Now, I am no hair dresser in the least. As a matter of fact, I can’t even cornrow. Yes, I said it. I can’t braid hair. I can two strand twist, I can start locs, I can rock a mean Afro, but I can not braid my little girls hair. This is where my magnificent mother (heretofore referred to as Mor-Mor) comes in. You see, Mor-Mor can braid hair that seems to be the shortest known to mankind. She started braiding the ladybugs hair when she was a little over a year and a half old. I would just wash it and put a moisturizer in it, and then let it air dry into a cute mini fro. Well Mor-Mor wasn’t having that, and I KNOW that if my sister was still alive to this day – she would have a holy fit. So, the quest to braid the bug’s hair began.
She started out with hair about this length:
I was scared when I found out I was having a girl 4 years ago. I had no idea how to do hair. None. My mom is great at doing hair. I, on the other hand, had either an appointment every 8-10 weeks with a relaxer or would get my hair braided or made use of the phony pony. I could not do that to my daughter. My mom sat and taught me how to braid.
It's trial and error as far as hair products. I used carrot oil on her scalp (very dry) but Lil Girl would scratch so much, she'd cry. I now use olive oil for her scalp and lots of shea butter for her ends because her hair tends to be dry. If she's around me, I would have reapply the oil a couple of times a day because her scalp would look like I haven't touched it in weeks. (BTW, she drinks water by the gallon.)
I might try coconut, castor, and olive oils mixed together. One of my aunts uses that on her hair and my mom said her hair growth exploded. Lil Girl's hair is long and thick now but I'll still try it on her and myself. I'll let you know how it goes.
Aisha from Cosmo chiming in!
I'm using the two "P"s: prayer and patience.
LOL. Also Youtube videos. I don't have so much of an issue with technique as I do getting her to sit still.
As far as product – I make my own hair stuff with shea butter as the basis and just add in goodies (tea tree, rosemary, coconut, rosemary)
She rocked a lot of Afros in the beginning because her hair was that short. Now I put it in ponytails with two puffs on top.
I'm still practicing my cornrowing skills on her and it still looks raggedy, but it'll get better and better with time. She was a year and a half when she started going to the salon for cornrows. Now that we've moved, I'm doing it myself.
Products: Carols Daughter Healthy Hair Butter and kimmaytube's leavein conditioner.