Jul 27
Before you set out to perform any task, it’s important to make sure you have the right tools. While many products can be picked up on the cheap in the drug store or at your grocery store, you owe it to yourself to get the best products you can afford. While we don’t believe in paying a lot of money for fancy packaging, a name brand or a foo-foo salon, we know that there are much better products available from specialty stores like Treasured Locks or even your local salon.
Here are the basics you should have:
Jul 27
This article will be particularly important to those of you who have never worked with kinky hair. Never try to comb out kinky hair while it is dry. Use a moisturizer to provide elasticity to the hair and to reduce friction. Be sure you have a wide tooth comb. You might want to look for a “detangling” comb. If you’re used to fine tooth combs, it might look a little strange to you. But, generally speaking, the farther apart the teeth the better. I generally do not use bristled brushes because I find they tend to grab the hair. I have a Kakakiki KombBrush, which does a great job on the girls’ natural hair. It’s a combination comb and brush in one device. It’s shaped like a brush, but has round teeth more like a comb. Be patient and gentle when combing kinky hair. If your daughter is screaming, you might want to consider that you are pulling too hard. I begin by working in sections. I part the hair and tie off the part I am not working on at the time. I gently grasp the hair near the scalp with my free hand and work the comb against that hand, rather than against the scalp. Comb gently beginning near the roots and work your way up- until all kinks are free. I then tie that section off and start on the next section.
Jul 27
You should begin by washing hair about once a week. In the winter this might stretch out a little longer. I wash more often in the summer when the kids are playing outside and sweating. But, one of the commonly made mistakes non-African parents of Biracial or African children make is to wash their children’s hair too frequently. Many of my Caucasian friends wash their own hair daily because they have fine hair that gets weighed down with their natural oils. In a biracial child, over washing can lead to dullness and dryness. For biracial hair care, you may want to consider washing a little more often than once a week. But, you will rarely want to wash more than a couple of times a week. I like to use different shampoos to eliminate the possibility of build-up from a particular shampoo. I alternate between:
Washing an infant’s hair
If your child is very young (too young to keep her eyes closed), use a no tears baby shampoo. These shampoos contain agents that keep the eyes from stinging. We do not sell any no-tears shampoos. But, these shampoos can be drying, especially for African or biracial hair care. So, transition to a nice mild shampoo as soon as possible.
Drying biracial hair
Wash gently, but thoroughly, massaging the scalp while washing. When you dry, blot with a towel rather than rubbing vigorously. Avoid heat as much as possible for drying. Allow the hair to air dry or you can even use a conditioning cap to drive some of the moisture out before blasting the hair with forced hot air.
Jul 27
Biracial and African-American clients often complain about dull, dry hair. But, they skip the essential step of conditioning their hair after they wash. Conditioner is vital because conditioner helps leave the hair feeling smooth by leaving a thin wax-like coating. Conditioner also helps lessen the breakage and pulling caused by tangling. Tangling happens when the cuticle of one strand of hair (which are more raised in Black and Biracial hair) catches on the cuticle of another hair. Conditioner also smooths over rough broken edges of the outer layer of hair. By smoothing over the outer layer of the hair, conditioner makes the hair feel softer, reflect light better and keeps it from tangling and breaking as much. Lastly, the protective coating left on by conditioner holds moisture and reduces static electricity.
Immediately after washing I recommend conditioning with one of these products:
Jul 27
At least once or twice a month, after shampooing, deep condition the hair. I use one several products:
Put one of the deep conditioning products on after shampooing and use either a microwave or professional heat cap for 30 minutes or so. The gentle moist heat from the caps allows the cuticles of the hair to open and the moisturizer to penetrate the hair shaft. A good hot oil treatment could be done here instead.
