[Alaskana]

We finally got "A" placed in our home. I've done her hair twice now and while it looks OK, I still have some questions. Her hair hangs in beautiful coils and is about collar length when dry. I bathed her tonight it seemed to take forever to comb it out. I'm not bothered by that fact so much as I'm not sure what to do with it before bed. I can't imagine being able to get it done in the morning when school starts back up.

So....what do you do with your AA child's hair at night? I put it in a ponytail and twisted out four sections to take out in the morning. BUT I just read that I shouldn't leave it in a ponytail at night. However, if I leave it down I'm afraid it will be one big matted mess in the morning.

The next question is how long do you leave one style in? As long as it looks good?

And finally, swimming. She LOVES to swim. I used to be a swimmer and I know what it did to my hair. I have shampooed it after the swims to get the chlorine out, but am not sure that's the right thing either, since it's seeing more shampoo than it should.

Thanks in advance for reading this looooonnnnng post, and for helping relieve my anxieties.

[nidomio]

I suggest you join the AA hair yahoo group for parents like us. You'll get a TON of hair knowledge and experience there. Here's the link:
adoptionhair_skincare : Adoption Hair & Skin Care

[blackerberry]

Use a wide tooth comb. Very little product is needed if any at all. A beeswax type product is usually good.

Section off the hair in small squares after combing. Use very small rubber bands and place one rubber band at the base of a small square of gathered hair. Braid the hair then place a rubber band at the end. This should keep it all intact. If the hair is coarse enough, it may hold the style on its own. Depending on the length of hair, combing and then putting in a few french braids, or cornrows, works well.

My mother wasn't big on hair styling, I had afro puffs as a child, and I now keep my hair in dreads. Low maintenance.