Fave natural hair products - kid edition…
Everyone in our home is natural. And every single one of us have slightly different hair textures and hair needs. Whenever I’m asked what we use on our children’s hair, I am happy to share; however, I do want to give a disclaimer that what works for us, may not work for you (or your kids) because there are a lot of variables. Primarily hair type, texture and porosity.
Natural hair is… something. Lol. It requires a lot of experimenting to figure out what works, and works well. And it’s likely what worked for your child when they were younger, won’t work for them as they get older and their hair changes. That said, these are some of our fave brands. Brands that we have used with our oldest (who is six), and our twins (almost 18 months).
For the most part all my kid’s have medium porosity hair (if you have no idea what I’m talking about - click the link. In short, their hair absorbs and releases moisture at an average pace), so we are able to use the same products on them for the most part, though not always in the same way.
One thing that works well is the L.O.C. method. Basically, I always start with a liquid/leave-in (L), then an oil (O) or cream (C) based product. Below are some of our staples!
Hair Spray Bottle - I’m not even going to lie. This is THE BEST spray bottle I have ever used. Seriously. With a house full of natural folks, we know a thing or two about a good spray bottle and this one is amazing. I only recently started using it and wish I came across it sooner. Spray a few times in a row and the water comes out continuously. You can thank me later. :) Water is almost always step one when styling my kids’ hair and represents the “L” step in the L.O.C. method.
Cold-pressed Jojoba Oil - I don’t always use oil as part of the routine, but will typically do so after a wash when the hair is pretty wet. At the risk of sounding too technical, jojoba oil is considered a carrier oil, so it “carries” the goodies from your other products to the hair shaft. That sounded ridiculous but I'm seriously trying not to sound like a chemist. Lol!
Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Kids Curling Creme - This line has some of my favorite products, and this product in particular is often used for the “C” part of our hair styling routine.
Shea Moisture Hair Care Combo Pack - This set includes the Mango and Carrot Extra-Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner, and the Coconut and Hibiscus Detangle Spray. I typically opt for the extra-nourishing shampoo and conditioners during the colder months, or any time it looks like extra TLC is needed.
Curly Kids Mixed Hair Care Set - Don’t be put off by the name (like I was initially seeing as ummmm… my kids aren’t “mixed”) as I have found the products in this set (shampoo, conditioner, detangle spray, and a leave-in conditioner curly creme) work well for our kiddies. I alternate between using the Shea Moisture Curling Creme and the leave-in curly creme in this set for no reason in particular. Usually I’ll just use whatever we have on hand, or what smell I’m in the mood for. Lol. Occasionally I will use their Curly Gel for curl definition, but I only use the tiniest amount, and only on my daughter (my youngest son has fine hair so too many products weigh it down, and this doesn’t do much for my oldest son).
The kids also have satin sheets. One of my good friends told me her daughter had satin sheets and I was like “ohhhhh… fancy…” lol. But when the twins were younger and their hair started to thin in the back from laying on their backs constantly, it made perfect sense - especially when I could see hair on their cotton sheets in the morning. So, that is something else that they have for the same reason I wear a satin bonnet at night, and have a satin pillow case.. maintaining moisture! .
Moisture is key. That’s why it’s step one in the process. Well-moisturized hair is literally the foundation of a good hairstyle. I can’t emphasis this enough. This is one of the reasons I opt for co-washes over shampoo for each and every wash as shampoo can strip moisture from their hair. Making sure their hair is in good condition to start with will certainly help you along in getting your kids hair to act the way you want it to when styling. (SN - you might recall from a prior post that I have issues coming up with styles, but the few that are my favorite look BOMB when the hair is moisturized…lol).
I always get excited to try new products and have definitely been a sucker for good packaging, products that smell good, or the latest natural hair product trending, but… I can say that these brands are our “tried and true” for the kiddies. I have a few others on my list (Aunt Jackie’s Kid’s line is one) but I have some time to get to those. Lol. Let me know below if you love any of the above, or what your go-to hair products are for your kids.