[inhiswill]

What about baby buttercream from Miss Jessie's? Someone told me about that for my little ones hair. You can only get it online though. The site has some neat before an after pics with the use of their products.

Our little one has only been with us for a week, but has a full full head of hair. I am already a little nervous about how I am going to fix it.

What do you do when they are newborn with their hair? I washed it with Huggies Shea Butter Hair and body wash and that even seems to dry it?

[aclee]

but I had a lot of hair anxiety too, so I'll share my methods

We do free hair...Ty is 4 months old and has hair about 4 inches long or more is some places. The comments about cutting Ty's hair are already happening. He has bushels of hair every where but a nice little smiley face bald spot on the back. We go with it. He's younger than your DD, but when people make comments, I say we are focusing on healthy hair 1st, and we'll worry about everything else later. I think that for any child to hear that, it's a positive thing. It's also the truth. I know Ty's Bfamily mainly keeps their older boys hair in cornrows. I don't know if we'll do that or not. Maybe we will keep it short later, maybe we'll let him grow an afro, but right now, all I care about is making sure I know how to take care of his hair and scalp. I can't learn how to take care of his hair and scalp is it's in braids, or shaved off every 4 weeks. Till I get it all figured out, we leave it it as free hair. Further more, free hair is a lotta freakin work! I comb that kids hair out 2X a day usually.

Anyway, I was using the oil method as well. I had a small metal mister that I had a commercial hair shine in. There was almost none left, so I cleaned it out really good. Rinsed it really well. I added "some" olive oil, and a few drops of lavender oil (it was the only essential oil I had at the time) and some water. I shake it up and spray down his hair all over really well, then would take my fingers and scalp massage it into his hair and scalp while I sat him in front of me. It's Mommy and Ty time, and we both love it. When it's all rubbed in good, I gently comb it out. If some areas seemed to not have enough oil to spring back into tight curls, and were frizzy, I added more oil. That was our original process. I would also try to do that right after he was out of the bath to lock in some of the water from the bath. I would have to spot check later because it was hard to figure out if it was wet or oiled in all areas till the hair was allowed to dry some. This worked well for us. Ty had some small pimples occasionally around his hair line, but mainly when he was much younger. My issue with this method, as trivial and selfish as it is, is that it gets everywhere. One me, on his swing, on his bed if I did it before bed. I didn't feel he was to the point where he could wear a satin cap to bed. I decided I wanted to start making his hair products so I made a cocoa butter lotion with oils, and cocoa..enough oil to thin the butter so I could spread it in my hand. Ty gets the lotion butter head to toe, including in his hair. IT has been amazing for his skin as well. I'll admit it takes a decent amount to get it warmed and into his hair and down on to his scalp. Once I get it all in their, I add oil, but much less than I used to. The hair seems to suck the butter right up, and the smaller amounts of oil seem to more seal the moisture in, rather than try and act as the moisture his hair needs. We're going to try this for a while....

I got a complement the other day from an AA nurse where I go get infusions. She said, "Oh he's got AMAZING hair...my daughter has hair like that!" and I said, yeah, he's got great hair!...then she made it a point tell me that she knew how much *I* did to make his hair great. That meant a lot to me. I understand how it can be hard not to take personally something that someone else (esp someone AA) says about hair care. There does come a point though, when you need to stand firm and know that there are many ways, and schools of though on AA hair care. Some feel strongly about natural hair, and some want beads all over. You do what is right for you, and wait till your daughters hair is ready. I actually LOVED the picture with the headband! Her hair looks really healthy, and THAT should be your answer. It's not about braids and beads and everything else. It's about healthy hair, and you're doing that!

IF you are really aching to do something, maybe do 6 little puffs?

[Linny]

Now aclee....you've perked my interest. Care to pm me about the concoction you prepared from the cocoa butter and oil? While we're not having problems with it, I'm game to try anything else too, as the hair oil I use now is kinda pricey.
And...just a comment to inhiswill about the Huggies Shea butter Hair and Body wash.......I've had the same problem too. I've only used it for the childrens' bodies....but I think it's one of the most drying things I've ever used on them!!!! (I'm glad it was on sale when I bought it, because I'm not planning to buy more! LOL)

Sincerely,

Linny

[sbaglio]

Originally Posted by inhiswill

What about baby buttercream from Miss Jessie's? Someone told me about that for my little ones hair. You can only get it online though. The site has some neat before an after pics with the use of their products.

Our little one has only been with us for a week, but has a full full head of hair. I am already a little nervous about how I am going to fix it.

