Caring for a Bi-racial Child's Hair

I'm still getting the hang of doing my daughters' hair & she's 5 years old! Yes, you can only wash it once a week & do not use tearless shampoo, it is really really drying which is the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish. I like the baby love products a lot, you can get them right at wal-mart & they're very inexpensive. I wash her hair once a week, put a ton of conditioner in it & then a spray-on leave-in conditioner. After that I go through her scalp while I'm combing it out & apply a more intensive grease to comb through. I've found that pulling it straight while I blow it dry & then hitting it with a staightening iron (you'll need a ceramic one, that way the hair doesn't stick to it) it will stay straight & waaaaaayyyyy more manageable for as long as it stays dry. This is the best time of year, not humid anymore & not a ton of rain. Then you can style it any way you want. Good luck!

Hi i know exactly where you are coming fron i am a bi-racial woman i wash my hair once a week and put in Pink lotion everytime i wash it to help with the dryness. Because she is so young i wouldn't recommend pink lotion yet i would wait til she is a year old but instead i suggest just a tiny bit of baby oil

Hi, J..

My girls are both bi-racial and have hair at opposite ends of the spectrum. The youngest has very fine curly hair that is not much different from my own, the other has very coarse, kinky, curly hair.

For my older daughter, I struggled until her hair was long enough to put in ponytails or braid. I would wet her hair and spray in conditioning detangler made by "Just For Kids", in the black hair care section of WalMart. By the next morning, it was a nightmare again. Her hair tangled very very easily. I would wash it once a week and put conditioning oil on her scalp. If I used the conditioning oil on her scalp daily, her hair would get very greasy near the roots and her head started to smell "yeasty" even when I only used very little -- play that by ear as I'm thinking it depends on the individual how often that should be done.

Now that she is 4 and her hair is longer, it is almost always in braids. She hates cornrows, doesn't care for twists, and will not tolerate the noise and heat of the hair dryer. I braid her hair immediately after washing/conditioning (I use Mizani H20 Rosewater leave in conditioner, purchased from ULTA or another salon - smells awesome and a little goes a very long way). Every 3 days I take out the braids, wet, condition, comb, and re-braid. This has been the only way that worked for us to keep tearful 3 hour combings down to 10 minutes of grumbling. I'm sure if she would tolerate the hair dryer or flat iron that life would be much easier and she could choose from a bigger variety of styles!

I have 3 books on ethnic hair - the most helpful was "It's all Good Hair". This gives a great basic guide to washing, shampooing, and styling. "Kinky Creations" has a great variety of styles and instructions for longer hair.

Hope that helps,
K. E.

Hi,
My 3 y.o. daughter is bi-racial as well. Her hair is very curly and dry, with a fine texture. We wash her hair about once a week, and condition it every time we bathe her. During her bath I wet it and put in a rich conditioner, and we don't rinse it out. I'll gently use a comb to remove tangles. In the morning for styling- first I dampen it with some detangling or moisturing spray then add some rich styling cream and make little twists all over her head. If it seems really dry I'll use the heavy conditioner to style it - that helps keep it soft. Hope this helps!

Hi J.,
I can help you.It would be best if you could send me a picture so that I can tell you what products you can use. I am half Black and half Puerto Rican and my children's father is Black.
One more thing, try not to use the word nappy, it has a very negative conotation in the African American community. I can help you though.
TOo much product in such a young child's hair will dry it out.
I have some sites that offer baby products for that type of hair also.
I have also read where it's not necessary to use shampoo on young children's hair. Washing it with conditioner will work also. That hair is going to be a different texture than the rest because that is the area that rubs the sheets in their cribs. No more tears shampoo drys their hair out also. To me it seems as if whatever you use it's best to put it in while thier hair is wet. I'll have more info. for you if you want.
Get back to me at
____@____.com
I live in Allentown, PA

The next time you get your hair done, ask your hairstylist what you should do, or if your are close enough with her call her up and ask her. I my opinion, I would wash her hair every other day, and use a leave in conditioner.
Well good luck

I'm an african-american female and we cannot wash our hair every day, because it is already dry. That's why we have to apply hair grease, oils, and moisturizers to our hair. I wash my hair once every 2 weeks. And for a 10 month old--one of my coworkers (who has 2 daughters) said it should be washed less than that. Maybe, once a month--because of her age and the weather. Although I don't have any children of my own (but I am expecting for the first time:-))... After you wash her hair you should grease the her scalp. You do that by doing the following:

1) part her hair--gently because she's only 10 months

2) use the tip of your finger and place it in the hair grease and then follow the lined part that you made using the fingertip with the hair grease (some hair grease products are ultrasheen, tcb--to name a couple...do this maybe two or three times a week--depending on how dry her hair is.

