Caring for Black Hair

At 4 mo old, save yourself the trip to WalMart. A spray bottle with roughly 1/3 olive oil to 2/3 water and a bottle of conditioner will do you. Spray it down to comb it out well. Use lots of conditioner (Herbal Essences or I use Tresseme Moisture) during baths.If you feel like he needs a bit of styling gel or whatever, check out Carol's Daughter, Darcy's Botanicals, Mixed Chicks,...I know there's lots others that are good. A lot of the stuff you can buy at walmart is loaded with chemicals and/or alcohol, neither of which I wanted to put in my babies' hair.Now that they're not babies anymore (toddler and pre-k), we keep their hair short, varying from buzzed to just long enough to curl.And [URL="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adoptionhair_skincare/"]here's the Yahoo hair/skin care group[/URL]. Very helpful!

I agree with Jen, he doesn't really need any "product" at this point. When my son was an infant, I usually just washed it with water when he had a bath (twice a week, remember the skin tends to be drier too). I used California Baby conditioner as a leave-in, or a vitamin E oil mixed with water, spritzed in the hair. Now that he's two, I tend to keep his hair shorter. But I still rub a dime-sized blob of conditioner in his hair after bath.

My son is almost 2. His hair is about 3 or 4 millimeters long. I use a spray bottle with 1/3 olive oil and 2/3 water to wet his hair down. I massage his head and then use a pick to comb his hair out. That works well for him.

Thanks! :) We'll get his hair in shape yet!

I wash my son's hair once a week with Fresh Organics (I get this at HEB). Every morning I wet his hair with an oil and water mix then I use Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler (I get this from Whole Foods). Like your little one mine has a lot of hair (just on top)! I also only bath my little guy 2X a week and spot wash him everyday. I also lotion him 2X a day to keep him from getting dry. Let me know if you have any other question. I was in your shoes just a couple months ago.

I can't NOT wash him daily. He throws up a lot, and just stinks of it by the end of the day. I am making sure to lotion him up every time I change his clothes (which is a lot...) and use oil after baths. His skin has gotten so much better in the few days he's been here. He's not dry anymore. Just squishy! I'm still freaking about his hair. I talked to a black stylist and she told me to "rag wipe it" with a wet rag, but not get it "soaked" at his bath. He tends to spit up in his sleep and get it in his hair, so it has to come out. Then she told me to put a TINY spot of baby oil in my hands, rub them together and pat a towel. Use what is left on my hands in his hair. I have to say... so far, I think it's working. I do think he could benefit from a detangler, though. It gets tangled at the nape of his neck. Thanks for the advice! You all really have been great!

Don't forget to put baby oil in the water when you do bath him =)

I didn't know about that! I thought you just put it on him after. You do both?

Burt's Bees makes a great Apricot Oil for babies. It's nice for hair and skin and doesn't have a lot of icky chemicals in it. It has a subtle, natural smell to it. [url=http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/baby-mom-moisturizers/baby-bee-nourishing-baby-oil.html]Baby Bee Nourishing Baby Oil - Burt's Bees[/url] I agree with the others. I'd just wash it with a gentle conditioner every couple of days and comb it out while it's lathered up w/the conditioner. Then rub some oil into his scalp daily. If you need to get spit up out, rinse with water or just use conditioner (instead of shampoo so it doesn't get dried out). Good luck!

What is the texture of the baby's hair? At 4 months old, a lot of babies still have very soft curls and I'm just going to reiterate what Fazdi said - you don't need a lot of product. Olive oil and water work well. You can wash it with a baby shampoo or conditioner and then spritz it with the oil and water. Later, when the texture changes, you may need a bit more. After D turned a year old, we started cutting his hair very short. At least here, that's the most popular style and it looks really cute. He doesn't need anything other than a little olive oil and a quick brushing even now. It doesn't get any easier than that. If his skin isn't dry anymore, I wouldn't change what you're doing. Some kids are very prone to dry skin, but others aren't so bad. I don't bathe D every day now, but he's not nearly as prone to dry skin as some other kids. I put lotion on him a couple of times a day and he's fine. I've never put anything in his bath water and I count myself lucky that I didn't have to. (With some kids, it really helps.) I can't imagine how slippery that would have made him and he was a wiggly little bundle as it was!

Not all AA babies have the same texture of hair so you have to pick products based on that individual child's hair texture. At 4 months old I wouldn't use anything more than baby lotion on the hair. That's what we used on our kids and all the foster babies we had. For washing the hair we used a good baby shampoo and used a wet wash cloth. My son is now 5 years old and I still have to use the wet wash cloth method on him because he has some sensory issues. I would not use baby oil which is mineral oil based. Mineral oil is a by product of the distillation process of petroleum from crude oil. I would use olive oil, jojoba or even sunflower oil before using mineral oil. Coconut oil is an option but I have allergies so I don't usually recommend it. Also be very careful with pure oils. Babies can aspirate it and it can cause permanent injury or death. I only used cream oils on my kids when I did start using them. Again it depends on the texture of the child's hair. My kids do not have the texture that can handle a pure oil so it's always diluted in some way with water or lotion/cream based.

I would describe his hair as soft with tight curls. I have been putting oil in it (as described above) and it's not dry anymore (which is why it's now "soft" and not "dry").

At this age I think olive oil is your best bet for everything. Olive and water mixture to spray on the hair after he gets out of the tub, while the hair is still wet, and olive oil in the bath water. When mine were very young, that was enough. Then when they got a little older, and still now, I do olive oil in the bath water (which also works it through their hair) and then coconut oil head to toe when they get out and are still wet to seal in all the moisture. Works amazing. They eat a lot of the coconut oil too and it's good for them :) Both my kiddos were reflux babies, so I really feel for you with the frequent washings. Thankfully mine calmed down once they started solids. For my kiddos I would turn the heat up a tiny bit and just wipe them down with a wet wash cloth and then follow behind with the olive oil and water mixture I used on their hair sprayed on them and rubbed in. They do get slippery though, so I used to lay them on the bed to do it. I have also found that if you are good about sealing in moisture after a bath, and you don't do the baths for too long or too hot, then frequent bathing does not dry out my kiddos skin as long as I go very easy on the soap, don't wash their hair every time, and put the olive oil in the water. The soap is what drys out the skin, so if you are seeing dry skin I feel like it is more likely the soap you are using, or not sealing the skin while it's wet than it is you are bathing too much. JMO :) Try a gentler soap, or no soap at all. Just rinsing baby down with warm water and a wash cloth will get all the stinkies away too :) Good Luck.

Hello Honey Baby Naturals and Reagan Sanai products at regalrootshairandbeauty.com will help

dont fret, parents wit this issue really need to get the 'Natural Hair Hair Growth eGuide Calendar' (search on google), it will explain everything to you, youll be an expert when youre done seriously. but yes, you cant wash this hair type every day, you are stripping it of oils this hair type actually NEEDS. its very different hair care, but super easy after you know what to do. well a little work, but easy lol.