[simplemom]

We recieved a very sweet little 2 1/2 year old girl yesterday evening as a foster/adopt placement. TPR trial is set for November. She is partially african american and I am wondering if anyone has advice for taking care of her hair. She has very soft, very, very curly hair. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

[sandysis]

What kind of advice are you looking for? Shampoo/condition/hair care, or styles and the like?

[laceyc]

you might find a hairdresser that has experience with this type of hair and ask her for advice or ask her to show you how to take care of it. I have an AA co worker who gets very aggrevated when white parents with partially AA children leave their hair in a "rat's nest" as she calls it. I'm sure you could find a stylist who would be able to help.

[mamallama]

Black hair is typically dry and needs additional moisture. Caucasian hair rarely needs extra moisture. The first step in coming up with a haircare regime for a biracial child is determining whether or not you need to add moisture. Does her hair feel dry or brittle? Especially near the scalp on the on the ends? If so, you should follow a black hair care regime and use the appropriate styling products. If not, you can just use a curly hair regime w/o the moisture.

It sounds like your little one has a similar texture to my daughter's hair. Here is our routine. I was her hair approximately every 10-14 days with a moisture rich shampoo. We've used high end brands and cheaper brands found at the drug store. My current brand can be found just about everywhere. It's called Olive Oil and it comes in a green bottle. I use a dime size amount and wash her hair from root to tip. I rinse with water and apply a good conditioner. I use Curls Curly Q Coconut Cream conditioner. It's great but hard to find in stores, I have to order it online. I leave it in for a few minutes and then rinse. I carefully pat her hair so that it isn't dripping wet and then we head to the couch to watch TV while I comb it. I use a comb to detangle her hair in sections. I use a leave in conditioner spray to make it easier. After a section is detangled, I apply moisture to her hair. Everyone has their favorite styling product. I've found that simple natural coconut oil works best for her hair. I work the oil in from root to tip and then move on to the next section.

A simple style that works well for my little girls is braided knots. I part their hair down the middle and then across. This makes for sections on their head. I comb each section in a pony tail and secure it with a ponytail holder. Then I braid the section wrap it up into a bun and secure it with another ponytail holder.

It's simple and quick. The style usually holds for a few days. In a few days when it starts to look messy, take out the braids, comb carefully and add moisture again. Again, ideally you should be washing every two weeks or so.

Over the last year, I've learned lots of new styles. And the older my girls get, the longer they will sit and let me play. It's so fun! I love taking care of their hair. It is truly a bonding experience. I've found lots of great videos on youtube that taught me new styles.

Have fun!


P.S. This is a great site with lots of products I love Curly Hair Products for Kids with Curls

[GAMOM75]

I second the advice about finding an AA salon in the area that can give you advice. My BD is AA/CC mix and I can tell you first hand hadn that doing her hair has always been a challenge until I found a salon. The thing is Biracial kids have different hair types. What works for some won't work for all. In the mean time, I condition, condition, condition. Design Essential products work great for my daughter. For my daughter we just condition/wash and maybe a leave in conditioner. That is all. Less is more with her.

[chloroxsis]

I'm AA. Often times biracial children mom's do their hair the way the mom's hair is done. If the mom is caucasian, then it won't work. Most AA's hair require some moisture -- always on the scalp, sometimes on the hair. The hair should not be washed daily. Every week at the most, but every two weeks is best. Here's the key...and you will notice it in most AA children: you have to put the hair in braids, pony tails, or something. Older children may get a relaxing perm, but they are harsh on the hair like curly perms.

If you leave the hair loose, you will have a nightmare of tangles in a very short while. This will be fun! Enjoy making her look cute: barrettes, ponytail holders, and beads! Yay!

[simplemom]

Thanks for all of the advice! I did wash her hair today (since she was new to us and I didn't know when it had last been washed,) and I used a leave in conditioner and sort of combed it with a pick. I managed to get it into two cute little puffs. I will definitely try to find a good hair salon!

[simplemom]

If I put her hair in little puffs during the day, should I take them out at night? Should I spray her hair each day with leave in conditioner or just get it wet to style? She didn't come with braids, although I think if she were going to be with us long term I would find someone to help me with that. Thanks for your advice!

[GAMOM75]

As long as they are not really tight pony tails, I would leave them in at night. It will keep her hair from getting tangled overnight making it harder to do and more painful the next morning. Definately spray with conditioner each day. We would do what we now call a "conditioner wash". It is basically where you wash the hair as normal but instead of using shampoo we use conditioner, leave in for a few minutes, comb through a few times then rinse it out. Shampoo can and tends to dry out some AA hair if used daily. We conditioner wash daily and shampoo wash every couple of days or so...

Ahhh, I so miss the puff balls. Hearing you say that brings back memories. Of course after puff balls, braids and every product on earth, my daughter now 12 has opted to have her hair relaxed. I cried when she decided to do it. I do miss her curls, but it is easier for her to deal with now.

[marykath]

When my aa/cc girls were little I did what some people call the "afro puff," which is basically a puffy pony tail on the top of the head. This was all I could do - I'm really bad at hair - even my own. Every day in the a.m., I spray the hair w/ water, then spray w/ leave in conditioner (our hairdresser recommended Just for Me - you can get it at Wal-Mart) and work in some moisturizer or curl cream or both. CURLS, mentioned above, has great products, but they can be pricey and you have to order online. I am now using an olive oil line from Walgreen's. My kids didn't like to sleep with their pony tails in, so I do their hair every morning. I also got them silky pillow cases, which help prevent the tangles that happen overnight. Some people also wrap their childrens' hair, although I have never done that.
Now that they are older, they can spray and comb themselves. I still do the pony tails, only in the back of the head, and sometimes I even mange 2-3 braids before school!
I wash their hair every couple weeks, but I always try to wash it after swimming. The clorine really does a number on their hair.