[vegangoddess]

never mind ...i did it ..... get out the microscopes...

[joskimo]

Okay, I did it, finally. She still isn't fond of me doing her hair but I"m making progress. Here's a couple of puffs.

JandN - love those twists, those are great!

[Linny]

Gotta say, cute as a bug's ear, Jo..........mine still primarily stay in 'puff's'!!!!

Sincerely,

Linny

[joskimo]

Thanks Linny - I always consider you one of our adoption angels - it was your list that brought Hannah into our lives - Jo

[sneezyone]

OMG Jos those are so cute...*sniff* Sniff* they remind me of my own piggy puff days. i can't wait for dd to have enough hair!!

[jandn]

I just wanted to add an updated pic of J's twists. We're wearing a style like this about every other week now. It stays pretty for about 3-4 days with upkeep of loose twists and lost barrettes.


Now if I could only get L's hair to grow longer than a 1/2 inch.

[mallory4]

Wow, looking at these pics is like a trip down memory lane for me--my 3 girls are so old now (12,9,6) and hair is still something to think about, but no longer as "easy" as putting in a few puffs (not that it was easy at the time!)

We spent the summer at the pool, and after the first week, none of the girls wanted to go through the process of having hair combed out afterward and all wanted their hair cut short. The two with springy little curls, no problem, I cut it, it looks great-- one Halle Berry and one Shirley Temple.

The one with tons and tons of "porcupine" hair--not curly, not straight, just really stiff--I resisted, because past short do's made her look like she was being electrocuted a lot of the time...

But eventually I gave in, because her braids never dried out and got musty, and taking the braids out so the hair could dry meant two hours of combing...so, chop chop.

I kept a lot of conditioner on it, made a little part in the front and held down the hair on either side with clips. I thought it looked cute, kinda 1960's, and it took only a few minutes a day (not counting the half hour with conditioner and shower cap on that's required to get the porcupine quills to soften and curl a bit). She's happy, I'm happy.

Then a couple of weeks ago as we were sitting out on our porch swing, a woman comes walking up through the yard. A stranger, with twisty-dreads. She walks right past my frantically barking scary-looking dog to stand before us, and in front of all 3 kids, asks me why their hair is cut short and do I want the names of some braiding parlors?

So I am guessing the fact that she wasn't put off by the dog, or by not knowing me, means she feels really strongly that it is not okay for me to cut my girls' long hair.

I was pretty ticked about it for a few days.
So, I was happy to see this thread, and reminisce about when they were little, and their puffs were cute, and strangers had nothing bad to say about me

[surfmama]

Jandn, GREAT jobs on the twists, they look fabulous!

[Linny]

GADS! The twists DO look GREAT! My own three year old is standing on the seat behind me---looking at that photo and saying, "How does she do that!?!?!?"
I don't think I could still get them to look THAT GOOD!
Bravo for you!

And Mallory: Don't you just love unsolicited advice? LOL! I know this happened only ONE time to me. Both girls had been playing all day (outside too)...and at the end of the day, their hair was 'wooly' (as we put it). You need to also know that this was less than one week after our family was involved with a horrific event...so I looked like (well...you can imagine).....but at least I THOUGHT the girls' hair was decent enough to go into Wally World.
At the end of the check out, a gal walks up to me and politely says, "Do you ever need someone to do your girls' hair?" She was polite; and I took her card; but most times, I'm told by strangers that their hair is well done. If she only knew how awful I felt at the time.........

Sincerely,

Linny

[vegangoddess]

while i think coming up to someone and asking if one needs a number of a person that does hair...is forward. and a bit rude.... i wonder if their heart was in the right place just the wrong approach..... i get a lot of people suggesting i cut my sons hair....but i like it longer.... it is well conditioned and quite bohemian. i have plans to cut it this spring/summer ... but until then we will work with it... i have cut 4 inches off....it just grows ALOT.

[mallory4]

Oh, I do think it was well-intentioned! I was mad for a couple of days, but then decided to take it as a gift and look at the reality--my kids have to live as black people and will be judged accordingly. I don't want to teach them to live their lives according to "oh no! what will other people think?!" but I don't want them to be hurt by the judgements of others, either. If they want to flaunt the conventions of hairstyle when they are old enough to know the consequences they will face, awesome, but I don't want to set them up for negative feedback just because it is more convenient for me.

I took the opportunity to reevaluate their do's and step up my game a little. We still have to wait for it to grow, but I can put a little more finesse into it while we wait. My Halle Berry has had 2 new styles since then, both got many compliments. As for my little porcupine, I am still searching for the grail on that one...

[bluedaisy]

Vegangoddess, I love your son's hair! He must be a supercool kid with a supercool mama.

[vegangoddess]

Thank you ...... he is a super cool kid!!!!!

[bellazmama]

Originally Posted by vegangoddess

i get a lot of people suggesting i cut my sons hair....but i like it longer.... it is well conditioned and quite bohemian. i have cut 4 inches off....it just grows ALOT.

I think he looks so handsome! I wish Bella's hair would grow! It's sooooooo slow!

Sarah

[whoownsthis]

Vegangoddess, is that a twist-out, or just his natural curls? I love how it stands up on its own. I have tried twist-outs on my oldest who has a tight curl (and varied hair textures, some even straight!), but I think her hair is too long because it just lays limp.

And by long, I mean down to the bottom of her shoulder blades when wet and stretched.