Curly fros are a super cute way to highlight natural beauty. Here's how we achieve ours.
1. Daily Water
I fully saturate their entire heads every night in the tub. It takes less than 5 minutes, and keeps their hair super soft, plump and moisturized. Try to stay away from spritzing the hair with a spray bottle. This somehow makes the hair drier. It's best to fully drench the hair in water, instead of partially wetting it.
If your child does not like water running over their hair, you can totally have them lay back in the tub to submerge their hair that way. Other children may like to use the shower head themselves. Hair time should be fun, so keep trying different ways until you discover how your child likes to get their hair wet.
2. Good Cleanser
In my experience, curls are super delicate and need very little shampoo to get a great clean. We tried co-washing, but the conditioner built-up on their hair over time and weighed down their curls. Now we regularly cleanse their hair and noticed a big difference in how light and flowy their hair is.
3. Gentle Conditioner
Finding the right conditioner took a while for our family. If you're still searching for a great conditioner, find a local store with a great return policy and keep looking until you find it. You know you've found the right product when tangles melt after applying a very little.
This conditioner does the best job (for us). It easily detangles their hair, leaving it super soft, nourished and smelling nice. And it's full of natural ingredients making it safe for the entire family.
4. Ball-less Detangling Brush
Brushing their hair when they are in the bath makes it easier to detangle. Our girls loved playing in the water while I took my time loosening any tangles in their hair. Ball-less detangling brushes with flexible bristles are especially important for little kids. They are not hard like the Denman, but super soft on our girls' hair and scalp. If you too are looking for a wet brush (also known as a detangling brush), make sure it has kid-friendly bristles that are soft, flexible, with no balls on the end.
If you have a child like mine, who doesn't let you near their head with any hair tool -- try finger detangling. If that's not an option, my philosophy is to leave their hair alone. If they are super tenderheaded, they may not like the sensation of brushing (even if it's with a super soft brush).
5. Keep It Short
Short hair doesn't take as long to do (especially if you have to do it daily). So we kept their hair at shoulder length.
6. Avoid Gel
It may be tempting to get a more defined and artificially shiny look. But avoiding gel and keeping their hair with the least amount of product will strengthen the health of their hair overtime. As well as minimize the need for heavy cleansers. On occasion you may want to use gel (like for a photoshoot), I'd recommend using a teeny amount only on the edges. Avoiding the slick look allows their hair to frizz and swell - this serves to protect their scalps.
7. Curl Obsession
One of the biggest secrets to a gorgeous curly fro is absolute obsession with the natural curl pattern. Since every set of curls is different, the results will look completely different for everyone. The goal is to maintain the hair's health so that its natural beauty shines through. Here are our three girls (with the same parents) rocking three very different fro patterns.
8. Daily Routine
Curly fros (in my experience) require a daily routine (especially for kids). While I could wear my wash-n-go for up to 5 days, I could not do the same for our girls. When they woke in the morning the curls would be lifeless and flat. Doing the hair daily also made detangling easier. But a daily hair routine can be inconvenient at times, so when we needed a break we would braid their hair, do buns, ponytails or any other of their favorite styles.
Does your family love curly fros? What must-haves would you add? Need to schedule a one-on-one? Use code: HEART2HEART.
Until next time...
Love The Journey,
