Taming daughter's mixed race hair - advice needed

[HollyVictoria]

Hi Geeks

First of all, I'm hoping this is posted in the correct forum - Consumers I'm on an iPhone so if this hadn't gone into Consumers feel free to move!

So as the title says, I am looking for advice on taming my daughters hair. She is mixed heritage and has a gorgeous head of hair but it's a nightmare to keep under control. She's only 10 months so I don't want to use too much product in her hair. Her hair is of fine texture, very curly and very frizzy. It gets matted easily and tangles which when it comes to brushing is a nightmare for her. I have heard coconut oil is good but what other things can I use on her hair whilst it's dry?

Thanks in advance!
Holly x

 

[Dnx]

I'm not a hairdresser, however, my daughter is often mistaken for mixed race. Used to use olive oil on her hair when she was a baby, then shae butter as a toddler. She was born with really long hair and now it is past her waist.

HTH x

 

[HollyVictoria]

Ah thank you for your reply! Yes my little girl was also born with a full head of hair I'll try the olive oil out! My mum uses that on her hair as she is mixed as well, and it's the only thing that stopped her hair from breaking. I don't know why I didn't think of that before haha x

 

[VelvetRose80]

Hi Holly,

As your daughter is so young, a basic regimen of simple rinsing with warm water is sufficient. Using shampoo is not necessary for your daughter at that age. A light conditioner and a leave in conditioner will be beneficial in keeping the hair moisturised when washing. Try a light moisturiser that can be used daily or every other day as this will nourish your daughters hair. Water and water based spray and cream moisturising products such as detangling sprays and leave-in conditioners are very good for softening the hair and to help preparing it for detangling. As your daughters hair is fine try not to use heavy products that will weigh her hair down.

Yes, Coconut oil and olive oil are great oils to apply to textured hair and should be used after adequate moisturising with either water or water based moisturiser. These oils will retain the moisture by locking it into the hair. When detangling Your daughter's hair use a large wide tooth comb, if it has longer teeth even better as this will help with detangling the hair with little damage. If you use a brush ensure that it is a soft bristle brush and use it to just smooth the hair line gently, try not to use a brush from root to ends on textured hair as this is where breakage can occur.

I hope this helps.
VelvetRose x

 

[HollyVictoria]

Thank you so much for the advice! I bought a leave in conditioner from the Naked range in boots but id like to get a spray in detangler for the back where it gets matted. I won't use shampoo now. Could the shampoo be the reason for the frizziness? I've been using a baby organic one without any sls's ect. X

 

[VelvetRose80]

Hey,

Shampoo can be too strong to use in the hair and may cause it to dry out the hair, due to the high level of surfactant detergents (a cleansing agent found in shampoos to remove impurities such as dirt, dust and oil from the hair) that may be contained in the shampoo. Textured hair tends to be of a dry nature and through shampooing strips the hair of its natural oils leaving the hair shaft unprotected and dry. So a no shampoo but conditioner only regime is best as it ensures that moisture is infused within hair and is not lost through the harsh stripping action of a shampoo.

VelvetRose80 xx

 

[Dnx]

Google co-washing.

 

[Patricia76]

Hi my daughters are mixed race and had very wild hair I used a product called baby love they also did a shampoo and conditioner if you want to pm happy to help

Good luck

 

[hazeleyes]

My son is nearly 2, ever since he was about 1 I shampooed the hair with baby shampoo, the Johnson's one.

I then use olive oil or coconut oil in it. I bought the tangle teezer as well which pains him less. He's got that big dry frizzy hair which mattes up as soon as you brush it.
I also don't wash it very often and only when it has loads dirt and food in it. It's dry enough anyway.

Now he's nearly 2 I use detangler as well.

 

[honeybeejir]

Hi definitely try co washing instead of shampooing,only washing with conditioner, also the LOC method which is liquid (could be water) oil & cream (water based) it keeps the hair moisturised.
Have a look at
naturalhairkids.com there's so much info my daughter uses these methods they do work.

 

[HollyVictoria]

Brilliant thank you very much ladies very helpful! I shall ditch the baby shampoo and use water and conditioner and will look at the other methods suggested Xxx

 

[littlemissm]

Hi I have 5 mixed race kids & I am also a trained Afro stylist. I wash my kids hair every 2 weeks but comb through everyday with a spray bottle that has a drop of conditioner in the water. I then use either motions or soft & free curl activator depending on what child's hair I'm doing. Also once a month I will do a deep treatment with either a cholesterol treatment or with castor oil & coconut oil. The treatments won't need to be done on a child as young as yours. All my kids have different hair types so slightly different regimes for each hair except for my twins who have the same hair type.

 

[AcidPerm]

My son is nearly 2, ever since he was about 1 I shampooed the hair with baby shampoo, the Johnson's one.....

Johnsons baby shampoo is the work of the devil. ;-)

Seriously, it's the worst shampoo to use on any hair type as the ph level is balanced for tears so it doesn't cause eye irritation and is alkaline based.

Hair need an acidic based shampoo so best to choose the ones that have no sulphates in them. The less foaming, the better!

 

[hazeleyes]

Johnsons baby shampoo is the work of the devil. ;-)

Seriously, it's the worst shampoo to use on any hair type as the ph level is balanced for tears so it doesn't cause eye irritation and is alkaline based.

Hair need an acidic based shampoo so best to choose the ones that have no sulphates in them. The less foaming, the better!

Eeeek seriously? I realised I do co wash as well sometimes (now I know what it is)

Any recommendations for a better one for kids....

 

[HollyVictoria]

Oh yeah I don't touch Johnson with a barge pole, it's full of petro chemicals as well.

But that aside just an update on my daughters hair. I co washed it with a conditioner for curly hair and then added a bit of olive oil to a leave in conditioner and a week later her hair is looking lovely. At first it looked a bit greasy but now that's all absorbed nicely and we have the Nice loose curls she had before and only a little frizz where she lays on her back. Thanks again for your help! I would never have thought to co wash! Xx