[arkansas parent]

We are adopting an AA/CC 4yo boy. His foster parents use baby shampoo on his hair every day. He has tight curls. I love his hair, but I'm not sure how to take care of it. Any suggestions?

[Linny]

I know you said that your child is AA/CC, so this may be the difference, seeming that CC people generally have more oil in their hair.....but I am surprised that the foster parents wash his hair every day. We're CC, and WE wash our hair every day, but our AA daughters' hair is washed only once a week (unless it gets something in it like dirt, straw, leaves, etc. We live on a farm.)
Generally, you'll find that most people wash their AA child's hair weekly with a mild shampoo, condition it, rinse this out; towel dry and apply the same oil that one uses in the daily routine.

For the daily routine, we spritz their hair with water, towel dry, then apply Biosilk hair oil by Farouk. It's a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way...and it smells really good! I work through the oil with my fingers, then comb through their hair to style.

Hope this helps in some way....

Sincerely,

Linny

[arkansas parent]

He diffently has AA hair. Do you think washing it twice a week would be to often? He loves to play outside and gets really dirty. Also, he loves to brush his hair. Should I let him do it? Would it be better if he just combed it,or should he just leave it alone.

We are hoping he can move in Thursday and I want to have most of the stuff I will need.

[joskids]

I agree that daily washing of AA hair is too much. Once a week should be fine, unless it gets unusually dirty from playing hard or, in the summer, if he gets very sweaty. We have two sons. One is AA with very course hair. We keep it very short and I use a spray sheen on his scalp and brush it through. The other son is biracial and has very soft, much straighter hair with loose waves. I treat it like caucasian hair but do not wash it as often. He just needs a very light dressing on it. I use Liv which can be bought at Sally's. It's a very nice cream and perfect for his hair texture. I also use it on my biracial daughter who has coarser hair. And I use Carol's Daughter products on hers as well.

Josie

[vegangoddess]

linny, how funny you said that about straw in the hair...... we too live on a farm and our son enjoys feeding the chickens.......... it is almost impossible to get corn out of his hair........ it burrows down to the scalp.......... it is funny........ ahhhhh the perils of farm life....... we wash our sons hair once a week....but do the conditioner wash.... every few days...... just wet it... run conditioner through it.... and rince... put leave on conditioner in and put a scarf, or dew rag on......seems to work.....

[Linny]

Thank you, Vegan! There aren't a lot of people who understand how a pre-schooler can't keep straw, leaves----or corn out of their hair, unless they've lived on a farm!

It's not uncommon to try a new hairstyle, only to come home, have them play outside, and come in with grit/mud and pieces of dried leaves from playing in the yard, garden or hay shed!

Sincerely,

Linny

[jaenelle]

Even washing Yuna's hair once a week seems to be too much for her; we are going to do more like 10 days and see if that's better. But she is full AA. I would try the once a week thing -- if that's still not working then move back a day each time until you find something that does work.

[Michellemomof5]

I have found the miracle product for my daughters hair. She is AA/CC with long big curls. The problem is that they get so tangled. I was given the advice to try Shea Butter lotion in her hair. We wash it once a week and daily spritz with water and apply the lotion all over. It keeps the curls so soft and tangle free.

I was given this advice by a parent of a little boy who I had commented how soft his hair was. She said all she uses is Shea butter body lotion. Sounds wierd, but it works. In regards to the amount of days that you go without washing. That really depends on the persons hair. Here in ND our AA daughters hair gets so dry. I wash every other week, but have her rinse her hair each time she is in the tub. I then use a spray oil sheen and style.

[DianeScraps]

something to consider, is the 'no poo' method. On my 8 yr old dtr (AA/CC) we use conditioner only, not shampoo. Their aren't as many oils in her hair, and the shampoo took too much out. We can go 2-3 months w/o actually shampooing her hair.

[DebCsMom]

Our DD is AA/CC. SHe is 6 years old now. I wash & deep condition her hair every 2 weeks or so. But everyday I apply a leave in conditioner & style it. It's a good idea to at least put in a leave in conditioner & comb or brush it everyday. The brushing will bring out the oils in the hair. Also doing it everyday will let him get use to it. My DD who is full AA HATES having her hair done, it hurts. There are some great AA products you can get at like Sally's, Walgreen's & Wal-Mart.

GOOD LUCK!

Deb

[jodi37]

You can wash an aa or br child's hair every other day. You need to however make sure that you are applying hair grease or hair oil to it. If you braid down the hair it is best to only leave thier hair in braids for a week at a time with conditioning it everyday. I hope this helps.

[vegangoddess]

sallys has a kids line that i just tried...and am thinking works great..... the shampoo has a de tangler....which at first i thought was bunk. i put it on my sons hair and started using my fingers to work out tangles...and it seemed like the shampoo was making tons of small bubles elevating the tangles out........it is hard to explain, but my sons hair is about 4-6 inches long....when the curls are outstretched...and i got them almost totally tangle free........ the conditioner....i am not sure if i like....... it is clear and leave in.....it did make his curls glossy....... but by the end of the day seemed dull........ i will try to forward a photo....

[marcav]

I also have a question about my son's hair. The women at his day care braided his whole head and it looks adorable, however, I have no idea of how to care for it. How often can I wash, how do I condition it and mostly how long do I leave them in for?

Mary

[vegangoddess]

wow mary where is your day care....i would love to see my sons hair braided.....i would love to see him sit long enough have it done............i will wait for replies on the care.....on the off chance i find someone to braid his hair.

[marcav]

I work at an inner city hospital and there is a day care on campus. All the kids with the exception of 2 Hispanic and one Asian child are AA, and the caretakers are predominantly AA. When he was younger they did his hair in corn rows, but he pulled half of them out and he
ended up looking like Boy George (in his earlier career)!!!
They tell me they do most of the work when he is asleep.

Mary