I’m so excited to write this article all about curly hair babies! I’ve been crazy about baby curly hair since long before my mixed baby girl was born. I grew up hating my naturally curly hair and wanted better for my biracial daughter. I want my baby with curly hair to LOVE everything about her beautiful curls.
My Baby with Curly Hair
As my biracial baby started to grow from an infant to a toddler, her hair texture, hair type, and even skin color started to change. I had so many questions! I started this blog in 2010 when not many were writing about raising biracial babies, let alone sharing tips on how to care for mixed baby hair. Thankfully times have changed and, not only are moms sharing their routines and tips, we have WAY more baby hair products to choose from!
Quick Note on Baby Curly Hair
After giving birth to my newborn mixed baby girl, tending to her hair care for years then having our curly hair baby boy, this article now contains all our tips for how to care for baby curly hair. It’s a long one! It contains tips on how to keep baby curls healthy and how often you should wash a mixed child’s hair, a list of our favorite baby hair products for curly hair, and even a few ideas on baby hairdos.
Related: Biracial Hair Care for Toddlers
Introducing My Mixed Baby Girl
First, let me introduce myself: I’m Vanessa, a brown-skinned Latina woman with curly hair that has changed texture as I’ve aged. My husband is African American with black hair with a curly type in the 4s. He keeps his head bald, so who really knows anymore.
After months of browsing pictures of mixed babies in anticipation of what my biracial child will look like, imagine my shock to give birth to a biracial newborn baby with a full head of straight hair and light skin! I was so clueless. Back then, biracial newborn babies were a total mystery to me. I had no idea how mixed and black infants can change over their first few months of life, from their skin color to hair texture.
Luckily, over the next 18-24 months, my daughter’s loose baby curls gave way to the true curl pattern. The adventures in curly hair really got started! Check out our this long list of FAQs on taking care of our mixed kids curly hair below.
Related: How to Manage Your Biracial Child’s Curly Hair
How to Care for Infant Biracial Curly Hair
I get emails from moms with babies with curly hair asking if my tips can be applied to their non-ethnic babies. Yes, of course! Baby hair is actually pretty easy compared to toddlers with curly hair and the years beyond. I consider a “baby” is from birth to one year old, so these tips are for that age range. Conditioners for babies with curly hair should be gentle and nourishing, no matter the curl type or texture.
Within two years, my daughter’s baby curly hair care went from managing straight hair to very thick, textured hair (with some areas more coarse than others). I’ve used the same principles and process as described below, though often changing the curly hair products for best moisture retention, and adding other techniques as she aged.
Related: Our Favorite Mixed Kids Hair Products
Our Baby Hair Routine
Let’s start exploring how to take care of mixed baby hair! The process might be simple, but the nuances are still there. Set smart habits now so that when they become toddlers with much more hair, you’re already doing curly hair the right way.
Most baby hair products and advertisements are not aimed toward curly or textured hair. Curls need more moisture than straight hair does (the curlier, the more moisture required) in order to look its best. But the process of how to care for mixed-race baby hair is the same:
Shampoo/Co-Wash: Wash hair gently with baby shampoo for curly hair (best hair products for mixed babies listed below) once every three days to a week. Curly hair is less oily than straight and you don’t want to dry out the curls with too much cleansing. Massage the shampoo on the scalp with your fingertips, then gently pull the product through the ends of the hair. Rinse out thoroughly.
Combing Conditioners: This is when the fun starts! Finding hair products for mixed babies used to be SO hard, especially when it came to a baby hair conditioner with slip that made finger combing and detangling easy for our sweet babies. This step is super important to our mixed hair care routine! Like in our Biracial Hair Care for Toddlers tutorial, you want to use a fine-toothed comb to detangle – not a baby brush! Some say to start at the end, but I start at the top and bring tangles down the shaft… then work at the ends to remove tangles.
Smooth down the cuticle of the hair and help define the natural curl pattern: gently glide your fingers down the hair shaft from the scalp to the ends of the curl. This shouldn’t take a long time – mixed baby hair doesn’t have a crazy length or thickness – but do keep this process in mind as your little one grows up. Also, using a combing conditioner to promote curl definition will also reduce the amount of frizzy baby hair.
