Baby Hair - Vancouver,WA

People seem to think that cutting a baby's hair will change the course of history or something. If it doesn't bother you, ignore your friends and do it. They'll get over it when they see how cute she looks! I am so glad I cut my daughter's hair. It was all uneven, long on top, short on the sides, medium in the back. I cut in really short all over at age 2 (her hair hardly grew until she was about a year), and now at almost 3 it's so nice! I don't regret the cut at all! Oh, and she has curls, not just waves, so getting it cut was the best thing I could do!

I might mention that if you have a problem with tangles, get some coconut oil. It melts at 76 degrees, so it will be solid (unless you keep the house hot), and will melt on your fingers. Rub it in wherever her hair is tangley, and voila! It will comb out beautifully. This is very healthy for her hair, and will give it a nice shine too. You won't need much, so a jar will last a long time. Then embrace the curls!

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I also have two girls and not a lot of ideas of how to do their hair. I do the same basic thing as you of: wash, towel dry, comb. Depending how long her hair is, after the comb part, just shake your fingers through her hair to "fluff" it up a little. It gets her hair so it isn't stuck to her head and should allow the waviness to come out a little more. Just make sure you do it root to end or it'll cause some tangles.

And by the way, I get your question. I'm a very attentive, loving, and attached mom. It's not a question of wanting the kid to win a beauty contest and I get that. Please don't be discouraged by the responses that don't get that.

2 moms found this helpful

Enjoy the fact that your baby has hair. At 5 months old, no matter what their hair looks like babies are adorable. Enjoy this time because it goes by really fast. Be grateful that she is healthy and don't worry about the hair. I am glad however that you mentioned what you wash your baby with. Increasingly, we are finding out that not all products are researched and have your best interests in mind. I recently bought the book, "Green Goes With Everything" by Sloan Barnett and in this book it talked about baby care products and what they contain and the alternatives. On page 128, Sloan says, ""No tears" is not enough. When I am washing my baby I want "no fears" too. That means not having to worry about toxic chemicals in the shampoo I use. Here are the ingredients I try to avoid, and hope you will, too: surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate; preservatives like DMDM hydantoin, an allergen and irritant; ceteareth and polyethylene glycol (PEG) and propylene glycol (PG) compounds, which can contain toxic contaminants, including 1,4-dioxane: and fragrance, which by now we all know is code for phthalates. The EWG lists both the better common brands and those its research suggests are the best. Since all I want for my baby is the best, those are the products I'm listing here along with others I trust: California Baby Bath Products, californiababy.com; Earth Tribe Kids Baby Shampoo and Bath Gel, earth-tribe.com; Little Twig Bath Care Products, littletwig.com; VedaPure Baby Shampoo, vedababy.com. First of all your baby's body systems are still developing (they will be for years). That means those systems are more vulnerable to potentially toxic substances than yours are."

I personally would include Shaklee Baby products which were developed after the printing of this book at shaklee.com. Enjoy your baby to the fullest and don't sweat the small stuff. This stage will be over before you know it.

1 mom found this helpful

You don't need to be a stylist and she doesn't need a million hair dos.. I have grown up with curly hair all my life, so I'm speaking from that perspective. My mom made a lot of mistakes with my hair, because she had stick straight hair. She cut me bangs..seriously!

Curly hair is best left long simply because the weight helps it tame its self a little. Please don't cut her bangs no matter what you do! If it's all uneven lengths then go ahead and get it cut to be the same length but boy short. Let her be a girl.

As far as styling her hair, make sure you use a shampoo that has a conditioner too. That is very very important for curly hair. Never ever brush it. Only use a comb. Side part it like you have been and then (like a pp said) use your fingers to fluff it away from her scalp to avoid the plastered look. Then without pulling the bang part tight, pull it to the side and put a clip it. Just keep it loose so it again doesn't flatten and look weird.