What do you do when they are newborn with their hair? I washed it with Huggies Shea Butter Hair and body wash and that even seems to dry it?

My sister uses the Baby Buttercream from Miss Jessie's on my 2 1/2 year old niece's hair, which is absolutely beautiful. She had a free sample which she gave us recently, and we have been using it on DD's hair for about a week (she is 14 weeks old). We love it so far. It moisturizes her hair and keeps it so for several days. It also causes it to be much more wavy than it is naturally, and the hair generally looks healthier. The smell is divine! I know that it is not cheap, and we only need to use a tiny bit after washing her hair.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Linny

Now aclee....you've perked my interest. Care to pm me about the concoction you prepared from the cocoa butter and oil? While we're not having problems with it, I'm game to try anything else too, as the hair oil I use now is kinda pricey.
And...just a comment to inhiswill about the Huggies Shea butter Hair and Body wash.......I've had the same problem too. I've only used it for the childrens' bodies....but I think it's one of the most drying things I've ever used on them!!!! (I'm glad it was on sale when I bought it, because I'm not planning to buy more! LOL)

Sincerely,

Linny

for everytime I get asked how I made that stuff....NEXT Time around I am going to measure so I have something to answer to everyone that asks. Unfortunately I learned to cook from my grandmother and we are both some of this, some of that sort of people. I slightly warmed the cocoa butter on the stove in a pan, and blended in "some" olive oil, and splashes of other essential oils till I liked the smell. It's still a pretty nutty smell, but I love it on him. While it was still warm I poured it into 16 ounce clear containers, and it made 3 of them...enough for a while It did solidify up some, so it's not your typical "lotion" but it's not as hard as pure cocoa either, it does melt right into my palm when I scoop some out. I'm still playing with combinations for the most part. I mainly started with the knowledge that some people use pure cocoa butter, some pure olive oil...a combination of the two should be fine. I think next time I'll work with some mango butter too. For Ty, the more "elemental" the ingredients the better. For facial touch-ups, I found a push up, pure cocoa stick at Walgreen's. I keep it in my purse so it doesn't stay in the car for a long time and melt or anything. He face drys out more easily because he is drooling and it's getting wiped all the time.

Sorry I don't have a better answer. When I get through these tubs, I'm going to measure, and I'll have an actual recipe for those that like them.

At daycare he can't use a Tubba Stuff (as I call it)...it has to be labeled and yada yada. After searching high and low for something that wasn't going to flare up his skin we found Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula...the Fragrance Free stuff. It does have stupid mineral oil in it, but the first 2 ingredients are water and cocoa butter. We pay a lot of money for products that are mainly water don't we? Anyway, it seems to work pretty well...it's the fragrance in stuff that seems to bother him. So far this stuff seems to work okay for the limited amount she uses at Daycare. I try to moisturize him really well in the AM so the amount she uses there is pretty minimal. I would still like to find something that was a cocoa butter and olive oil (maybe with water to thin?) commercially so we could use that there.

[leatherette]

1. She's very cute.

2. She doesn't have much hair.

3. You could part her longer hair (it looks like it's longer on top - yay baby mohawks - so you could do that) and make little puffs, or even short little braids....

4. I'll tell you that beginning to do some things with my daughter's hair when it was short made it a lot easier to know what to do as it got longer. I was very familiar with the texture, what worked and what didn't, by the time that she really needed to have her hair "done".

5. I rubbed pure shea butter and/or jojoba oil into her hair (while it is still wet!) to keep it from drying out when she was a baby, and only washed once a week. But she was not a messy eater, and did not get food in her hair.

6. Hurtful comments can come even when you know how to do your child's hair. I got (well, not to my face, but I heard it), "Well, at LEAST she knows how to do the child's hair." with a sneer in my direction.

[ocracoke]

First, do not take stock in other people's rude comments!!! If she was being helpful then listen -- if she was being rude then ignore.

My day care workers were really encouraging about learning how to do my daughter's hair but she was home about 1 year before I actually learned to braid. Once I learned to braid I would exchange ideas for styles with the day care staff. And at this point I can give them hints.