Note: If you’ve read my toddler tutorial, you’ll know I don’t rinse out conditioners, but I do thoroughly rinse at the early baby stage. You’ll start to figure out how “thirsty” the hair is and decide accordingly.
Baby Hair Moisturizer: After detangling, you want to seal the moisture into the curls. Since we’re talking about babies, don’t go overboard. One good quality baby hair cream that keeps curls soft with curl definition should be plenty at this stage. I’ve listed our favorite baby leave in conditioner for curly hair below. Apply to damp hair in a downward motion with fingertips along the flow of the curl to encourage definition. And that’s it!
Refreshing Curls: Once your baby starts approaching the toddler years and their hair increases in length and thickness, you’ll want to establish a night time curly hair routine. Having a sleep routine makes refreshing curls so much easier throughout the week. All I do is spray my girl’s curls with a water bottle filled with warm water and finger comb the frizzy curls. This is enough to reactive the moisturizer and refresh the curls. For areas that have gotten matted throughout the night, apply a baby curl cream using fingers to redefine the curl to get rid of the frizz.
Related: How to Sleep with Curly Hair
Mixed Baby Hair Products
Want to see the difference between using the best curly hair products for babies and NOT using anything at all (and then dry brushing the curls)? The picture above (left) is of me tucked in my grandmother’s bed with my brushed out afro, which is how my mom always did my curly hair, many years ago. I’m adorable, but my hair is not.
On the right is MY curly-haired baby at 16 months old in the same spot with beautifully defined curls. Crazy what a difference well-informed hair routines and curly hair products can make, right?
If I’ve learned anything over the years is that our kids’ healthy hair identity starts with us – the moms. We teach, model and speak positive affirmations into their lives and are impacting their curly hair identity every single day. I’m so proud to be among the moms raising the next generation of curltastic kids!
Related: 100 Diverse Books with Curly Kids + 25 Little Girl Quotes on Curly Hair
Baby Hair Products for Curly Hair
I started my hunt for the best baby hair products for curly hair when I was still pregnant! The best hair products for babies will be natural and free of harsh ingredients. But please do keep it simple otherwise! Absolutely start with proper techniques, but you really don’t need a million products at the baby stage.
After a decade of being a multiracial mom, I understand that low porosity hair impacts moisture retention and that curly hairstyles need to first focus on protective styling, but I had no clue when I was a new mom! So give yourself a hug and check out the best baby hair products below.
Best Baby Hair Products
The best baby hair products I used (and loved) specifically for infants are organic and worked perfectly for us. These are great for babies with curly hair but are truly wonderful for all little ones.
It's a Curl Peek-A-Boo Tearless Shampoo
The Peek-a-Boo Tearless Shampoo smelled lovely and did a great job. The best shampoo for mixed babies. The shampoo for curly hair is tear-free, the conditioner is easy to comb through and the moisturizer gave the perfect amount of curl definition without being greasy.
It's a Curl Organic Baby Conditioner
I LOVE these organic baby hair products by CURLS. I used every single one and loved them all from ages 6 months to almost two years of age. Formulated with organic ingredients, this is the best conditioner for baby curly hair.
It's a Curl Organic Baby Curl Cream
This is awesome to hydrate and soften the curls. Great on damp and dry hair as a refresher. Best moisturizer for baby hair.
Shea Moisture Baby Head-to-Toe with Raw Shea Butter
A head-to-toe product, these body wash and shampoo baby products are great for infants under 6 months. This one is sulfate-free and uses organic shea butter. I would still use a conditioner or curl cream for our brown and black babies with coarse curls.
Shea Moisture - Olive & Marula Baby Head-to-Toe Wash with Avocado
Gentle enough for everyday use, this baby wash smells lovely and is super moisturizing for the skin and hair.
