Hair Skilz

My "hair post" is overdue. You know, the one where you share your latest 'do's" and what products are your favorite. Everyone has 'that' post, so here mine goes. When we knew we were adopting a girl, I received a lot of questions about how I would learn to do her hair. I knew it would be a learning curve for me, but I figured I would have some time to figure it out in the first year or two when her hair would be really short. Well, her hair is not so short and already needs to be "done" to keep from being tangled and to stay healthy. I've learned a thing or two about keeping AA hair healthy through various blogs and forums, but the most helpful one has been the popular Happy Girl Hair

Miss Bereket has fast growing hair that has looser curls that stretch to about 5" long on the top and increasingly tighter curls as you move back on her head. She also has very short hair where her head rubs on her mattress as she sleeps on her back. For product, we've been using Aubrey Organics Conditioner (can't remember the name of the type and it's in the bathroom attached to the room she's napping in, and I dare not wake her) once or twice a week--and then immediately following her bath when her hair is still quite wet, I slather it with Qhemet Biologics Alma & Olive Oil Heavy Cream. During the day I occasionally spritz it with the Karkady Tea Replenishing Mist on the back of her head where it gets dried out quickly. I also use Jojoba oil and coconut oil here and there. I usually put a big teaspoonful of coconut oil in my hands and get her hair nice and lathered in it the day before a washing.

Style-wise, I have been doing a lot of puffs and psuedo box braids, and have recently begun twisting the puff from the front box braid into the next one. Bear with me, I do not know hair lingo! You get the idea from the pictures. This has been my favorite style and has lasted for 5 days and is still looking decent. She's a rough and tumble girl who loves to play peek-a-boo with blankets that rub all over her head and is constantly tackled by her brothers, so her style has to be somewhat 'sturdy' to be worth it.

No, she does not like having her hair done. In fact, she doesn't even like having her hair washed or conditioned. If it were up to her, I would never touch her hair. But, as we learn together, I hope that I will get better and she will get more tolerant and maybe some day even excited about her beautiful hair! After every hair-do, we go look in the mirror and I ooh and aaah over how beautiful she looks. She beams at herself and is pretty proud too.