A Solution for DD's Long Curly Hair

[tkd lisa]

A while back, we had a thread going on caring for our daughter's hair. I had mentioned that once DD hit puberty, her hair turned VERY difficult to care for. It's thick and really frizzy, and she had a hard time getting it clean. We figured out how to get it clean (comb the shampoo through while showering), but it was still a frizzy mess. A clean mess, but still a mess.

About once a week, I would make her sit still while I worked through all the tangles. Finally, Sunday morning, I realized that most of those tangles are coming from rubbing on the pillow while she's sleeping (very restless sleeper).

So Sunday evening, after her shower, I had her sit down while I worked through her hair (actually had to cut a knot out this time), then I braided it. I leave for work before the kids get up for school, so I didn't see it. When I got home she said "Mom, do you know how many people said my hair looked nice today???? SEVENTEEN! And all I did was unbraid it and brush through it!"

So if anyone else has long thick curly hair, nighttime braids seems to do the trick for us!

 

[dmslush]

Something else that might help.. dd (as you can see from the picture) has SUPER curly hair. When she showers, she uses conditioner first. She will condition her hair and use a pick to work out the tangles(with the conditioner still in her hair). The conditioner softens her hair and makes the tangles slide out. She then washes out the conditioner and then washes and conditions again.

After she does that, we only pat it, towel dry. We add some mousse and/or styling gel to it. We don't pick, comb, or brush. All that does is separates the curls and gives it a fuzzy appearance. Putting mousse and gel in it holds the curls together.

 

[Poohnatic]

I've done something that looks really silly, but works like a charm, no matter whether my hair has been curly or straight.

Bend over and take all the hair and twist it as tight as is comfortable. Fold it in half and then fasten with a scrunchie. It looks like I have a pineapple top for a head, but works great. It doesn't matter how restless I am, it stays out of the way.

Got the idea from my sister who has hair like your daughter-very thick and extremely curly. I also would use frizz ease before picking through curly hair.

Suzanne

 

[tkd lisa]

dmslush, your DD's hair looks like my DDs on a fabulous day. Generally NEVER happens! But now that my DD is actually letting me help her with it, I'll try your suggestion probably on a weekend.

And poohnatic, we probably have every anti frizz spray and lotion they make When she was little, she had the same problem, and I used that Johnson and Johnson no more tears at the rate of a bottle every other week! Then at about 2 1/2, her hair straightened out, and no more problems until puberty hit.

I should have known it was coming. My soon-to-be-ex used to wear what he called a "natural", which was basically a white boys afro, and his only sister complained all the time about her curly hair and how hard it was to care for. Of course, I spent a fortune on perms in my twenties, because my hair was so straight!

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

 

[damo]

There is a product called Fast Food by AG hair products that works really, really well on that frizzy wiry hair. My son has been wearing his hair in the "natural" for a few years now and this stuff really helps keep the tangles out. It is a leave in conditioner that we get at the salon.

 

[SC Minnie]

DD has very long hair and we braid it at night too. It makes a world of difference.

 

[krcit]

Add me to the list of braiders, lol! I've been doing that to 2 dds hair for years on the advice of a mom of 3 girls. Both of my girls have very long hair (one wavy, one straight) and I brush it through after the shower, braid it and the next morning it is so easy to brush.

 

[Tiggeroo]

braiding helps. I have thick curly hair. I comb thru the conditioner while in the shower. I either have a bottle of kiddy no more tangles spray or I take a spray bottle and put some conditioner in it and add water. When I get up in the morning I spray this on my hair.
I generally don't comb my hair unless it's wet from the shower with conditioner on it. Otherwise I just spritz it with spray then work a bit of gel in and scrunch my hair and go.

 

[Serena]

We braid my daughter's hair too and it's stick straight, just long. It does really help.
I've also heard that satin pillow cases helps. I haven't tried that one though.

 

[AmazingGrace]

I braid Grace's hair too. It makes thing so much easier before school in the mornings.

