As Requested

So, I noticed in the comments that someone wanted before and after photos. Of COURSE! What is a hair blog with no pics??? So I had to do some wrangling (of a two year old) but these are some pics for points of reference.

This is G's hair at the end of a day, taken out of braids, no products:





Here is G's hair in it's most natural state (all day out, no products)


This is G's hair (freshly done) using Curly Q's Moist Curls and Curly Custard overnight in braids, refreshed with Curly Milkshake in the a.m. for Picture Day!


Here is G's hair in double-strand twists using jane carter solution revitalizing leave-in conditioner and hair nourishing creme


And finally, here is an "after" picture with G's new "toy" (Mommy's new toy) the Tangle Teezer. What a great find! Smooth detangling in half the time. This pic was taken the same day as the free-flying "before" pic. Yes, it looks and feels like a dog brush, but it is a great brush that detangling quickly and painlessly--even Ty gets his hair brushed without a whimper these days. I'll post my review right after this:


So, that's a pretty good cross-section of her regimens. I also have a old review (with before and after pics) of the "It's a Curl" products on longhaircareforum.com from when G was about 1 year old at

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/childrens-hair-care/390066-review-its-curl-babies-curls-pics-inside.html

Hope this helps!

Different Baby, Different 'Fro

So far, this blog has focused on my little girl, who is almost three. But, she has a brother who is 8 months, and until we reach that magic one year mark, yes, we are dealing with hair--and he has a LOT of it! Two reasons it's tougher with the boy: #1 different hair. Thought I could just do what I did with baby #1 and it would be the same. Not so. The boy's hair is much curlier and more prone to dryness. #2 He's tender-headed! And he comes by that honestly, thanks to dear old mom. It would be great if you could just let the hair be, but sadly, when it gets as long as his, you have to do something so your child doesn't look like Baby Buckwheat.

Given that his hair is more tightly curled and dry, it might be first nature to think "heavier products." Nope. It's still baby hair, which means it is fine, and more to the point, still sparse in some areas, so heavy products only serve to clump the little fine strands together and make your fro-baby look like he or she has more bald spots! So, we stick to the lighter products in the "It's a Curl" line.

Now, I've always said that the Peek-a-Boo shampoo seemed a bit drying (perhaps due to its tear-free formula, that's my unscientific guess), but the conditioner always made up for it with G's hair. Can't say that here. The shampoo is a little too drying for his hair. We only use it for extreme situations (throw-up in his hair--happening less often these days, food in his hair--happens all the time) but for day to day, we may just give it a good water rinse or conditioner wash his hair. For those unfamiliar with the term (and yes, most are self-explanatory) conditioner washing is using conditioner only to wash the hair, using the properties of the conditioner that allow it to adhere to the hair as well as to rinse out to adhere to and rinse out the dirt. This works well for the boy (but did not work for the girl, or for me, either).

He's outgrown cradle cap, but for the few times I noticed flakes, with a good oiling with the coconut oil and a good wash with the Peek-a-Boo shampoo (and a screaming bout with combing with a fine-tooth comb), he has stayed pretty flake free. It's also good to do a little coconut oil pre-treating before you shampoo or conditioner wash from time to time.

After shampooing, we also use the Itsy Bitsy Spirals moisturizer and the Ring Around the Curlies leave-in on his wet hair. Now, a note on the tender-headedness: Combing is not an option. The boy just cries and cries in a way his sister never did. What does work really great (to my great surprise) is a Denman brush. I'd bought this for my daughter to help smooth and define her curls. It can also detangle without the use of a comb, which is a great time saver. Denman is actually the name of the company and they have several brushes. The one I am referring to is the "Classic Styling Brush." I use a small 5-row brush on the fro-babies, but adults and people with longer hair can use the larger sizes. For some reason, I just get minimal whimpering when I use this brush (as opposed to the long and loud wails from combing). So, if your angel is tender-headed, this might be something to try.

Detangling with a Denman is a little different from detangling with a comb. Number one, it's faster. Five rows of "teeth" as opposed to one. The bristles of a Denman are plastic and resemble comb teeth more than bristles. Because of this it's important that you don't "rake through the hair," as you will likely cause damage--if it's even possible to get the brush through the hair this way. With a Denman, it is even more important to start at the bottom. Take the section of hair and hold it close to the end. Start with a Denman-sized (width) of hair and and tap it a few times with the Denman to loosen tangles. Then pull the brush through. It should glide through leaving the hair very smooth. If it catches, repeat the tapping and pull through again. Repeat this process all the way up to the scalp in small sections. It sounds tedious but it goes very fast. It also seems to be less painful, at least according to my son.

