My Dear Frizzy Haired Girl

[ms sig]

With all that goes on with my kids, this is on of the more minor things to worry about. My DD is starting a well-regarded Montessori school soon, and all the girls are so, well, well-groomed. My daughter's hair was so slow to grow. Even now, a few months shy of her 3rd birthday, it's whispy and at barely comes to her shoulders at it's longest. She's never had a haircut. Here's the funny part. It has a  fine texture and has nice blond curls in the front but is kind of frizzy in much of the back. It ends up bunching together and sticking straight out. When I brush it though, it's still frizzy. Kind of a flat mat for a bit until it works it's way back up again. It reminds me of one of those old pencil toppers that you'd shake and make the fuzz stand up. I'll wash it and recently started conditioning it (weekly since she doesn't like her hair washed) but that doesn't seem to help much. And sometimes I'll comb through it with a wet comb and a little leave-in conditioner. Which helps a little bit, but not much. 

Any suggestions?

[amberskyfire]

Does it help to pull just as much of the back part as you can into little pigtails? It might at least hide the fact that the hair back there looks a bit different. If they are allowed to wear head coverings at the school, little kerchiefs are super cute! (BTW, this is not my shop and I don't know anything about the person that owns it. I just searched for pictures on Google and liked this one)

http://hyenacart.com/plumknityarnsupply/index.php?c=54&p=80565

[MadiMamacita]

Do you have curly hair?

The different texture in the back is probably because when she rests her head on things or sleeps the hair shafts get rubbed the wrong way. Lots of curly headed people swear by satin pillowcases. Another suggestion I have heard is drying the hair with old, soft jersey tee shirts instead of terry cloth towels, which rough up the hair shaft too.

Also brushing curly hair when dry is notorious for creating frizz. you should use a widetooth comb and only comb it wet.

You could also check out Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey- my local library had the book.
The basic idea is that curly hair is so dry by nature that shampooing with conventional shampoo is too drying and damaging. It almost sounds like a conspiracy theory, but the ingredients in shampoo are so drying and harsh that they make you use even more conditioner and more shampoo and the cycle continues. I stopped using shampoo on my frizz ball of a head about 3 years ago and my hair is not frizzy anymore. I just scrub my scalp with conditioner a few times a week.

HTH!

[Caitlin0919]

My DD has wavy hair but the back gets the same way. Sleeping and resting her head on stuff makes it super frizzy. We use a 2-in-1 shampoo on DD(she always has food or something in her hair), plus conditioner PLUS I use a detangler to comb her hair after her bath. I only comb it wet with a wide-tooth comb. I recently started using a homemade detangler made with a few teaspoons of coconut oil and water and that seems to really help. The coconut oil keeps her hair moisturized and it looks really soft and shiny, much better than the store-bought stuff we were using. I might just start putting some coconut oil straight into her hair before it dries so it doesn't get so frizzy when she goes to bed. I'm hoping that will make it easier to comb in the morning without getting frizzy.

[ms sig]

thank you for the suggestions all! i'll try them. i do have curly hair, and remember getting that frizz patch when i was younger, and occasionally still do. i really never thought about it much though! her hair is so thin, that it seems to be more apparent with her. i'll try those suggestions!

also, amberskyfire, that kerchief is sooo cute! it seems like it would be really easy for me to knit, even with my totally basic skills. thanks!