Shea Moisture Ultra Sensitive Skin - Fragrance-Free, Gluten-Free, w/ Aloe Vera, Cocoa, Vitamin E
For the ultra-sensitive baby skin, Shea Moisture baby products that are free of unnecessary ingredients is the way to go. I used this when my daughter was battling eczema flair ups.
Irene
July 7, 2013 at 2:02 amHi Vanessa,
First and foremost, I want to thank you for providing this information. It’s been so helpful to me! I have a 6-month old daughter that has curls similar to your daughter’s pictured above. Do you know of any specific stores that carry “It’s a Curl”? I’ve looked online at their website, but couldnt not find any information. So, since I could not find the product. I bought Shea Moisture. Have you heard, and/or tried this line of products?
Vanessa
July 8, 2013 at 1:08 pmI have only found the Curls infant products online, unfortunately. But, for babies, the bottles do last a long time. It’s totally worth the hassle! I am working on a post on our favorite haircare products, including Shea. Hopefully I’ll get that up soon!
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Khaleemah
February 6, 2014 at 8:58 pmThis is very helpful…Thnkyou….as for the shea moisture it was ….ok for my childs hair..but not wat i wz expecting for the price!
Jackie
February 15, 2014 at 2:36 pmWhat did u use on ur daughter before the 6 months ? Or what would u recommend
Vanessa
February 17, 2014 at 2:31 pmI wrote a post on infant hair care, but we used the Curls Organic Infant line. Hope that helps!
sophia
March 26, 2014 at 11:08 pmHI Vanessa. Thank you very much for this information, this is very helpful. I do wash my daughter’s hair everyday and brush out the curls and it all gets frizzy, now i know better, thanks…
Danielle
May 22, 2014 at 11:54 amHello! Great blog! I have a question for you? My daughter just turned two and also biracial and I notice you said something about clipping segments down at night! What do you use to do this? My daughters hair is very cult and thick but still not long enough to pull all back at night so for now trying to find another way because once morning comes it is quite crazy!thanks so much! Danielle
Vanessa
May 23, 2014 at 11:19 amHi Danielle, Do she sleep on a satin pillowcase? Also, try a leave-in conditioner with a bit of hold (we love Mixed Chick’s Leave-In). Otherwise, I wouldn’t try to tie/clip her hair down if it’s not long enough to do so. She’s still an itty bitty baby. You’ll have a head of hair to tie up at night before you know it! Just try to keep it well moisturized and spray down with water in the morning for styling.
Siobhan Dacres
May 23, 2014 at 5:05 pmHi Vanessa,
I feel so blessed to come across your blog.
My daughter also have several textures, with her curls really tight at the back, and lovely and loose at the front. The back gets very dry whereas the front stays silky.
She is 16 months now. I shall definitely be taking on your advice.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Anne
May 31, 2014 at 9:04 amVanessa,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for these tips. My daughter is not biracial, but she has been blessed with the same curls as your daughter. She just turned 16 months, and I have been struggling with figuring out how to care for her hair.
I had the same curls as a child, but my mother has passed away, so I can’t ask her how she cared for mine. I’m still curly, but I don’t mind the tugging and patience it takes to comb the knots out of my hair.
This blog has been a lifesaver! I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to share all of this with the rest of us. I will definitely be checking in as Meara grows to get more tips and ideas on how to help her love her hair.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Sarah
June 7, 2014 at 4:55 pmYou’re brilliant!! Loves everything about your blog! I feel super prepared to handle my daughters hair. We have similar hair textures (except hers is extremely softer than mine) and multiple of my blacks friends continue to tell me what to do with her hair. And time and time again I ignore them and inform them she doesn’t have that kinky africanamerocan
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Christene
August 25, 2014 at 8:55 pmHi I have a biracial daughter and I have always brushed the front of her hair straight but now when I do it goes all over the place. Am I brushing it wrong or is it naturally straight? The back used to go straight when I brush it but now it is way curly and I cant brush it.
Christene
August 25, 2014 at 8:55 pmHi I have a biracial daughter and I have always brushed the front of her hair straight but now when I do it goes all over the place. Am I brushing it wrong or is it naturally straight? The back used to go straight when I brush it but now it is way curly and I cant brush it. I have naturally wavy hair.
