Caring For Your Child's Beautiful Type 4 Natural Curls
Caring for your child’s natural hair is very important to make sure your child’s hair is healthy, and knowing that your child is able to feel confident in his or her own look. One of the most important steps in taking care of your child’s hair is making sure your child is confident enough to embrace it for what it is - and this can be achieved by first, teaching them how to care for it on their own. But even still, type 4 curls can be one of the more difficult curls to tame. That is why we want to offer you some helpful tips to ensure that your child is able to embrace it as they deserve.
Tip 1: Detangling
Detangling tight curls can be a bit of a process, but one that is worth it. With type 4 curls, the curls are tightly wound and don’t clump together the same way other curl types do- therefore, they are more prone to excessive tangling when not cared for right or detangled routinely. This is typically done before washing the hair as well because any tangles or matting will get tighter and harder to work out of the hair if it gets drenched with water. To detangle, you’ll want to start with a moisturizer, as a leave-in conditioner, and grab a spray bottle. Use warm water to lightly dampen the section you are working in (work in one section at a time!), and you can even use something like aloe vera juice or rice water to give it some extra slip, to make working out those tangles gently a lot easier. You can use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb for the detangling tool itself. * This is a great detangling routine for type 3 curls too!
Tip 2: Hot Oil Treatments
This step is the step you make right before shampooing. Due to the nature of curly hair, it is much more prone to drying out, breaking, and getting damaged when it’s washed too harshly or too often because it doesn’t have a ton of natural oils to work with. Therefore adding some extra moisture to your child’s hair via a hot oil treatment can help keep it from becoming excessively dry during the shampooing process. You can actually begin the detangling process at this stage. Just make sure to be gentle.
Tip 3: Washing and Moisturizing
When you go to wash your child’s hair, you can do this in sections as well. It can be difficult to get to the scalp otherwise due to the sheer volume of the hair, so this is perhaps one of the better methods to use. Use a sulfate and paraben-free shampoo and conditioner when you’re in this step, as sulfates can be harsh on the hair. Once you have shampooed the hair, you absolutely must add moisture back with a moisturizing conditioner, preferably with some kind of heat protectant if you can find some. This will ensure that your child’s hair won’t dry out and break off.
Tip 4: Be Gentle
This is perhaps one of the most important things to keep in mind when working with this type- or really any type- of hair. Being gentle with hair prevents damage, breakage, split ends, and more. If you aren’t gentle then a lot of the precautions you have previously taken can turn out to be in vain. So treat it with care!
If you need help with protective styles, washing, trimming, or just need help caring for your baby's hair, Just 4 Girls Salon can help you and your child learn how best to care for their beautiful curls. You can call or visit one of our two wonderfully convenient locations today at 568 Fayetteville Rd SE in Atlanta (678) 927-0554 or 1295 W Spring St STE 101 (inside Smyrna Market Village) (678) 391-4622. You can also book for either location online!