I have a 6-year-old with very thick hair that’s a little wavy. I had been getting her hair flat ironed to be more manageable without chemicals. Well, her hair has began to break; probably from the flat iron being too hot. Any suggestions to stop the breakage and still keep it manageable?

— Kharri’s Mom.

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Mom,

The first thing you want to do to stop & prevent the breakage is to stay away from the flat iron for a few months. Because her hair breaking, it is most likely very weak & brittle. So let her hair breathe & recover on its own without using any heat; this includes dryers, curling irons, & pressing combs. It might seem like a difficult task (because you say her hair very thick) but your daughter’s hair needs this little vacation. If not, her hair will continue to break & get much, much worse.

Next thing you should do is give her a haircut. Trimming your daughter’s ends will help slow the breakage down, & will also give her hair life again. There might be some areas where her hair will need to be cut shorter than the rest because of trail-breaking (breakage that keeps traveling up into the root). With that, I would suggest taking her to a stylist & have them give her a cut with layers. Or… cut it to the shortest length to start completely all over. This is probably the best decision you can make to combat the breakage.

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After the dead ends have been trimmed, put a conditioning mask on her hair; something that will put moisture back in her hair that the flat iron has taken away. I recommend using Neutrogena’s Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Mask once a week. Cover her hair with a shower cap as the mask sits for several minutes. Right before you rinse the conditioner, take a wide-toothed comb & gently de-tangle her hair.

When the conditioner is rinsed out completely & her hair is towel-dried, spray some Redken’s Anti-Snap Leave-In Treatment all over & massage it into her hair. Since it’s a leave-in, you won’t need to rinse it out. Just let her hair air dry & or style it while it’s still slightly damp. I would suggest doing this treatment once a week at most; or whenever you do the Triple Moisture mask. You can find Anti-Snap at most salons & even some grocery stores (though they’re not supposed to have them there).

At this point, you’ll want to do as little to her hair as possible, because it’s already been through enough stress. I suggest putting her hair in some cute braided or twisted styles. Braided styles will give her hair a much needed break for up to weeks at a time, & will let her grow & get strong again. Micro-braids are a great way to get hair back in shape. When my own hair was breaking as a young girl, my mother did this, which ultimately saved my hair from further damage.

You could also put some individual braids in your daughter’s hair, & use barrettes, clips, & bright rubber bands to give it a fun look. (Just make sure that the rubber bands you use are gentle; elastic bands are preferred.)

Check out these articles for more tips & ideas:

• Hair Care for Little Afrobellas
• How to Style Black Children’s Hair: Thick & Long
• African American Child: Black, Braided Hairstyles
• Cornrow Braid Styles
• Motown Girl’s basic haircare for children (with great book recommendations!)
• Motown Girl’s wash & go style tips

I hope this helps to point you in the right direction. It’s going to take a lot of time to nurture your daughter’s hair back to health. So stay patient & stay diligent. & remember: absolutely no heat for several months. I can’t stress that enough!

— apricot.