Dealing with Fine, Curly Hair

I try to brush DD's hair very little. I condition it nightly with Dove. I use a very wide plastic bristle brush when I do brush it and I also use detangler as necessary. I usually pull up the sides with small hair binders and let DD choose barrettes as accents, or pull it into a pony tail. Keep it simple.

I also let her hair air dry. I don't even use a blow dryer myself and I have waves.

I am the owner of a head full of curly hair, as is my daughter. "Neat" can be difficult to achieve. But "pretty" isn't hard. First of all, just throw away the hairbrush - it is the wrong tool for your daughter's hair. Get a wide-toothed plastic comb, or if her hair is very tightly curled, a pick. Then get some light spray-in conditioner.

After washing your daughter's hair and toweling it dry, spray in the conditioner (mist all over, but don't overdo it - you're looking for fine coverage, not saturation). Then comb gently. If there are still tangles, work from the bottom of the hair up in small sections, and be patient, just as you would if combing a horse's mane. Hold the hair above the place you are detangling so you aren't tugging on your child's scalp. After you have combed her hair all over, scrunch the hair and gently separate curls with your fingers. Then either let it air dry or blow dry on low using a diffuser.

On days you're not washing her hair, just touch it up with a little conditioning spray and /or water and the comb. Remember, you're not aiming for perfectly smooth - you're aiming for no rat's nests or giant clumps of tangles. Then scrunch and finger curl.

If she grows her hair long, consider loosely braiding it at night. Doing this cuts way down on the crazy tangles.

I have curly hair, and I NEVER brush it. I especially never brush it dry, unless it's right before a shower. I use a wide-toothed comb when it's wet (or if it's especially tangled, I do it before I take the shower so it's easier to wash, but it hurts more to comb) and then scrunch in some mousse. It's super easy to take care of when you get the hang of it.

This is how my hair is/was. I just recently got a keratin treatment to smooth out my curls, but I know my mom had a really hard time with my hair when I was little and I hated my hair in grade school. I started kind of figuring it out freshman year of high school, and I got pretty good with it by the end of high school and into college. Your daughter is definitely too young for a keratin treatment, but when she gets older I would definitely let her get something to that effect, if she wants it. It has made life so much easier.

Also, keep in mind that as a girl, he hair will be a vey sensitive subject. I was always wishing I had straight smooth easily manageable hair like "everyone else" at school. So... I will give you some pointers from my experience and hope they help.

1) always use conditioner in the shower to get the knots out and they won't ever get out of control.

2) I could never brush my hair, because it would just get frizzy. So, in addition to getting it smooth in the shower with conditioner, I would just go through it with my hands when I got out of the shower.

3) Never layer her hair :o) It just makes the frizzy problem even worse. And then it goes in all kinds of weird directions.

4) She may be too young, but a good flat iron will come in handy for her one day. Use some kind of spray to protect her hair from the heat.

5) a little bit of mousse or hair gel will tame her hair down and control that big frizzy look.

6) i let my hair air dry, or just point the blow dryer down on low to let it dry. my friends and boyfriends always thought it was a hilarious sight to see me after blow drying my hair--which i only ever did for the comedic value.

I have coarse curly hair. I would never, ever dream of brushing it or combing it, unless I flat iron it first. (Unless I flat iron) I have to wet it completely each day, then use mousse or gel, scrunch and air dry or use a diffuser. If I wear it long, all one length then it is easier to control, because the curl get weighed down, or I can put it in a ponytail, it just gets boring long all the time.

You are describing my hair. By the time I went to K, it was a BIT thicker, but not much...and it's always looked a bit wild. It still does.

Yes, wet her hair and scrunch it...also, nothing wrong with adding a tad of mousse while it's wet to help tame it. A good leave in conditioner, as well. Don't ever brush curly hair...comb it while it's wet with a wide tooth comb, and then, hands off!! The more you touch it, the more frizzy it gets.

Gentle kids' shampoo, a little Suave conditioner or spray in conditioner and comb through only when wet, a dab of gel or mouse after combing gently, air dry or if you must, use a diffuser with the hairdryer. put in some cute clips or pull the bangs or front part of the hair back to do a half up, half down look. So cute with curls!

Oh and if the curls are too messy looking, you can actually use your finger when the hair is wet to train the curls. Just wind it around your finger piece by piece until you get a more clumpy look to the curls and don't touch it until it's dry.

This was my DD's hair until she was 6. Now it's fine, straight, and tangles more than fishing line.

The only thing we've found to help is Scruples Soothing Polish or John Frieda's Finishing Creame, run through her hair while still damp, to give it some "structure" to make it controllable. Also, try washing less often, like only once a week. Her hair needs the natural oils to help it stay relaxed. DD, almost 14, can only wash 2x a week or her hair gets dry and wild.

To find the best product without burning through $$$ like I did? Take her to a beauty salon, pay for a shampoo/styling, and ask the stylist what is the best product to use. Most salons use the products they sell. You'll have a professional opinion and won't end up with a closet full of expensive products you have no use for. (like me.)

Good luck!

As long as it's cute, what's wrong with just letting it be, with an occasional trim to shape it? At this young age, why load up her hair with product before it even grows into what it's gonna be? I think that you should use a fine-tooth comb every day to fight the tangles, and let it go.

I have thick curly hairs and 2 kids (5 and 2) with fine curly hair, and a husband with tight curly hair. We all use Abba conditioner in the shower and then after the shower use Giovanni leave in weightless moisture conditioner. We have to be carefeul with conditioner as it is not no tears formula - but it works really well for us (and it is a vegan formula so no animal testing or products). I get that at Fred Meyer. The Giovanni can be found at Fred Neyer in the natural section or Target. On the kids I use just a little bit like less than a penny size amount on the 2 year old and more of nickel or quarter for the 5 year old and I wet my hands a little to thin it out and run it through their hair. My hair is super thick so I use a lot. Also, wide tooth combs are better than bushes, my husband insists on using a brush on the girls' hair and it is so frizzy, it constantly tears - he just doesn't believe the brush does that. Also, if it is long enough, a little braid at night will help with the tangling. You can find a package of like 100 hair ties for a few dollars - we use ones that are half white and half another color - they stretch really big, don't tear hair, only need o be wrapped 4 times.
I like the wild hair look, our 2 year old rarely lets us do anything to it so she looks like a jungle baby a lot. A cute jungle baby.

Good luck - this is a life long challenge!

I should add that day to day we spray with water, comb, and scrunch with our hands or style with the wide tooth comb. We only wash hair 1-3 times/week, and that is plenty. We do bath more often.