The added benefit is that after using the Denman, the curls are better defined and less frizzy and "all over the place." This is true for both of my fro-babies. I have to say, that for a while, I was not doing a great job conditioning the boys hair. Because of this, his hair was consistently dry, very hard to comb, and rough. When I finally realized this was due to my poor hair care (yes, my gender bias is showing) I began moisturizing his hair on a regular basis. What a difference! Yes, his curl pattern is much tighter than my daughters, but it's HIS curl pattern and it only emerged after I started taking better care of his hair. Now my littlest fro-baby is a little curly fro-baby.

A Second Look: Jane Carter Solution

Recently, Ricky's had a sale on curly hair products, so I decided to try something new. I didn't know exactly what I was going to get, but after reading a few product reviews and websites, I decided on Jane Carter Solution. The three products I got were the Revitalizing Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Nourishing Creme, and Nourish and Shine.

OK first things first. The price tag: OUCH! Yes, beautiful hair for fro-babies is not cheap. Or easy. But well worth it.

I looked on the Jane Carter Solution website for some insight on how they might work on children's hair. She has a blog on the website that actually addresses this in one post. It suggests detangling with the leave-in and moisturizing with the hair nourishing creme and twisting the hair into double-strand twists. It doesn't talk about nourish and shine, although many many people on children's websites swear by it. I used it to refresh and shine and for crunchy ends. The result? Well, see for yourself:




For the un-indoctrinated (:D) Double-strand twists are exactly what they say they are. Small sections of hair, divided into two pieces and twisted around each other. I actually ended up doing this by accident, because detangling her hair was such a massive job. I decided to section off the hair and detangle it in micro-sections, that I ended up twisting together. G was willing to sit there for an hour (I could have done a better job, but that might have been oh, an hour and a half--I didn't' want to press my luck!


Her hair felt very soft and silky and the shine was great. More importantly she loved her "princess twists" and how bouncy her hair was after we did the twists. So, I'd definitely recommend giving this a try.

How Quickly Things Change!

I was just reading over my old posts, and realized that so much has changed since I started this blog! Number one, there are a LOT more products catering to our fro-babies' fros than either I realized or there were back then! Number two, there are still tons of people trying to figure out how to "do the fro-babies' 'do's!" It is an ever changing game, as the kids get older, the hair changes! Again and again! Hey, I'm living proof! In any event, I thought it would be a good time to run down the different products and product lines I have come across in my research for the benefit of anyone just joining us. Some are new, and some are ones I've reviewed here before. This is just a summary (in no particular order):

Kids Organics Hair Lotion - a.k.a "KOHL" on websites and blogs, decent lotion-like detangler, does not provide much in the way of moisture, but will help with comb-out and fro-taming.

Taliah Waajid Easy Herbal Combout - Similar product to KOHL, more moisturizing and better at detangling. Goes on heavy, dries fairly light. Haven't tried the other products in the line, but this one is pretty good.

Curly Q's - This is children's version of the CURLS brand. There are numerous products in the line. We use Curly Q's Custard, Mimosa Elixir, and Moist Curls moisturizer. The lighter product is the Curly Q Milkshake, which is good for short-term moisturizing. Also the Curl Gel-les-c for light hold is a good product, but will only keep the fro at bay for so long! Tried the shampoo and conditioner (just so-so on G's hair) but we actually use the It's A Curl line (below) because it's tear-free.

It's a Curl - Great product line for baby hair (also from CURLS). Light, great scent, tear-free, and did not cause skin reaction in either child's sensitive skin. By about age 1, need a little heavier products, but can go up to about 2 y.o., great conditioner!

Bee Mine - haven't tried it, and I don't think it's especially for kids, but safe for kids, and have heard good things about it. If anyone has tried it, would love to hear from you!

Carol's Daughter - No idea how these products work, but they are Princess Tiana-themed, which may eventually earn them a space on our product shelf just on principle! LOL We have tried hair milk for adults, but it seems to do better on my husband's fro than my daughter's!

