One Week In

to the yarn braids and they are holding up well (a little fuzzy on the crown). I am still putting oil on her base every three days and in the parts.

Anyone out there make their own shea butter?

Friday Style - Yarn Braids

I love the yarn braids, but they take a lot of time. I just bought regular black yarn and red for a couple of Christmas streaks. I spent two hours last night braiding and an hour and a half this morning.

Darline wanted really long hair, I did chin length, because I think the long hair makes her look too old.

I am hoping this style lasts at least two weeks A break over Christmas. And did I mention, my hands are sore???

There is a great instructional video on http://www.shuruba.com/basics.htm I have a learned a lot of styles from this site...I wish I could find more instructional styles, so let me know if you now of any other great sites with new ideas.

This week before I took out D's twists I trimmed off about a 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch off of the end of each one. It really made a difference...no fuzzys in the bath or when combing out this week. I got this tip off of another website.

I used the same shampoo and conditioner, the Herbal Essence Hello Hydration and I still like it. D's hair was super soft when I took it out of the twists this week, and I am really liking the hydration from the new oil (see post below). I oiled her hair three times this week in the part line and then the daily leave-in spray conditioner (still looking for one I really like).

I used the Proclaim Hair Cholesterol for her deep treatment and this worked well, I packed it on her hair with a tablespoon of the oil.

After rinsing I put leave-in conditioner in her hair and a couple of tablespoons of the oil.

Then when doing the yarn braids I used a lot of the IC Fantasia Gel hoping to keep a lot of the frizzys in. It dried really nicely with no build up!

Would love to see some of your styles ladies!!! Please email pictures if it would be okay to post them to the site! aprilrconnors@gmail.com

Friday Night - Hair Night

Okay...so here was tonight's routine:

1. Untwist hair.

2. Wet hair and put GENEROUS amounts of mostly coconut oil and some Seven Wonders Miracle Oil (this is the first time I have used this oil - more on it below). Left on with a shower cap for 30 minutes. I have read that this pre-condition helps seal the cuticle before you wash hair and leaves the hair softer. I am still not sure if this step is needed, but we hadn't done it for a couple of weeks so....
3. Wash hair with Herbal Essence Hello Hydration.

4. Condition with Clairol Herbal Essence Hello Hydration with approximately 1-2 tbsp of Seven Wonders Miracle Oil mixed in.

5. Deep condition with Organic Olive Oil Replenishing Pack (I can only find this at Target). I only left it on for 15 minutes this week. I have used this in the past and loved the results, however, last week I used the Proclaim Hair Cholesterol and D's hair was much softer. When styling last week I thought the Proclaim did not wash out well...but now I don't' think it was the Proclaim, I think it was using the Herbal Essence as her leave-in conditioner. The Herbal Essence Hello Hydration as a leave in does eventually soak into the hair...so don't worry if you see some white dots while styling.

6. Blot dry hair with towel.

7. Put approx 2 tbsp of Hello Hydration conditioner in D's hair and approx 1-2 tbsp of the Seven Wonders Oil

8. Style. We did the flat twist with hanging twists run diagonal. I used the Fantasia IC Hair Polisher Styling Gel for the hold.

On the Seven Wonders Miracle Oil, I found it at the Health Store today while buying vitamins, it was approximately $8 for a 8 oz bottle with a lot of really nice ingredients including 7 penetrating oils. The smell is MUCH better than the Wild Hair Growth Oil. I put it in Hair Color bottle that I bought at Ed Wyse for easy application when D's hair is braided (again 2-3 times per week). I will use up my full bottle of Wild Growth Hair Oil as an add in to conditioner

Hope that helps!!

Wild Growth Hair Oil

I am on my second bottle of this hair growth oil. I was recommended by a local beautician to put in D's hair 3 days a week (on the part lines) to keep it moisturized. You can purchase it at Sally for around $7.00. The ingredients are good and it does keep the itch factor down....but.............I don't like the smell. Any other recommendations out there? I use a lot of plain coconut oil also.

Is there anyone out there mixing their own oils?

Also, once or twice a week, I co-wash D's hair while still in braids/twists. Again...this was another term I did not know. Basically I am just rinsing it with conditioner. Tonight I used the Herbal Essence again and it came out super sof and the twist sill look great and feel super soft.

Saturday Hair Style

So...I tried to do a straw set on the front bang portion of D's hair (well that didn't work out). Not sure if I didn't roll them tight enough for the strands were too big...I will need to watch anther video on You Tube! So, the bangs ended up as a french twist (since I still cannot cornrow). I then did a french twist at the crown and twists in the back.

I used the Herbal Essence Hello Hydration Shampoo and Conditioner (see below) and the Proclaim Cholestrol this week (which made her hair soft), however, when twisting their was a lot o residue (which later soaked into the hair). I also used the Hello Hydration as a leave-in conditioner with some Argan oil and styled with the IC Fantasia gel (see below).

I am surprised that she woke this morning (after 3 nights) and I didn't have to redo the front french twist yet....

IC Fantasia Hair Polisher Styling Gel

When researching twists/braids/gels, etc., on the Internet one styling gel just kept coming up. The IC Fantasia Hair Polisher Styling Gel with Sparkle Lites. I tried the gel o D's hair this week (on Saturday) and so far so good, her hair is holding the twists well and and they are still soft. Priced at under $5.00 at Sally's or Walgreens...this will be a must keep in my staple of products!

Slip - New Term to Me

When cruising thru numerous videos on You Tube and other sites on the internet, I came across the term "slip" and today I finally got it!

I had read on numerous sites about Clairol's Hello Hydration (retails for $2.99 for shampoo and $2.99 for conditioner at Target). I tried both on D's hair for her weekly wash and her "first conditioner."

I loved the light smell, the shampoo seemed hydrating and the conditioner provided a ton of slip (easy to comb thru in the bath). I also used a quarter size as her leave in conditioner before styling (as recommended by numerous sites)....it made twisting and comb thru very easy.

Today was a day of all "new" products. I will try to update on all this week, but her hair looked GREAT this afternoon after styling and the comb went thru easily.

I will still keep the Infusium 23 as a staple, but for the price Hello Hyrdatio is a GREAT product.

Starting Out - Hair Types, Etc.

My daughter, D, has been home now for 6 months. I had NO clue about hair types. After consistently searching on the internet, I have discovered (I think) that D is a type 4A or 4B in the hair type category. Which means.....her hair is extremely curly and VERY hard to comb thru. Her hair will not even lay down with tons of conditioner and water.

The FIRST article I could find, after scouring the internet on how to take care of your adopted child's hair was:

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=514

http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=520

Of the products in the second article (I have not tried a ton of them), I can tell you what did/did not work for my daughter.

DID NOT WORK:
Neutrogea Triple Moisture. I loved the smell, but the comb thru wasn't great on her hair type.

Infusium 23. I LOVE the shampoo and conditioner! Both work well on D's hair, making comb thru easier. It is also a nice shampoo for my other kids...so this one is a staple in our house.

Their "tools of he trade" are right on, including the sleep cap or satin pillowcase.

Starting Out

In my quest searching the internet for:

1. Hair Care Products
2. Styles for my daughter's hair
3. Snaps and Beads, etc.

I decided to create a blog to help other adoptive mom with hair sytles, and links to find the right products for their adoptive child's natural hair.