While I have many backlogged photos and funtivities that are currently waiting to be blogged for
all both of my loving fans, in honor of my friends who are leaving soon to fiiiiiiiinally pick up their kids (Wahoo!) I decided to finally get around to that hair post I promised many moons ago. Not that I am any sort of authority on anything, but I have tried a lot of goo and have many half-used bottles on my counter presently so I can offer some tips and at least a starting point.
Happy to be done with hair time!
my first cornrows!
First off, a disclaimer. Everyone's hair is a little different, so what works for me might not work for you. That said, here's what worked for us. (Scroll toward the bottom for how we use them)
1.
Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
It smells lovely. It's thick and gooey. And... It's expensive. (I know I linked to Amazon from here, but don't get it there. It's much less at Target , but they don't list it on their website currently. It's available in the stores, tho. At least the ones around me!) For us, this one is worth the cost because I feel like it works better. Even when it's left free, her hair stays moister longer using this than any other product we've tried. (Which is many.) For bigger curls like Isaac's, this would be too thick and weigh his hair down, but for Raya and Eli's tighter curls, I like it.
2.
Cantu Daily Oil Moisturizer.
It does a good job of moisturizing and isn't quite as thick and heavy. It's less expensive. It smells fine. It's what I prefer for Isaac's bigger curls, and still works well for Eli's and Raya's too.
3. Yes to Carrots
Conditioner.
This one does leave her hair feeling soft and less tangly than some others I've tried. It smells fresh but not flowery. It's kind pricy for my taste, but at least it comes in a nice big bottle. I put it in at the start of bath and let it soak while she plays for a while, then rinse it just before she gets out. It's sulfate free, which is highly recommended especially for curly hair since the sulfates are very drying. I've never shampooed her hair (we wash with just conditioner), but if I were going to, I would probably try this kind of shampoo as well.
Some other stuff we've tried:
This stuff works ok too. It's not as thick as the Shea Moisture Smoothie stuff, but is fine. You can find it
HERE. I'd say it's pretty comparable in quality to the orange bottle or the pink bottle below. A little thicker than the stuff in the bottle, but not as thick as the pink tub above.
I have also tried
this stuff.
It works fine and smells lovely, but works about the same as the orange bottle of Cantu above (or the white tub of Cantu for that matter) and unfortunately costs three times as much.
Incidentally, I also really liked
this:
Which I randomly picked up when I was in Kinshasa and totally unprepared and uninformed. (Not that I knew what any of the stuff was on the shelves in Kinshasa anyway...) It's very greasy-feeling in my hand, but does keep her hair soft for quite a while. (From the name, I was expecting/hoping that the orange bottle of Cantu would be like this, but it's pretty much just like regular hair milk.) I'd buy this again if I could find it in stores around me. (I'm categorically opposed to paying $6.50 for shipping on a $3.99 bottle of hair goo, even if in the end it would cost about the same as some of the other stuff I've bought.)
Anyway. On to Non-Goo Type Products.
4. You also need one of these:
Trust me. It's the
Best Brush Ever. Definitely Raya-approved.
5. And some of these:
They are cheap and available anywhere. They are what I use for parting, tho very rarely for combing (maybe to comb through an end of a braid or something, but that's pretty much it.)
6. And if you are into beads, then you'll need some of these:
I got the 12 pack like the ones
HERE, because a) they disappear when I need them and b) the ends mysteriously end up getting chewed and then they don't work very well.
Andthen some beads, of course, which I find are best bought at Hobby Lobby in a huge vat like
THIS,
which you can get at 40% off if you get their coupons or have their app (where a coupon is always readily available to show at the check out.) They have loads of smaller packages of various colors and well... if you ever been to Hobby Lobby then you know about their selection on all things fun and crafty.
However, if you have fancier tastes for hair doohickeys, you can get hair snaps and trinkets at places like
Twist Braid Snap which I have also done but try to order it all at once because their shipping costs always make me cringe.
Basic Instructions:
Congrats for making this far if you're even still reading... :)
Basically what I do is this: When she gets out of the bath, all conditioned and rinsed, I moisturize with the pink one up top, and/or some of the orange one, and sometimes some Kinky Curly Knot Today (which is too expensive, not listed above, available at Target and questionably helpful at detangling) and then detangle it with the brush pictured above. Then I either ponytail it for bed (so it's still detangled in the morning) or style it if I'm looking for some marathon hair time.
When I'm styling I part it appropriately for whatever style I'm doing, and then spritz (with a mix of water and conditioner) the section I'm working with to twist/braid/cornrow, etc. and I moisturize it again, making sure I get from the root to the tip, usually with the SM Smoothie (pink tub up top). I do this for each section separately as I go. I rarely leave her hair free for an extended period of time because it gets very dry and very tangly very fast. Also, I just think it's cuter when it's all braided and beaded. :)
The boys I just spritz with the water-conditioner mix in the mornings, and then moisturize with either the pink tub or the orange bottle, or whatever is the closest because let's be real. I'm bound to be running late.
Post Bath Hair.
Puffs for bed
Sectioning and cornrowing hair.
Ok, and for Skin:
I've spent approximately one zillion dollars on virtually every lotion in the world on an endless quest to find something that will keep them from looking ashy 10 minutes later, but by far the best stuff I've tried was something I make myself. (Shout out the
FarmerGirls for their recipe!) It's equal parts
shea butter,
cocoa butter, and
coconut oil, and then a bit of olive oil. It's solid at room temperature, but melts in your hands. I grease up my babies at bedtime and as needed, which of course is more often when the weather is cold, after swimming and baths, etc. I'm pretty sure the FarmerGirls used it on their hair as well, at least they did when they were in Kinshasa, but I don't generally do that. (No particular reason. I just haven't ever really tried it with any regularity, what with the plethora of other bottles already on my counter that I need to use up.)
I think that's the extent of my knowledge. :) Most of my information is just from trial and error, and then of course my dear friends at
Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care. If anyone out there has particular questions, please ask! I'll take a stab at it. :)
Happy travels to my friends going soon! :)
(All photos were stock photos generally taken from the places linked in the product description.)