Noodle and Boo - Love the shampoo and the shining and conditioning polish. The shampoo is gentle, tear-free and smells great. Conditioning polish is a good detangler, not too moisturizing but just enough to smooth out the hair and soften.

Jane Carter Solution, Nourish and Shine - Expensive! But a good oil/light pomade for fro-kids. Great grapefruit smell and gives a nice control and sheen...but did I mention? Expensive!!! (other products in the line are not as expensive, but haven't proven to be all that effective either). Not geared towards children but natural and kid safe.

I'd love to add to the list, but I can't try them all (by myself!) I actually don't use the drugstore brands such as "Just for Me" or "PCJ." These products pretty much mimic adult products and seem to be geared toward little girls with kiddie perms, which we are dead set against. Fro-baby hair is just too fragile to subject to chemical alteration--my two cents.

So, that's the rundown for now. Will follow up with the latest regimen next time!

We're Ba-a-a-ack!

I know, smack my hand, BAD BLOGGER. It's so hard to keep up with everything, between the two kids, the job, and the HAIR! I actually hadn't seen all the comments to my previous posts, so apologies, folks! Well, there's a new fro-baby in town, G's little brother Ty. Ty's hair is similar to G's but not the same, so I get to review products all over again on a different texture of hair--what fun!

Now, to answer some questions that have come up: As far as food-grade coconut oil brands, we use 360 from Whole Foods. I bought it about 6 months ago, and we STILL have it. (BTW, it makes great brownies...and it makes the hair look great). I used it for my son's cradle cap treatments along with the It's A Curl Peekaboo Tearless Shampoo. My son had cradle cap for about a week, and then it was gone. So I definitely recommend this combo. We primarily use it as a pre-shampoo treatment for G, or as a daily styling aid to add some sheen to her hair. The great thing about coconut oil is it adds sheen without feeling oily or greasy, so it really is ideal for babies and young children.

I do have more pics of G's hair on Long Hair Care Forum. Here's a link (she was 16 m.o. in these pics--her hair is much longer now--and I was reviewing "It's A Curl" by CURLS in this thread):
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390066

So what's new? Well, more products of course! It's amazing how the needs of the hair keep changing. I also have been circling back to old products I used before. First, and update on what we're using now:

On Ty (3 months): It's a Curl Peekaboo Shampoo, Patty Cake Conditioner (sometimes) and Itsy Bitsy Spirals Moisturizer. Ty's hair has not moved into "fro" territory just yet, so this is sufficient. For daily moisturizing we either use Itsy Bitsy Spirals or Noodle and Boo Conditioning Polish. Both are very light, but keep his hair from drying out. I typically use Itsy Bitsy Spirals when his hair is on the drier side, and Noodle and Boo when it looks fuzzy.

On Georgia (2 yrs. 3 Months) - It's a Curl Shampoo (she still needs tearless shampoo) or California Baby (shampoo and conditioner) if she gets in the pool. For regular conditioning, Curly Q's Coconut Dream Conditioner, Moist Curls moisturizer (spray) for daily conditioning, and Curly Q milkshake for styling on special occasions. The picture at the top is a picture of her on a special occasion (her birthday) using these products.

It seems as G gets older, her hair is getting thicker and frizzier, so I decided to try a heavier product on her hair from the Curly Q's line. It's called Curly Q's Custard for medium to kinky hair. I also got the Mimosa Hair elixir, which in combination with the custard is supposed to cut down on some of the fro-ing we experienced later that day (in the picture). Despite the "poofiness" in the picture (it poofed even more as the day wore on) her hair was still well-moisturized, and easily rehabbed the next day. Stay tuned for a review of the new products.

Just depending on the day and the level of dryness of G's hair, we may use still the Noodle and Boo Conditioning Polish (since we have it for Ty anyway) on her hair for detangling. The key with this spray detangler is to spray a fairly generous amount on the hair and let it "sink in." My husband actually discovered this after I thought the product wasn't working for us anymore. Sometimes, we spritz her hair with water first before the detangler, just to speed up the process, but in the winter months, to avoid your child going out with a wet head, it's better to just use the detangler, since it either sinks in or evaporates much faster than water. Moist Curls (by Curly Q's) is also a spray detangler, but is is a little thicker and has more a glaze-like consistency, so it's a bit heavier. Some days we need that, some days we don't. It just depends on whether her hair is just a little dry and in need of some taming (Noodle and Boo) or if it's really getting it's 'fro on and needs more in the way of curl definition (Moist Curls). Usually, by the end of the day both products have "worn off" so to speak but these days, G's hair is so long it's usually just in ponytails anyway.

