- 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.
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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.