Easy and adorable! You just gotta embrace the curls and not try to work against them and don't expect her hair to do what straight hair will do.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

My 2 yr old daughter has outragiously curly hair. She will not always sit still for me to brush and style. There are many days nothing get done to it.Personally I think if yor little one is only 5 months you can get way with not doing anything. Though I can see your concern, they have baby hair ties and you can put 2 little ones on the top of her head with sections of hair not all of it.

1 mom found this helpful

Don't tame the beast! STOP Combing it!!! Wavy hair fine or thick is best when left in its natural state! Towel dry it a little and let it air dry.. Let those curls/wavy do there thang girl!!! Curly wavy hair is the CUTEST thing ever! Let her be a wild child!

1 mom found this helpful

We went through the same thing- Just cut it! believe me it grows right back- My son needs a hair cut every month now;-) it gets expensive- Just make sure you go to a kid friendly salon like Sit Still in West Linn- They are great!
L

my 10 month old is known for her carzy hair! It has been wild since the day she was born with a free standing pony tail/mohawk on the top and a curl that is in front of her ear (imagine a jewish man!) I use the small rubber bands and make pig tails but if she won't sit still let it go free!

have fun with it and don't worry.

What her hair looks like is secondary to learning about the chemicals in Johnson and Johnson baby products that don't have any business on your pure beautiful little girl.

Baby hair is super fine and as much as she sleeps it is going to get matted and flattened. Give yourself a break and do what works for you. Don't start your parenting days worrying about things like her having a lot of hair. It sounds like you are using this as a way to beat yourself up. If you want it trimmed - get it trimmed.

Also, and this is hugely important. Do not parent to please your friends. This is a huge mistake. Go quietly into your heart (not the emotions you are using to beat yourself up) into your heart and let that give you the answers.

Your child is healthy, she has a home and love. She is great. Don't teach her to be freaking out over nothing. - This is not what you want to teach her - so stop being upset about nothing and enjoy her.

I'm with the ladies that said... she's a baby, who cares what her hair looks like. My baby girls hair sticks up all over and well, it's just adorable! I wouldn't style it or do anything with it unless it was picture day. If it is getting in her face or bothering her then cut it. Let her be little while she can.

I think you should use a more natural type of hair product. There are many options, check with your Nature Products store. This may help the texture of her hair not be so heavy (plastered). I was also blessed with a baby who had a head of hair, although hers grew into more of a little mohawk and was hard to tame that top strip! I remember the fussing over containment. Headbands seemed to slip off and with clips, I would worry about them pressing into her scalp while she was sleeping. We found some velco ribbon things that worked pretty good. There were times I used a tiny bit of hair gel to get cooperation from the wild hair. Again, I think using products that are natural will be wiser than just your off the shelf baby shampoo. So many mamas WISH their babies had a nice head of hair (especially girls!), celebrate her attribute, don't cut it off unless you just really cannot cope with it. Another thing to consider at some point is using a good, gentle conditioner. Some shampoos are quite drying. And hey, on a bad hair day... a cap is often the best answer! Get her some cute little hats or bonnets to wear.

It's tough to find the right kind of hair accessories for super fine baby hair. I had the best luck with small no slip rubberbands. Then I just went for the top of the head ponytail, or the "fountain" look. Just pull the bangs and top into a little ponytail, or you could part it in the middle and try two pigtail fountains with some practice. It's a great way to keep the hair out of the way as it gets longer, and looks cute with bangs too if you decide to cut bangs later. Or if you're feeling crafty you can make your own hair clips. If you put a small layer of hot glue on each side of a regular hair barrette and let it dry, it is tighter and has better traction so it won't slip out of baby's fine hair as easily. Just be careful when she wants to start pulling them out that it's not something she can put in her mouth and choke on. If that's the case, stick with the rubberbands. Have fun!