Note; It's a Curl and Curly Q's are both product lines in the CURLS brand of haircare. I have to give a big shout out to Mahisha Dellinger, the founder and creator, as her website is also an interactive forum where you can ask her directly what type of hair your child has (she'll need to see pics) and which one of her concoctions is recommended for your hair type. All of this before you buy--plus she gives free samples with every purchase--you have to love that! If you decide to buy, tell 'em I sent ya', by entering this referral code: REF-HYJJDI6A

Happy Fro'ing!

Our New Best Friend: Virgin Coconut Oil

So, after a long hiatus, G and I are back with our latest discovery--coconut oil! I attended a natural hair care workshop sponsored by a children's organization I'm in, and the facilitator stressed that natural oils are best on children's hair. Now, I've been using everything but, and really had no issues, so I wasn't convinced that this was necessary, and just kind of took her comments with a grain of salt. In researching some products for my own hair, I discovered that there are only a few oils whose oil molecules are small enough to enter the hair shaft, among them palm oil, and coconut. This made me reconsider the use of natural oils on baby hair. I should point out that my "baby" is going to be two this week, but she has a little brother on the way, so I am still very much in the baby hair care game!

Now, back to oil: I use Ojon on my own hair, which is a highly-marketed, heavily scented palm oil that frankly costs too much and smells like burnt coffee grinds. So, I dug in the back of our junk closet, and found some extra virgin coconut oil samples my husband and I brought back from our honeymoon in Fiji. The coconut oils we have are all scented (which I would not use on a newborn or small infant) but since G is almost 2 and hasn't reacted to the fragrance in many products, I felt it would be o.k. to try on her hair.

Well, I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Georgia's hair had been getting a little more fro-ish and a little less "ringlet-ish." It wasn't so much the texture as it was the dryness. We had been using a combination of the Curly Q's products (which are good) and the It's a Curl products (both from Curlz.biz), but were finding that by the end of a day, G's hair was still a little dry. Overnight, it would dry out even more and morning comb-out was a challenge. The first time I used the coconut oil on G's hair, we used it as a pre-shampoo treatment. We are still using It's a Curl Peekaboo shampoo because the Curly Q's shampoo is not tearless and my poor little Georgia still doesn't "get" that she needs to tilt her head back to keep the soap from getting in her eyes. As I said in my review however, the shampoo is a little drying, so it's good to have a pre-shampoo treatment now that her hair has less natural oil. I noticed a difference in her hair right away in terms of being less dry and more manageable. After the wash, we (her dad does her hair sometimes) put the oil in her wet hair and braided it up overnight (no elastics). The next day, G's hair was soft and silky, and not the least bit greasy.

We still use other products on her hair, but whenever her hair feels a little dry we use a little (or a lot of) coconut oil on the ends of her hair and on her scalp. I really think this treatment is "saving" her hair. It stays soft, and her curls are better defined and there is much less frizz factor.

Now, the oils we use are still our samples from Fiji, but you don't need to go that far to find "virgin coconut oil." Several retailers (Vitamin Shoppe, Amazon) carry various brands of coconut oil at varying prices. Just make sure whatever product you get is 100% coconut oil, and not just "coconut-flavored" or just "contain coconut oil" since a lot of products containing coconut oil junk it up with things like petrolatum and mineral oil. From what I can see, there is not difference between coconut oil used for cooking and cosmetics. It does appear that oils marketed as cosmetics cost a lot more, without appearing to be markedly different. Coconut oil often has no scent if extracted with a chemical technique. The more natural oils retain that "coconut smell." As far as using "virgin coconut oil," it doesn't appear that (non-virgin oil) is bad or harmful. Apparently, the difference between "virgin coconut oil" and regular coconut oil has to do with the extraction process and whether it is chemically extracted or expressed by some other mechanic or natural means. For the use on the hair, I'm not sure how much difference it makes, since at the end of the day, the properties are the same.

Our oil was unscented to begin with, and then the fragrance was added. When I have to buy some more, I would probably get an unscented version, especially for use on the newborn on the way. The other thing to know is: this stuff lasts forever. Coconut oil tends to solidify at lower temperatures--which can be as high as 70 some odd degress. It liquifies immediately with the slightest amount of body heat and is completely clear, but untouched is basically a white solid. A little goes a very long way, but it is still very light, so it doesn't weigh down the hair or gunk it up.

