Friday, October 3, 2008

Daily Conditioning

This topic is by far one of the most difficult to tackle (or should we say detangle), only because with babies, you have to be so careful that what you use is gentle enough for a baby. Of course, when you have a fro-baby, the other concern is whether what works for non-fro babies could work for fro-babies too!

The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no. Don't get me wrong (before you go calling ACS), I don't use my child as a human guinea pig! No really! :D I simply don’t believe in continuing to use the same thing if it’s not working. If it doesn’t work—try something else! That said, we were relatively fortunate to find some products early on that work great for her hair. Below I will list my current faves, as well as product recommendations from friends and family.

Earth Mama Angel Baby Angel Baby Oil - Light oil, sold as massage/skincare oil, primarily comprised of grape seed and jojoba oils, both of which are good for the hair. Gives definition to baby-fro curls and completely prevents and eliminates dryness. Pump bottle makes for minimal mess. (Side note: I also use it on my own hair for dryness and the occasional “hot oil” treatment. It’s great!)

Rave: I really like this one because you can apply just a drop if baby’s hair is not too dry, and not have to worry about baby’s hair being too oily, or you can apply a whole squirt if baby’s hair is really dry, and it moisturizes it right away and smoothes out any frizzies or knots. It helps give fro-baby curls definition and sheen and makes the hair look really healthy. Although it is all-natural and has a “natural oil” scent to it, it is not fragranced and the scent is very light.

Noodle and Boo Conditioning and Polishing Mist: Surprise, surprise! A good leave-in for fro-babies! I will never forget the excitement the day my mother bought “Johnson’s No More Tangles” and the disappointment when I found out that the tangles had survived. It just wasn’t enough to tame the savage beast that was my Chaka Khan fro. Back to Noodle and Boo. I was skeptical, but curious, because I’d heard good things about the product line. Apparently the product was developed by a mom of babies (from the picture on the front of the bottle I’m assuming they are not fro-babies) with very sensitive skin, so it is supposed to be good for babies like Georgia who can’t use just “anything.” It has a wonderfully sweet smell, too, which if you’ve been reading closely, you know I’m a sucker for.

Rave: Releases tangles in Georgia’s hair instantly. This smoothes out her hair enough to make parts (Gotta love the parted baby-fro), tame it enough if I want to clip it (which I never do) or just let her fro fly free without being dry, frizzy, or tangled. The nice fresh scent is an added bonus, and does not conflict with the above-mentioned hair oil.

Other recommendations:

Since what we have going is working pretty well for us, these are not products I have tried, but I have heard good things about:

California Baby Calming Hair Detangler: Similar to Noodle and Boo, it is not a Fro-baby specific product, but seems to do well on curly fro-baby hair.

Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk: My husband actually uses this on his ‘fro, but one day when I was in the store going to buy it for him, I overheard a mom raving about how nothing else worked for her little toddler fro-baby except this product. Although we haven’t used it on Georgia *yet,* I’m familiar with the product because I used it myself and my husband uses it now. The product consistency is more liquid than cream or lotion (hence the name). It has a natural product “no fragrance” scent, but is pleasant. It’s a moisturizer, light holding agent and sheen product all in one. As Georgia gets older and her hair gets longer, this will definitely get a test-run.

Curly Q’s – Don’t know anyone who’s tried it, but it’s an entire hair product line designed specifically for fro-babies and fro-kids, so we gotta shout it out! If you use it/have tried it, I’d love to get a review!

Cradle Cap Care

See my "Hairwashing" post for a review of shampoos we used to try and treat Georgia's cradle cap. Here are some of the oils we tried to loosen the flakes before washing:

Oils:

Angel Baby Oil (Earth Mama Angel Baby): Pros – Success! Georgia Marie is cradle-cap free! All natural, organic, light oil, sold as massage/skincare oil. Primarily comprised of grapeseed and jojoba oils, both of which are good for the hair. Easily washes out with cleanser. A good pre-shampoo treatment if your baby’s hair tends to be dry after shampooing. Cons: It ain’t cheap! Only widely available via the internet. Fragrance free, but with a slight, non-perfume-y scent (I think it’s calendula) but it doesn’ t smell bad, and it dissipates over time. All natural oils don’t have preservatives, and may get rancid over time or if exposed to sunlight for too long.


Badger Baby Oil (Badger): Pros – organic, no chemicals, uses olive oil which is reportedly good for the skin and hair; Cons - It’s fragrance free but has a strong odor (read: not so great), it’s a little thick for use on cradle cap scalps with a lot of hair, and oh the flakes it makes! Expect to spend hours lifting off flakes and cleaning your fine toothed comb! I think Georgia, who has sensitive skin, reacted to it just a bit. If your baby’s hair is particularly dry or the curl pattern is very tight, this might be a good choice. The smell does dissipate eventually.

Cradle Cap Care (Gentle Naturals) – Pros – nongreasy, light, pleasant “baby” fragrance, does a decent job with the flakes; Cons – Contains cornstarch, ostensibly to absorb the excess oil, but feels powdery and weird on a fro-baby’s hair. If your baby’s hair is oily, or tends to be straighter, this might be a viable option.

Hair Washing

To shampoo daily, or not to shampoo daily: that is the question when you have a fro-baby, whose hair tends to be a little drier. And I’m not sure there’s a right answer. Some babies (especially as they get older) have oily hair and not washing it every day could be a bad thing both hygienically and aesthetically. Others may have drier hair that really needs the natural oils to stay healthy. Georgia had a mean case of cradle cap just a few days after coming home from the hospital (you know, just to complicate things), so I was on the case. To the internet!

