The Best Hair Products for Kids and Babies With Natural Hair

This shampoo-body-wash hybrid from Aveeno is ultragentle and formulated with soothing natural oat extract. Million Dollar Flea founder Labria Golden uses it on her toddler, Chayse, whom she describes as having 3C hair. “I love this shampoo because although it’s very gentle, it creates the perfect lather to remove dirt and oils,” she says. “All you need is a pea-size amount to get the job done.” Owner of New York–based salon A Curl Can Dream, Daryce Willis-Tolliver, is also a fan. “I like the cleanser for Lennyx’s skin,” she says. “It’s gentle enough.” Willis-Tolliver also likes to work the product through the hair with a comb or her fingers, which helps to smooth the cuticle and allow the ingredients to penetrate the hair.

Verdejo washes her toddler’s hair once a week with this co-wash from Briogeo. “She’s 3 and a half and hates the process of rinsing her hair, so a co-wash allows me to wash and condition her hair in just one step,” she says. “This one is moisturizing enough that it leaves her hair shiny and tangle free.” The hydrating cleanser uses ingredients like shea, avocado, and quinoa, which makes it easy to detangle hair.

Dana Oliver, a beauty director at Yahoo, swears by the Innersense Organic Beauty line for her son who has very thick, curly hair. “At the end of the week, when his curls are parched from the elements and whatever gets stuck in his strands from school, I can trust that this shampoo will wash it clean without stripping away natural oils.”

Writer Danielle Powell describes her 3.5-year-old daughter’s hair as spongy, fine, and 4C. She often puts it in protective styles lasting anywhere from one to two weeks, so shampoos must deeply clean the hair. “This shampoo does such a great job of cleaning without my having to torture her (and therefore me) by washing it multiple times,” she says. The lightweight texture makes it easy to distribute the shampoo throughout her hair to the roots. “I don’t have to pull and tug to get it clean,” said Powell.

Another deep-cleansing option: Writer Christy DeGallerie likes this cult-favorite Trader Joe’s shampoo, which she uses whenever her kids’ hair needs a deep clean. “The kids say it feels like it’s giving them a handless massage.” She washes with it occasionally and uses just a small amount to avoid stripping the hair. “We’re a co-wash family more than anything.”

Oliver detangles and two-strand twists her son’s thick, curly hair with this conditioner — it provides the slip she needs to do so, gently. The creamy formula is packed with ingredients like flaxseed oil, shea butter, monoi oil, and aloe that strengthen hair while also moisturizing, which helps with frizz.

Powell combines shampoo with this conditioner when detangling her daughter’s hair because it prevents matting and cleans and conditions in one step. Jojoba and safflower oil lock in moisture, and the thick texture helps the detangling process. She also likes that this conditioner is phthalate, paraben, and sulfate free, and nontoxic — nonnegotiable for her daughter’s products.

DeGallerie likes this conditioner for her sons who have normal porosity, 3B/3C hair. “It glides through their hair,” she says. It protects the strands’ moisture barrier, which encourages length retention and growth.

DeGallerie uses this conditioner on her daughter with low porosity, 4A/4B hair. “It doesn’t weigh down her hair or leave it dry,” she says. This conditioner contains lightweight oils like flaxseed and mango along with thicker, moisturizing ingredients like avocado and coconut oil, which contain fatty acids that help strengthen the hair. “It gives her hair a lot of volume, moisture, and shine — it’s even softer after we wash this out.”

Two moms mentioned this detangling spray from Cantu, which blends shea butter, coconut oil, and honey. “It doesn’t leave their hair feeling stringy or sticky, and it gives hair shine,” says DeGallerie, who uses it on her three children. They have a range of hair types — from 3B/C to 4A/B — and this spray works on all of them.

For detangling, Powell loves Oyin Handmade Juices & Berries Nourishing Herbal Leave-In Hair Tonic, which softens and moisturizes, making it easier to comb through hair. “A little goes a long way, and it is the best in helping to detangle her hair,” she says.

Founder of Riot Swim, Montinique Dever uses this detangler from Aunt Jackie’s on her daughter’s hair, which she describes as thick and curly. “It keeps her hair soft while eliminating knots and tangles,” she says of the formula, which is packed with shea butter. “It’s definitely a must-have!”

Powell keeps her daughter’s hair in braids most of the time to reduce the amount of manipulation. To set the braids, she uses Nature’s Blessings hair pomade along with olive-oil Eco Style gel. “I’ve been using both Nature’s Blessing and Eco Style for decades. They are just reliable,” she says. “Together, these products moisturize her hair and slick it down. Her braids last really long without frizzing up.”

For “big, curly hair days,” Mindful Fee founder Felicia La Tour sticks to Cantu Kids, which she’s been using for the past five years on her two children.“It gives hair shine and bounce,” she says. This styler conditions and adds shine while holding curl definition.

DeGallerie uses this gel on her kids and herself. “A 15-ounce tub is eight bucks and has lasted us a year with five naturals in the house.” It defines curls without the crunch. “It doesn’t leave any residue on the hair.”

A lot of Neilson’s daughter’s hair fell out shortly after she was born, and she used this baby oil (along with vitamin E) while waiting for it to grow back. “I just spread a tiny bit of it over her hair every night before I put her to sleep,” she says. The multipurpose oil can also be used all over and helps to lock in moisture using antioxidants like vitamin E and açai berry along with ceramides, essential fatty acids, and squalene, which naturally occurs in the skin.