New parents may have many expectations and challenges to face regarding the health and the well being of their little one. Baby’s hair care is one of the unexpected challenges that parents might encounter. Make yourself prepared to deal with all the types of your baby’s hair.
Some kids have straight hair whereas the others have curly hair with ringlets at the bottom. Baby’s hair requires special care and treatment when compared to adult’s hair.
This article discusses the signs of curly hair babies. It presents the ways to maintain baby curly hair.
Curly Hair in Babies:
Babies look adorable with their curly short ringlets but, they are difficult to manage at times. Two elements determine the texture of the hair- shaft and follicle. The shaft is the strands of hair that we see. Follicle lies in the scalp and holds the strands in their places. Asymmetrical follicle makes the hair that grows from it oval which looks curly.
Diameter of the hair grows along with your baby. Initially babies may start with fine, straight hair which may pop out as curly after a few months or years. Babies experience changes in their skin and hair along with their growth. The hair pattern may undergo several changes with the change of hormones.
How to know whether your baby has curly or straight hair?
Here are a few signs of curly hair in babies:
1. Genes:
If either of the parents has curly hair, the kid is likely to get the curly hair. If one parent has straight hair and the other has curly hair, kids get both genes. Usually curly hair genes win over straight hair. One study proved that genes of curly hair are heritable. If there are differences in the strength and type of the genes, the hair may likely look like a moderate one.
2. Composition of the hair:
Hair composition may have an impact on hair texture. A study concluded that uneven distribution of the hair may lead to curly hair.
3. Hair follicle:
The components of strand of hair are shaft that you can see and the follicle that lies in the scalp and is not visible.
Follicle, being the organ of the body responsible for producing the hair. The texture of the hair is associated with the shape of the follicle. The shape of the follicle is linked to the genes inherited from the parents.
How To Take Care For Baby Curly Hair:
Here are some ways to maintain baby curly hair:
1. Hair care products:
Over washing may make your baby’s hair to dry which causes dull curls. While using the shampoo to your baby, avoid rubbing or tangling the curls. Gently massage the scalp to wash off the dust from the roots of the hair.
Curly hair is known to have a less moisture levels when compared to straight hair. Use the shampoo sparingly in order to preserve the natural oils in the hair.
2. Trim often:
Many parents worry that the curls may fade away after trimming and won’t come back. Curly hair needs to be trimmed often as it lost the moisture very often. Once the hair is dried the curls may appear dull and do not give any appearance. Regular trimming avoids splits at the ends.
The curly hair can come back after trimming and it looks fine to see your kid without curls for some days rather than dull, messy curls.
3. Put the conditioner while De-tangling:
Curly hair may get tangled very easily and de-tangling thye curls with the comb is a difficult task. Forcible detangling may make your kid feel pain and results in hair fall. Forcible combing damages the hair roots.
Apply small quantity of conditioner after cleansing the hair. This conditioner helps in making the hair smooth and makes the detangling process easy.
4. Don’t Brush:
Do not use brush for your baby’s curly hair. Hair brushes are not meant for curly hair. Use the comb with wide teeth and fingers to remove tangles. Keep the spray bottle while combing your baby’s curly hair. Spraying often while combing makes detangling easy.
5. Wash your baby’s hair frequently with moisturizing conditioner:
Apply the kid’s friendly conditioner to your baby’s hair and rinse with warm water. Look for the moisturizing ingredients in the conditioner like olive oil, coconut oil, or shea butter.
6. Massage with oil:
Massage your baby’s scalp and the strands gently with the natural oils like coconut oil or olive oil. This helps in preserving the sufficient moisture levels in their hair and makes the combing process easy.
7. Refresh the curls often:
The curls appear shiny after the bath. But once they are dry, ringlets may lose their neat patterns and appears dull. Refresh the curls often with spray bottle filled with water or conditioner. You can gently detangle the hair after spraying.
8. Apply Hair De-tangler:
Spray kid’s friendly detangler at the edges to keep the hair away from the tangles. Comb the hair by dividing it in small sections to avoid unnecessary pulling of the hair. Pulling the tangles may result in the pain.
9. Use Fluffy Hair Tie:
Beaded hair ties may make the curly hair still more tangled. Prefer to use the hair ties that are soft and fluffy. Fluffy bands will come out of the hair easily irrespective of the tangles.
10. Dry the hair gently:
Do not rub or squeeze the curls with the regular bath towel after the hair wash. Pulling, trying to break the tangles may delicate the roots and results in the hair damage. Use the microfiber towel which will be gentle enough to dry your baby’s hair.
11. Adopt protective styling:
Try and adopt protective styling patterns that reduce the risk of tangles to your skin. You can braid the hair. Initial step that you need to take in order to braid your curl hair is to work on the tangles. Braiding can prevent your hair from getting tangled while sleeping.
12. Select Suitable Products:
It is essential to choose the hair products depending on your child’s hair texture. Select the hair products which are free from silicone, sulfate, and paragon.
13. Do not over dry:
Learning how to dry the curly hair is the best essential thing to manage it. Do not over dry you baby’s hair with diffusers. Just dry off the majority majority water and then leave rest of the hair to dry naturally.
14. Apply oils on the wet hair:
Apply the oils on the wet hair. This will help to lock the moisture and make the curls look shiny. Oils leaves
Tips for Curly Hair Care:
Here are a few curly hair tips for kids:
1. Put two or more braids into the hair at the night. This prevents the hair from getting into many twists and makes your baby curly hair routine easy.
2. Prefer the hairstyles that divide the hair like ponytails.
3. Gently detangle each knot in the bottom instead of compounding the knots from top to bottom.
4. Follow the hair style patterns that reduce the tangles like top knot, braided topknot, braided headband etc.
5. Do not pull or detangle the hair forcibly.
6. Always use the hair products that helps in sustaining the moisture.
Enhance the protection of your child’s natural curls with the help of natural hair care products and a few tips to maintain curly hair in babies.
