African American Hair

Updated on March 20, 2011
T.N. asks from Houston, TX
11 answers

My two year old has extremely dry hair that is thick, but quite thin and curly around the edges. I need a product that will keep it moisturized and stop the breakage. Any hair care tips and products, would be helpful. What do you suggest?

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S.M.

answers from Houston on

You can order mixed chicks leave in conditioner online. The leave in is all you need. It is about $17 a bottle but works great.

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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

4

2 moms found this helpful
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R.K.

answers from San Francisco on

if you want the easiest and cheapest way, use a strong hair conditioner and apply it when her hair is wet. if it's not wet and you have to do her hair, use a spray bottle and either mix the conditioner with the water in the spray bottle (can get clogged sometimes though) or just spray the hair till wet and then work in conditioner with fingers, especially at the tips. be generous with the conditioner, depending on the texture of her hair. comb it through starting at the tips with a wide-tooth comb. then leave it in as long as there's not too much left on the scalp itself.

i use only natural conditioners, like the alaffia products and aubrey products, but any conditioner will work. then if you want something with hold, get a gel and mix a little of that with the conditioner too. i personally make all of my own products for my family, but if you are buying something use something for dry hair that doesn't have a lot of alcohol in it. most gels need a little oil or conditioner added to them if they are to be used on african american hair.

you can also do a hot oil treatment once in a while by heating some coconut or olive oil until warm and working it into her scalp and hair and leave it on for 15 minutes, covered with a plastic bag or towel, then rinse out.

good luck mama!

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J.G.

answers from Washington DC on

I use Organic Aloe Vera (Botanical) Shampoo by Millcreek. You can find it at GNC or online. I use it on my eldest son because we damaged his hair (made it extremely dry & brittle) by using harsh anti-fungal shampoos to get rid of severe cradle cap. He also had severe eczema spread into his scalp as well. He's 2 now & I've been using it for a year & his hair & scalp are 100% better. No more dandruff, dryness, or rashes. It may take a month or so to see a difference, so don't get discouraged. It's all natural so you can't go wrong. I also use organic extra virgin olive oil on his scalp as a moisturizer. You can find that at any health food store too, but make sure it says extra virgin, the other types aren't good for the scalp. Good Luck!

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C.D.

answers from Houston on

All suggestions provide are good ones. As one who keeps her hair natural I would say washing her hair with a really good conditioner and not using shampoos all together. And then use olive oil on her damp hair as a moisturizer and maybe a leave in conditioner. Some conditioners I like to use are Nature's Gate, Miss Jessie's. Some leave-in are Kinky Curly and/or Carol's daughter tui oil. Some of these can be found at Target others online. Try looking on Naturallycurly.com and curlynikki.com along with some of the other website mentioned below. You can also do some research on Youtube which also provide visual tutorials on different styles as well as some product reviews. Just know it may take some trial and error as we all have different textures and what works for one may not work for someone else.

God Bless.

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

I've been washing my little bit with Pantenes line of shampoo and conditioner for black women, It's Pantene in a brown bottle. I only use shampoo once a week at the most. Any other bath time I do a conditioner wash. I skip the shampoo and just use conditioner.
Then spray detangler or spray conditioner. Comb out from bottom to top with wide tooth comb.
Then I section it by making parts, 1st with the wide tooth comb and then I make them more precise and clean by going back through the parts with a fine tooth comb.
Then a ton of Pink Oil Moisturizer. Doesn't seem to matter what brand.
Every couple of weeks I use Africas Best Oil, to really deep condition instead of the pink bottle.
Then, once I've gotten every strand saturated with detangle, and moisturizer, I decide how I'm going to fix it. I spray it with braid sheen spary and go to work styling. I mostly put it in ponytails and then twist or braid the hair. Putting on Africas best Super Grow on each piece as I work and using ot to smooth the flyaways like gel. Africas best is really pleasant smeliing and available at Wal Mart and the dollar store.
One secret I can give you is braid sheen spray. It does something crazy to the hair that makes it easy to work with.
Also, keep it always braided, or twisted, all the way to the ends. When it's down, that's when it gets dry and matted. And don't forget to wrap her little head up in a scarf at bedtime to preserve all that hard work!

For those times I do want to leave my babies hair down, I use the Pantene Creme leave in conditioner and skip the other oils and cremes. Just detangler and that creme. It makes her hair fall in big thick shiny soft wavy curls. Only lasts one day though. As soon as she sleeps on it, it's matted to her head. But I just spray it with a water bottle and pull the curls back into place in the morning. Good Luck

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N.M.

answers from Austin on

Carols daughter has a great line of natural products for African American hair and skin. I used the Hair Balm on my sons hair and it mositurizes and makes it easy to comb. It stays moisturized until the next day. They also have a kids line. www.carolsdaughter.com

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G.B.

answers from Houston on

Like most of the suggestions, I wash with conditioner mostly unless she has product build-up. Coconut oil works great for moisture and you can get a huge container at Walmart for under $5 in the cooking section.

Our new wonder product is the Tangle Teezer brush. You can find it at Sally's Beauty Supply. It detangles wonderfully and seems to keep the breakage to a minimum...

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S.S.

answers from El Paso on

Try Carol's Daughter she has products for curly dry hair a whole line dedicated to type of hair. I use on both my son and daughters hair.

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

At this age, you want to keep the products as natural as possible. Also, you want to style her hair in such a way that works with her hair type, helping her to appreciate her hair type as she grows. No preaching (sorry if it comes off like that), but I really like for little girls to realize that there is no bad hair, just hair that does different things. No matter what kind of hair one has, it's important to figure out which styles work best for it and not try to force styles that work best for others.

Now, that said, you mentioned that you just want to keep it moisturized. I suggest conditioner at washing (maybe not completely rinsed) and then coconut oil or olive oil while it's still damp. Then, before it dries naturally, part it into small workable sections and plait/braid it. This should also help with the breakage (if not pulled too tight).

I hope that this works for you.

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S.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Check out naturallycurly.com - there's a great message board there with tips, depending on your toddler's hair type.

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