What happens if???

Why not do it? It will make her hair a little fluffier and softer. . . is that the look you're going for? The blowdryer will be drying to her hair, so make sure her hair is well conditioned when you do it. I say, go for it!Char

I wouldn't really think you'd have anything to lose by trying as long as you keep adequate conditioning on it before and after the blow-drying. We don't even OWN a blow-dryer so Yuna's probably never going to find out what it's like, but I'd be interested to see what happens when (if) you do it.

you might want to check out the yahoo group for adoption hair and skin care - there is LOTS of good info on there. It's a really great group and especially helpful for CC mama's. I think there are many out there who are not aware of how important good hair care is when adopting AA children! Be careful - you don't want to cause damage to her hair.

See I don't use a blowdryer because it is damaging. DH says she will have one awesome afro, but he agrees the heat is damaging.

Tracey I can't see Drihan's hair close enough to tell if it is like Luis'...but I think you saw his picture on Brooklyn's website. If he blows it out it becomes like Don King's with a little wave. Blow drying it occassionally has not damaged it in the six years we have been together. You could just try it once. Monique

I'm an AA woman. I don't know how old your baby is, she looks about 2ish? I would suggest holding off on blowdrying for now. She's a little too young and the dryer can be damaging to her hair or scalp if the heat gets to close. I would also suggest taking her to an AA hair salon and asking some of the ladies there for suggestions? They may suggest something like running a warm pressing comb though her hair to help with styling/managing and braids are cute too. They can also show ou how to use a LIGHT pressing comb, what type of conditioners and oils to use so as not to dry the hair out. AA hair is more delicate/fragile than CC hair. If you have no experience and don't know an AA women that can help guide you, I would go to the salon. ;-) HTH

My daughter, Samantha, is biracial (black and Italian). She was about 5 before I started blowing her hair. I'm caucasian but have AA friends who are wonderful about telling me how to care for her hair. I use a blow dryer with a brush attached. It dries quickly and is much easier to comb and style that way. I then take a flat iron to it and for the next two weeks, her hair is manageable. I use Carol's Daughter products and LOVE THEM. I use healthy hair butter. I love the smell also. On our baby girl, 1 year old, I use the hair milk. She has very soft, silky curls, unlike Samantha's which has much more texture. The hair milk keeps her hair in pretty curls without the "puffy" (I call it Lyle Lovett look). I don't think it would hurt to blow a 2 year old's hair out once or twice but I do agree with the AA mom who refers you to a black salon. I find black women to be very open to me about how to care for my daughters' hair and have always appreciated it. I never want people looking at my girls knowing they have a white momma who has no clue. I braid Samantha's hair (it's all the way down her back) and you wouldn't know she didn't have it salon done but it's taken me a couple of years to perfect it. Josie (proud momma to two "beautiful hair" girls)

I actually am going to a blak salon to get a consult on getting my hair dread locked so I will pick their brain while I am there. I can't use Carol's Daughter anymore because of the soy allergy, but has anyone used the Organic Root Stimulator products???

AA hair is very fragile. You'd really have to know about AA haircare to blow it dry and keep it healthy. And after being blown dry, it would be best to put it up (pony tail, braids, etc) not just left down. I suggest you make an appointment with an AA hair salon and have her hair done there or have them show you how to do it (if you don't have any AA women friends who'd teach you). The people at the dread place may be able to help you. Maybe they can braid it for you.

Hi, I've been lurking but wanted to give some options on hair. I am an AA woman who spent most of the last decade with varying lengths of natural hair. I agree that blowdrying can be damaging but if you balance out the heat and stay away from other chemicals, the hair can stay relatively healthy. Blowdrying can help achieve different looks and can be a good prep for braiding hair to reduce the frizzies. I struggled with finding hairstyles that I considered professional but wanted to maintain my natural look. This was a difficult balancing act for me. I found that very few AA salons in FL knew how to truly care for natural or chemical free hair (In fact, I gave in last year and got a relaxer because it was too time consuming to keep my hair the way I wanted.). So, I had to learn to be creative and just experiment. A book that I would recommend (which gave some decent ideas although not everything worked for me) is "Good Hair: For Colored Girls Who've Considered Weaves When the Chemicals Became Too Ruff" by Lonnice Brittenum Bonner. There are other books out there ("No Lye" by Tulani Kincaid) that may be good guides as well. As someone who had an afro that would fall on my shoulders when blowdried, I would tell you that blowdrying can be damaging. In fact, one of the unexpected side effects was that I started losing some of the texture (my hair was getting straight). That also occurred b/c I wore it pulled back in an afro alot as well (that was my easy, default hairstyle b/c it would take me nearly 30 minutes to properly comb through my hair and not rip out a third of it). :Chewie: In any event, I would suggest finding an AA salon if you're in a large enough city where the stylists are actually knowledgeable about natural hair. But let me just say that an AA hairstylist may not be the cure b/c some just are not willing to address hair that is not chemically processed. Oh! Let me just add that pressing hair is worse than blowdrying it. I pressed my hair a couple of times and would immediately notice the texture change. It would take 1-2 weeks before my hair became "normal" but even then I could still tell the difference. Now, all of my advice really depends on the texture of your child's hair. Whatever you do, I say practice makes perfect and nothing (except chemicals) will ruin her hair as long as the goal is to have healthy hair and not just a hairstyle (which seems to be the case). Sorry, I got a little long-winded but you would not believe the amount of time, energy, and money I spent on hair over the last few years. Compelled

Yeah, I am definitely not doing it. I just LOVE those beautiful curls :love:

tracy...... have you gone to the salon for dreads????? i am excited to see how they turn out......by the way, i dont post a whole lot...... but drihan is absolutely adorable........!!!

I haven't gone yet. I keep calling to make an appt. and I always get their machine and they never call back. I put some in my hair myself the other day and I LOVED them. I did take them out because I didn't use a metal comb so they weren't really tight. I think I am going to do what I can and have my daughter (the 15 yr. old, not Drihan) do the back.

awsome...... i cannot wait to see!!!!!!!