[mondk]

About 5 people have told me to not get Joshie's hair cut until he is 2...does anyone know about this? We are going to go ahead and try to get it cut this weekend (we have to drive to a hair place 2 hours away b/c no one where we live knows how to cut AA hair). I know I could probably put some gel on it but right now it looks like he stuck his finger in a light socket or something. I can't do anything with it; it is all over the place.

For those of you with biracial or AA haired kids, let me know how old they were when they got their first hair cut!

Blessings, Michelle

[midnighttang]

I don't know what the reason is, but I've heard of it before recently. An AA woman I work with showed me a picture of her nephew and his hair was really long and pulled into a ponytail because her sister wouldn't cut it until he was 2. I made a faux pas and thought he was her niece, oops. Thankfully, she wasn't offended, but I didn't think to ask her what the reason was.

[Singlemom619]

My youngest got his hair cut with me at 2.5. He came to me at 2 and we cut it like 2 months later. Oh - and it had been cut before he came to me so it was cut before his 2nd birthday.

Yes we go to an AA barber shop - luckily it's only 15 minutes away - and when we go I'm the only white girl in there. I used to get some looks from people - even had someone look at me crazy, get up and move to sit somewhere else when I sat down... BUT now they "know" us and when we walk in the man says hi to my son and knows what we want done

I'm actually going to take him this weekend (we're overdue and I've been shaving his head myself but I can't do the "Shape up") and I was going to ask him what other things we could do with my son's hair rather than just "taking it down" each time

[cksmom]

I will try and answer. My husband is AA and kids bi racial. I asked my MIL about this and she said that an old wives tale that if you cut a baby's hair before he was 2, it wouldn't grow as fast throughout his life. I don't think there is any truth to that at all.

What is his hair texture like? HOw long is it? How often are you washing it?

My son is now 5 but he was a baldy with very short hair until he was about 18 months. So we didn't need to cut it. Both my kids have curls but texture is more like caucasian naturally curly hair. I use the pink hair lotion in their hair when wet and it keeps the frizz down and the curls soft.

Since you live so far away from a AA barber shop, you may want to invest in some clippers with several levels of attachments. You can do it yourself. I have done my husbands hair for years.

[GoddessDanu]

I don't have an AA baby but I used to care for several AA kids in the first daycare I worked at. I LOVED doing the girls hair. There are a lot of steps involved (conditioning, etc.) but I think it was well worth it to learn. As for the boys, they almost always had their haircut so short, almost to the scalp. Then they had a very heavy brush that the moms would brush their hair with. Only one little boy had long hair (he was about three) and the mom simply put him in cornrows (which I think looks adorable!).

I would suggest going to the barber shop then asking the barber to show you some tips that you can do at home. Good luck and have fun!

[OakShannon]

We got David's hair cut just after he turned 1 in January. We go to an AA barber shop, too. We took him in early December (when he was 11 months old) and asked if they could just even his hair up a little because it was different lengths and we were taking him to have his Christmas portrait done. The barber said, okay, he would even it up a little with scissors. But NO WAY would he cut it short before his first birthday! (Which was fine. We weren't allowed to have it cut anyway because his adoption wasn't finalized yet.)

That's what I've always heard the tradition is. Wait until they're one, not two. David's hair is healthy and grows plenty fast, and it sure is easier to keep looking neat now that it's cut!

[JenC]

ok, I'll try not to spin this off topic too far, but Shannon - you couldn't cut his hair b/c his adoption wasn't finalized??? I've never heard of that!

[OakShannon]

Originally Posted by JenC

ok, I'll try not to spin this off topic too far, but Shannon - you couldn't cut his hair b/c his adoption wasn't finalized??? I've never heard of that!

It's because we did fost-adopt. Until we finalized, he was legally our foster child and you can't cut a foster child's hair to change their appearance.

[aclee]

1st: 6 months (cut off 5 inches)
2nd: 8 Months (cut off about 1 inch, mostly in the areas that are very thick)
3rd: 12 months (cut 6 inches)

Waiting is a cultural thing. I don't believe any of M's parented children have ever had hair cuts. She said just brush it out everyday with coconut oil and yes, it was fine if he cried, it's just part of having AA hair. It made me too sad. So we just shaved it all off...

Cutters beware....They look SO much older. My sister says Ty looks about 3 right now with his short do.

[loveajax]

DD had her first haircut at 3.5. I was paranoid about cutting off her curls, but actually her curls are more bouncy now with a little trim (sniff sniff! it WAS traumatic for me!). Good luck!

[nee18]

We were told by our agency that we shouldn't cut our son's hair until he was at least 1 year old. I'm a little scared to cut it because of what Aclee said about Ty looking so old now-I'm in denial about our son getting older right now . But, we'll definitely cut it after a year because it is so uneven it drives me crazy!! He's got the "barely there" hair on the back of his head that's finally growing in and then super long hair on top! I love his curls though, I don't think I could stand to lose them all, even though they're certainly a lot of work. I can't imagine if we had a girl!

[aclee]

Originally Posted by nee18

We were told by our agency that we shouldn't cut our son's hair until he was at least 1 year old. I'm a little scared to cut it because of what Aclee said about Ty looking so old now-I'm in denial about our son getting older right now . But, we'll definitely cut it after a year because it is so uneven it drives me crazy!! He's got the "barely there" hair on the back of his head that's finally growing in and then super long hair on top! I love his curls though, I don't think I could stand to lose them all, even though they're certainly a lot of work. I can't imagine if we had a girl!

The best part about cutting it is how quickly the bald spot catches up! Obviously the care is a lot easier too, but we also have a lot of problems with wear and tear on the hair when he sleeps when it is longer. He has a HUGE reverse widow's peak where he rubs his face on the side of the pack and play at night. Not cause he doesn't fit, cause he curls himself into a little ball, but he just has always slept with his face pressed against the side...now he rubs it too. Since we cut it, that part has already started to grow back....

Thankfully he will be in his crib in about 2 weeks. The room is almost done

[Wisdom]

I'm AA and I didn't know anything about not cutting the hair until age two. I'd always heard it was one. A friend's son is over two and she still hasn't cut it and his hair is really long. She's trimmed the ends herself, but won't cut it because she says she doesn't want his hair to "go bad" on her. (Maybe that's the reason for waiting until two...? I don't know.) Our son's hair isn't long but I have no problem cutting it if it needed it. On his first b-day I cut a little on one side because that side was obviously longer than the other. He was having pics taken that day and I wanted his hair to look good.

[sbaglio]

Our DD is 12 1/2 months old, and we don't plan to cut her hair anytime soon, more because she's a girl than because of any beliefs.

I agree that you should invest in a pair of clippers and teach yourself how to cut your DS's hair. Traveling 2 hours there and back every 2 weeks or so for a haircut will eventually wear you out...

[mondk]

Originally Posted by cksmom

What is his hair texture like? HOw long is it? How often are you washing it?

He has thick soft curls all over his head. His hair isn't frizzy or dry like AA hair. His CC mom has really thick hair too with a bit of waviness. I wash his hair every other night, sometimes even every 2 nights; since he is feeding himself now he sometimes makes a mess and everything is stored in his hair, LOL. I tried to upload a pic here to show you, but it won't go through. I will try again...thanks everyone for all the advice!

Blessings, Michelle