What to use on son's long curly hair

[iris0110]

I am thinking this has been asked before but wanted some specific advice for how to handle Tharen's hair. My hair was never handled properly as a child and it always looked bad. I've been trying to manage his hair properly but I'm struggling with it. He has fine curly hair and it seems to get very dry. When his hair is "nice" it is pretty ringlets but next thing I know it is wild frizz and dry looking. I can only seem to get it to behave right after a shower. I am using a wide tooth comb and trying to only comb it when wet but I can't shower him every day or his skin dries out. I mixed conditioner with water in a spray bottle but it doesn't seem to help much in fixing his curls in the intervening days so when I have to comb them out it just turns into a frizzy mess.


here is the wild man doing math, he had not been brushed at all.


Freshly showered and far better behaved (the hair, you never can tell with Tharen)

Is there a product I can use in his hair to help keep his curls hydrated and smooth? The air here can be unpredictable as far as humidity goes. I would rather not use too many chemicals on him so natural is better. I know I've heard I can use coconut oil but wasn't sure how.

[Hungry Caterpillar]

I have curly hair and wash it every three ish days. I only comb it out with conditioner in it while in the shower and then rinse. When I towel dry I do not rub my hair at all but I turn my head upside down and use the towel to squeeze the hair upwards towards my head. This defines the curls while blotting out the excess water. I then take a teeny bit of coconut oil, just enough to shine my palms, and softly scrunch my curls upwards again as I did with the towel. When my hair is dry, I run one more touch of coconut oil over it to smooth it. It can last for three days and look nice as long as I don't tie it up to sleep. The curls frizz out if it's banded up at night. Satin pillowcases help a lot.

I use a wide tooth plastic comb that has a little bend to it. That touch of flexibility helps to get knots out if the hair without straining it, which contributes to nicer curls

Eta: once it's dry it doesn't get combed again. It just frizzes like crazy. I try to take as many preventative steps as I can to avoid needing to comb it

[tjsacosta]

I just started using an olive oil spritz I get in the African American hair section on my daughter thin curly hair. It gives it a wet look for a few hours then just looks smooth. Suave detangler works well on her hair as well.

[iris0110]

Ok I'm going to try the blotting vs drying and I will work the coconut oil through his hair as well. I use a wide tooth comb with a bit of a bend in it. http://www.sallybeauty.com/shower-co...l?cm_vc=SEARCH

I don't know if you can tell from the pictures but it has a double row of teeth and they are wide and bent so they don't catch in his hair. Unfortunately he is pretty wild and so his hair gets really messy from day to day. I've tried just re-wetting it with a spray bottle but that doesn't seem to help.

[Hungry Caterpillar]

If I am going to run or do anything of the sort I use a clip instead of a hair band. I know you do martial arts so you probably need a hair band. In that see I would recommend braiding the hair as it will keep it smoother

[7mom7]

I have curls and I have a little boy with curls. I'd try this (pretty cheap at the grocery store) and apply to wet hair straight out of shower:

http://www.garnierusa.com/_en/_us/ou...prdcode=P41249

I have to use a strong conditioner that is anti damage- I'm all for natural stuff too but it doesn't work on my hair, too drying. I wash my hair, put conditioner in and let it stay for a while as I wash the rest of me. That's the only way I can get a brush through it. I use Dove shampoo and conditioner. I wash every other day. I brush it right out of the shower while it's soaking wet and add oil/product and scrunch. I let it air dry so I tend to shower at night so I don't have to leave the house with wet hair.

[iris0110]

Right now I don't tie his hair at all because he won't let me. He says it hurts to tie it up and won't let me braid it or anything. He will put clips in the front or wear a bandana. He used to wear a "derby skinz" brand head band when he skated to help keep his helmet in place over his hair but he didn't like that and it kept slipping down in his face. When he noticed all of the guys wore bandanas he wanted one too so he wears those for derby, social skating and TKD. I don't know if that is better or worse for his hair but it does keep it out of his eyes.

I was wondering about the sleek and shine products. I always used Knotty Boy spray in Kearnan's hair but he has just barely wavy hair so it is totally different. If anything lately the Knotty boy is causing his hair to look too weighted down, but again Kearnan has totally different hair.

[Bhavana]

How about this?

Take a drop or two of CO, rub it between your palms and rub the ringlets with it. Do it a couple of times to cover all the hair. What left after on your palms, pass it over his head. It wont look dry that way.

[AmberP]

I use a very small amount of coconut oil on DD's hair. I also started using this Dr. B's conditioner with all kinds of oils and lemon in it. It is a conditioning rinse, I think. I love it.

[NYCVeg]

Your son's hair looks very similar to my dd's hair--straighter on top, curly on the bottom. My best advice:

Don't wash too often. Like a PP suggested, we wash dd's hair every three days or so, squeeze out the water, comb it out, and then scrunch it.

NEVER comb hair out when it's completely dry. We do a comb out when she gets out of the shower. In the morning we spray thoroughly with Johnson's detangler and then brush it out. A spray-on detangler is extremely helpful both in smoothing the frizz and allowing you to work through the hair.