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I remember in 2017 sitting in our ultrasound for Honey, hearing, “it’s a girl!!!!!” and the shock/surprise hadn’t even fully sunk in. After having two boys, C and I were like, “a what?!!?” Haha. We totally assumed Baby #3 would be a boy and probably the first thing my mind went to after the initial realization was “omg, her hair!!!!”
I didn’t think she’d for sure have curly hair, but being that both of our boys have thick hair (thanks to their parents lol), I assumed it would be thick as well, and eventually, it would grow longer and require more maintenance. Since I grew up with curly hair, I really didn’t know how to take care of straight hair or really even do much with it aside from washing and brushing it. My hair can be pretty high maintenance as far as the tangles, but I didn’t grow up straightening, blow drying, doing fun up do’s or unique hair styles, braids, etc. My hair really only did one thing, and that was be curly. Even handling straight hair was unknown to me because I’ve never worked with it! I knew I’d need to start practicing and YouTubing and becoming more creative if I was going to have a girl with hair to take care of!
Hun’s hair was really thick and long from birth, and before her 2nd birthday I got more serious about being proactive with basic care. (This probably sounds very silly, but you have to keep in mind I knew nothing else besides detangling curly hair and letting it air dry and then throwing it up in a bun!) I still have a ways to go and now with another girl in the family after having our sweet Colly Girl this past January, it’s something that’s continued to be important to me.
I’m compiling a list of my fave toddler (and at this point, baby! because Colly’s hair is super thick and curly and needs weekly maintenance by the time she was 8 months old) hair faves and hope to help some other mamas in this area too!
For every day styles, I’ve really been practicing more over the last year+ with Honey’s hair and french braiding. I love that it keeps her hair out of her face for pre-K and even just playing at home. I also really like doing bubble braids (which actually don’t involve any braiding!) and they’re pretty simple to do. Jessica Oakes has tons of easy/cute tutorials on her IG and somewhere I draw inspiration from to try things on Honey’s hair as well! The one below was an idea from her page and it’s my current fave.
Linking our favorite things in the graphic below here and then I’ll tell you a little bit more of why I like these things and what’s helped me too!
Brushing/Detangling
Hands down, our favorite brush is the Tangle Teezer. We were using a few other paddle brushes before and while they got the knots out, it was really painful for her and there were lots of tears shed. I’ve been using one (separate, I do want them to grow up with separate brushes) for Colly the last few months too to work out her tangles in her curls and it’s been awesome. I think the bristles are made to be more gentle while still getting the knots completely out. No more tears!!!
For the detangler products, I love the Suave Kids marigold spray and the As I Am JBCO water. Both do an excellent job, the Suave one seems to be a little more ‘conditioner-y’ and it also smells really amazing too, so we lately that’s been our go to.
I picked up this 3 pack of combs over the last couple months and I’m sooo glad I did! It’s made parting Honey’s hair so much easier and I love the pointed end for that especially. Sometimes when I get all of her tangles out, I’ll run the comb side through just to make sure it’s completely tangle free.
Every day pony tails/bows
I’ve tried a lot of these too, but these ones are our faves. They come in a huge pack and last a really long time! Super soft and easy to get out when the time comes (no longer cutting out the plastic ones!)
For a more snazzy look, we have a bunch of the Kitsch scrunchies. I like putting her hair in a top knot/bun with these- so cute and 90’s ish! haha
Over the years, we have shopped around bows quite a bit. These ones from Amazon are my go to’s! I love that they come in a pair so we can do pigtails/pigtail buns with bows!
Shampoo/Conditioner
Even though Honey doesn’t have curly hair, she has really thick (and a little wavy) hair. We use the Curls shampoo as well as Tubby Todd for her, and for Colly I have used Tubby Todd since she came home from the hospital and will continue to. I cannot say enough amazing things about TT and their products!! Their shampoo is also a body wash and so gentle on her hair/skin. I don’t plan on changing it any time soon, even with the texture of her hair. It works amazing.
When Hun’s hair needs a little more TLC, I will use the As I Am leave in conditioner on her after the shower. This is something I use every day on my own hair to get the tangles out and it leaves my curls feeling so much more bouncy/hydrated. I probably will use it on Colly’s curls when the time comes and she’s a little older.
Hot Tools
We haven’t really ventured into this much since Honey is only 4, but I did recently buy a waver wand and a regular smaller barrel curling iron. We’ve used both only a few times (I’m trying to avoid applying a lot of heat to her hair in general) but for a special occasion these ones by Conair have been fun to have! Also, not really a hot tool but this spray bottle has been used for almost 3 years in our home! Of course, we love it because it’s pink (haha) but it’s a bit larger so it can hold more volume and sprays really well too.
Like I said, I hope this can help or inspire some ideas on what to use for toddler hair! I know it can be tricky, and usually it’s pretty fine for the first few years of their lives as well which makes working with it that much more of a challenge. If you have any “go to’s”, tips, or things have really helped you with your toddler’s hair I’d love to hear in the comments!