Christene
August 25, 2014 at 10:23 pmAlso her hair in the back looks just like your daughters in the picture that shows the back of her hair but not as thick she is almost 15 months. I just want to make sure I don’t mess up her curls if she has curly hair.
Vanessa
August 26, 2014 at 6:43 pmHi Christene, I don’t use a brush at all. Check out these series of posts and email me if you have additional questions.
Monique
September 17, 2014 at 9:02 amThank you thank you thank you.
Finally I have found a blog which tells me simply what to do with my daughters’s curls. I am mixed myself but my hair was relaxed from an early age on and never known differently. My daughter has very lose curls but it is still frizzy. I will definitely check for these products online as we live in Ireland, and unfortunately the mixed population is not that large yet over here. Will keep on reading your blog with much enjoyment from now on. Thanks again 🙂
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October 1, 2014 at 1:14 pm[…] kids look like Payton. As for combing and cutting the baby’s hair, there are blogs for that. Regarding the rest of her concerns, welcome to life with a black person Cramblett, it might […]
White Mom Accidentally Gets Black Baby, Stresses Out, Sues Sperm Bank
October 1, 2014 at 1:14 pm[…] kids look like Payton. As for combing and cutting the baby’s hair, there are blogs for that. Regarding the rest of her concerns, welcome to life with a black person Cramblett, it might […]
Neethie
October 18, 2014 at 9:20 amHi Vanessa, I have a 6 month old biracial boy, who has lots of beautiful hair. The top has soft curls, but the back is straight, and gets dry and gets knots in it. I was thinking of trying Shea moisture for his hair, but I’m not 100%. My hair is so different from his, and I love it, but I feel like I’m doing something wrong using regular baby shampoo. His poor hair looks so dry.
Vanessa
October 18, 2014 at 8:48 pmHi Neethie, did you catch the post I did on my daughter’s infant hair care? I used (and loved) Curl’s baby line. It’s organic and mild, but very nourishing. I highly recommend it!
Neethie
October 19, 2014 at 7:52 amThank you, I was wondering what you thought of Shea moisture products. I wanted to give them a try. I use their products, and I like them. But are they good for mixed hair?
Vanessa
October 20, 2014 at 1:34 amI use several of their products for both my and my daughter’s hair (and my little guy’s hair sometimes, too!). I really like their deep conditioner, although some of the styling products are a bit heavy. The one product we always keep on hand, though, is Mixed Chicks Leave In Conditioner.
Tanya
November 7, 2014 at 11:39 amThis info has been great! My daughters hair keeps getting curlier and curlier. So far it’s easy to manage because she’s only 10 months and her hair is not that long yet. However, because I have stick straight hair that dries done and ready to go, I need some serious help with dealing with curls. I take pride in how my child looks and don’t want her looking messy. Do you suggest I start some type of hair routine with her now? Mostly I pull her bangs to the side and put a bow to hold it, with the rest of her hair curling around.
Linda
November 10, 2014 at 2:35 amHi, thank you for this awesome post! I have a mixed daughter, now 10 months, and her curls have started to appear. Especially in the back, where they are getting all fuzzy. So far I haven’t washed her hair but with water. It does not get oily and the food (…) is easy to rinse out without any products. However, since her hair apparently is curling up I started to make some research and I think this Curls series sounds amazing! I am myself very keen on using organic products and also for my own hair I only use shampoos without parabens, sulfates and silicons. But, to my question! I read you started using the Kid’s line at 14 months. Since my girl is now 10 months, I am not sure if to purchase the infant or the kid’s products. Is the kid’s line tearfree too? I don’t live in the U.S., but luckily I have a friend who works at an airline, so she promised to purchase the products for me. Now I just have to settle on which products to get! Do you have any opinion on which line I should go with at this stage? Also, I think I would get my hands on these products at around Christmas (when she would be almost 12 months), and the next bash I’d be able to get my hands on at around April.