 

[malibuconlee]

I have just enough curl in my hair to make it a PITA. I found a LONG time ago that I just have to shower in the morning. If I sleep on my hair it's just horrible and won't do a thing.

Also, what helps me is some mousse and letting my hair air dry as long as possible with just finishing it off with a hair dryer.

 

[Longsx3]

I have naturally curly hair and I absolutely love Ouidad products...www.ouidad.com. They are not cheap but are some of the best products on the market...at least for my hair. I also frequent www.naturallycurly.com to find good salons...the right hair cut can make a world of difference. Also as some else mentioned comb the conditioner through your hair in the shower and do not comb or brush your hair again. BTW I do not brush my hair at all, I only comb it in the shower.

 

[Brianne]

I have very long hair, but even though it's stick straight, I still braid it at night. I had too many dreams of animals wrapped around my neck, only to discover it was my hair choking me. And with hot flashes, it became even worse!

 

[LiteBrite]

I have naturally curly hair, and I went through the same thing at puberty. Actually, before that it was really thin and straight, with only the tiniest bit of wave to it. We moved from dry Colorado to humid Florida at the same time as I hit puberty, so I've never know exactly which of those things to blame it on, but it was almost like I grew a whole new head of thick, frizzy hair on top of the thin, straight stuff!

I had horrible hair in those days, but that was before I learned how to "let it" curl. These days I love my curls:

For all people with curly hair, or mothers of curlys, I highly recommend the book "Curly Girl"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761123008/102-9181654-7331308?v=glance&n=283155
I learned so much about how to care for my curls from this book. Two very important (and possibly radical-sounding) things I learned: Never use shampoo to clean your curly hair, and never brush or comb it. I use water, conditioner, and friction to clean my hair and scalp, and I only comb the conditioner through with my fingers in the shower. That way I don't have any harsh detergents drying my hair out, and my curls don't get separated, which is what causes frizz.

 

[krcit]

Litebrite, your hair is gorgeous!!!!You lucky girl!

 

[LiteBrite]

Litebrite, your hair is gorgeous!!!!You lucky girl!

As our friend Goofy would say, Aw, garsh! Thanks!

 

[Caradana]

Honestly, I might take her to get it straightened. You only have to do that twice a year, and it would make a world of difference for her in terms of time and ease. Is she at all interested in that?

 

[tkd lisa]

She loves having it straightened. I even bought a straightener since the salon did that when they colored it. Coloring it was my first attempt to make her take care of it. I paid for professional coloring with the bribe that she had to take care of it. But I realized that it's really not possible for her to get through to the depths of it by herself.

Does the straightening damage the hair? She really wants to keep it long, and I'd worry that repeated straightening would leave her with damaged hair.

 

[Mulan'sMom]

I, too, have thick, curly hair. I couldn't even comb it - even with the big, wide toothed combs, unless it was wet. I never brushed it at all. I tried everything until I finally hit on Bumble & Bumble. The products are expensive, but they work like a charm - they have shampoos, conditioners, leave-in conditioners, styling products, etc. You can find them online or at licensed salons throughout the US. I used to wash it, put in the leave-in conditioner, comb it through then run my fingers through my hair. Instead of unmanageable frizz I got nice, "piecey" waves and curls.

 

[rt2dz]

I have just enough curl in my hair to make it a PITA. I found a LONG time ago that I just have to shower in the morning. If I sleep on my hair it's just horrible and won't do a thing.

Also, what helps me is some mousse and letting my hair air dry as long as possible with just finishing it off with a hair dryer.

BINGO!! Except my hair is exteremly curly. I can't even straighten it and have it stay straight. Other differences are I use a diffuser on cool with my hair & a defrizzer. I never comb my hair. It's pointless and just causes damage. I also only shampoo about once a week; every other day is conditioner.

I must be doing something right, because I get compliments on it all the time. The only people who know the truth about my hair is my family. DH says it's just plain scary in the morning.