Back in May, I had my first Curly Toddler Style Breakthrough, when I finally figured out how to take Ali’s frizzy crazy hair to nice curls.
However, I have yet again been stumped. This time, it wasn’t the frizzy, looks-like-a-balloon-was-rubbed-on-her-head problem – quite the opposite.
Since winter got here, a lot of her curls have fallen out to ringlets-at-the-bottom-only. 
Or even just general-poofiness. 
Both are cute, for sure, but I’d been missing her typical curlier look.
Plus, it certainly seemed like her hair WANTED to curl, because on humid days, it loopedy-looped right up.
(If only my hair were perfect on humid days – it’s quite the opposite, really.)
So, to help her hair make a decision on what it wanted to do, I finally decided to try….. Product.
After I washed her hair, I combed a tiny bit of gel through with my fingers and scrunched it minimally.
I’m pretty sure this is the first time than any product of any kind has been on her head, but the results?
Undeniable.
She kinda looked like I’d just permed her hair and left the solution in a bit too long:
And she was certainly happy with the results. 
(Or maybe she was just excited about the sparklyness of the hair gel.)
But, all good things have to come to an end – especially a toddler being happy about a photo op.
However, surprisingly enough, even after naptime her hair still looked pretty curly.
And she even found it in her heart to give me another cheese for the camera.
The only drawback was that it did make her hair somewhat crunchy/tangly – so I decided that maybe I used too much.
The next time, I used a lot less.
And Ali was a lot less cooperative about the after-gel photography requirements:
However, one mention of the fact that she might could have a pack of PEZ if she smiled for some pictures got markedly different results:
In fact, maybe a bit too much resultage.
She started making all of these posey-poses …
Umm…we’re not doing a swimsuit shoot here.
HAIR ONLY.
HAIR PHOTOGRAPHY, Ali.
The point of this blog is that hair gel works.
And that PEZ is too powerful of a photographical bribery tool and may cause your toddler to turn into Kathy Ireland.
Aww..She's adorable. I love the curls. So Cute!!
What a difference a little gel makes. Ali's hair looks like the kind of hair I've always wanted and the poses? She just makes me smile so much. Trying to figure out all this hair stuff though reminds me…so glad I have a BOY! :o)
Her hair looks good. :) :) But anytime you use product on curly hair it will cause it to get tangle. I would recommend washing b/4 brushing it and using conditioner while washing it.
She's a doll. Love her hair. I wish mine were that way naturally.
Love the curls and those dimples.
I love the new "umph" Ali's hair has! Looks like you may have found the trick!
Ali's hair is fabulous! As you have seen, my girls have veeeeeery straight hair. They were jealous of Ali's curls!! And the gel always washes right out, so too much shouldn't be a problem.
I love the gel look! She is too adorable! It looks like she should be posing for a Gap catalog! I put gel in K's hair and she calls it jello . :)
It's amazing what a little bit of hair product can do for us curly haired gals! She and her curls are adorable.
Oh my word, I would LOVE to have thsoe curls!
Super cute! I may have to get some of that for Eli's hair. His, too, seems a little less curly in this cold weather (or the haircut made it less curly :(…).
I wish I had curls!!
The curls, the dimples, the posing! She is just too precious!
Cute curls! I have been looking for something for Averi's hair too, so I'll have to try that…
love it! my hair is the same way…if the humidity is high, I can curl it no problem, but in winter, I've gotta go straight pretty much all the time! one product I like is Frizz Ease curl boosting spray. I put it on right after I wash (it's also good for touchups after I lay on it). Granted, I usually mousse it up before scrunching and drying with my diffuser, but it may be just what Ali needs to get that little boost (without all the sticky- and crunchy-ness!)
Mine gets less curly in the cold too, but I can't get product to work that well. Maybe I will look for that brand and see if it works better. She is adorable though!!
Love the "polished" curl look… it's a very 3-year-old grown up look :)
By the way, who is Kathy Ireland?
I love it when products actually do what they say they will do. Product WIN!
I can totally relate to hair issue – Emma's hair by itself looks like a raging medusa. Using a straightener and going straight or using gel and bringing out her curls both work great – but left alone, she looks very scraggly.
The gel or straightener makes her feel so grown-up…and it makes me start wishing I could turn back the clock!
Cute, cute girl you've got…
how funny! i love that you are putting gel in her hair! :)
you could try paul mitchell curl serum…i use that sometimes and its doest leave my hair as crunchy as some other stuff can…but then again my hair isnt nearly as curly as Ali's!
OMG the same happened to my daughter she had such nice curls and all of a sudden her hair lost all her curls when I cut it I also straightened her hair with a iron to see how she would look maybe that caused her to lose her curl shes turnin 3 in 2 weeks i really want her curls back =( I forgot to mention i use a thermal protector when i use a hot iron