Vanessa
November 13, 2014 at 8:34 amThe kids’ line was fairly mild and we loved it, but I really adored the baby line. I transitioned from one to the other at around 12-14 months. You really can’t go wrong!
Stephanie
November 13, 2014 at 10:38 amI just ran across your blog & let me say I’m sooooo happy! My bi-racial 9 month old is moving into her curly hair and I’ve been looking for product & advice! She’s had curls from birth when it was wet but now it’s coming in thicker & faster all the time. My sis-in-law said to use baby oil but to me it looks like I’m going for some baby jheri-curl look if I use too much, not to mention you should see what the head cushion on her car seat looks like! Thank you so much for taking time to explain!
Maya
April 8, 2015 at 1:34 pmSoo, I got email about your most recent post, and while on your site I clicked on this adorable picture of our little angel. I remember her like this, what a cute little love bug she was and still is, just growing so fast. I miss her!
Tiana
February 5, 2016 at 9:36 amHello love, I am very happy to have come across your site. I am a First time mom, my daughter is 8 months old and I’ve been struggling to take care of her hair. Her curls always seem be very frizzy and extremely dry. I have no idea how to style her hair so I always just leave her with a fro and headband. I’ve done finger foils curls a few times but when I separate the curls her hair goes right back to frizzy instead of looking shiny and curly. Please please please help me with a style/technique I can do to achieve the best curly look for my princess. Thank you
Vanessa Bell
February 8, 2016 at 8:30 amHi Tiana! Congrats on your baby girl… I just LOVE her age right now! I think at her age, ensuring that her curls are healthy and moisturized is the most important. I used the Curls infant organic line when my little girl was a baby (that was the only stuff out at the time!), but there might be other options now. I would do simple styles, with headbands and flowers, being mindful not to pull hair into tight styles. Now that my daughter is 6 and has super tight curly hair, our routine is totally different. Enjoy your sweet baby… they grow WAY too fast!
Cathy
July 9, 2016 at 8:03 amVanessa,
I am very grateful for your site; this is invaluable information!! I have mostly straight hair and as such was greatly concerned before my daughter was born about what I would do with her hair! I have just discovered your page, now that my daughter is 15 months old. She has only developed true curls relatively recently, and it’s still not what I would consider a full head of hair. My question for you is what was the determining factor for switching from baby to kid products at 14 months? Age? Length of hair? Thanks so much!!
Vanessa Bell
July 11, 2016 at 1:11 amOnce she was about your babies age (I believe soon after she turned a year old, maybe two years old? It feels so long ago now!), I switched over. I did so because she had a ton of hair and 1) it was more cost effective to buy kid products versus the baby products 2) her textured needed more moisture/heavier products to ensure it was hydrated and 3) since I use high end products that don’t contain sulfates, etc, I didn’t worry. If you’re little one doesn’t have a full head of thick hair and the cost is manageable for you, I would stick with the baby products when possible until at least two years old. The Curls line has a organic baby line, although nowadays there are probably more. Hope that helps!
Cathy Mukasa-Magoye
July 11, 2016 at 11:01 amThank you so much! I think I’m going to go with the Curls line. As long as we don’t have any problems with it. I have strange allergies, so you never can tell! Thanks, again!!
daniella malkawi
October 15, 2016 at 9:31 amhiya . loved your post and all the information. I’m in the UK. where could I get hold of the it’s a curl products my daughter imani has the same hair texture as yours.
Melissa D.
November 22, 2016 at 7:55 amHi Vanessa,
Have you tried “Just for me” products? I was at Target last night and bought the CURL SOOTHER CREME. Do I need to buy a leave in detangler, put that on first and then use a leave in conditioner or the creme for instance? Just to be clear, comb hair only when wet right, never brush or comb when dry? My daughter is 10 months has curly hair towards the front and straight and knotted in the back. I bought the “just for me” product because I did not see “it’s a curl for babies.” That was the reason for my trip!
Vanessa Bell
December 10, 2016 at 2:23 pmI’ll give them a try! Thanks!
