I spread my findgers around my scalp and shake out the curls (so they don't look stuck or crunchy). I seriously get a lot of compliments on my hair and get asked "what" I do to it or "where" I got it done. It's strange, but I LOOOOOOOVE my hair! As far as chemicals and you're doing this wrong or what's the matter with you...Ignore those comments! You do what you feel is right! Good luck and God Bless...

J.G.

answers from St. Louis on

I use adult products in my daughter's hair. In the summer I leave some conditioner in her hair to protect it from the sun but more important the chlorine in the pools.

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C.F.

answers from Dallas on

Check out this website: http://ylcf.org/gotcurl/, buy the "Curly Girl" book (I have it for our daughter) at Amazon (here is the link - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/076115678X/ref=ox_sc_act...) and order "MopTop" products...the extra expense is WELL worth it!

These 3 things teach how to REALLY handle curly hair - I am just like you - I have some waves, but wasn't prepared for my kinky/botecelli curled girl...order the book first - it will teach you SOOOO much...then as you wait for the book to come, read the website, we also have used a product by Redken called "Fresh Curls" and it can be bought at any Wal-Mart that has a style salon. By reading the website I just recently learned that our curly girls should use T-shirt type knits to dry their hair, not terry towels...we did this as soon as she had her next hair wash, and this one change has made her curls even more manageable!...we used braids a lot to keep us from having to do a major hair fix every day when she was younger (she is 10 now)...you are welcome to email me at ____@____.com if you would like to talk more....

C.D.

answers from Columbia on

WIth my daughter I would us a wide tooth comb to detangle after her bath. I mixed a little moisturizing conditioner with water in a squirt bottle, shook it up and sprayed it on to both tame and detangle anytime she needed it throughout the day. It helped keep frizz at bay and her hair has always been super healthy. Another thing I learned was to work with her hair instead of against it. I could take the curls and twist them around my finger and they would stay all day. We did pigtails and braids on super humid days or days she would be extra active.
I have straight hair too, so I know how you feel trying to learn the ins and outs of the curls. Good luck!

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M.P.

answers from Portland on

My daughter used an after shampoo leave in conditioner and a spray detangler when her daughter was that age. Once the curls were combed out they seemed to relax some and didn't have frizzies tho her hair was still quite curly.

A relative has children with the super kinky black hair. She uses products specifically made for black hair. I don't remember which ones tho it seems like one had pink in it's name.

Yes, once my granddaughter's hair was shoulder length it was much more manageable.

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J.R.

answers from Davenport on

Don't bother with shampoo, curly hair is naturally much drier than straight, because the natural oils of our scalps don't make their way all the way down the shaft of th eahri as easily. "Wash" with conditioner. Seriously, use straight conditioner as you would a shampoo, buy the most natural one you can, without silicones and sulfates in it. Or use WEN, I use it on myself and my very curly-headed blonde daughter....it is expensive, but works great, they sell it on their own website, or on QVC or HSN online. On a little one, it would go a long way, because you wouldn't need much. It is really the water and the rubbing of the scalp that actually cleanses our hair, shampoo actually gets it too too clean, strips away all the beneficial natural oils, thus causing frizz.

Try this book about caring for curly hair:

http://www.amazon.com/Curly-Girl-Handbook-Lorraine-Massey...

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B.R.

answers from Naples on

Infusiom leave in conditioner.

E.D.

answers from Seattle on

I keep my daughter's hair trimmed, or it tangles (little tiny dreads) in a day. I just do it at home. And also, I use conditioner at the back of her hair (she's almost three).

V.C.

answers from Dallas on

I use Ouidad and Bed Head.

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