Oh my goodness thank you so much. My daughter has curly hair just like Addie’s and i have tried EVERYTHING on it. My hair is also curly/wavy, but i always wear mine straight and when i was a kid it was just a mess. My daughter is now 5 and has shorter hair becuase the curls look so much better. Im going to look for the Curly Q’s stuff for sure and Ill send it to her dad’s house as well. I had no idea about not washing it so often. This article is heaven sent. Thank you so much.

Great tips! I have waves, our 7 year old daughter has drop dead gorgeous ringlets ( when I RARELY straighten it-it’s to her waist) The only shampooing every other is great advice- what I also learned this summer (after she was in the pool every day) on days we do shampoo & condition, I leave the conditioner in. Alllllll night. Comb it through her hair, quick French braid to reduce tangles, send her to bed, in the am, magic! Her hair soaks it all up!!! Excellent for dry winter & over chlorinated hair. I’ll have to check out Curl Qs, we use organix Moroccan oil shampoo/cond & their hair oil, alternated with John Frieda’s frizzease.

This post should be better titled, “20 Tips for the White Parents of Blond Curly Headed Children”. How obnoxious could you be? “Ethnic products”. Do you not realize there is an entirely different races of people who have the most amazing curls and embrace them as wonderful as opposed to seeing them as “being in the trenches”. And you “help her learn to love them” by straightening her hair? Who does that to a child? And why should she have to “learn to love them”? Who taught her otherwise…you?

I am in shock. Is Babble only for light skinned parents? Because this post is insulting.

Thank you for the response and I must apologize because I completely failed to mention that your daughter, along with her curls, are absolutely gorgeous. I appreciate the explanation and your point of view makes perfect sense now.

I am writing as a mother with blond waves to girls who each have full head of black curls. As a woman and mother, I am doing my best to help my children love what they were given, and not to display to them by my actions of straightening my own hair, or heaven for bid theirs, that their hair should be any other way.

And by “ethnic” hair products, it just seemed to imply that your daughter’s curls are somehow different then the rest of the non blond headed children’s curls. It just seemed a very biased article for a universally beautiful gift.

But I appreciate the article because no matter the color, texture, or tightness of the curl, each requires special attention.

Suzanne,

Wow, offended much? You do realize the contributers here work from life experience and tend to use their own photographs. Hair is challenging no matter what it is, and it is great to have a little wisdom online on how to manage it so it doesn’t become a huge mess. Now, unless you are naturally drop dead gorgeous, or just content to wallow in whatever pajama pants and bedhead you woke up in all day, I’m going to assume that you have a beauty/hygiene routine that focuses on making the most of what you’ve got. Casey’s girl has GORGEOUS curls- work it Addie! She’s lucky to have a mom who cares enough to teach her how to care for all the parts of her beautiful body. And there is nothing racist about this post- she flat out gives props to the great hair products out there designed for women of color, and the many ideas she gains from them.

Great post Casey!

I am the mom of a wonderful curly-top boy. One more tip: thank strangers for the sweet compliments but don’t allow them touch the hair. Just…ewww, No.

I totally know how it feels to have curly kinky hair and luckily Sierra & lexie love it. Chelsea is the oddball and has straight hair…we still have to see how Noah’s hair grows out.

I remember how I had to always comb Sierra’s hair every day & night before bed. Luckily she does all that on her own now. We all wash our hair three times a week. We sometimes rotate product, but our favorite is Biosilk. Curly hair is beautiful & we get compliments all the time. All of Sierra’s friends envy her because of her curly hair. Having curly hair is a blessing because we can wear it both ways…straight & curly, and they
all are happy with their head of hair.

My 14 month old son has.crazy curly hair, especially in the back. The funniest thing about it is that the curls are tight, and they curl UPWARD, instead of down. His hair is pretty long too, when its wet and straight, its about an inch past his shoulders, which makes for some pretty crazy hair days. Random people are constantly touching it, which drives me crazy!

This was great! I’ve had curly hair since puberty, and I had to learn most of these myself. I’ve had problems with product fatigue–products that I love just don’t work anymore. So, I’m excited to try the ones you recommend.

Casey, thanks AGAIN for the great curly-hair tips! You originally saved me (straight hair) and my daughter’s strawberry blond curls in your guest Advice Smackdown column, and I loved seeing the info here on Babble. One thought on summer water play – I keep a bottle of spray leave-in conditioner/detangler in with the swim supplies (sunscreen, etc.), and douse my daughter’s head liberally when she gets out of the sprinkler or the pool shower or other water play. It was easier/faster than trying to do a full-on conditioning treatment. Plus, after your kid has been in the pool all day, who needs a bath, right? My favorite products have been Curly Q (thanks to you!) and the Circle of Friends line. And yes, my daughter now has more hair products than I do. Also, it is amazing how much people comment on her hair – I never expected that.

I just found this and read it! I have curly hair and one of my daughters has curly hair, so for me, it’s just par for the course. For my poor husband though, he just doesn’t get why we don’t rub the towel on her head when she gets out of the tub (I’ve explained over and over that it makes it fuzzy..even the 7 year old tells him!) or why conditioner/product is so important! If you don’t have curly hair, it’s hard to understand! Heck, I have curly hair and it’s still hard to understand! The right cut and product and do wonders!!!