3) you can use a light moisturizer on the full head of her hair--to soften it up and give it a little shine. Maybe pink lotion--that comes in a pink plastic bottle with black cap or PCJ oil. You can buy the hair products at Walmart, Target, grocery store, or a beauty supply store. I prefer beauty supply stores, because they have the largest variety of products.

I hope this helps some...

Hi J.

I am going through the same problem as you. last night I tried to use straigtner on my daughter's hair and this morning when she woke up it was all nappy. i thought oh gee what happen. so I wet it and brushed it out and it was straight before it dried I put it up in a pony tail. she hates her hair and asked me several times to cut it all off. I said no. my daughter is 11 years old. so any help we can be for each other would be great. any other mothers out that that can help me i sure would like the help

Hello there... I have to first say that my son is not bi-racial, but most people believe that he is because of his skin color and hair texture and color... but any how... he has curly hair that is unbelievable.. it is so tight and curly, but like you said it is very hard to know how to deal with it, especially the back because it gets nappy.. he is 2 and doesnt like me to mess with it... the best thing i have found when we arent going any where right away is to wash it everyday and then just work through it as best as i can with my fingers.. i let it dry and then take Dove leave in moisturizer until it looks really greasy and then just let it go... so then the next time i have to get it really combed out it brushes out much easier after a washing... but i have found the most helpful thing is washing and brushing every day because his hair starts looking like dreads in the back very quickly.. hope that helps ... M.

Hi J.. Please DO NOT wash your daughter's hair every day or even every other day. African American hair is generally "dry" by nature and excessive washing tends to make the situation worse instead of better. At 10 months old, I would recommend a combination of Vaseline and Baby Oil. I used that in my daughter's hair until she was at least 18 months...use it in moderation, though. I used shampoo each time I washed my child's hair (about once/week), but that was just my preference b/c I was raised that "no soap means it's not clean". I would, however, suggest visiting a Sally's Beauty Supply store and looking in both the shampoo and oil sections. If you read the back of many of the "for kids" products, you could pretty much tell if it is good for your daughter or not.
Good Luck,
Q

Hey J.! I have a daughter who is 9 now, but had the same issue at first. I use a pink oil moisturizer in her hair after i wash it( usually everyother day) it calms the coarsness and makes it easlier to style! J.

My daughter has a funny type of hair also.It is curly but not tight curls more like locky spiral curls.I use a detangler and a cream base or oil moisurizer.(Dream kids)it works really well for me.

I too am in the same situation, my girls are 8 and 3. I don't see anyting wrong with washing her hair everynight, when my girls were that age, I did, the warm water over their heads put them to sleep! Just be certain to add a moisturizer (we used olive oil - just a dollop) to her hair while wet, brush it thoroughly and braid it or put it in one of those hair-bobos. The olive oil will make her hair so soft and manageable in the morning.

I tried motions but it was too greasy. I wanted something that was creamy and their hair would absorb as opposed to sitting on top of their hair. We switched to the Lusters Pink Oil Moisturizer Lotion for a while. Its light and creamy and not too oily (if you use just a dollop). If you are looking to go with a haircare product, I think you should try that instead of the Motions. It comes in a bottle that you can find anywhere! It really worked well for us but we went back to the Olive Oil because most of the haircare products on the market today have alcohol in them which are so drying to the hair.

Since the switch back to using the olive oil on my girls hair, it keeps their hair shiny, healthy and soft. It makes combing hair in the morning no longer a power struggle. Its the best thing that I have used for their hair and its truly the only thing that has worked really well.

