Key Points
- Keeping your little one distracted can help you create toddler girl hairstyles easily
- Giving your toddler choices can help you get her hair done, and it also contributes to her development
- Variations on the traditional pony or piggies can help you style fine or uneven hair
Doing your toddler girl’s hair can be tricky. Their hair might still be quite short, which means you often can’t get it all into a single ponytail or braid. And you might need to get that hairstyle done quickly - not only do you have a thousand things on your to-do list, but they don’t like to sit still for long either!
We hope to make life a little easier for you on that front! In this article, we’ll look at:
- Ways to keep your little one distracted while you style their hair
- Things to know about styling hair for child care environments
- Tips for getting those toddler girl hairstyles just right
- Our favourite ten toddler girl hairstyles
Top 10 Toddler Girl Hairstyles
Without further ado, here are our ten favourite hairstyles for you to try out on your toddler.
Topsy Tail
If you don’t like a pony tail sticking straight up from your toddler’s head, or, you’re looking to put a new twist on your go-to toddler girl hair style, then the topsy tail is a great place to start.
How to: Secure a pony tail on the top of the head, leaving enough space between the hair tie and scalp to make a hole in the hair. Then bend the pony tail forward and feed through the hole. This will look cute and also help the pony lie back against the head - a great one if your toddler tends to try to pull out her hair!
Topsy Tail & Baby Piggies
This is a good option for piggies when your daughter’s hair is fine and tends to have a lot of flyaways.
How to: Start by creating one topsy tail atop your daughter’s head. Then part the rest of her hair into two pigtails, remembering to separate and gather the hair from the topsy tail into the two piggies too.
Elastic braided pigtails
This is another take on pigtails that works well with uneven hair.
How to: Part the hair in the middle. Part the hair in multiple sections on each side of the head, creating a row of small ponytails down each side. Then take more elastics and secure the first pony to the second, and so on down the head. You can use fewer sections for less hair and more sections for those with a lot of hair. You end up with pigtails that look as if they have been braided by elastics .
Elastic braided buns
Want to take elastic braided pigtails a step further?
How to: Turn them into messy buns at the crown of the head instead of piggies. We love this look where only one side features the elastic braids - even faster to create!
Dutch braid pigtails
Dutch braid pigtails are a slightly more advanced style and great for toddlers with thick hair.
How to: Part the hair in the centre and work on one side at a time. Create a dutch braid to the crown of the head and then pull the rest of the hair on that side up to meet it into one ponytail. Repeat on the other side of the head.
Bun trio
The bun trio is a cute way to secure all the hair, rather than leaving anything loose.
How to: Part the hair into three sections, from top to bottom. Fasten each section with an elastic, so that you have three separate ponytails. If your daughter’s hair is long enough, plait each one before twisting each around into a bun. If it’s on the short side or quite fine, you can forgo the plaits and just twist each pony into a little bun.
Mohawk braid
The mohawk braid is an ideal toddler girl hairstyle if your daughter has a lot of hair up top.
How to: Part the hair on each side, so that you gather just the “mohawk” section of hair. Create a french braid with this section, at least halfway down the head and tie it. The braid tends to look better if you loosen it up to give it some volume. Gather the rest of the hair, along with the tail of the braid and tie it all into one pony. Add a large bow here if you’d like.
Topside ponytail
Rather than a pony that just sticks straight up, the topside ponytail is an asymmetrical toddler girl hairstyle.
How to: Gather the front top section of hair over to one side to fasten with an elastic. This looks adorable when the front section of hair is a little longer and starts to gently fold down, rather than sticking straight up or out!
Multiple ponies
If your daughter’s hair is still fairly short, but you’re really excited to try some toddler girl hairstyles, multiple ponies is your answer.
How to: Part the hair into a variety of sections - they can be odd or even (there’s no rules), perhaps four or five work well. Fasten each section with a small elastic to create multiple ponies. It’s simple, but effective.
High braided ponytail with ribbon
Although this looks like a fancy style, if you can handle a 4-strand braid, you’ve got this! And it’s ideal for toddlers with plenty of hair.
How to: Tie the hair up into a sleek high pony. Then tie a piece of ribbon around the pony elastic. This ribbon will become your third strand in the braid, instead of using hair. One you reach the end of the braid, tie it off with what is left of the ribbon.
Distractions for doing your toddler girl’s hair
“My toddler loves sitting patiently” - said no parent ever! Getting their hair tied up can be a daily battle, but you also don’t want to leave their hair hanging in their eyes and annoying them. So, here are a few of our favourite ways to distract your toddler so you can get that hair nice and tidy for the day.
Use a countdown
Even very young toddlers can understand when you use the same countdown every single time you are tying up their hair.
You can say “Ready, let’s count! Four, three, two, one.” You can count down the time it takes you to do the style, or simply for the number of times you’re wrapping the hair elastic around.
Make it part of your routine
You don’t have to style their hair every day. But, consistency can be really helpful if you want them to get used to the idea. It’s a good idea to choose a time when they aren’t hungry or particularly tired, like right after breakfast for example.
Let her see in the mirror
Does your toddler love to look in the mirror? Position her in a high chair or regular chair so that she can see what you’re doing and feel like she’s part of the experience.
Have everything you need ready
Have her hairbrush or comb, elastics and anything else you need on hand. And know what hairstyle you are going to do in advance. Certainly don’t think you can figure it out as you go, because the clock is ticking!
Give her choices
This is the most important tip, because it doesn’t just help you get her hair done, it also contributes to her development.
Offering choices allows you to follow the child’s lead , helping them develop autonomy . Feeling some sense of control over their lives, is a step in healthy personality development.
It’s best to offer just two choices. Consider letting her choose between two hairstyles, or two different coloured hair elastics.
Hair styling for child care environments
Hair clips, bows and other hair accessories certainly look adorable as part of toddler girl hairstyles. But they don’t come without risk for babies and younger toddlers. You see, these accessories can be a choking hazard if they fall out, or your little one pulls them out herself.
So, if your toddler goes to daycare, it is worth checking whether they have any policies or guidelines as to whether these items are allowed. It also means your little one won’t be upset if a favourite clip happens to fall out and get lost.
If you prefer to err on the side of caution, then stick to the hairstyles that only require fastening with the small clear elastics that are less likely to pose a choking hazard.
And what’s the best reason of all to opt for toddler girl hairstyles that tie as much of her hair up as possible? Avoiding head lice of course!
Tips for creating beautiful toddler girl hairstyles
Does your toddler have very fine, wispy hair? Many do.
This can make it uneven and silky smooth - beautiful, but difficult to work with. Misting with water can work wonders to make styling easier, faster and get you a better result.
Toddlers hair can be very different to that of school-age girls. Often, it’s not long enough to wear in just one pony tail, or even two pigtails. So you need styles that use smaller sections of hair. You might choose to use fewer sections and choose hairstyles that keep the hair off their face, or a lot of sections in order to tie it all up.
Happy styling! And if you have any favourite ways to keep your toddler distracted while you do her hair, please send us your tips!