Bi-racial Hair Issue **DRY**

Hi B.,

I am biracial and have natural hair. My son is also biracial in his own right (I'm Nigerian and Mexican and his dad is white). I did not cut his hair until he was 3 years old. By the time we cut it, it was halway down his back!! So I know about maintaining both boy and girl biracial hair.

First of all, putting "oil" in his hair at night is pointless. He rubs his head on his pillow and it will all come off. Unless you're wrapping his hair at night in a silk wrap. May I also recommend a silk pillow case as it prevents the hair from breaking and losing too much of its natural oils at night. This is only really necessary though, if you want to keep his hair long.

Curly hair should really only get shampoo maybe once a month, if at all. You should wash his hair once a week with CONDITIONER. It will still clean his hair, but not strip it. You will need to wash it 2-3 times per wash to ensure that you are cleaning it.

When he gets out of the bath, put a leave-in conditioner in like infusium 23 step 3. I also use a mousse (tresemme for flawless curls) and an additional leave in conditioner, cantu shea butter (its a white jar with an orange lid and the conditioner is white like regular conditioner). I put these in my and my son's hair in the order I listed them. When you put each in, use your fingers to run it through the hair before putting in the next thing.

**side note: you should have combed through the hair in the bath while the conditioner was in. During the last wash of conditioner, let it sit for 5-10 min. I start with the hair first so that when I need the conditioner to sit, I put the hair up in a pony and then give him a bath and let him play a little. It's more efficient than bathing him, then washing his hair and just having to sit there and wait. After the conditioner has been in for 5-10 min, comb through it and then rinse the conditioner out. Be careful not to retangle the hair. Use your fingers to run through the hair as you're rinsing. Squeeze the water out and put it back in a pony before taking him out of the bath so that it doesnt tangle in the towel. **

Unless you're styling the hair and depending on how curly your son's hair is, you should try to avoid comning it out of the shower. Only use your fingers to preserve the curls. When you comb through it, you separate the curls and it becomes a giant frizz ball. Unless his hair is more of a fro like my hair, then it doesnt particularly matter lol.

That should be good on the days you wash. If you still want to add more moisturizer during the week, then I suggest "lotion" or "conditioner" looking products. PLEASE refrain from those disgusting oils that look like bacon grease. That makes the hair untouchable and its made of bad ingredients. Check the ingredients before you buy. If it contains "mineral oil" or "petroleum" DO NOT BUY IT. These are ingredients to make the hair look "shiny", but they're very bad for the hair and it's not actually moisturizing or doing anything positive to the hair, it's just giving the ILLUSION of healthy hair.

I dont personally touch my hair during the week, but that's also because I style my hair in different ways that last all week so I dont have to mess with it.

I hope that helps! Keep me posted :)

1 mom found this helpful

Check out the Carol's Daughter website. You can actually buy the products from Sephora stores.

I often use coconut oil on my daughter's hair and ahead. It's a little solid when you scoop it out of the jar, but rub it in your fingers for a second and it melts. It might also look a little clumpy on the hair at first, but it just soaks in (and your son will smell delicious)

My son is in the same boat and I just found a combination that works very well for him. I wash his hair only once a week and when I do I use Nature's Baby Organic products (can be found at Babies R Us) and I use Jojoba oil mixed in with the leave in conditioner. Then I comb it through and that's that! :) Soft and shiny.

Dear B.,

I do not have lots of experience with bi-racial hair...but I know that a lot of the things we eat affect our skin. Maybe there is something in diet that can help. I have heard coconut oil topically is good. I cook with the stuff too.
Check out Environmental Working Group (EWG) website for the safety risks of various products. (They independently test LOTS of products) There is a lot of "green washing" going on and you want to make sure your organic products are the real deal.

Hi B.! My daughters are bi-racial. One has thick ringlet-type curls and the other has a lot of fine tight ringlets. My daughters hairdresser works at a "natural" salon in San Pedro and has suggested a Leave-in-conditioner by Anazai-only sold in salons that I know of. That stuff is great! But I would also suggest you use regualar hair conditioner (we use the Pantene Relaxed & Natural products) as a style aide; like you would gel or the oil products-dime sized. I have found that works well with my girls. I only wash their hair about once a week and style everyday with water and leave-in. Good luck!

Hey B.,

My cousin just used Johnsons & Johnsons baby lotion on her kids skin and hair. She works in all the way through to the scalk and they both have beautiful, soft and wavy hair.

Hope that helps :)
W.

Hi B.,
I am a bi-racial individual as well as my daughter. Two products that have worked for me are "Mixed Chicks" which is a Leave-in Conditioner and any hair product by Carol's Daughter. Both can be found online or depending where you reside in a few beauty supply stores or your local mall. They both are a little pricey but work extremely well and depending on how much hair your working with they should last a decent amount of time before you need to buy more. Hope this helps.

-A.

I don't have experience with this exact issue, but I have found my hair really likes the natural products from Morroco Method (not the shampoos--they're too thick & no suds for me), but all the conditioners and repair items--especially the European Oil treatment). It's morrocomethod.com.

K.

