Hair Help

Here's another great line of products for mixed hair. I love the hair milk, hair elixir, and hair balm.
http://www.carolsdaughter.com/ -> hair

Hi T.,

I'm mixed myself and I've finally found the best products ever. I only wish my parents had found it when I was a kid. It is a shampoo, conditioner and leave-in conditioner and it does wonders for our hair.

The website where you can view and order it is www.mixedchicks.net

Trust me, it works. I have tried so many products and I am amazed. I finally can wear my hair down and have big curly locks without the frizz!

Let me know if it works.

Good Luck

Let

I use a mixture of coconut oil and jojoba oil. I don't have the same hair type, but I've shared my recipe on a haircare board I frequent, and there are many people with the same hair type as your daughter's who have success with it.

8oz melted extra virgin coconut oil
2oz jojoba oil
10 drops vanilla eo
10 drops sandalwood eo

* you can substitute other essential oils if you desire, or leave them out. They are for fragrance only.

Combine all ingredients, and stir well. The jojoba is lighter than the coconut, so it will sit on top. Put in the fridge and stir every 5-10 minutes until it is the consistency of butter. Remove from the fridge and keep handy in the bathroom.

My hair loves both coconut and jojoba, but I find coconut too hard to handle since it gets pretty solid in my cool bathroom. This recipe stays soft, exactly like butter! Melt a small amount in your hands (I use a pea sized amount for my long hair) and smooth over your hair as a leave in, or use for heavy oilings.

You could also add 1oz of melted cocoa or shea butter to the mixture.

I am not mixed, but can totally identify with the ultra-thick curly hair. I have enough hair on my head for 4 people! I used to use LA Looks gel-to-mousse, but, to my dismay, they took it off the shelves! Now, I just buy the LA Looks sports gel (it has a hold of 10) and put it on my hair when it's wet, and then spray it down with hairspray after working it in. It's a lot of product, I know, but it holds the curl and tames the frizz. There are also oils pomades you can buy, in the ethnic section at Walmart, a ways down from the "white-girl" hair products. I use these before I put the gel in. Another product I really like is CitriShine anti-frizz serum, which can be used in place of pomade/oil. Another good thing to do for her hair is give it hot oil treatments every so often. I hope this helps. I know this sounds like a lot of stuff, but trust it from one who knows from personal experience, it's a lot of work to tame these manes! Good luck and let me know if you have ?'s.

I asked a friend and she said you can get aproduct called pinl lotion from sally's or wallmart.

You can try Pantene Pro-V's Relaxed and Natural daily oil cream moisturizer (In the brown bottle). My sister uses it, we're mixed and she has thicker, curlier hair than mine, I used to use it and loved it, but I no longer can because I have acne and anything with oil makes it worse :( But my sister still uses it, she also uses it with mouse, but for a lighter and more bouncy relaxed style it's good on its own. Hopefully it works out, I know how difficult it can be to find just the right product. Good luck!

Do you use conditioner on her hair? You could try only shampooing once or twice a week, and using conditioner to "shampoo" on the rest of the days you give her a bath/shower, it really helps to tame the curls & frizz, helps the curls go into that beautiful corkscrew form without being out of control...just make sure you really scrub the conditioner all the way to the roots, to get her hair really clean. Conditioners these days have so many chemicals, they actually do get the hair squeaky clean, without the use of detergent shampoos. Shampoo blows the hair shaft wide open, which for curly hair means frizz, unmanageability, & makes the hair much less shiny than it could be if it had more moisture. Minimize using a towel to dry her hair, this adds to frizz...just squeeze the water out of her hair, (after bath), blot it dry so it doesn't drip, and let it dry naturally. You can even scrunch up the curls to help them get curlier.

This is what I do with my naturally curly, sometimes unmanageable hair, my hairdresser suggested it & it works really well!

Hope this helps.

I have curly hair and here's what I use with great success: http://www.ouidad.com/

I get my hair cut at their salon in NYC (when I'm back east visiting family) and have been using the products for years. You have to follow the styling directions to get the results you want, see the "curl central" part of their site.

-L.

Hi...

I have very curly hair and my whole life did not find anything that could tame "the jungle queen" hair as I was known. But in my 20's (I'm 31) I found this product "CURLS ROCK" made by TIGI and it's been the only product that made my curls look nice, soft and lasted all day at work. It wasn't heavy like gels and didn't cause the frizz or hard hair that I would get sometimes from the mousse (spelling?) after a time. You can get it from any salon pretty much or order from a website that can sell it. It's a little more than the normal $3.00 gel but I'm telling you it's been so great and I'd wish that I knew about this product when in high school.

