Managing Ava’s Hair – Toddler Hairstyles!

What mom doesn’t stress over their daughter’s hair?

Ava was born with a full set of hair from birth. By four months, her hair was so long that it would fall in her eyes. Being a first time mom I was unsure if it was even possible to take her for a haircut so young, so I started to use baby clips to pin-back the front of her hair. Finally at six months, I took her to a baby salon and we gave her bangs.

I love buying hair clips on Etsy. My favorite hair accessory store is Baby K Designs. The owner offers two different sizes in hair clips – baby or toddler.  Therefore, even if you toddler has a little hair, the baby clip will not fall out. Please be aware when ordering on Etsy you are ordering directly from the maker who is generally a mom, so it takes a little longer to receive items.

Ava is now 23 months and her hair is longer than ever. Since her hair still falls in her eyes, I’ve been experimenting with different updo styles that are EASY.  Here are a two different styles:

First, make sure you use a soft bristle brush to comb through your toddler’s hair. This type of brush pulls less than a paddle brush.  This is a major mistake I made when I first started brushing her hair. Second, find a good way to distract your toddler from what you are doing. Ava absolutely hates having her hair touched and for her watching Sesame Street songs on YouTube help make her forget about what is happening.

I tried the updo which is pictured above on her hair recently. When your toddler’s hair is brushed nicely, do a side part. Then with a tooth comb create three separate ponytails on the side that you have parted the hair. Once you have three separate ponytails similar to the example above, part the back of the hair down the middle. Then you can add two traditional pigtails on either side of the head.

I also like giving Ava what I call a, “princess Leia”  hairstyle. Basically, when doing traditional pigtails put each pigtail higher up on each side of your daughter’s head. Instead of pulling the hair out from the elastic, wrap the elastic around it to create a baby bun. Do this on each side.

I am still looking for other styles. Do you have any favorite hairstyle you can share? Does your toddler hate getting her hair done?