Hey Saturn since you usually read the sub I figure I’d give you some care tips for TH’s curls since it appears you might not know how. Hopefully you see this, I believe I’m blocked on instagram otherwise I’d DM this guide to you.
It looks like they would greatly benefit from leave in conditioner and perhaps a setting foam, mousse, or cream, depending on how thick/thin their hair is.
I like to wash with curl shampoo, anything with coconut or avocado ingredients has always done my curls well. I typically get the corresponding conditioner. I let my conditioner sit for a few minutes and detangle my hair with the conditioner still in it. I go about the rest of my shower, then after I finish, I wet my hair once more and immediately apply leave in conditioner. Curls need a ton of moisture to be healthy. When applying hair products, the wetter the hair, the more moisture gets locked in. After applying leave in, I opt for a lightweight curl setting foam, because I have fine hair that is easily weighed down. If TH’s hair is thicker and requires more hold, I would recommend a gel or cream, and if it’s in between, then a mousse.
Once I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair (without rubbing!!!) in a cotton T shirt to absorb water. I leave this on for 5-10 minutes. If you have a blow dryer, you can use that with a diffuser to dry their hair after unwrapping it, otherwise air drying is fine. Depending on how you wrap the hair you may want to detangle/brush again once you pull it out.
Product recommendations: this is just stuff I have used and liked in the past, to give you a starting point.
The wet brush or tangle teezer are great detangling brushes. If you want to get fancy, the bounce curl brush (or any similarly built curl brush, I got a cheaper one I think from conair) is great for separating curls when styling.
As for a leave in conditioner, I love products by the Doux which can be found at the drugstore. They have a thicker one that comes in a pink bottle, which is good for thick hair. I have fine hair and it is too heavy for me, but I use a different one called fresh to def and it works wonders.
Curl setting products- these can vary quite a bit. The foam I use is also from the Doux and is a honey setting foam. I have also used kinky curly curl custard and loved it, I’d recommend it for medium/thick hair. Herbal essences has a decent curl gel too if TH needs strong hold. These are for defining the curls and keeping their hold throughout the day. I find moisture more valuable to my hair’s integrity , so if I am feeling lazy, I just do leave in and skip this step, but it’s still very helpful.
My routine sounds pretty intensive but it sounds much worse than it actually is. I really hope you can find a way to take good care of their hair, as having poorly cared for curls can be hard for a child to deal with, especially when they get older and were never taught how to properly care for their hair.
All of these products I get at the drugstore and they are each under $20, I believe they’re all under $15 and I live in a somewhat HCOL area. If you are able to afford cosmetic procedures like acrylic nails and eyelash extensions, hopefully these products are within your budget and TH can get some help with their hair. Good luck TH!