I am sharing with you the things I did with Brown Girls Hair from birth to now. I decided to put together this page to answer the questions that I get the most.
I am not an expert or a professional in the hair care industry. I am not in anyway saying that the things I did or do will work for whatever you are trying to achieve.I’m not saying that these are things that you should or shouldn’t do. I’m just simply sharing what I did.
Good. Bad. Indifferent. Whatever you choose to do with your child’s hair is totally up to you. My suggestion is to do your best to keep it healthy. That’s really all that matters.
Let me first say, in the beginning, I had no idea what to do with her hair. I learned through trial and error. I learned quickly what works for someone else, may not work for me. Keep that in mind as you read this page. What worked and works for us, may not work for you.
One bit of advice that was given to me by a professional stylist to celebrity’s that did work for me, She said, “You don’t need to wash children’s hair a lot. When you do that, you are washing the natural oils out that they need to have healthy hair.” She said, “Just leave it alone, the dirtier the better.”
This may sound crazy to you, because it sounded crazy to me. But that’s exactly what I did. My daughters hair grew like weeds from ages 3 to 5. I can only remember washing her hair once a year from age 3 to 5, no lie. (Further Explained HERE)
**Side Note**PATIENCE IS KEY
During the toddler stage, she can’t be still for long periods of time and please don’t expect her to. Put her favorite show on TV, give her a doll to play with, etc. My point is, give her something to do that will help her get through the process easier.
Learning how to deal with hair time is a process for your child. She is not going to automatically be still, or know how to sit while getting her hair done. As a Mom, you want to make sure hair time is a pleasurable bonding time for you and your child. Your child has to learn that hair time is something that we have to do, so lets make the best of it. You having a positive attitude will help your child adjust faster to the process.
Below is a timeline for what I did with Brown Girls Hair throughout the years.
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Newborn-1 year old
Products Used
Johnson & Johnson Shampoo
Routine
My daughter didn’t really have cradle cap and she was born in Oct. So the first 5 months, I didn’t wash her hair. Because it was the winter months (Oct-Feb), I was afraid she would get sick. I washed her hair as needed which was not often. My advice is to wash as her doctor tells you to.
Between the age of 1 and 2, I had a very hard time trying to find a product that would help me be able to comb her hair because it was so thick. And at this age, they will not be still for nothing! Shea Moisture products didn’t exist when my daughter was this age, I certainly recommend you use Shea Moisture Baby for Newborn and up!
As you can see in the 8 month picture above, my daughter is wearing rubber bands. I’m not against rubber bands. They can be used as long as you use them properly. I show you how I use them in the video below.
Detangling
Detangling has to be the most important part of washing her hair. If it’s not detangled properly, it will be very difficult to do anything else. At this young age, it shouldn’t be too difficult to do, but it will require time and patience.
Detangling Thick Hair
If your daughter has very thick hair, like mine, BEFOREwashing, I would first separate her hair into four sections, two in the front and two in the back. Make sure you comb through each section to make sure there are no knots, tangles,etc. Then,do 3 strand plaits each section. Make sure the plaits are loose so that you can wash her scalp good. See this video for a tutorial. (The beginning of the video shows her hair in the plaits and how I detangle.)
Wash and condition her hair with the plaits in it. Now you can take down each section and add your leave in moisturizer or whatever product you want to use while her hair is wet. First, use you fingers to get out any tangles that may be in her hair. It should be very few. Then you can run the detangling comb straight through her hair. The easiest detangling method ever!
Detangling Thin Hair
Wash and Condition hair. Run your fingers through her hair while the conditioner is still in it to get as many tanlges out as you can with your fingers. Then use a detangling comb while the conditioner is in her hair to comb through it.
If you are using leave in conditioner, go ahead and style as desired. If you need to rinse, do so, then add your moisturizer and style as desired.
I have a playlist that shows you how to do all of the above below!
2 years-4 years old
Products Used
Johnson & Johnson Shampoo
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk (the picture above with the afro puffs was my very first time using it)
Routine
I washed her hair once a year, if that. I used Carol’s Daughter hair milk to comb her hair. I mostly kept it braided during this time. If it wasn’t in braids, it was in afro puffs as pictured above.
*I stopped using Carol’s daughter because it was too expensive for me and I used a bottle up every few weeks. At the time it, was $18 for 8oz bottle and I had to pay shipping. Now there are stores in my area, but now it’s $20 for 8oz bottle. It works, but too costly for me. If it fits in your budget, I definitely recommend it. I have not tried any of the other products in the line.
4 years-6 years
Products Used
Suave Shampoo & Conditioner (still use when out of Cara B Naturally)
Fantasia Heat Protector Serum (still use pictured below)
Just for Me moisturizing lotion (still use when out Vitamin E oil)
Routine
From the age of 4 to 5 I washed her hair once a year. I blow dried it for the first time when she was 4. I used the heat protector above when I blow dried her hair (on warm) which was only once a year. She got her first trim at 5 years old. I get it trimmed once a year in December by my stylist of 20+years.
After she turned 5, I found it necessary to wash her hair more often. I started washing it every 3 months. She got it washed in January, March, June, September, and December. I pretty much did the same thing at the age of 6. I kept her hair in protective hairstyles that lasted at least a week at a time. The less you have to comb the hair or manipulate it, the better. I’ve found that braids and cornrows work best for us.
7 years
Products I Use
Cara B Naturally Shampoo/Body Wash, Leave-In Conditioner, & Hair Mist
Fantasia Heat Protector
Vitamin E Oil by Mega Care(pictured below)
Routine
Now, I wash her hair every 6-8 weeks. For the month of March 2012 (pictured above), I twisted her hair using Cara B Naturally products instead of blow drying it. She wore the twist/twist out for about 3 weeks then I washed it out in April. So her hair was washed one extra time this year so far. This year she mostly wore cornrows, braids in the summer, and a combination of cornrows and ponytails.
Currently I am using my own mixture of shea butter and fixed oils on her hair as a moisturizer. It is working very well so far. I’m going to use this for the next year before I recommend it.
If you are a do it yourself type person like me, you can make your own vitamin e oil. Just use any carrier oil of your choice,coconut oil etc and add some vitamin e to it! It will save you $$. Click here for more details.
This page will be updated often. If there’s something that you would like to know about that isn’t here, please let me know. I will do my best to add it!
Click here to see the video of her hair length.
8 years old
Brown Girls Hair Age 8
9 years old
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| January 2014 |
UPDATE: She turned 10 on October 16, 2014. Currently I wash her hair once a month. When I blow dry her hair, I do it on the warm setting. I alternate between blow drying and banding. I mostly band in the hot summer months because my daughter will catch a cold in a heart beat.
10 years old
The pictures below were taken on July 26, 2015. You can read about the hair regimen used to straighten her hair below HERE. Her hair could easily be to/below her hips, but I choose to keep it around the length that it is.
I’m doing this because it already takes a very long time to wash, detangle, and style her hair at the current length. At this time, I have no desire to deal with hair that is hip length or beyond. Another reason is because I want her to learn and be able to care for her own hair one day. She is having a very difficult time learning how to do her hair. View her struggle here. I couldn’t image her trying to style hip length hair right now.
Brown Girls Hair Flat-Ironed
Brown Girls Hair Trim
A Che’ 10 years old
Products that we currently use as of 2017 can be found HERE!
HAIRSTYLE TUTORIALS CAN BE FOUND HERE!
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