I found that, although it looks like dry skin, cradle cap is actually the result of excess oil, which causes the flakes of skin that naturally shed as a part of the skin’s self-renewal process, to adhere to the scalp.

I was told in a baby care class for new moms to shampoo often and to use a fine-toothed comb to loosen the flakes. But despite all that straight hair Georgia had initially, I knew I had a fro-baby on my hands, and that her hair would eventually dry out if I shampooed as often as the flakes appeared (which was about every other day). I read on a few websites that it helps to apply oil (different varieties were recommended) to help loosen the flakes—yeah right. More like, unleash the hounds! It was crazy! I had to shampoo her hair three and four time to get out the flakes and the oil I put in! At any rate, this method finally worked. Here are some of my trial and error shampoos/hair washes, and my anecdotal results:

Shampoos/Hair and Body Washes:

Johnson’s Head to Toe Bodywash – This really is my favorite: Pros – Great, subtle, smell, washes out excess oil (from baby’s scalp) without drying out the hair itself. Widely available, not too costly. Cons – Not fragrance free, so may irritate some babies with sensitive skin (this is what they used on all the newborns in the hospital where she was born, so it’s probably more gentle than most of what’s out there). Will have varying effects on the appearance of the hair. Georgia’s hair is usually a little wild the day after we wash with this (probably due to the lack of oil—even though it does not feel “dry”) but the next day her hair looks great.

Aquaphor Hair and Body Wash – This is definitely #2: Pros – Fragrance free, gentle, no reactions. Works up a nice lather on the hair. Does not dry out hair at all. Cons –Well, it’s fragrance-free! It’s not an unpleasant smell, but… (I like a little “fresh” scent, I can’t help it). Doesn’t get out all the oil, but could be a plus if baby’s hair tends to be dry.

Johnson’s Baby Shampoo – Not for Fro-babies: Pros – Widely available, has that classic scent. Removes thick oils (see below) Cons: Removes ALL the oil. Dries out baby’s hair a LOT. Needed a few days to recover. She did smell great, though…

Aveeno Hair and Body Wash – Pass: This one is really marketed toward babies with sensitive skin, but Georgia reacted to this one! Pros: I actually just didn’t like this one, so I really can’t say. BUT in all fairness, I tried this because it was touted on many a website as a cure for infant acne and cradle cap. Turns out Georgia had infant eczema, so who knows, maybe it might work for you! Cons – Weird scent, didn’t smell like “baby” to me. Fairly gentle on the hair, but still a little too drying for my preferences.

Cetaphil Daily Cleansing Lotion – Missed the mark: Pros – Soft, lotiony texture, good for dry skin. Cleans without stripping or drying out. Cons – better as a skin cleanser than shampoo, even though it has some of the same surfactant (cleaning) ingredients as shampoo. Didn’t help Georgia’s eczema, which was why we bought it, and didn’t have great results on her hair.

Coming Soon…Noodle and Boo!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

ABC: What are Fro-babies?

On April 1, 2008, my beautiful daughter Georgia was born with shock of stick-straight silky hair. Of course, as with most babies of African descent, it wasn’t long before those silky strands started to curl…and curl…and curl…until she had developed an adorable little curly ‘fro. People are constantly telling me to put in bows, and ribbons, and headbands, but I have to say, my favorite ‘do is the one God gave her: her cute little “Baby ‘Fro.” Thus, she became my little “Fro-baby!”

Of course, in my day (or should I say “my mother’s day,”) hair care for babies consisted of three products: Vaseline (petroleum jelly), Vaseline Hair Tonic (fragranced mineral oil) or Baby oil (baby-fragranced mineral oil). Sadly, 36 years later, I found that not much has changed. There still seems to be a lack of both products and information about techniques to nurture the hair of babies of African descent. The two or three product lines targeted at African American children basically have the same ingredients as adult products, and are really for older kids, not babies. Which brings me to my next point:

By the time I was 7, I had a full blown Chaka Khan-style long ‘fro, that could only be contained in two braids in the back of my head (or two on the sides, or one up, one down). The curls in my fro were relegated to only being seen when wet (right after washing and right before they got braided up), or mercilessly pounded, twisted, and shaped around a broom handle into Shirley Temple curls using “Blue Magic” hair grease (blue petroleum jelly AND mineral oil) and water. Of course, in a few hours, I was mini-Chaka Khan once again! Caring for the hair of ‘fro-kids can be JUST as challenging!

Believe me, I know! As a teenager and now as an adult, I’ve weathered many hair-related trials and tribulations, a few flat out hairstyle mistakes, and some unfortunate product choices. Now that I have a daughter of my own, I want to make sure her hair is well cared-for from the very start. I want to make sure that we stay up on all the latest products and methods to keep her hair healthy, and to celebrate the beauty of her “baby ‘fro.” Therefore, I have made it my mission to explore new techniques, to seek out new products and new formulations: to boldly go where many moms have tried to go before.

These are the voyages of me and my little fro-baby, and anyone who has questions, comments, recommendations, or fun stories can come along for the ride! Feel free to share whatever insights you have

This blog is dedicated to all the ‘frobabies (both current and former) around the world, and across the universe!