Good Luck.

Hi-- yes a bit of a problem and high maintenance!! We use a product for children that is found in the hair section for black hair. I cant think of the name but it is in a pink box. We use this about onece a month then we striaght iron the hair in small sections starting at the roots. She plays on her computer while I attend to the process. It works well and she does not have the issues with that thick hair.
S.

Hi! My daughter is mixed also and has some crazy hair! LOL But I use a leave in conditioner by African Pride called Dream Kids Instant Oil Moisturizer. It's not heavy like products for strictly African American hair and it does more than a regular frizz control. They have a shampoo I use for her also. It's in a pink bottle and I get it from Sally's. They might not have it on the stores by you so I had my M.I.L. ship it from Houston for me. I'm sure you can order it online. But it works great for us!

Hi T.,

You mentioned that your daughter is mixed but what is she mixed with? My guess would be with African American. If that's what she is mixed with then you can either use a hot comb to press her hair or you can use a relaxer to straighten her hair. This I would only suggest for your daughter who is 11 years old. If it's the 2 year old I would just use baby lotion and oil. There are so many different types of oils out there that you can use (African Pride is what I use for my daughter). This is what I do to keep my daughter's (19 months) hair under control. She is 3/4 Africian American and 1/4 Phillippino with very thick and curly hair. I am Africian American but the texture of my daughter's hair is a little bit different from mine. When your 2 year old daughter gets a little older you can start pressing or straightening her hair. It is totally up to you which one you would rather deal with.

Another thing I would suggest is to not wash her hair so often. I'm not really sure how often you wash her hair but you should wash it probably 2-3 times a week. I only wash my daughter's hair once or twice a week and it's easier to keep under control because the hair does not get that frizzy. I'm not sure how you style her hair but I would suggest you put it in pony tails. If you do this you should also braid your daughter's hair at night before she goes to sleep. This will also keep the hair under control and easier to do in the morning. I just started braiding my daughter's hair at night and now it only takes me 15 minutes to do my her hair in the morning. Before it would take me 30-45 minutes to do. It may take a little bit more time for you to keep your daughter's hair under control but it's worth it. I hope this helps. Let me know how everything turns out.

Try bees wax. That always works, and it is really healthy too.

M. *~

Well I have a wonderful product that I sell through Arbonne. They have a wonderful natural shampoo and conditioner that are self-adjusting. this means that the elements in the shampoo will work with your daughters hair to balance and maintain that balance throughout each use. It takes about a week to get balanced and smells fantastic. I love it and my husband love it. We both have curly hair, mine is thinner than his, but we love it. I also use Bio Silk that you can get pretty much anywhere, salon's and at walmart salon too. it's an oil that you put on the ends of wet hair to help smooth and shine the hair. good luck and just have patience!!! If you are interested in the Arbonne Shampoo's send me a message and I'll get you started with an order!

Dear T.,

Go to Oprah's website, the other day I noticed an advertisement for a hair product for women of color. They say that it really works and is some sort of 'break through' treatment.

Sincerely, C. N.

Im mixed Salvadorian and black and my mom had the same problem. She is now a hair dresser! She really wanted to find out. She tried relaxers short cuts and everything on me.

I like pink oil and I realized a long time ago I cannot wear my hair down like straight haired women! And thats okay. Mostly I style it with pink oil and use GLAZE not gel. Then the curls are really pretty and my hair is non frizzy all day. When she gets older she will find what works for her.

Since she is so small keep it simple. Braided bigtails or a pony tail. Its not as fashionable in some cultures. I grew up in the hispanic culture and there werent many girls that had their pony tails twisted or braided. Its different hair. In the black culture braids and twists for little girls is an every day thing. Be proud of her and encourage her in her type of hair, just like her culture or sex.

Her hair as you've probably realized may not be able to lay down for a long period of time witout getting frizzy. The frizz will come. And as a mom you cannot fix it constantly. Unless you press it and she's too young. Hence the pony tail with a braid. Just a thought. I watched my mom stuggle. Over this for a long time. She didnt want my hair to be greasy so I would have dry frizzy hair. Then she would try oil. It was bad. I say leave her hair alone and support her when she is ready to venture out probably preteen or teen years.

Just my opinion