So, I must say, in terms of the use of natural oil on children's hair: I stand corrected! I strongly recommend the use of coconut oil to combat dryness and frizzies on your fro-baby! Happy fro-ing!

Congratulations! It's A Curl!

So finally at long last, I broke down and ordered the "It's A Curl" products from curls.biz. Initially, I saw the Curly Q's line in Ricky's and picked it up. But I felt hesitant to use the products on the baby due to her age (16 months) and the relatively fine texture her hair still has. It's a lot of hair, but it's still baby hair. Now at 9 - 10 dollars a pop, the It's A Curl products are not cheap. You will not, however, be using enough of this product at one time to be concerned about ordering it very often.

I was pleasantly surprised by the result of these products. They are gentle, non-irritating and incredibly light in comparison to other products I have tested. Ever since Georgia's hair got to be a little too "much" for Noodle and Boo Conditioning Polish, I've been searching for something that will tame the frizzies and help to define her natural baby curls. Noodle and Boo will still do this to some degree, but we have to use more product and let it sort of "sit" in her hair to penetrate before combing (and who has time for that?) In addition, Georgia has needed an upgrade on the detangling action as the fro has gotten harder to maintain the longer it gets. We tried L'oreal Tangle Tamer, but the product was a little too heavy for baby hair and G's dad didn't like the "burst of fresh pear" smell. I always felt the need to wash her hair after a few days due to the build-up.

The first thing you will notice about these products is the smell. It is practically identical to J&J's Bedtime bath product line. I didn't realize that at the time and was a little put off by the fragrance--I just like for my baby products to smell, well, baby-ish. It grew on me after a while, however. The product line has 4 products so I'll list them individually and give my opinion on each. Warning: Extreme cuteness ahead, the names of these products are marketing genius...

Peekaboo Tearless Shampoo - A true cleanser, not a moisturizing shampoo. I really wish I had not stalled buying these products when we were fighting the cradle cap battle. It left the hair a little rough, and is definitely not a detangling shampoo, but it was tearless, non-irritating, and my baby's hair was clean. I'm sure that we could have used this to remove flakes and oil from her scalp and hair. Live and learn.

Pattycake Conditioner - Smooth! As soon as I applied this conditioner, G's hair went soft and smooth. I was ready to declare the test-run a success right then and there, but there were still two more products to go. The conditioner rinses out clean, but leaves behind a good amount of moisture and slip. The only thing I forgot was to comb it through while it was in her hair (G was screaming this whole time, because she was in a strange bathtub at her grandma's house). Detangling after it was rinsed out was a breeze. We usually wash twice a week, but the company suggested a once a week shampoo and a conditioner wash with this product between shampoos. Based on the cleansing action of the shampoo, I'm inclined to agree and will try that regimen out.

Itsy Bitsy Spirals Moisturizer - Interesting product! Not at all what I expected. It is a glaze-like moisturizer that leaves hands a little sticky but leaves hair really soft. It can be used on wet or dry hair. I think I may have put a little too much of this on, but it really didn't matter when I did her hair. I haven't tried it on dry hair just yet, because we always spritz her hair with water before we comb, but when she gets back from "Camp Grandma" I'll have to report back. The company's customer service said this should be used prior to the leave-in conditioner and in between shampoos for "refreshing" the curls.

Ring Around the Curlies Leave-In Conditioner - This product is a keeper. A light cream/lotion product that gives a very soft hold to the curls and allows you to shape and style soft baby hair without weighing it down. Georgia looked like a kid in a magazine after her hair was done...and I think she knew it!

Overall, I have to give these products an "A." They address the specific needs of fro-babies hair without looking or performing like adult products. These are not adult products labeled with pictures of baby faces, they are gentle products made with organic ingredients that don't make the baby's hair sticky or greasy. And, while Georgia's curly girl style did not survive her afternoon nap, the condition of her hair was still great. My baby's hair was so soft, I could barely keep my hands out of it. Later that day, we had to pony-puff her, (afro puff her, if you prefer) - but with a little spritz of water you could still feel the moisture and slip of the products and getting through her hair and styling it was no trouble at all.

If you'd like to see pics, I also reviewed these products on the Long Hair Care Forum (w/ pics)

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390066