Sandra Upegui
January 4, 2017 at 8:15 pmFantastic this a great site and very informative for my twins. They also have curly hair and I’m still trying on what to used. Their hair is getting very dry but I will try your suggestions experience.
Thank you
Shay
January 20, 2017 at 9:08 pmThank you Vanessa for your wonderful blog! I’m a proud new mama of a Christmas day baby girl whose racial make up is even more mixed than my own family. My family background is Indian, Asian, African, Native American, Cuban, West Indian, Scott’s Irish and that’s just my mother’s side. We (my grandma and 4 of her five children) happen to look black with some black features and some black hair textures however in our family the look is so varied you wouldn’t think we were related. I’ve been approached by an Asian man and asked if I was of Asian decent because I shared a few features (mainly my eyes though lots of people in the world have almond shaped eyes.) in common with him and my golden peachy slightly yellow undertone. I didn’t know how diverse my family’s background was at the time. My husband is German, Scott’s Irish and Native American with some Romanichal gypsy (not the American ones) but when he tans he can look Mexican. We all need DNA tests to tell us what race we are. A lot of the blogs I read tend to come across as negative towards us the non straight and silky smooth haired folks. They preach pride and self confidence then put everyone else down at the same time for having any kind of texture at all. As I watch our 3 week old grow I wonder what texture she will have. Hair care to me is less about race and ethnic background and more about the overall health and texture. I hope I can use some of the brands I use on her when she’s older. I use Shea moisture, Carol’s daughter, Nexxus and two more I can’t think of right now. This entry of your blog gives me hope that one day I might not have so many issues with my daughter’s ever evolving hair. Thank you for being so positive and supportive!
Lizzy
March 23, 2017 at 7:26 amTHANK YOU Vanessa!!! My husband and I adopted our son several months ago and he is just now starting to show signs of curls in his little baby hairs. I am so excited! I have always struggled with my textured hair, I could never find the right products or cuts until I stumbled upon DevaCurl, but they don’t do a line for kids. Now with our son with even MORE texture to his hair than my own, I want to make sure I am extra diligent in finding what is right for HIS hair. I had been looking at the Curls products and this article has given me that little boost of confidence that I needed.
kristen
October 11, 2017 at 5:20 pmMy sweet girl is biracial and 8 months. She has an almost bald spot across the back of her head bc she so often rubs it in the carseat, in bed or in her swing. I only wash once a week, use leave in conditioner and use milk spray as well as Olive Oil for setting. Do you have any other advice? I plan to switch from the Shea Moisture line to the one you recommended. Thank you so much!
Xochitl
October 29, 2017 at 1:48 amHola chula, thank you for the info the leave in conditioner is very helpful. For the most part I know the steps to treating curly hair since me and some of my family members have curly hair or had it as children. I’m Latina and was born with fluffy loose curls and my father (having slightly tighter curls) taught me how to take care of my hair. But my son is biracial and I already have a feeling his texture will be different than mine, not only that but I was a bald lil baby up til I was one n then my dad started treating my hair. I’ve taken care of kinky hair, loose curls, tight curls etc but for infants specifically a newborn (new mommy here) I was wondering if I should already start him with special shampoos? Although he has a lot of hair he doesn’t have curly hair yet, and I noticed you mentioned your baby was born with straight hair too, my niece was born with straight hair too n later on (I’d say around 4-6 months) her texture changed to curly, we treat her hair with all the proper curly hair products but we didn’t start them until her first curls started showing.
So yeah I’m just wondering should I start his hair products now or once I notice them?
Kellie
December 20, 2017 at 2:24 pmAre the products you recommend for the baby based on hair length, age, or hair development? My daughter is 17 months but her hair is extremely short. The top is soft and wavy but the back is short curls (that now I know is dry from over washing with the wrong products). So would you recommend the baby or toddler products you mentioned? Thanks.
Sarah
December 30, 2017 at 1:13 pmNice one Vanessa, am from Nigerian,live in Abuja please how can I get the product.I have a baby girl of about 3month now and her hair is full and curly and i want to maintain it for her.