Curly girl hairstyles

Our curly girl wears a number of different hairstyles regularly.

I'll preface this post by saying I'm not the expert and there are a lot of curly mama's who can do curly styles better than I can.  But here are some examples of what I've been doing and working with.

Since curly girls hair isn't too curly (3b/3c) I find it falls out of some styles by the end of the day, so for example, twists and individual braids need to be taken out at the end of the day (1 day hairstyle).

So far I've only found a couple hairstyles that last more than 1 day.

The style we choose each day also has to do with what we are planning to do and our timeline.  So when we are rushed she may get braids and ponies, or a single cornrow on the front of her hair, or sometimes just a headband.  When I have more time I may do little braids and beads all over her head, or cornrows.

When I know we are planning on swimming I try to do cornrows that are full of coconut oil to protect her hair- but this style which usually last 2 days only lasts one on a swim day.  I also have to consider how much time we are spending in a car.  If we have a drive into town where I think she may pull off her sleep cap then I try to do a style that won't get too knotty from rubbing on the carseat (like small braids).

Her hair is also quite short (chin length), so if I have done a style with beads she may not nap well, or may be uncomfortable in the carseat if there are beads pressing into the back of her head.  Hopefully this will change when her hair gets a bit longer.

Here are some photos and a summary of how many days each style lasts.  I think this may also have to do with my skill at placing tight braids (not so skilled yet), as well as that she has a number of small, short finer pieces of hair that don't stay in the braids very well at this point.  Hopefully as her hair grows longer it will stay in longer.

I've also been experimenting with loose hairstyles a bit more.  I think with the right product to hold the curl and keep away the fuzz/ tangles, her curls look amazing loose.  Certain styles like locks/ coils tend to get very matted- particularly when she pulls off her sleep cap in the car or during nap time.  I think until she gets older I may avoid coils.  The last time I did coils her hair was a mess to detangle that evening.

1 day hairstyles:

Easy fast/ styles:

(The one braid off the forehead)- I use this style when we are in a rush, or when we will be playing outside a lot.  I like that it controls the hair in her face but allows her curls to fly free :)

When I do this style usually I use some shea butter cream to hold the braid, and then use a detangler/ leave in conditioner and then curl sealer in the back to prevent fuzzes.

This is a 5 minute hairstyle.

This style is ponies' and twists (or ponies and braids).  I'll need to find another photo closer up.  This style takes about 15 minutes, sectioning the hair into ponies, then twisting or beading.  I can add beads or just snaps to the end.  Looks cute, keeps the hair off her face but the braids/ twists tend to fall out by the end of the day.

The product I generally use is a shea butter on the braids and a locking serum to hold the rest of her hair flat and try to prevent fly aways.

We usually do between 5-7 ponies and she can sleep quite well with this style as long as there aren't beads on the ends.  When the beads are on the ends it's a bit too pokey for her head.

She wore this style a lot when she was little, just pulled up into a barrette.  Only takes 5 minutes.  The back is conditioned and then curl sealer is added to help control the fuzzes.  This is a "daddy" hairstyle (lol). I find the sides may fall out a bit, so sometimes to hold them a bit better I'll do a small braid on either side of her head and clip the braids up into the barrette.

Another easy style is just 2 pony tails at the top her her head.  Easier now her hair is longer.  She actually really likes this style. 

I don't have many photos of her hair in coils (aside from some blurry ones on my iPhone).  I'll try to take some better photos next time. I love the look of this style, but it tangles so easily sometimes I'm not sure it's a great style to use.  It gets really really tangled when she's in a carseat or stroller if she pulls off her sleep cap.  This style pictured below took a long time to gently detangle at the end of the day.

This is her hair au-natural with a headband.  I love this style- but it is much more prone to tangles and fuzzes.  Shows off her beautiful curls though.

2 day hairstyles:

This cornrow to puffs style is quite easy.  It only takes about 20 minutes to do and it looks cute.  Occasionally this can last more than 2 days, but generally it's a 2 day hairstyle.  The hair is moisturized first, detangled and then a shea butter is applied to each section before braiding.  The back of the hair which is loose is moisturized and curl sealer is applied to help with fuzzies.  After day 1, I usually have to wet down her hair and re-apply the curl sealer to the back.  Sometimes I'll apply a bit of curl sealer on top of the braids to help with the fly-aways.  This is why it's important to find a non flaking curl sealer. 

This style will really depend on what we are doing.  If the braids are place correctly I may get 2 days out of this style.  But if they are creating pressure on her head it may only last a day.  Sometimes I can remove the beads and leave the braids in, and then re-bead them the next day.  

I love cornrows in her hair.  This is small or short cornrows into little loose braids.  When she gets older I'd expect this style to last more than 2 days, but for now we are only getting 2 days out of the braids before it becomes too fuzy/ unkempt. 

This photo was the end of day 2, after we'd gone swimming.  You can see some of the shorter/ finer hair is starting to fall from the braids.  I can do cornrows at an angle-which seem to work a bit better on the natural part of her hair (not sure why), or you can do them straight back.  I will sometimes add beads to the end, and finish the underside of her hair in beads.  Depending on how much outdoor play she is doing that day this style only lasts 2 days.

3 day hairstyles:

So far I've only found 2 hairstyles that can even sort of last 3 days, but partway through day 3 I start to feel it's looking unkempt.  This is fine for at home, but if we are going out I'd generally re-do the style.

The first hairstyle that is a multi-day hairstyle is the diamond ponies with and without beads.  This is a very easy style and you can make it more fun by adding different coloured elastics or beads to the sections.  It lasts for 2-3 days and works really well for swim days.  It's also a very dad friendly hairstyle.

This is one of my favorite 3 day hairstyles.  Cornrows to the crown of her head, with beads on the ends, then loose and natural at the back.  It looks pretty, it stays in really well for 3 days and only requires a bit of attention to the back curls on day 2/3.  This is a great style for when Daddy is taking care of curly girl, since he only has to detangle and moisturize the back of her hair.  When her hair is in this style we usually use a cleansing conditioner on the back when in the bathtub. 

This was day 3 of the hairstyle above.  You an see it's  falling out of the braids by this point.