Help! I don't know what to do with my child's curly hair.

I get a lot of Emails and comments from mothers and fathers who have no idea how to care for their curly/ multiracial/ mixed hair, and I can totally sympathise as my mother (who has fine, bone straight hair) had NO clue what to do with my hair when I was a child.

1. Encourage your children to love their curls and don't use negative words when talking about their hair around them. How do you feel when your hair is looking a bit of mess? - this is how your child could be feeling 24/7 if they don't love their curls!

2. Don't brush their dry curls, in fact you don't need to brush their hair at all! Personally I detangle my hair once a week, there is no need to put a brush through curls once a day or more. Instead, comb their hair with a wide tooth comb when their hair is covered in loads of slippery conditioner.

3. When you do comb, be gentle. You don't want to rip through their curls, doing your child's hair doesn't have to be a horrible experience. Simply start combing their hair at the ends and work your way up to he roots slowly!

4. When washing their hair, there is no need to cover it in shampoo and pile it all on top of their head. Instead just wash the roots gently. Since curly hair is drier than straight hair it does't need a ton of shampoos.

5. Condition, condition and deep condition. Conditioner is a key step in keeping curly hair beautiful, shiny, frizz free and healthy. Get into the habit of deep conditioning, put a deep conditioner on your child's hair at least once every two weeks and leave it in as long as possible.

6. Minimise the use of heat, chemicals or anything which will stop their hair being curly. Heat and relaxers not only break the hair but using these  can result in a child who dislikes their hair.

7. Find curly role models for your child. It can be hard growing up with curly hair, when all your role models have straight hair. The best way to do this is by having a look at curly hair on pinterest with a similar texture to your child. Whenever they are feeling down about their hair just show them how beautiful curly hair is.

These are just a few basic curly hair tips, you can find tons more out their.

Email me for more advice:
chantelle.blog@outlook.com

Here are some great sources for inspiration:
http://www.pinterest.com/mixedhair/curly-kiddies/
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL24F47EB57B344992
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYkEaeZgNaE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoACzrZFQEqwr57Js6c13LjlLhIWXeuQa

What are your tips for looking after children's hair?