My now two year old has curly hair and it’s been a learning curve for me! I’ve polled my Instagram followers for the best curly kid products, techniques and other tips and shared them below.

This post is intended for type 2 and 3 hair, if anyone knows of a great post on type 4 (coily hair), I’d gladly link it here!

My son has such low maintenance hair, so it’s been a real learning curve to figure out the best products and techniques for my daughter!

Here’s a summary of what’s working for us: shampooing max 2x/week, using the right shampoo and other products (linked below), detangling only from the bottom up, adding moisture daily and avoiding putting her to sleep with wet hair. See below for more details on these tips and lots more curly hair tips.

My own hair has gotten curlier recently and I’m using some of these products and tips on myself too!

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Avoid drying hair out + add moisture daily

Curly hair tends to be dry and fragile, so follow these tips to keep it healthy.

Wash infrequently // Curly hair tends to be dry and shampooing dries it out further so wash infrequently. Shampoo frequency needs can vary based on hair type, products and season. I wash my daughter’s hair once most weeks and rinse with just water once or twice during the week.
Choose your shampoo and other hair products carefully // Find a shampoo (or “low poo”) that is free of sulfates and other hair products that are free of silicone, both of which can dry out hair. We use an inexpensive curly kid shampoo (available at Target and Amazon). I love every other product from this line but am going to try other shampoos.
Consider low-poo or no-poo shampoo alternatives // This feels a little hard core for me, but lots of curly girls skip shampoo altogether (no-poo) or use a very mild lather shampoo (low-poo).
Focus shampoo on the scalp // If you shampoo, focus just on the scalp so as to avoid drying out the hair.
Use conditioner even when aren’t shampooing // On days that we only rinse, we still use conditioner. Ours is available at Target and Amazon.
Add moisture daily // I use either a leave-in defining cream (available at Target and Amazon), which makes my daughter’s hair instantly shiny and bouncy or spray it with diluted conditioner from a continuous spray bottle. FYI, I use the same leave-in defining cream on my own hair too!

Shop the above-mentioned products at Target:

Shop the above-mentioned products at Amazon:

Additional tips for avoiding breakage and disruption of curl pattern

Use a wide tooth comb or wetbrush to avoid breakage and disruption of the curl pattern // Most of my curly sources recommend a wide tooth comb, but a wetbrush may be more effective for shorter hair. This glitter webrush is extra fun!

If combing or brushing, work from the bottom up // this is gentler on the hair.

Limit touching and rubbing // Try to avoid touching and rubbing the hair too much, especially while drying it. Touching and rubbing the hair disrupts the curl pattern and causes frizz and tangles.
Limit friction // Be mindful of surfaces the head rests against (like car seats and strollers) that may be a rough material.

Sleep tips

Don’t go to sleep with wet hair // this tip applies to all ages, the rest of this sleep section really applies only to big kids and adults.
Sleep with “pineapple” hair // This entails gathering the hair at the top of the head to maintain volume, protect the curl pattern and avoid friction. This applies only to longer hair.
Sleep on a silk or satin pillow case // My hair is only wavy and I have been doing this for years. Here is my pillowcase (comes in lots of colors, so it’s easy to match to your linen).
Consider a satin-lined sleep cap // this is especially useful if you tend to move off your pillow or to keep your pineapple in place.
Consider a satin scrunchie.

Styling and care tips

Curly hair should be treated like your finest silk blouse. Be gentle and caring toward it. Make sure backpack (of for adults, handbag) straps don’t tug on it. When styling and drying, preserve the natural curl pattern by using a hard hold gel and diffusing gently. Once it’s 100% dry you can “scrunch out the crunch” of the gel and be left with perfectly formed curls. My daughter is only two, so we haven’t used any gel or heat on her hair, but these are tips from my curly friends.

Use a microfiber towel to dry hair // traditional towels can cause friction.

Limit heat // heat and air from a blow dryer can dry out hair and should be limited. I recommend buying at Nordstrom as they have a great selection and the best return policy Dyson’s supersonic and T3 are both great options, but you can check out all of Nordstrom’s blow dryer’s here.

Use a diffuser attachment // this can reduce frizz, define curls and boost volume. The Black Orchid diffuser is popular. Here are additional options.

More curly kid tips

Make sure to speak positively to your children about their hair texture so they learn to love their natural curly hair. Curly hair needs more care and there is a learning curve but curly hair is beautiful and unique!

This is a great book celebrating natural hair texture!

This article above is really intended as a digestible primer for parents with little experience with curly hair. If you want more in-depth info, this book is considered to be the curly hair bible.