Let's Talk About Hair

JJ is a beautiful biracial girl, European and African.  She has kinky hair.  I found a scale that is used by some and based on that scale I think she has 3c hair.  Her curls are tight corkscrews and there is a lot of shrinkage as the hair dries.  The shrinkage can make for some interesting hairstyles.  I've done her hair before visits with her parents and it looks fantastic wet, then when I go to pick her up I'll discover it turned into a whole different fuzzy, bumpy braided look. I've come to love and appreciate the beauty of natural kinky hair.

These pictures were taken right before bed. Her curls had stayed so nice and ringlety.  We try to remember to take out ponytails like this before bed to let her hair relax.  I actually put the rubber band back in to take these pictures.

The few days before she joined our family we were prepared by our foster agency for the importance of caring for JJ's hair and skin.  They said that there have been situations where foster parents have unknowingly fried little boys' and girls' hair.  I started researching kinky hair.  I found the blog Happy Girl Hair which gave me some ideas.

The first night JJ came to be with us, I took her over to a friend of a friend's house to have someone physically show me ways to treat and care for the hair.  I went to Wal-mart on the way home to get some combs, brushes, and hair accessories to help.

Everything seemed easier than it really was when I tried to do it by myself.  The first time trying to wash and detangle her hair it took me 2-3 hours.  I have since come to the understanding that her hair probably hadn't been detangled recently before my efforts.  Also her hair has never even been trimmed during her entire life and the parents don't want it to be trimmed (I tried to respectfully explain split ends and the need for a trim but they weren't going with it).  Those realities teamed up with JJ screaming every time the comb touched her hair made for quite the stressful first experience.

I just kept trying.  I learned that:

• you start combing at the ends of the hair strands in short and slow motions and work your way up to the scalp.
• it helps to section off the hair into layers using clips and do the hair closest to the nape of the neck first. 
• keeping the hair wet is essential.
• having conditioner in the hair is very helpful.  I bought a small spray bottle and squirted some VO5 in and fill the rest with water.
• JJ can react differently during each detangling experience depending on many factors and how she wants to try to control the situation.  She can be totally calm, relaxed, and quiet one time and then the next she might scream that it hurts even when I'm not touching her hair and beg for me to stop.  It's difficult to gauge JJ's scalp sensitivity based on her general lack of honesty and her ability to create the emotions needed to cry.   

I asked her dad during one of the first visits for the usual routine they did.  He said he just used VO5 conditioner and wouldn't wash all of it out.  I happened to notice that VO5 only cost about $0.99 for a bottle and figured even if we need to use a lot that could still be more reasonable than some of the other products I had seen.

The routine that I have found works with JJ's hair:  (Please note that I am not a professional and this seems to me to be working and keeping her hair soft and moisturized.)
We wash her hair every 3-4 days with Luster's Pink conditioning shampoo and condition it with a VO5 moisturizing conditioner.  I don't worry if some of the conditioner isn't fully rinsed.  Then I section off the lower, underneath hair and I twist and clip the rest of her hair up on her head using a hair clip.  I grab a small handful of hair.  I spray the handful of hair with the conditioner spray bottle a few times and then spray with only water until it is wet and slick. I use a wide-toothed comb with a handle and start combing at the ends of the hair strands in short and slow motions and work my way up to the scalp.  Sometimes her hair ends are white with conditioner and I might lightly blot it with a towel but I've discovered when it dries, it is just shiny and soft. I may use a smaller toothed comb to detangle before braiding.

Each morning she wakes with a matted Afro and so I just use the conditioner spray bottle and water and pick out the curls to give it a nice shape again. 

 
For Styling:
I found a small cheap Conair brush with firm bristles that works great for slicking her hair back for ponytails etc.  A rat-tail comb (a comb with the pointy handle) is used for parting and braiding hair.  We use the Scunci large no damage elastic hair bands.  For small braids we use these tiny elastic rubber bands that are basically one-time use because they get so stretched out and usually I cut them out f her hair.  Those tiny bands were given to me the first night from the hair help lady and I just haven't used them all yet.

Sometimes I use a hair gel or oil on her hair depending on the style.  Usually I don't though.

Random picture taken after JJ commented about my forehead wrinkles and that her head doesn't do that.  I've been known to raise my eyebrows a lot with many of my facial expressions. (I had her cover her face some so I could post the pic and protect her identity.  Although she has distinct big, beautiful, brown eyes.)