Hi B.;
I don't have experience with this type of hair, but do have experience with water. Do you have a quality filter on your bath or shower head? This can help soften the water and makes hair much softer and manageable. The company I work with has an excellent filter.

One source of product you might look at is www.morroccomethod.com. Antonio has an oil blend that might help. I know Antonio, but don't have any affiliation with his company.

Best,
S.

Oil is sort of a top coat to keep in moisture, but it won't really ADD moisture. It's weird. So you're going to need a leave-in conditioner or pomade more than oil.

Also, It really depends on the person, but I think you can wash his hair once a week. It's good that you're not going crazy trying to wash it every day, but every 2 weeks is only something I'd suggest for a girl with longer hair and more upkeep, etc.

I use a leave in conditioner (about as thick as lotion) called Abba Nourishing. It's amazing and can be used on skin and hair. Have to get it from a salon-type store usually, although I saw it in Ralph's once. Also, Wave Nouveau (teal bottle) Moisturizing Lotion or Moisturizing Finishing Mist are excellent. I like the mist spray better. It keeps my hair as soft as it is wet, without it being wet. It dries and then my curls are super touchable and soft with no greasiness or wetness.

you might want to try looking into this store. I now shop there for everything from cleaning to laundry to shampoo and conditioners as well as weight loss they have it all. I love their ultra hydrating shampoo and conditioner as well as their leave in conditioner...hope this helps...btw the store is online and you can order over the phone too
wholesale prices available as well

I use all natural products and my husband has very very dry scalp and his dandruf is actually gone! here is the website for more info on how to get these products www.HealthyForYourfamily.com they are great even for dry skin!

I agree that the itchiness is not from his tight curls but may be from not washing frequently enough. Try washing more frequently and see if that helps.

My son is biracial but has large curls not tight ones. I tried the Carol's Daughter Hair Milk but it was a little too oily for my son. But I think it would work great on tight curls. I'm currently using It's a Curl organic baby curl products. I use the leave-in conditioner and moisturizer daily and then wash his hair once a week.

I agree with the others who have recommended Carol's Daughter products. Try the Hair Milk, I think it would work great for your son's hair.

do u wash his hair w/ filtered water? i put a filter on my shower and my hair is so much softer..i don't have bi racial hair but when i was living in Echo Park my hair was so dry it was breaking off..so ever since then i have filters on my showers..u could fill the tub thru the shower ...it will help at least...u can get one at Home Depot for around $19 and change it every 3 months ..the refills i think are around $9

good luck

D.

Hi B....

Seems like you got some great advice so far. If his scalp is itchy its not from his "tight curls" ...you probably do need to wash more often OR it could be build up from the nightly oil you are using. Is it flakey or just itchy? There is a website...LHCF.com (childrens section that has great advice from other mommies along with a few suggestion of blogs about childrens hair care. Depending on your sons age, there are lots of great things to try for dryness. It may take a few experiements to see what works for him. I love coconut oil..on my lil ones skin and hair. Jojaba oil is great too. I find some things with mineral oil in it make my daughters scalp itch so I only use it on wash day (once a week twice if it has build up and clarify once every 3 weeks or so)if at all. The vitamin shoppe has a great product line Jane Carters that is working really well on her hair. If you have a sallys near you Silken Child is good. Just remember to keep his hair moisturized. Shampoo..condition and a leave in (mixed chicks is great) and a daily moisturizer. Always comb or brush when wet or damp. Hope that helps.

Grape seed oil is awesome. You can get it at any grocery store usually near the olive oil stuff. It's not greasy and absorbs really well. I use it on my skin regularly.

My son is not directly bi-racial, from both sides of our family there are all sorts of mixes. So I gave birth to this little boy who has beautiful chocolate brown skin and silky curls.

That was until about 3 years old, when after a total haircut it changed texture a bit and is now a hybrid mess when I let it get long. He is a raga muffin too, 'cept is is more straight. So we now just keep it short.

But if your son still has soft ringlets, then a good leave-in conditioner like MixedChicks should work. But if his scalp is itchy, then it needs to be washed more often. My scalp does not like to go to long without being drenched. (I have courser ringlets).

If the curls are more on the black side, thicker, then try some products from Carol's Daughter, they have all types of natural stuff for mixed hair, as the owner has mixed hair, like mine.

I personally prefer just using 100% Shea Butter. Get the NOW brand at Whold foods, its cheap.

Good Luck.
Also, main trick is to not comb it unless it is being washed. After that, just use your fingers to do the rest. Combing destroys the natural ringlet patterns.

Try INFUSIUM 23. It's a leave in conditioning treatment, very inexpensive, great for getting moisture in curls without crunch-love this product! Good luck!

I second the Mixed Chicks and Carols Daughter, but am currently loving Morrocan Oil. I am using the Intesne Hydrating Mask in the shower. The oil on the ends and the Hydrating Style Cream before I straighten my hair, but there is a curly one too.
It was painful to pay for......all at once, but will last an eternity for me!

http://www.moroccanoil.com/en/our-products.html

I know Sally has a "copy" of the Moroccan Oil called Argan Oil (since that is what it is made of) Not sure about it though, but much cheaper!