All you need to do is use Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo because she is only 10 months. You should not put any products in her hair. I would not wash her hair no more than twice a week and just use a comb and brush to help keep the hair from getting tangle.

Well if your childs hair is more spiral and kind of "nappy " in the back you should not wash it every day because it will dry it out for right now she is still young so you can use a hair lotion called pink mosituriser or motions for kids they work vey well and will keep her hair oiled and wash it like once a week or when you feels its dirty

go to www.softsheen-carson.com for hair products. Also go to a black beauty supply store with your daughter to get more advice. I personally like Doo Gro products such as the oils to help grease the scalp.

Wash her hair only once a week, twice if you have to. Also make sure you use some type of leave in conditioner. Try to only use the hair oil every other day or her hair will get dirty fast.

When she gets older (about 1) you can use pantene relaxed and natural condition. Just make sure it doesn't get into her eyes. You can get it just about anywhere and it is inexpensive.

J.,

My best use since my mixed daughter was that little is dollar general or cheap wal mart detangler. It does wonders!!!!! I learned my lesson the hard way, only washer her hair once a week unless it gets dirty to the sight. It drys her hair out and kills your back by bending over the bath tub. ha ha

good luck,
B. sue A.
visit my website to enter to win daily prizes and also if you purchase anything for christman i ship for FREE. www.marykay.com/B..A.

I am a black woman mother of 11yo boy 8yo girl and 7mo b/g twin. anyway...you should wash her hair once a week and the product that you can use is a spray on leave in conditioner like "just for me" you can find it at walmart. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me because I hate to see little girls with ethnic hair and their hair isn't looking cute or the mothers cut it off.

Hi J.,
I was reading all the responses and I guess what I'll say is mostly the same. For my daughter who is three we use Just for Me by Soft and Beautiful Shampoo and Hair Lotion. The lotion you can find at Target but the shampoo I have only found at Sally's beauty supply. I wash her hair usually every other day and that works for her, but her hair is still really fine and not very kinky. She does get quite a few split ends from time to time, but I have been getting her hair trimed when it gets like that. The back of her head was like your daughter at that age too. I think it was from sleeping on it and just being a baby. I have always said that I would put her hair in dread locks if combing it every day got to stressful for both of us!
There is also a great board book by bell hooks called "Happy to be Nappy", it shows all kinds of girls and their hair and shows how they are all beautiful and happy. It has always been one of my daughters favorites, and its got beautiful watercolor illustrations plus a really positive message! Alot of the information I got was from her paternal grandmother...if you have a good realationship with her that is a great place to go for help! Good luck!

Just let the hair grow. I have a 6 yr old. Her hair is very thick spiral curls. It can get frizzy. I have tried everything from upscale salon products to over the counter to olive oil treatments-EVERYTHING!!! It would work for a short period of time and then the product would stop working on her hair. I used to get soooooooooooo upset. Her hair seemed not to grow. Finally it is getting longer and the curls are opening-
What worked for me is a tight bun at night (so the curls dont lock when she is sleeping) I went through alot of teary morning combings.Wet the hair and a small amount of comditioner and comb it wet. It seems that suave works as good as 20$ bottles of matrix.
I am about to try garnier fruictise-milk for her hair.
Take care,
K.

Well J. try a little bit of pink lustra hair lotion. I use to use that for my daughters hair when they were little. It works great. I have several friends who have bi-racial kids and they use it as well. It is usually in the black hair section of stores like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart. I hope it works. Good luck.

Hi J....I would love to help you. First of all, you only wash her hair once a week. Second of all you grease her hair/scalp every day. Go to a beauty supply store or a hair product place of some sort, not a drug store, and look in the section for Black hair care products. African Pride products are great. Also tea tree oil is a great product for the scalp once a week. Hope I was of some help.

Hi J.,
I have 3 children all who have the same hair. I have always from day 1 put Johnsons baby lotion in there hair. Every day along with water. I wash it about 2-3 times per week and then after I wash it I put the lotion in and then on the days I don't wash it I wet it not alot and put the lotion in. My children 14,7 and 3 all have beautiful hair to this day and it is very manageable because of this. Good luck I have used this since they where born. Let me know how you make out. It doesn't get greasy.