Jul 27
The most important key to healthy African American or Biracial hair care is moisture. Because of the structure of our hair, it tends to become dry easily. Dry hair lacks elasticity and therefore is brittle. Brittle hair breaks. Then, people think their hair doesn’t grow. Moisturize with good products and do it often. Moisturizing is not necessarily the same as oiling. And it is certainly not the same as putting on what we used to call “grease”. After washing and the deep conditioning or conditioning I moisturize. I recommend moisturizing at least twice a week. I moisturize whenever I style and often in-between, if we happen to be wearing a leave in style for several days. I use one of these products:
Jul 27
The subject of whether to oil or not is controversial in African or biracial hair care. You’ll have to decide for yourself. My experience has been that, for my daughters, and me, oil is good for our hair. The right oil though is of vital importance. We only use all natural oils, mostly plant oils. We avoid mineral oil and petroleum based products. The one notable exception to the plant oil rule is emu oil (an animal oil). I love emu oil! Not only does it soften and lubricate, it contains essential fatty acids and reduces inflammation which helps hair grow. However, oiling is one of those places where you’ll really have to experiment. One of my daughters can use a heavier oil than the other. She can even use pure Shea Butter. The other daughter’s hair is too thin and looks weighed down with Shea Butter. My biracial nieces have different needs. One has very fine, smooth hair and needs no additional oils at all. The other can use a light oil which really helps control the frizziness.
To apply the product, I put a little of the product in the palm of my hand (and melt it, if it’s a solid product). I then rub it on the hair and massage into the scalp. I will not use anything that doesn’t melt at body temperature. If I happen to use something with a little beeswax (which has a relatively high melting point), I make sure it still melts at body temperature so that it doesn’t build up. I often mix a couple of the products. To be safe, I mostly use products that are liquid at room temperature. Some of my favorite oils are:
- Shea Butter Oil- has the wonderful properties of Shea Butter, but in a much lighter, liquid form. We began our company selling nothing but Shea Butter products. That was before Shea Butter was as popular as it is now. It’s still a key ingredient in many of our hair and skin care products. We use Shea Butter as the main carrier oil in several of our products.
- Emu Oil- unbelievably good for scalp health. Improves circulation, reduces inflammation and has natural antiseptic properties. All help promote hair growth.
- Jojoba Oil- the closest thing to natural sebum itself. Jojoba oil is technically a wax, not an oil. It can actually make oily skin less oily and dry skin more oily, In other words, it helps bring skin into balance. In the case of biracial hair care, we are generally seeking to add oil to the scalp.
- Castor Oil- nice all natural plant oil that helps humectify (draw moisture to) the hair and scalp
You can choose from the following products (from heaviest to lightest in order)
Jul 27
Generally, you can style young girls’ hair without the use of styling products. Since my daughters are young, mostly, they’re in ponytails, plaits, braids or the like. But, I mix it up and am very cautious about overly tight styles that can lead to scalp damage and even a certain type of hair loss. I especially avoid any styling products that might be drying to their hair. You’ll want to be very careful with hair sprays, mousse products, gels etc. But, there are a few aids I use for certain hair styles to provide hold or some straightening:
- Treasured Locks Curl Tamer- use this on the occasions when you want the hair a little straighter to completely straight. Combined with a blow dryer, this allows me to easily get their hair ready for styles for certain occasions.
- Treasured Locks Thermo Shield- spray that provides protection from heat damage when flat-ironing, using a curling iron or pressing.
- Nubian Heritage Raw Shea Butter Loc Butter- great all natural Shea Butter based loc butter that I’ll use for twists or styles where I want a little more hold
- Treasured Locks Locks of Curls Pomade & Gel- provides hold and moisture in one product. An aloe vera based gel product with Shea Butter oil and other natural moisturizers & softeners. This is great for two strand twists or to hold braids in longer and with less frizzing. Also can be used to work kinky hair into curly hair.
Jul 27
Many biracial people have naturally beautiful curls when their hair is wet and would like to keep that look once the hair dries. If you have naturally soft curls, one of our clients has suggested a way that she styles her biracial hair that works for her.
For those with softer, natural curls who just want more definition, this is a great technique. This hair style is well suited to bi-racial hair types. For soft springy curls here is the procedure.
- Wash hair at least 1x per week (the other days just rinse)
- Detangle hair each day
- Put in a leave in conditioner. Whatever helps detangle and leaves hair feeling soft. SheaMoisture Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner is great for this step.
- Saturate hair with Black Earth Protective Mist Bodifier
- Put Treasured Locks Locks of Curls Curl Defining Pomade & Gel or other styling gel in hair
- Apply a little hair oil
- Let air dry if possible (you can put your hair in a ponytail to stretch it a little or just let it air dry
- In the winter- use a blow dryer on the lowest temp, gently stretching the hair as you dry it.
Recent Comments