Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado y tarda poco en peinarse.

Because with body parts and things closely connected to a person, Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) where English uses a possessive like my, your, her.

So Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado is the natural way to say My daughter has curly hair.

Using su pelo is possible, but it usually sounds more emphatic, contrastive, or less idiomatic in a simple sentence like this.

• Natural: Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado
• Possible, but less neutral: Mi hija tiene su pelo rizado

In short: Spanish often prefers the hair where English prefers her hair.

Because rizado agrees with pelo, not with hija.

• pelo is masculine singular
• so the adjective must also be masculine singular: rizado

The structure is:

• tiene el pelo rizado = she has curly hair

Even though the person is female (hija), the adjective is describing the hair, not the daughter.

Compare:

• Mi hija es alta → alta describes hija
• Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado → rizado describes pelo

Literally, yes, it looks like has the curly hair, but that is not how it is understood in Spanish.

This is just a normal Spanish way of expressing a physical characteristic. In good English, you translate it as:

• She has curly hair

not

• She has the curly hair

So although the article el is there in Spanish, you should not translate it word-for-word.

Usually, no—not if you simply want to say that her hair is curly.

The normal and most idiomatic way is:

• Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado

Using ser + rizado/a for a person is much less common and can sound odd or incomplete in many contexts. Spanish usually expresses this idea by talking about the hair itself.

So for a learner, the safe choice is:

• tener el pelo + adjective

Examples:

• Tiene el pelo liso = She has straight hair
• Tiene el pelo corto = She has short hair
• Tiene el pelo rizado = She has curly hair

This uses the pattern:

• tardar + amount of time + en + infinitive

It means to take [that amount of time] to do something.

So:

• tarda poco en peinarse = she takes little time to comb/style her hair
• more natural English: it doesn’t take her long to comb/style her hair

More examples:

• Tardo mucho en vestirme = I take a long time to get dressed
• Tardamos una hora en llegar = We take an hour to arrive / It takes us an hour to arrive

The en is part of the structure and is normally required.

Because peinarse is the reflexive form, meaning the subject is doing the action to themself.

So:

• peinarse = to comb/brush/style one’s own hair
• peinar = to comb/style someone else’s hair, or simply to comb

In this sentence, the daughter is the one being referred to, and she is doing it to herself, so peinarse is the natural choice.

Compare:

• Mi hija tarda poco en peinarse = My daughter doesn’t take long to do her hair
• Mi madre tarda poco en peinar a mi hija = My mother doesn’t take long to comb my daughter’s hair

Not necessarily only comb in the narrow sense.

In everyday Spanish, peinarse can mean:

• to comb your hair
• to brush your hair
• to do/style your hair

So in this sentence, depending on context, it could mean:

• She doesn’t take long to comb her hair
• She doesn’t take long to do her hair

A very literal translation might sound too narrow in English, so do her hair is sometimes the best natural option.

Because tardar poco means to take little time or not to take long.

This is different from tardar un poco, which means to take a little while.

So there is a subtle but important difference:

• tarda poco = she is quick / it doesn’t take her long
• tarda un poco = it takes her a little while

Examples:

• Mi hija tarda poco en peinarse = My daughter is quick to do her hair
• Mi hija tarda un poco en peinarse = My daughter takes a little while to do her hair

So poco here is a direct quantity of time, not a little bit in the softer English sense.

Yes, if the subject is already clear from context.

Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns and even repeated nouns when the meaning is obvious. So after you have already established who you are talking about, you could simply say:

• Tiene el pelo rizado y tarda poco en peinarse

This would still mean:

• She has curly hair and doesn’t take long to do her hair

But if you are introducing the person or want to be clear, keeping Mi hija is better.

Both can refer to hair, but pelo is extremely common and natural in everyday Spanish, especially in Spain.

• pelo = everyday word for hair
• cabello = also means hair, sometimes a bit more formal or stylistically elevated

So Mi hija tiene el pelo rizado is completely normal and natural.

You could also hear:

• Mi hija tiene el cabello rizado

But pelo is probably the more common everyday choice.

Because this is the standard Spanish order for this structure:

• tardar + quantity of time + en + infinitive

So the normal pattern is:

• tarda poco en peinarse
• tarda mucho en vestirse
• tardo una hora en salir

You usually place the time expression (poco, mucho, una hora) directly after tardar.

English uses a different structure:

• She doesn’t take long to comb her hair

Spanish does not usually say this in the same way word-for-word, so it is best to learn tardar en + infinitive as a set pattern.