Toddler Hair Care: A Simple Regime

For a busy mom tasked with toddler hair care, finding a simple hair regime, as well as the best curly hair products for your little one can be challenging.

But have no fear!

We have outlined a simple hair care regime that you can follow to care for your little one’s coils and curls.

We discuss:-

*Pssst, do you need some styling inspiration for your little one’s curls and coils? Check out our Natural Hairstyle of the Week – 1 and Natural Hairstyle for 3c Hair – Week 2. 

1. Understanding your toddler’s hair

First off, you need to know your child’s hair.

Understanding your toddler’s hair is crucial as it lays the foundation for her hair care over the years. 

You need to be familiar with your little one’s hair texture, whether she is tender-headed and how her hair responds to certain products. Also, by caring for her hair, you gain an understanding of what protective styles and regime work best for her. 

This knowledge makes it easier to tweak your regime as her hair gets longer & texture changes (if any). It also gives your child a good base to one day take over caring for her own hair. 

The next important step is to lock down on a simple hair regime for her coily / curly hair.

2. A Simple Hair Regime for Toddler’s Hair

The scalp of most toddlers is still sensitive and most kids do not like having their hair handled for too long.

That is why both mom and little one can benefit from a simple hair regime that is fast, easy to do and gets the job done.

The 3 simple steps involved in any toddler hair care routine are:-

🌺Wash or co-wash;

🌺Detangling; and

🌺Moisturising.

Once you get this routine in place, then, as her hair gets longer, the care and manipulation involved will simply be a longer variation of this base regime.

Left your protective styling in too long? Don’t stress! Our Homemade Detangler for Matted Hair should do the job. 

1. Wash Day Routine

You can either use a child-friendly shampoo or co-wash her hair using a conditioner.

If you would rather co-wash her hair, you can skip the shampoo phase and head straight to conditioning (detangling routine) phase

2.1 🌺Wash or Co-wash Routine

1. Completely saturate your child’s hair with water;
2. Use a gentle shampoo that does not strip the hair of moisture and lather her whole head.
3. When washing her hair, do not use your fingernails, but rather use the ball tips of your finger to massage her scalp.
4. Rinse it off. 

2.2 🌺Detangling Routine

1. Add a conditioner to her damp hair and massage it into her hair strands.  This helps seal in moisture.
2. Then finger detangle the hair starting from the tips and then working your way to the roots.
3. Fingers work best to remove any big knots and after that you can use a comb / brush.
4. Use the wide tooth comb / Denman brush to gently comb her hair, making sure the conditioner is distributed from root to tip.
5. After detangling is done, rinse her hair thoroughly.

2.3 🌺Moisturising Routine

1. Dry her hair by parting it gently and then squeeze the excess water out.
2. While the hair is still damp, add a nickel of leave-in conditioner and your preferred oil to your toddler’s hair and then style as you desire.

Depending on how busy (in the sandpit) your little one is, you can repeat this routine either once a week or once every two weeks.

NaHaZo tip: Leaving the conditioner on her hair for longer (10 – 15 minutes) helps to keep the hair looking refreshed and moisturised.

3. Store-bought products you can use on your toddler’s hair

If you do not have time to make your own DIY organic products for your child’s hair, then there are some decent store-bought products on the market that you can use on your little’s one. 

This recommended line of products comes in a shampoo, conditioner and sealant butter, and is geared for afro-textured hair. 

3.1 Shea moisture kids mango and carrot extra nourishing shampoo

3.2 Conditioner – mango and carrot extra conditioning conditioner.

3.3 Shea Butter coconut and hibiscus kids curling butter cream

Have you tried any of these products on your child’s hair? Do you have any other products that you would recommend? Let us know in the comments.

4. Conclusion

At the end of the day, starting with a simple hair regime gives you room to build up on it as your child’s hair length and texture changes.

This allows gives your child the privilege of an enjoyable and tear-free natural hair journey. And you both get to enjoy and bond over the experience.

Win-win for everyone.

Looking for some hair care and hair regime inspiration from other Mama’s. Check out out little fro’s feature with Natural Hair Care for Kids – with Dede and Natural Hair Care for kids – with Laki. 

Until then, happy naturaling Mama and little one!