At five months there is not much you can do to it. Relax and enjoy it. Be glad that you have a girl with curls. My son had the thick curls (and blond to boot!) while my daughter had straight hair (fine and beautiful). Eventually it will grow and you will have fun putting it in a pony tail, pig tails and braids.

But in the mean time, relax and enjoy.

As a baby I had curly Shirley Temple curls. As it got thicker it became more manageable. As my hair grew it became more manageable. During my school years it was mostly strait and bushy because my mother kept it short, and I hated it. Keep your daughter's hair long enough to braid it.

So far it sounds like you're doing just fine. If you don't want her to look like a boy, keep it longer. It will grow in. My daughter also had longer, wavy hair (in patches) when she was born. The sad thing about wavy baby hair is that sometimes, when we cut it, it will not be wavy any longer. Use the non-slip clips to pin it into place, and if that doesn't seem to be helping, there are tiny no-pull/tangle pony tail holders. We have used these forever and my little girl is 12 now. Lots of little strategically placed pony tails are cute too as your little one gets older. If you really want to cut it, great. Be sure to tell the stylist that you are concerned about her resembling a boy. The cool thing about getting her hair cut is that it will grow back thicker and possibly easier to manage. The sad thing is that you will never get that baby hair back. Bottom line is, she's your baby and you will make the best decision for the both of you. Plus, it's only hair and she's only 5 months old. Lots of little girls have cute short cuts. Have fun with your little one.

I always pulled up what i could get into a ponytail on top of my daughters head. It kept the hair out of her eyes and everyone thought that her little "fountain" was adorable. Let the rest of her hair stay down.

She's a baby. It doesn't matter what her hair is doing. She is a baby. Just wash it in the bath and dry it and you're done. I don't get what you are worried about.

I think they look cute with it sticking up all over!!!! I wish my daughter had hair. Haha.

my stepdaughter who is now 24 was born with very curly hair and tells horror stories of how her mom use to cut it short and it just got frizier and more poofy. she now has a 3 yearold and her hair is the same as hers but she refused to cut it and as it grew longer the weight of her hair has pulled some of her curl out. Of course in the meantime she has worn it up alot. my daughter uses baby shampoo and conditioner and after putting it up she uses just a dab of mouse to accentuate her adorable curls. Please dont cut that beautiful baby hair. She only has it once.

Your daughter is 5 months old. Do whatever you like. If it is easier shorter, than make it shorter. (I have not cut my daughter's hair, because its not a problem to brush it, but, i think at that age having mom and kid happy is more important than a style, so i would if it were a problem.)

We mostly let our daughter's hair run wild, and it was pretty cute. We also got some very small barrettes to help hold it off her face when it got that long.

Just let it be crazy. Stop trying to style it. She's 5 months old. No one is going to judge her for crazy hair and it will be cute that way. Eventually it will grow long enough that you will be able to do something with it. Just enjoy you baby!

just embrace it and let it grow, no one is judging her hair. When my girls hair was just long enough we played with silly little pony tails that didn't quite get all their hair and that is just the cutest hair styles for little girls.

Ahem, no offense, but she is a BABY. You are already doing more with her hair that I EVER did to my daughter.
Personally I was very concerned with the strangulation hazard of hairbands (plus I REALLY dislike how they look...) and that she might swallow all or parts of the clips... but that just me being an overprotective first time mom.

I think for kids this age the approach should be function over form, keep it easy, keep it reasonable...life's not a baby beauty contest.

J.,

I'm so with you on this one. I still am a tomboy and my 2 1/2 year old daughter has a head full of thick, curly dark hair. Most days she flat refuses to let me put anything in her hair to keep it out of her eyes. When I do it's usually those little plastic barrettes with the duck, flowers, poodles, etc. on them. Like your daughter, mine has a natural part on the side of her head. For barrettes on that side I use the metal "clippies" in various colors.

Otherwise, after her baths I just brush her hair straight back, let it part where it will, and keep on truckin'.

Hope this helps,
M.