Hair Care

author: Jalale

I am a mom of three beautiful children with curly hair and have over 14 years of hair-care experience. All three of my children have very different curls that need different care methods. Although I have 10 years of experience in running a hair-braiding salon and have Afro hair myself, I found caring for my children’s hair to be a headache until I started to use a care routine . I could not imagine how it would have been for other families! Therefore, I was inspired to start the site All About Curls and write a book. The book “All About Curls” is now available on the site at http://www.allaboutcurls.com/tools-and-resources/.

The goal of this book is to help you understand the characteristics of the child’s hair that you will be caring for and to establish a care routine. It is important to figure out an optimal care and styling routine for the hair type in question in accordance with your schedule. We will also learn from stories of children with different types of hair. Please feel free to share you story on our website. The types will be categorized as: soft curly, gentle with texture curly, gentle afro and coarse afro. The breakdown of the type category will serve as a spectrum range. You will sometimes find an overlap in the spectrum as you learn about the child’s hair that you are caring for. After understanding where on the spectrum the child’s hair falls, you will be able to select the proper care methods accordingly. You will not need to read the entire book as each topic will be repeated for each type of hair. In each category you will learn what kinds of tools you need to use, how to keep the hair tangle-free at all times, how to properly clean it, how to keep it hydrated, as well as different styling methods. You will also learn all about braids and how to care for them.

Once you recognize the type of hair you will be caring for, go to the right part of the book for that type where you will find helpful hints and ideas to help you set up your own care routine plan. You might find this short description of each type helpful in doing so. If not, skim through each type to collect the information and ideas you need to set up your care plan.

Filed Under: Giveaways, Hair Care

Spiral Hair

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July 3, 2012 By sharla 1 Comment

author: Denise

This is fast becoming one of my most favourite styles.

This is my first attempt at it, so I am expecting to get better at the style with time.

My inspiration for this style came from a mix of Happy Girl Hair, and Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care blogs. I like the idea of all the hair going in circles around her head – it is a very protective style, which is great for these dry winter months. I really like that it also gives some height on top of her head as it compliments her head shape. Rory from Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care has posted about doing flat rope twists and how they tend to work better on her daughter’s hair than the braided cornrows. I have definitely found this to be true for Amara’s hair as well. I recently did this style again, but with braids and it looked terrible right from day one (which I will admit does have some to do with my braiding, but lots of it is just her hair). The twists lasted WAY longer and looked fresher for a long time.

The BEST thing about this style though, is the take down.

Isn’t that hair amazing?! Taking out the twists leads to beautiful, soft, stretched out hair that still has lots of texture and waves. Her hair “moves” in this style. She just laughed and laughed when she saw herself in the mirror (then was annoyed with the bangs in her eyes). It is a little bit strange to see her with her hair so long as it looks like she should be a lot older than she is.

This is the actual length of her hair – well past her shoulder blades! I am so pleased with her length and the health of her hair.

The next time I do this style, it will be with the intent of leaving her hair free in the long spirally waves after take down. I still haven’t quite figured out how to do the end, or “top” of the style to match the rest of her head so that all the curls coming out are the same texture. I’ll figure it out though – and it will be so much fun to figure out what styles we can do with it so long and soft.

Denise and her husband are blessed to be the parents of one son by birth, one daughter by adoption (USA – at birth), and a Haitian daughter they are anxiously waiting to bring home. Denise is a regular contributor at Adoption Magazine and blogs at Pressing In.

Filed Under: Hair Care

Black Hair Care According to This White Mama

(This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosure policy.)

June 18, 2012 By sharla 1 Comment

author: Mrs. Nerdy

The day that we met our youngest daughter will be forever etched in my mind.

Picture before I start the take down process. She has had this style for almost 3 weeks.

We had gotten a surprise emergency call about her on a Sunday night around 10:00 pm, “Can you be at the agency tomorrow morning at 11:00 to bring your new daughter home?”

I, of course, told the Social Worker calmly and collectively that we would be there and were quite excited to be chosen as this little girls parents. As the details of the phone conversation progressed with the SW, I was running up the steps to our bedroom, slapping shaking the hubs awake while mouthing the words “BABY” at the same time.

After the take down, before the wash.

We literally did not sleep a wink that night. We were in the basement digging for sleepers, diaper bag, and a car seat. We talked about what we were going to name her. We wondered what she was going to look like. We were over the moon with excitement!

The next morning, we walked into the agency and our little bundle was turned facing away from us, snoozing in her car seat. The second, that her car seat was turned around for us to see her, was one of the top moments of our lives.

After the shampoo, conditioner, detangler, and moisturizer I put her hair in 4 chunky sections. The sections enable us to take breaks throughout the day without her hair becoming tangled again.

She was gorgeous, cocoa brown, chubby, and had a head full of amazing black shiny curls. She was ours.

DONE-ZO!

We drove home that day, with my fingers twining through her curls, tears rolling down my cheeks, and my heart thanking God for the opportunity to be this baby’s mama. I vowed, I was going to do her hair right. I pinky sweared with her little brown finger that she would not look like a kid whose poor mother had no clue how to care for her hair. My baby was going to be stylin’!

Side view of finished box braid style. Total time from take down to finish = 4 hours. I am hopeful these will stay in 4 weeks.

Thus began my absolutely ginormous learning curve of caring for Black hair. Many a nights were spent watching youtube videos on how to cornrow, twist, and braid. I joined every single blog I could find on how to care for her hair. I read countless books on how to care for her hair. I gleaned information from our Black friends and other transracial adoptive families. My daughter’s hair care became my hobby. Seriously.

My best tip for Black hair care is to use as natural products as you can. No mineral oil, petrolatum, or parabens if at all possible. These products, all of which we used today, are pretty natural and my favorites for baby girls hair.

Three years later, with hair down to the middle of her back, I made it. I still can’t cornrow. I get fussy when a style gets frizzy or does not turn out the way that I expected. But I can do it! I love doing my girl’s hair.

Mrs. Nerdy is wife to a handsome Scientist, mom to five kids some by birth some by adoption, accidentally in love with homeschooling, extremely proficient at witty banter, deficit in crafting, purposely living with joy, and free in Christ. She writes about her cup running over at http://slightlynerdysometimescool.blogspot.com/

Filed Under: Adoption, Hair Care