I would say that you are probably washing her hair too often. I konw it goes against everything we learned about our own hair. If you can not resist then try just getting it wet -- no shampoo and no conditioner. Then after she is out of the bath put on the leave in conditioner. I wash my daughter's hair about 1 time per week but she gets it wet every time she is in the bath -- about every other day. Also try using a spray in leave in conditioner every day -- some people use it more then once a day but it really depends on the type of hair she has. Try the satin pillow case or a night cap. The natural cotton fibers of most sheets and pillow cases can really pull at their hair. You can check out snapaholics.com for nadias caps. My daughter has one which is really cute but in general she hates wearing it so we use the salin pillow case instead. You can also find braiding technique videos on the site if you are interested in braiding or twisting. I found that quality of my daughter's hair improved greatly once I started braiding -- it just didn't break as often. But there is no way I could have braided when her hair was as short as your daughter's -- my fingers are just not that nimble. I think the head bands, free hair, or even coils are the best bet for short hair. Keep trying products until you find the one that works for her. Some people swear by products that just don't work right on my daughter. I like Carol's Daughter (but agree with you on the smell of the hair milk). I love the leave-in black vanilla conditioner. It smells yummy. I would stay with natural products if possible which ever brand you use.

But most of all remember that your daughter is a cutie -- with or without her hair done to the approval of other people.

Good luck,
Samantha

[ml2waiting]

Are you a member of
adoptionhair_skincare@ yahoogroups.com

People share many great hair tips on styles, care, products, etc.

My daughter's hair looks a lot like your daughter's, but I've had luck with styling the top of her head only (where hair is longest) and leaving the rest free. Received many compliments on appearance, however, mainly style to prevent longer hair from tangling.

Options are small twists with snaps at the ends, very small puffs, or flat twists. (Not making anything too tight.)

Rachel

[oceanica]

she's adorable!!
Still waiting for an aa baby so I can't comment from experience but I am half asian indian and we have many types of hair oils that are used a lot. It's usually very "oily" though so it would probably be better to cut it with something like water because it can be quite messy. The oils are available in most Indian stores.
(I noticed some today when I was in an Indian store looking at henna which I might try for my horrible grays that keep increasing!)

[Emily222]

I think the person was just not thinking when they said that. Looking at her (adorable) pictures I would not think anything about her hair.

At 2 years old I think as long as it's out of her face, she's good to go.

As she gets older, the hair will get longer and you'll be able to do more with it. My mom said I was literally bald 'till I was over 2. People thought I was a boy, but, oh well.

Just don't do like my mom did as she gets older and refuse to let her do anything she wants with her hair because it's "difficult." My mom always kept my thin, straight blond hair short because, according to her, it was "thin in the back" and would look stringy long. So what? All I ever wanted was long hair like the other girls... Never happened... Well, enough about me... ;-)

[Cjmeck]

My DD is almost 6mo and is biracial (AA/CC). So, I'm looking for a little doll for her... My mom bought her a white doll that I really like, but of course, she should have a black doll too. I want one that is soft all over, small (like 6-8 in) and cute. Why is it that all the stores have little white dolls like I want but no black dolls? So, I actually inquired to the manager at Babies R Us about it yesterday and she kind of looks at me puzzled (my daughter wasn't w/me). She said nobody has ever asked to buy one before and didn't think they'd sell... I think Carter's is the maker of the white doll I've got. Any ideas?

[inhiswill]

Somebody just got my daughter a "brown" doll yesterday as a baby gift. They got it at Kmart out of all places. It is a soft all over doll with a rattle in one hand. DD is only 4 months and it is perfect for her to try to grasp.

I do wish that they would even go one step beyond and make dolls in various shades. DD is full AA and very dark, this doll is light brown at best. But, we can't be picky about everything now, can we??

[BethanyB]

My DD had a full head of curly hair when she was born. It quickly fell out everywhere but the top. Yes, she had a mowhawk and yes, people actually thought I gave her that hairstyle on purpose!!!

Her hair started to change texture and became a bit dry. Her hair just did not want to grow anywhere but on top. Hairstyles were so hard to do because of the lack of hair on the sides and back.

I just pulled the top up into two puffs for the longest time and she looked as cute as a button. I also stopped shampooing her hair and only conditioned it once a week. (I will shampoo once every two weeks or so.) I also use the water/olive oil mix. I was told that putting her hair in puffs did not do much for growth so I recently had her hair conrowed. It's great because I don't have to do her hair for like two to three weeks. Now, your DD's hair is too short and your not there yet but you can do little puffs in top or little knots maybe. It takes practice.

Don't feel bad. Here is my mowhawk baby.

[BethanyB]

Here is a pic where the sides are JUST starting to come in yet the top is long so I just put the top into small puffs.

[Sleeplvr]

I use an olive oil mix for detangling but use Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme to smooth and define DD's curls.

Miss Jessie's is a little expensive but it's really worth it. I haven't found another product that works like the Baby Buttercreme. It is awesome.

Miss Jessie's products can be found in certain beauty salons. You just have to check the website for salons in your area that carry it.