Advice for Bi-Racial Hair Care

Hello J.,

I have two Bi-racial Grandsons and both have long curly hair. I am their Grandmother of Color. One of my Grandsons has long straight loose spirals and the other has very long straight hair but with a smaller type of spiral.

We vary their hairstyles, sometimes going from a ponytail in the back, to multiple braids or just hanging loose with a part in the side. Always keeping in mind that they are very definately boys...not girls. They are very GQ! One is 2 the other is 8 years old.

I have had great success using Olive Oil on their hair, which I have always used on my own. There are very nice products on the market with Olive Oil in them. A little bit of this oil goes a long way. The trick is to massage it into the hair, grasp a small section and softly comb or brush it from the ends gradually working your way further up the hair shaft to the root near the scalp.

I find it helpful to keep my hands on the hair, taking care not to pull it too tautly (but loosely), in order to prevent the combing or brushing motion from jerking their head or neck unnecessarily.

Hair care time should never be traumatic or fearful for children. I have Always used a loving tone and compliment them daily on how good they were through the hair care session and always compliment them on how handsome and goodlooking they are. I used the same technique on my two children as they were growing up.

It also helps that Grandma has a special Spongebob Lounge chair for them to sit in during these occasions. I sit it in front of my chair and they sit in the special chair so that we are both comfortable during this time of day.

Good Luck!
Angie

I suggest that you check out ouidad.com
They specialize in curly hair products for all types of curly hair. They even have a curly kids line.

J.,

Try carolsdaughter.com

They're suppose to have great products for natural hair.

Let me first say that my daughter is white and black, so I can only speak from that, but I have had the WORST time trying to find something to use in her hair. I have read some of the other responses and I have tried the Pink Lotion and didn't care for it. A lot of the "black" products are too oily for her hair and "white" products are not moisturizing enough. I only wished I could cut her hair off, but with her being a girl, I haven't...
Anyhow, I think the thing I have found to work best for her is to only wash her hair about once a week. Condition daily!!! We like to use Pantene for Colored women in the bath. Then, as someone else has also mentioned, we use "Frizz-ease" by John Frieda. We get it at wal-mart. It helps tame her hair. I always get her hair wet before I fix it.
Oh, also, her hair was real loose curls as a baby and toddler, but has tightened up as she's gotten older and her baby hair has fallen out. It needs to be trimmed often, but I don't think I keep up with that as I should.
Good Luck :)

Okay this is the question for me. I am a biracial girl so I really know how it goes. Now regardless of what people may tell you, never ever perm his hair or anything like that because it is likely to more damage than good. What you'll need to do is get something like luster's pink moisturizing oil (http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100652&a...) to put in it, that will help quite a bit.

I don't know what you've been putting in it, but plus you'll never want to try and do his hair with nothing to put in it, and often times you will find is his hair is easier to handle with it wet. Another thing that will definitely help would be getting a good conditioner (which I know this is a matter of opinion) but something for "dry, course" hair. I know his hair isn't that dry or really that course, but leaving it in is nice or even finding a leave in conditioner.

Nothing is ever going to totally prevent his tangles, just like your curly hair is going to get tangled it's just in how you deal with the tangles really, but anyway goodluck!!

PS> I just read through some of the responses. Be very carful if you select a ***JUST FOR ME*** product - Some of them can prove to be very damaging over time and if you don't know which products are which in the line of products I would just skip them. They do have some good products but a lot of them have different chemicals in them and you just have to be careful.

I'm not sure I have the best of advice but my son is 1/4 black and 3/4 white. His hair use to have these big beautiful curls that frizzed horribly if we didn't use a little bit of ant-frizz serum, John Frieda makes a nice one. You can also use mousse, it helps keep the curls without looking stiff (like gel) or oily (like hairspray).

Hello J.!
My name is K.. I am African American and am not a hair care expert. However, my husband and I are fostering two bi-racial girls with the same type of hair. As you well know by now, African American hair, whether 100% or 50/50, needs some type of moisturizer. Two really great products are available at local stores, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Family Dollar, and even Dollar General. They are Pink Moisturizing lotion and curl activator. Both produts are oily and light enough that they won't weigh down his curls. These two products seem to last all day long without letting the hair frizz up, mat, or tangle. If you need anymore suggestions, please feel free to contact me, as I have many more suggestions.

Hope this halps!
K.

Hello

I have 2 girls with the same hair, make sure you only wash it twice a week, keep it moisture at all times and use a scalp conditioner, I have a 5 year old girl and a 4 month old, I'm Hispanic and my husband is African American and I have learn how to take care they're hair, They have Olive oil products that will keep them moisture, Sally or Walgreens.
A.

Wash his hair less often so the natural oils can help it to look less frizzy.

My ex-boyfriend had a daughter who was black and white, and she had beautiful hair like you're describing. I used pantene conditioner and frizz ease hair serum. I think it really depends on whether you want the hair to end up crunchy or oily because it does need a lot of moisture. Frizz ease ends up a little crunchy. Good luck!

Go to Wal-mart(or a similar type store. Go to the black haircare section. There are a couple of different hair lotions that have been helpful to me and other moms whose children seem to have the type of hair you describe. There is Just For Me and other similar products for children. But you need a hair lotion not an oil or grease. Also if his hair tend to get a little dry use a small amount of vasoline either mixed with one of these products or (emphasis on small amount). Hope this works for you and your son!

If you can't afford salon quality products ( I can't) then there is a great product you used to be able to get at walmart called Pink Lotion. It's a brand of shampoo and conditioner that will be perfect for his hair. I'm mixed and so are my cousins. I had a cousin whose hair sounds just like your sons and it was always so beautiufl and that is what they used.

Hi J.-

We have an 11 m/o AA baby too, adoption finalized last month - yay! congrats to you too! - and I was told to try B&B hair gel (in the AA hair products section) and a different shampoo too, but I forgot the name. We put the hair gel in every day and pick it out, then pat it down, and it looks great! I'd love to talk to you more about transracial adoption issues, etc, since our boys are both about the same age. Respond back if you're interested. Good luck!

M.

He is so young, just get some detangler the most natural you can find. Or just try water in a spray bottle. All of us get some type of hair problem when we have been laying our head on something. Chemicals are just not a good idea at this early age.

Enjoy him with frizzy hair or without. You have been given a gift.

You should probably check with a licensed hair stylist, they would be able to tell you exactly what to use. But for my two cents, everyone I've ever known who has curly hair loves the bed head line.

Jamie, I too have biracial children and have found that the "Just for me" haircare line works wonders. I use the shampoo and hair moisturing cream works for my boys hair. It can be found in the black haircare aisle of Walmart and Target. I hope this helps. The biggest thing to remember is to not wash his hair everyday. It will dry it out and make it frizzy. At most twice a week unless it really needs it.

Carol's Daughter has a website and the products are amazing for any type of racial hair! I think it is Carolsdaughter.com, but I am not sure. I love thier bath products, they smell amazing and leave you feeling silky and pampered.

Shear Madness is a hair cutting place for kids. I took my son there and he has curly hair. They gave me this product called bouncy cream. I doesn't make the hair greasy or chunky and it smells really good. I have even used this in my hair and I love it!!!