[joskimo]

Okay, is it me or do those little girls have straightened hair? I thought you had to wait until they were teenagers for straighteners?

[Sohmakun]

haha there is no "unwritten rule" in the AA community about straightening hair. I have known PLENTY of elementary-aged kids who have perms in their hair.

[joskids]

I'm guessing it's relaxed, but also could be that they use a hot comb on the hair - gives a "relaxed" look and can last a few days, depending on how careful the child is with it. I think you do whatever you need to do to keep hair neat. I'm trying to hold off relaxing my 10 year old's hair. It's very long and very thick and takes so much care but I don't want to do anything to ruin the way it looks. So, for now, braids or hot iron.

[joskimo]

I hate to ask but what is a hot iron? My daughter is nearly 4 and her hair is very tight. I've had blunders along the way and it's not as long as it should be due to breakage. I"m finially doing a pretty good job with braiding, but still when I take the pretties out of her hair I get hair that has become one with each other or with the pretty so much that I have to pull it apart and damage her hair more.

[Sohmakun]

A hot iron looks like the picture below. I personally would only use models that plug into the wall and NOT the one on the stove. Its very difficult to control the temperature and you could burn her hair right out!

[Linny]

I think it appears to be straightened...but hey, what do I know? I"m the one that won't perm or relax (really the same thing) our babies' hair until they're much older!!! LOL
But.....a new thing happened last week. I actually got stopped by a guy parked next to me asking what I used on the girls' hair. When I told him, he suggested I use stuff (that I've already used), in order, basically, to slather it down-flat--on their head. I don't like that artificial look (plastic look), but he was nice enough to continue to talk about it.... (sigh)
Not only that, I then got the entire comment asking, 'Do I braid their hair'? And I told them I had AA relatives that had braided their hair; they cried two hours later; and I took it down on more than one occasion. I'm not sure they believed me; but then, two other passengers started to talk about all of this (all men). While I tried to explain that my children live on a farm...that we'd been playing wildly all day (this was the end of a hot day)....and I understood their point of view (just wasn't planning to do what they suggested now)......I suddenly realized that ALL of them had shaved heads!
*Not* that this made a lot of differnce...I know it's not unusual....but it was sort of funny to think about it later on, KWIM?

Back to the OT.....our main problem is even after we've used the hot iron (electric....not on the stove) to straighten, their hair doesn't stay straight for more than a short time---at best. My oldest's hair is VERY thick, very tightly curled and it seems to take forever to go through so much hair when it doesn't last that long, KWIM?
Any hints to that point?....and concerning Obama's daughters.....aren't they just so cute as well? It'll be great to see little ones growing up in the White House!

Sincerely,

Linny

[Kat-L]

Originally Posted by joskids

I'm guessing it's relaxed, but also could be that they use a hot comb on the hair - gives a "relaxed" look and can last a few days, depending on how careful the child is with it. I think you do whatever you need to do to keep hair neat. I'm trying to hold off relaxing my 10 year old's hair. It's very long and very thick and takes so much care but I don't want to do anything to ruin the way it looks. So, for now, braids or hot iron.

I let M-K get her hair permed at 9 and it was a HUGE mistake. She got tired of constantly going for touch ups and when we tried to let it grow out-it started breaking off. She now has hair that is only about 5 inches long-much shorter than all the other kids in school. Some kids even teased her and told she looked like a boy. If I had it to do over again, I would have continued with the flat iron and NEVER permed it.

[millie58]

I think a straight comb was used. There's a different feel when it's permed.

[sbaglio]

Linny, LOL at your story! I thought you were going to say that the car was full of women - not men with shaved heads LOL!

[joskimo]

interesting information ladies, I had no idea hot combs existed. I agree on the braiding, it just takes too much time to get in, much more time to get out - just hard to get a busy preschooler to put up with that. I'm pretty good with a 2-strand twist & a double strand twist (that's what she's sporting in the picture) - they go in easier and out quicker. But whether I braid or twist, I still have the problem of the hair knotting on the ends and it causes her a lot of discmofort when I'm undoing her hair.

[sbaglio]

Hot combs are not only for girls...my mum used to hot comb my hair for the school portraits way back when. Had to get my afro going! First it was the one you heat on the hot plate, then the electric one came along. I still recall the smell of singed hair - ugh!

[Sohmakun]

Originally Posted by sbaglio

I still recall the smell of singed hair - ugh!

So do I sbaglio, it made the whole house smell like burn't feathers! YUCK!

[ChromaKelly]

I've seen Sasha and Malia's hair look more natural, I think it was probably just done for that night.
I remember most of the AA girls I knew in school around that age had straightened hair though.

Here's a picture from earlier in the day, when the family went to go vote, to compare hair.
20081104_Chicago_IL_Voting0070 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[joskids]

Kat, don't worry, I'm in no hurry to relax Samantha's hair, if at all. She is AA/Italian, just very, very thick hair, very long -- I certainly don't want to damage it. I'm doing all I can to keep it healthy.

As for the hot comb I was talking about - I've noticed there's a very big difference from my using the "Chi" hot iron on her hair, as opposed to having it hot-combed at a salon. My aa SIL, got on me about having it salon hot-combed, saying it would damage the hair. Geesh, what's a mommy to do???? The Chi hot comb doesn't stay very long, depending on the humidity, but it does definitely make the comb thru (particularly on the "kitchen" area) a LOT easier.

If you don't know what the "kitchen" is, ask an AA woman. I've learned so much from women who were not afraid to share their hair information and I really do appreciate it. Seems, though, that EVERYONE has a different opinion. You know your children and the texture of their hair and the amount of time you have to play with people's heads. I think the key is to finding a very good salon where a relaxer is not the first recommendation and where the stylist will work with your child's hair to get it in the best shape.

[DancinBear63]

I'm a 36 year old AA female. My mother never permitted me to have my hair chemically straightened, and I'm thankful for that today. Until I started school, she used to blow dry it, using the the comb attachment. Then, as I got older, she'd use the hot straightening comb every other Saturday morning. By the time I was 8 or 9, she gave up on my ducking and dodging, and sent me to the beauty parlor every 2 or 3 weeks for a 'press and curl'- those combs were a whole LOT hotter than what my mom used at home, but the 'do' lasted longer, too. (As long as I avoided rain, long showers, and wore a head scarf to bed).

Straightening one's hair with heat can be just as damaging as using chemicals if the comb is too hot, and the hair isn't properly prepared. If you live in a high humidity area, the natural curl or kink will cause the straightened hair to revert much more quickly.

To this day, I have still never had a perm/relaxer, though it has been tempting at times. I've worn braids for a number of years, and have recently started wearing wigs over my cornrows to just let my hair rest (which saves loads of time in the morning).

If I had a daughter, I'd probably use the blow drier as long as possible, and consider braids and puffs as the primary hairstyle. Of course, I'd likely break out the hot comb at some point, but I would follow my mom's advice and avoid the chemicals, if at all possible.