Curly Hair Routine For Children

Do your children have curly hair but not you? You don’t know how to take care of them and would like them to accept their magnificent hair? Your little curly heads need special attention to take care of their still fragile hair. What is the proper routine? What are the excellent products? In this article, we explain how to maintain children’s curly hair according to their texture and needs.

The Different Hair Textures

To take care of your children’s curly hair, it is essential to know its texture. This will allow you to adopt the right products and actions according to their needs. According to André Walker, textured hair is classified into three categories, ranging from 2A (wavy) to 4C (kinky):

Wavy Hair 

1. 2A: S-shaped waves with little volume
2. 2B: S-shaped and more defined waves
3. 2C: Well-defined S-shaped waves with more volume

Curly To Frizzy Hair 

1. 3A: large 2-shaped loops
2. 3B: tight, well-defined, 2-shaped curls
3. 3C: even more defined and tighter curls

Frizzy Hair 

1. 4A: S-shaped and very tight curls
2. 4B: Z-shaped curls, fine and dense hair
3. 4C: flattened Z-shaped curls, delicate and fragile hair

The Hair Routine Adapted To Maintain Children’s Curly Hair

Now that you know the texture of your kids’ hair, let’s review the basics of caring for their pretty curls.

Clean Gently

The first step in a good hair routine for children is shampoo. Children’s scalp is very fragile and requires very gentle cleaning. Producing very little sebum, the roots can be washed sparingly. One shampoo per week is sufficient. To take care of your children’s scalp, it is essential to choose gentle and neutral shampoos without aggressive products, such as sulfates, parabens, silicones, etc., which could create severe irritation. 

How To Properly Clean Your Children’s Curly Hair? 

1. Wet the entire hair and separate it into 2 or 4 sections if necessary
2. Apply a small amount of shampoo of your choice to the palms of your hands. Lather, then apply to your child’s scalp
3. Gently massage the roots with your fingertips to remove impurities.
4. Rinse with clear, lukewarm water.

Moisturize And Detangle 

Hydration is vital to keeping your kids’ curls healthy, bouncy, and frizz-free. Choose a conditioner or mask suitable for your children’s curls. The conditioner is applied to the towel-dried lengths and left for approximately 5 minutes. It is an “express” treatment that facilitates detangling and rehydrates the curls. The hair mask is applied in the same way but sits for 15 to 30 minutes. 

It is a deep treatment, ideal for damaged, brittle and very fragile hair, which moisturizes and nourishes the hair fiber. It is optional to make moisturizing masks before the age of 3. At this age, hair generally does not need deep care.  Thanks to our filter system, you will find all the products suitable for your little curly heads on the “mama and kids friendly” tab. 

Rich in vitamins and nutrients essential to textured hair, moisturizing treatments are excellent allies for detangling. It makes it easier to pass the brush along the lengths to remove tangles gently. Thus, the hydration provided to the hair fiber considerably limits the appearance of knots.   To hydrate the lengths daily and facilitate detangling, you can opt for leave-in detangling sprays. 

Specially designed for the fragile curls of little ones, they detangle and strengthen the hair fiber. Curls are soft, shiny and protected. To avoid breakage, choose accessories that are soft and respectful of the hair fiber to detangle your children’s curly hair. Our La Belle Boucle Wooden Wide Tooth Comb for Curly Hair or our La Belle Boucle Detangling Brush for Curly Hair will be perfect for avoiding crying attacks.

Form The Curls 

To properly shape your children’s curls and fix them, you can use a suitable hair cream and leave-in hair gel. They have many benefits for all types of curly hair. They allow you to: 

1. draw the curls
2. hydrate them
3. limit the appearance of frizz
4. protect hair from dehydration
5. fix the curls

After rinsing out the moisturizer:

1. Apply the styling products to all of the still-wet lengths.
2. With your head forward, go up (scrunch) the lengths to the roots.
3. Repeat several times until the curls are correctly formed.

The magic formula for well-defined curls: the little “squinch” sound when scrunching. Feel free to involve your children in this step to teach them how to form their pretty curls correctly. That cute moment is guaranteed! Let dry in the open air or with the diffuser tip of the hair dryer at low temperature.  In the morning, if the curls are a little distorted, you can re-moisten the lengths with our La Belle Boucle Curly Hair Spray and reapply a little styling product. If hair is tangled, do not hesitate to use a detangling spray to remove tangles gently.0

Taking Care Of Children’s Curls Every Day

To ensure that your children’s curls remain hydrated and defined until the next shampoo, it is possible to adopt simple daily actions to limit manipulation. First, you can slip a silk pillowcase over their pillow so that they can have a great night’s sleep there. In addition to its silky feel, silk is an excellent material for keeping curly hair healthy. Unlike traditional pillowcases, it does not absorb moisture. This way, hair remains supple and frizz-free.  To limit friction and tangles during the night:

1. Tie your children’s hair in a pineapple ponytail.
2. Create a ponytail on the top of your head and secure it with a spiral elastic band or a silk scrunchie.
3. Keep the elastic tight enough; the goal is to hold the hair together.

When you wake up, you no longer need to go through the detangling box… it changes your life! On a daily basis, you can create protective hairstyles to take care of your children’s curly hair. Braids, braids, buns… There are a multitude of them. They help to limit friction as much as possible and thus protect the hair fiber from external attacks.

Products To Avoid On Children’s Curly Hair

Children’s curly hair is naturally more fragile than that of adults. This is why specific treatments should be avoided on your children:

1. Treatments containing essential oils. This is why we created a special mama & kids-friendly category in the store. You will find all the suitable products.
2. Products with purifying active ingredients. Their scalp being fragile, it is not recommended to use treatments with purifying and detoxifying properties.
3. Vegetable oils are too thick. Generally speaking, it is optional to do oil baths before the age of 6. Even at this age, the oil must be suitable for children. 

Thanks to these tips, maintaining your children’s curly hair no longer holds any secrets for you! You now have the keys to teaching your children the right actions from an early age. This way, they will have the right reflexes to take care of their pretty curls all their lives. This does not mean that it is necessarily dangerous for them but that the tests have yet to be carried out. Additional information can be found in “use tips”.

Read Also: Hair Detox: Clarification To Purify Curly Hair