What to use in DD's curlyish hair?

[sidmand]

I can see that DD's hair is going to be a nightmare! I think she got my hair unfortunately. She's finally not bald but her hair is still fairly short (can't put it in pigtails or barrettes really) and it's curly, but not really really curly unless I wet it. If it's humid out it all curls really nicely but if it's not she looks kind of like she put her finger in a socket. Some ends up curly, some straight, some sticks up...any suggestions on what to do with it?

I've been wetting it (and kind of scrunching it like I used to do to mine when mine was long enough to curl) every morning when I get her dressed but it's not really cutting it anymore. It seems strange to use product (mousse, gel) in a baby's (I mean toddler!) hair, but maybe that's what I should do?

[happymom]

Sorry no advice but I will be watching this thread! DD is not even a year and I can see we will be having the same problem eventually... come from a family of straight beautiful hair. Like, air-dry perfect straight hair. DH's entire family has very curly hair!! One of my nieces has very curly hair and SIL puts mousse in even though she is only 3. She says it is the only way her hair will look semi-normal. I happen to think that DN's hair is absolutely adorable- it adds so much personality!

[randomkid]

Unfortunately, even product probably won't help. You will just have to manage the best you can until her hair grows out a bit. DD had straight hair when she was born. It all fell out and came back straight until it was long enough to start curling. For pictures, I'd wet her hair to slick it down, then as soon as it started to dry, it would start sticking up - lol! I remember being so frustrated with her hair.

DD finally had hair long enough to curl in tight ringlets all over her head, but by the end of the day, it was still looking like a mess. I tried hair gel for kids, mousse, that stuff you get to make curls more defined, etc. Yes, I resorted to using adult products, but nothing seemed to help. Now, her hair is thick and beautiful, but not as curly as it was. I wet it, brush it out and when it dries, it looks so nice. By the end of the day, it's still a little frizzy, but not as bad as it used to be. I tried headbands, but she wouldn't wear them, so I did hair clips for a while to keep it out of her face. She now likes headbands and that is really helping her hair look more tamed.

At this growing out stage, a little hair gel might help, but it will still stick up in places. I wouldn't waste your money on products. I have a cabinet full that is unused. I found the thing that works best for us is to be sure it is well conditioned. That seems to keep the frizz under control. We definitely could not use California Baby products - they just didn't do the trick for us. So, I resorted to L'Oreal for Kids 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. Out of everything I've tried, that is working the best for my DD's hair. Leave in hair conditioner might help at the stage you are in. However, I found that when I used it, I had to wash more frequently. We don't use it anymore. I wash her hair about twice a week to keep it from getting too dry and frizzy.

Good luck! I was also totally at a loss on what to do with that curly hair. It will be beautiful someday, though. :)

[Wife_and_mommy]

DD doesn't have ringlet-curly hair anymore but it's very wavy.

I'd start with spraying it with leave-in conditioner. You can make it really inexpensively by filling a spray bottle with water and putting whatever conditioner you use. A squirt or two will do.

Only comb it when newly washed. After that, you spray and finger style. Nothing more. :) That will eliminate the frizzies and makes doing her hair easy peasy.

If you need more than that there are a few products that have been recommended here. I'll do a quick search and update.

[ellies mom]

OK - Here goes my official hair styling advice.

Spritz it with water and work just a touch of California Baby Leave-in conditioner into it. At that length, it really is more of rub over the top of head. You can also add some to the spray bottle. They have a detangler but I don't think it is nearly as effective. Comb it out with a detangling comb or your fingers. If that works all day, great. If not, use just a touch of Aveda's Be Curly Curl Enhancer. The Be Curly stuff keeps the curls in their darling little ringlets so they don't look frizzy. As they get older, just up the amount you use of both products. Yes, they are expensive but a little really does go a long way, especially at that age. You can get a smaller size to try it out. (http://www.aveda.com/templates/products/sp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY22212&PRODUCT_ID=PROD5834)

[randomkid]

OK - Here goes my official hair styling advice.

Spritz it with water and work just a touch of California Baby Leave-in conditioner into it. At that length, it really is more of rub over the top of head. You can also add some to the spray bottle. They have a detangler but I don't think it is nearly as effective. Comb it out with a detangling comb or your fingers. If that works all day, great. If not, use just a touch of Aveda's Be Curly Curl Enhancer. The Be Curly stuff keeps the curls in their darling little ringlets so they don't look frizzy. As they get older, just up the amount you use of both products. Yes, they are expensive but a little really does go a long way, especially at that age. You can get a smaller size to try it out. (http://www.aveda.com/templates/products/sp.tmpl?CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY22212&PRODUCT_ID=PROD5834)

OK, don't go tempting me to try another product - lol!

For OP, I did forget to mention that, as DD's hair curled more, I would wet, comb through to get out tangles, then use fingers for styling. That is really the trick with curly hair. I still use my fingers a lot on DD's hair although I have to brush through it first to tame it/get the tangles out.

When DD's hair was just coming in and was very short, I would just wet it and brush with a baby brush as needed throughout the day.

[jent]

You might want to check out the naturallycurly.com website. They have a lot of info and a forum, including a kids' hair forum.

I'm still figuring out what to do with DD's hair. What I know so far: 1. don't brush it dry, it will just make it frizzy, and 2. when wet, apply leave-in conditioner, then detangle it with a wide-tooth comb. So far I just use leave-in conditioner.