What do you do with curly hair?!

[slaggyc]

My 2 1/2 year old daughter has naturally curly hair. I have no experience with this- there are no curls in my family. As she's getting older and her hair is getting longer, it's getting harder to manage. Is there a brush or comb that's good to use? I don't want to put any product in her hair, but have been using California Baby detangler. It used to work well, but now that her hair is so thick and long, it's not really helping much anymore. Doing hair every day is becoming a battle! And I have to do something with it after naptime because it is major bedhead when she wakes up! :) I would love any tips!

[nolonger]

Have you checked out the naturally curly forums http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/parents-curlies/ or the Curly Girl book http://www.betterworldbooks.com/curly-girl-id-0761123008.aspx yet?

I use my fingers to detangle  my son's hair and give us both a break for a few weeks by having it braided at the salon once in awhile. My own braids don't look as nice and only last 3-7 days, but sometimes that's better than nothing when I can't justify the expense of a salon.

A sleep cap or satin pillow case might also help with the "bed head".

[slaggyc]

Thanks for the links. I will check them out. I just went and got her a new brush that may be better and some non-toxic product at whole foods. We'll see!

[dalia]

A pick or wide toothed comb may be better than a brush. Comb her hair in the bath when she has conditioner in it. If you don't want to use product u can just leave a little conditioner in her hair as well. Also, for naps you can braid her hair before she goes down. Hope this helps!

[physmom]

DD is mixed so her hair is a slightly different beast but I highly recommend getting shampoo with cocoa butter in it.  I even use it myself because it helps with itchy scalp.  It's really helped to make DD's hair softer and get the tangles out.  I also bought some leave in spray conditionr that also detangles at the same time for days that we don't wash her hair.  Oh, and we don't wash every day... more like once a week but that also is because DD HATES getting her hair washed and always throws a huge tantrum.  One more thing never underestimate the power of brading a child's hair before they go to bed.  It will help with the tangles (although it's not always possible for me to get DD to sit still to do this!).

[mom2lucy]

I started a thread about this a while back and got great responses.  I'm not sure how to link but you could probably do a search for it. 

Anyway, what we've been doing and it's helped a ton, is to use a wide tooth comb, and only comb her hair when it's wet.  So I'll just get a spray bottle with water and dampen the hair then comb through it and apply a bit of leave-in conditioner (we use Alba-it was the most natural I could find).  It has really helped and her hair looks so much better.  I only wash it about 3 times/wk which helps it from getting too dry.

Good luck, and curly hair is so cute when cared for properly!

[macandcheese]

My hair was always wavy, but in my early 20s it suddenly got extremely curly. I had to totally re-learn how to manage it, which was weird! 

What works for me:

~No combing, no brushing. I'll use my fingers to detangle and get knots out when I'm in the shower. Combing, brushing, or even running fingers through curly hair when it's dry is a surefire way to get poofed-up, frizzy hair and massive tangles. 

~No blow-drying. I wring out as much water as I can when I'm just out of the shower, and I dry my hair by using an old (really soft) t-shirt—I sort of hang my head upside down and wrap the t-shirt around it, and then I squeeze so that most of the moisture comes out. Definitely no rubbing with a towel or anything like that.

~No shampoo or conditioner. I feel gross if I go more than a day without showering, so my hair gets wet every day. I don't always wash it, though. Every few days I'll use a few drops of Dr. Bronner's just on my scalp, and I use apple cider vinegar (a few spoonfuls diluted into a cup of water) as a rinse/conditioner. This is probably the best trick I've picked up. The ACV leaves my hair really super soft, it helps keep tangles away, and it seems to make my hair even curlier. Any kind of commercial shampoo or conditioner (even natural stuff) leaves my hair like straw.

[thebeljur]

Originally Posted by dalia 

A pick or wide toothed comb may be better than a brush. Comb her hair in the bath when she has conditioner in it. If you don't want to use product u can just leave a little conditioner in her hair as well. Also, for naps you can braid her hair before she goes down. Hope this helps!

  My 4 1/2-year-old daughter has long curly hair.  Picks are great.  Just make your own detangler spray (put a small amount of your favorite conditioner in a spray bottle with water).  My best advice is the braid.  Braid her hair before bedtime (or for naptime) -- that's what works the best to keep away the snaggly, dreadhead, "bird nest" hair (as I call it) -- lol.