The Struggle of Keeping Curly Baby Hair Moisturized
When you have a child with curly baby hair, it can be challenging to find a product to suit your needs.
It can take a while to figure out what will be best for your baby at their stage of development.
This can be made even more difficult with curly baby hair because the hair tends to be more delicate, prone to frizz, dryness, and tangles.
Finding the right products and daily moisturizer for the hair is key to ensuring your baby never has a bad hair day.
Why Curly Baby Hair Needs Extra Moisture
Curly hair is more naturally prone to dryness because of the structure of the hair type.
Generally speaking, the porosity of the hair is usually lower, which means it makes it harder for water to move in and out of the hair, and that can make curly hair a bit more prone to dryness.
Your baby’s scalp also produces natural oils, but it doesn’t move down the hair shaft as freely with curly hair.
That is why it takes extra maintenance to make sure that your baby scalp and hair remains moisturized.
Key Ingredients to Look for in a Daily Moisturizer
The number one key ingredient to look for in a baby hair moisturizer is water.
This might seem obvious, but moisture and hydration always start first with water, and then any other important ingredients should come afterwards.
When looking at the ingredients on your baby’s hair products, generally speaking, the earlier on the list, the more of that ingredient is in the product.
If the first ingredient is water, then generally water is going to be the ingredient that is in the highest quantity in that product.
You may need to try a few different products before you land on something that works.
The effectiveness of the product can also depend on the season that you’re in. Products that do well in the wintertime may be too heavy for the summer and vice versa.
So consider that the next time a product seems to stop working for your baby, it might just be the weather!
The ingredients to look for are those that are beneficial to not only the moisturization of the hair but also to the scalp health.
Here is a list of natural ingredients that curly baby hair seems to love!
Coconut Oil – Improves hair dryness
Jojoba Oil – treats dry scalp
Shea Butter – softens hair
Aloe Vera – eases itchy scalp
Vitamin E Oil – hydrates and moisturizes
Glycerin – helps hair retain moisture
A few ingredients that you want to avoid are harsh chemicals, certain alcohols that dry out the hair, as mineral oil.
These can sit on top of the hair and have little benefit to no benefit for the scalp health.
When trying these products, test them first on a small patch of your baby’s skin to make sure that they don’t cause an allergic reaction.
Best Moisturizers for Baby Hair: My Top Picks
These are my top picks for the best hair care products or the best moisturizer for curly baby hair.
Hairitage Leave-In Conditioner Spray Treatment and Detangler
Hairitage Ahead of the Curl – Curl Crème
Sheamoisture Kids Extra Moisturizing Detangler for Curly Hair
So Cozy Leave-In Conditioner Spray
Hair Milk Original Leave-In Moisturizer for Curls, Coils and Waves
How to Moisturize Baby’s Curly Hair Daily (Step-by-Step)
Curls tend to need a little extra love to be gentle when working on your child’s hair.
When moisturizing curly baby hair, it’s a good idea to make sure you have the right tools and a gentle moisturizer.
A comb or a brush that may work on straight hair may not necessarily be the best for curly hair texture.
1. The first thing that I use is a hair mist with just water.
Mist the hair first to make it a little bit more pliable. The hair does not need to be soaking wet.
The hair is at its weakest when wet, so keep that in mind and don’t pull too tightly. Doing so could damage the hair and cause skin irritation.
2. I then use a few sprays of a lightweight leave-in conditioner. My favorite is the Hairitage Leave-In Conditioner.
3. For number three, I will apply a small amount of curl cream to the hair.
The Curly Hair Detangler Brush by Frida has been my favorite brush to use on my baby’s hair. It gets the knots out without causing damage.
The key to brushing curly hair is to start at the ends of the hair and slowly work your way up.
4. Next, you can seal the hair with whichever oil you prefer.
In the winter months, you may prefer a heavier product like olive oil or shea butter.
In the summer months, a lightweight oil like Jojoba may work better for you, it’s all personal preference.
When it comes to oil, a little goes a long way, so make sure not to overdo it and weigh down the hair.
Dealing with Common Baby Hair & Skin Conditions
A few common issues that you may have with baby hair and the scalp could be dry skin or cradle cap.
One of my twins dealt with eczema-prone skin and sensitive skin, which is a common skin condition for newborns. It made her scalp incredibly dry to the point where I had to peel the dry layers of skin off of her scalp.
What makes this easier is putting an oil on the scalp first before slowly removing the dead skin.
If you don’t remove it, it will sit there and build up. My personal opinion is to remove it as often as possible, but do it slowly and with a light touch so that you are not disturbing your little one and not damaging the hair follicles.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple & Find What Works
Take your time and find what works for your baby.
You don’t need a lot of products for your baby to have healthy hair.
If you try one item and it doesn’t work for you, then keep experimenting until you find something that works for your baby.
Keep in mind that it may take a couple of weeks to see if a new product truly works for your baby.
For example, I found that coconut oil did not work for my babies because it just sat on top of the hair.
There are a lot of great properties in coconut oil, but it just didn’t work for us; that may not be the case for you.
Taking care of curly baby hair is a journey, and there’s so much to learn along the way.
I would love to know: what is your go-to moisturizer for your curly baby’s hair? Drop your fav in the comments.
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