[joskimo]

darn little girls and their opinions! Last summer I started doing this simple do with liike 8 box braids. She loved it, but then she stopped letting me do her hair in beads - which takes about an hour and a half with 25-30 braids.

So now she wants to wear it out. Now her hair is super cute all wet and hanging but it dries up pretty dry and tight. I'm sorry to confess that after nearly 5 year I don't know what to do with an afro. I assume I detangle it like normal after I wash, but how do I get the afro round? How do I do it on day 2 when it's completely dry?

[joskimo]

okay, well tried it after bath today, detangled and picked it for like 1/2 an hour - it was lumpy so patted it down. It's still not as beautifully smooth as you see on women in tv but she's pretty happy with it, is wearing a stretchy hairband around it.

[KLL08]

I'm sure it looks lovely!

[Sleeplvr]

A neat round afro has been cut. People go to the barbership to have it rounded off like that with clippers and or scissors.

No suggestions on styles. We can't do afro's because DD's hair texture won't support it and it's too long for an afro.

[joskids]

Have you considered locks? I know it's a real commitment in terms of having to cut the hair off if, at some point, she decides she doesn't want it anymore. A couple of the children in our interracial families group are now wearing their hair in locks and they are BEAUTIFUL!!!

I just had our 11 year old's hair texturized for the first time and, for now, it looks very nice and is SO MUCH LESS WORK for me. She is biracial and had an awful lot of very thick and curly hair. With the texturizer, it still has a lot of curl on the ends if we let it go curly, the hair near the scalp just hangs neater. As for straighter hairstyles, we just blow dry and flat iron and it actually stays that way for a few days. Previously, when I flat-ironed her hair, it would get puffy in a couple of days. I just hope we can keep it healthy and conditioned enough that we don't get a lot of breakage. We shall see.

[joskimo]

I have thought about locks, I can do her hair in a mop of 2 strand twists which I think is the basic precursor to the locks, but I generally take them out in two weeks. Locks do seem like a committment just in that one day when she's tired of them you have to cut them out.

I've heard of texturized hair, there's so much controversy over the whole straightening thing, everyone says "go natural" but you're pretty hard pressed to see a natural hair-do in the movies or tv on anyone older than 6, KWIM? But man it looks easier!

[eariel84]

Ok I do not have advise for the afro... My 3 yr old's hair, which is very kinky, I wash it, towel dry, spray with detangler or tea tree spray, then part it into 4-6 boxes and put 1 braid in each box closing the braid with anything from a rubber band to a hair bow because she is only going to sleep in it or wear it around the house. (like to use barretts to close the braids because you wrap the hair around the barrett to close it so when you take down the braids there is a little curl at the ends). Then when she wakes up you untie the braids and comb with a wide tooth comb. Use head band, or part down middle and put bows Looks natural and not nappy or matted. If I do not part her hair and either braid it or twist it before bed, when she wakes up her hair is matted to her head and a true chore in the morning. Oh, and spray again before you start the day.

[joskimo]

earieli, how often do you wash her hair? I would like to try that, but wondering about the evening after she's worn it out, do you have to wash it again? I'd thought not to wash daily.

[mnmomma]

I've done like earieli has suggested with my DD. I either do a co-wash or just wet the hair with a spray bottle and use detangler at night. You can re-do the braids again for overnight.

[eariel84]

I agree with Mnmomma, just spray it the following night with detangling spray and twist or braid the sections again. You can do this for a few nights in a row. I usually try to make it last about a week but it can last a little longer or a little shorter depending on the maintenance and the texture of the child's hair.

[joskimo]

can I ask what kind of detangler spray? I live in a small town and we have some AA products at the store, but usually I order from Carol's Daughter.

[oceanica]

How dry is her hair? My dd is only 2 so obviously you have more experience than I do, but sometimes we leave her hair natural and just pick it out in the morning and use some detangler and hairdress cream but by the afternoon/evening it's dry like straw and it doesn't look combed any more. I think I would have to keep putting something in it several times per day to keep it soft and neat looking. And at 2 years old it's not even that long yet so, I'm not sure how it will be. And the combing (with the pick) causes major drama so it's difficult to keep combing it out. (Hubby likes her hair best when we do it this way but he probably doesn't notice how dry and messy it gets in back.) Let us know how it works out!
PS Talia Waajid seems to work well for my Athena and I am partial to sofnfree n' pretty Olive and sunflower oil edge tanner.

[joskimo]

Hannah's hair is really dry, no matter what I put in it, if it's loose or even in puffs, they are dry within a few hours. I buy a lot of Carol's Daughter's products, but after the first day of washed hair, it never looks as healthy and moist unless it's in braids.

[noelani2]

I only have one child who has really African hair, and that is a boy. I have a biracial daughter, but her hair is more like the texture of her Filipino birth mom's, with a fair amount of curl. I tried a few different products for black kids' hair, but the thing I have liked the best is just some Eucerin cream (or a generic equivalent). That was my favorite thing for skin and I just started putting a tiny bit on the hair, too. I used more on Joseph's than Joanna's. His was really stiff and got dry and brittle looking much sooner than hers did. I found that it really helped a lot to put it on while the hair was still damp. If I put it on between washing, I just dampened the hair a little bit, first. Eucerin is unscented. I found it made a big difference, as far as treating dry skin, to have no fragrance, and I thought it was better to avoid fragrance for the hair, too. Eucerin is a very economical choice, too. A big jar goes a long, long way!

My kids are teenagers, now, and I have nothing to say about what they use on their hair!

[LooneyTunes]

I have 4 AA grandchildren, and met a woman from Bahama who gave me wonderful advice. She gave me a couple of recipes for products you can make for much less than commerical products, work better than anything else I tried and are easy to mix. I would be happy to share them if anyone is interested.