My DD has mainly 4c (i think)and also some fractal curls before i found this forum i was using dax shampoo Lush conditioner, olive oil detangling spray, olive oil mouisturiser and occasionally a bit of cocounut oil. This was making her awful the ends were like chewing gum and it was just really unmanagble and frizzy. So i found this forum and have brought a few things on the high street list, such as tresemme naturals conditioner, boots curl creme and gel. I have ordered the fuzzy duck kit so am hoping this will help. Her hair is very porous.  Am loving this forum i am learning so much, any other tips or tricks?

Definitely read the sticky posts on the Newbies forum about CG!  Also the article on How to Wash Your Curls is very helpful.

The key to curly hair is lots of moisture, and gentle handling!  I can recomend Lorraine Masseys Curly Girl Handbook (you can buy this on Amazon); it has loads of advice on different curl types!

Don’t be afraid to post questions here; every one is really nice, and you will get loads of advice!

All the best,
Emma.

Emmab - 10 August 2011 07:27 PM

Definitely read the sticky posts on the Newbies forum about CG!  Also the article on How to Wash Your Curls is very helpful.

The key to curly hair is lots of moisture, and gentle handling!  I can recomend Lorraine Masseys Curly Girl Handbook (you can buy this on Amazon); it has loads of advice on different curl types!

Don’t be afraid to post questions here; every one is really nice, and you will get loads of advice!

All the best,
Emma.

Thanks for the reply the link to how to wash hair is very useful i had not come across this, and it makes alot of sense. There is so much to learn. Will take a look at the book

One question i do have is Adina’s hair is becoming lovely a the roots but the ends are still pretty dry and a little frizzy is it just a case of keeping up the regime or is tis just her hair type?

Hi gema - hopefully some of our ‘4’s’ will chip in - you could though dilute a little conditioner in some water in a spray bottle and give the ends of her hair a spray throughout the day (just make up enough of this to last through the day as it wont keep) see if that makes a difference - or even a little blob of conditioner smoothed into the dry ends throughout the day too may help.

Hi Gema

my little girl also has a mix of 4 type curls and also has the same situation with dry ends. 

Her ends look ok when her hair is first ‘done’ but throughout the day or later on in the day they tend to start fluffing up when she is wearing her hair down and out.

Last week I did cornrows and box braids myself for the first time in her hair and used Darcy’s Botanicals Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme.  This kept the ends nice and moisturised and stopped them from fluffing up, I just added a little more of this when needed, eg 2nd day, night time etc.

I’ve not managed to solve this one yet either but I may try the putting conditioner on as curlyhairmich has suggested, neat not diluted though as her hair can take the extra moisture without looking greasy when her hair is being worn down and out or even the Vanilla styling creme just on the ends.

Scarlet Leopard x

If the dry ends happen more after washing, you could try pre-pooing your daughters hair.  Either apply an oil 12 hours before washing (Argon oil is CG, and there are posts on here about other good oils), or do what I do, and apply some CG conditioner to the ends just before before you wash.  This helps protect the ends from the sometimes drying effect of shampoo.  As you have probably read, if you are not using silicone’s, you only need to cleanse the scalp, not the actual hair itself, as the dirt will be removed when you rinse out the shampoo.

If the ends are damaged, you may need to get them cut.

Hope this helps!

Emma.

gema - 10 August 2011 07:07 PM

My DD has mainly 4c (i think)and also some fractal curls before i found this forum i was using dax shampoo Lush conditioner, olive oil detangling spray, olive oil mouisturiser and occasionally a bit of cocounut oil. This was making her awful the ends were like chewing gum and it was just really unmanagble and frizzy. So i found this forum and have brought a few things on the high street list, such as tresemme naturals conditioner, boots curl creme and gel. I have ordered the fuzzy duck kit so am hoping this will help. Her hair is very porous.  Am loving this forum i am learning so much, any other tips or tricks?

My biggest tip is read the science of black hair - that has pretty much everything u would want to know in a very easy to understand fashion.

The key to preventing moisture loss is effectively layering products - using a water based moisturiser followed by an oil to seal in moisture.

some helpful videos for mums…

I am so glad that you are all gaining the knowledge you need…my mum had NO clue and getting my hair done was stressful for both of us - as a child, my hair was v-e-r-y thick and easily 4a-4b (it changed texture as I got older) which was completely different to hers or my sisters and there was no british curlies or youtube back then!

Now I recognise the difference good products make and just by handling her hair gently and using the right products will encourage her to embrace her natural texture. 

have a look at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Vlf6NrQb4&feature=channel_video_title  - it’s a lovely youtube video with good tips on how to detangle 4a/4b children’s hair without any tears!  She has other videos too.

All the best
Liv xx

also a fun one for younger kids - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enpFde5rgmw