Four years ago, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. I marveled at all of the cute clothes I could buy for her and all of the fun shopping trips we would have. The one thing I did not count on was having to do my daughter’s hair without a relaxer. You see, the year I had my daughter, 2008, was the year I decided to go “natural”. So in between me trying to find products for me, I was trying to find products for her as well. A year after having her, I literally had a ‘break down’ about not being able to keep her hair moisturized.
I was especially upset when I saw that her hair was dry and breaking off. She had no hair on the sides or the back of her hair. In addition, she was complaining that her hair was always itching. When I took her to the pediatrician, they didn’t have an answer and said that it was going to be a ‘trial and error’ experience. And, one beautician suggested that I straighten her hair. I was officially defeated.
As I set on her floor crying, I felt like the only solution I had was to shave her head and just start over. However, before I took those drastic measures, I took a moment to think about what I could do to get her hair healthy. I had spent hundreds of dollars on products with some of them working. But, they were too expensive for me to use on a daily basis. I had tried to follow what many of the bloggers were doing on YouTube. But, there was just too much information and I really didn’t see anyone who had hair like my daughter.
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So after a lot of thinking (and calling my mom) I decided I was going to the ‘old school’ method to get her hair healthy. Instead of trying the new products on the market, I stuck with 4 main ingredients: shea butter, aloe vera juice, water, oil and grease. With these products, I went from frustrated to happy about her hair in a matter of a month. My friends all thought I was using some new product but were FLOORED when I told them what I had actually done.
So for all of the mommies out there struggling to care for their daughter’s natural hair, try these 3 rules to embrace natural hair for your toddlers ….click the pages below.
#1. Stop using YouTube as the Bible on what to do with your daughter’s hair.
For example, a lot of natural hair bloggers totally condemn using grease on hair. For me, that does not work so I take that advice with a ‘grain of salt’. Instead of trusting YouTube’s many tutorials, I try and use common sense when doing her hair.
#2. I stopped buying every new product that promised results.
Instead I found that if I mixed up my own shea butter mix and used a refreshing spray daily, that worked like a product that costs a lot more money. I really thought about what my mother used on my hair (pre- relaxer days) and I used the same things for my daughter.
#3. I remained calm.
I’m dramatic. So when my daughter’s hair was dry and breaking off, I was about to have a fit. But when I started to be consistent, I started seeing results. I was used to trying a product one day and trying a different one the next day. I learned that, with anything, results take time. Really, a product needs at least a month to see if it really ‘works.’ So, when using new products, I know to take my time now.
In the end, I got her hair to grow tremendously by using these tips. Now my BMWK family, have you guys ever had this problem? What did you do to get your daughter’s hair healthy?