We decided to cover the subject of African American baby hair care today as we have come across more than a few requests for information on the subject. The majority of African American babies have very thick and curly hair that requires a little work on your part.
Certain aspects of African American baby hair care come about due to the coarse texture and the strong curl pattern to the baby's hair. These two combined lead to the hair being a little dry overall and hair breakage can occur.
African American baby hair care needs to be based on being gentle to eliminate the threat of breakage and tangle free.
African American Baby Hair Care - Washing
Caucasians tend to wash their hair very frequently as they produce a lot of natural hair oil. African American's tend not to have such oily hair so if they wash the hair to often it ends up being very dried out and frizzy. So make a point of only washing your babies hair about once a week and use a more subtle shampoo - one of the . frequent use brands
Combing The Hair
African American baby hair care involves a much less vigorous combing technique than normal due to the kinks/curls making it tangle frequently. We would always suggest using a wide tooth comb for getting past the tangles gently or even a brush with really soft bristles.
If there is a particularly bad portion of the hair that is strongly kinked then don't try to brush it out when it is dry. Instead brush the kinks out when the hair is wet to avoid any tearing or discomfort to the child.
There are many African American baby hair care moisturizer creams and oils that can be applied to the hair in severe cases. These will help the comb or brush get through the kinks or tangles with little effort. There is more information on these in the next section... African American baby hair care oils
African American baby hair care needs to be based on being gentle to eliminate the threat of breakage and tangle free.
African American Baby Hair Care - Washing
Caucasians tend to wash their hair very frequently as they produce a lot of natural hair oil. African American's tend not to have such oily hair so if they wash the hair to often it ends up being very dried out and frizzy. So make a point of only washing your babies hair about once a week and use a more subtle shampoo - one of the . frequent use brands
Combing The Hair
African American baby hair care involves a much less vigorous combing technique than normal due to the kinks/curls making it tangle frequently. We would always suggest using a wide tooth comb for getting past the tangles gently or even a brush with really soft bristles.
If there is a particularly bad portion of the hair that is strongly kinked then don't try to brush it out when it is dry. Instead brush the kinks out when the hair is wet to avoid any tearing or discomfort to the child.
There are many African American baby hair care moisturizer creams and oils that can be applied to the hair in severe cases. These will help the comb or brush get through the kinks or tangles with little effort. There is more information on these in the next section... African American baby hair care oils
Moisturizing The Hair
As we mentioned above, there are moisturizers and oils which can be used on the baby's hair to make it a lot more manageable. Every baby will have slightly differing hair types so there is no point us suggesting just one option - we will cover a handful below for you to experiment with:
- Natural food stores are great places to find all natural oils. These types of oils are frequently used in African American baby hair care. We would recommend trying Jojoba oil, avocado oil, virgin coconut oil or even almond oil.
- If you do not trust the more commercially sold oils above then why not try to mix up your own moisturizer. This can be done by simply mixing some quality virgin olive oil with some natural lavender ingredients.
- Even though the choices above are natural choices your baby still may get a slight allergic reaction to some of the ingredients. This can obviously be a little worrying so keep a close eye on the scalp and the surrounding skin of the child.
Don't Jump on The Style Wagon!
I know it's tempting when you have a young child but try your best to stay away from styling it's hair. No amount of African American baby hair care will prepare your youngster for the stress and damage that styling products can do to it's hair.
It is best to leave the styling for special family occasions or photographs - there is plenty of time for styling them when they are older!
It's not just the you have to be careful with, simple things like rubber hair bands can break and pull out the hair. Always use padded hair bands made especially for the younger female. styling products
When putting your baby's hair in a ponytail try your nest not to tug the hair back to tight. This will only cause the hair to break off at the hairline point. It's always best to use a loose pull back on the hair when fitting it into a ponytail shape.
Shedding Baby Hair
It very common in African American baby hair care to see a certain amount of hair shedding within the first six months. This should not be a cause for concern as it very normal along with the new, different textured hair that takes its place.
Sometimes this new hair can appear pretty dry so it's a good idea to use a few natural oils and conditioners on it to build up moisture.
The Problem of Cradle Cap
Cradle Cap is very common when it comes to African American baby hair care and again it is nothing to get to stressed out about. This process again shows up within the first six months of the baby's life. It's not really that pleasant to look at as it appears to be a crusty formation on the child's scalp.
If you want to be sure we suggest checking with your GP first to make sure it is indeed Cradle Cap and then try to do something about it. Using a simple coconut oil on the effected area then gently rubbing off with a cloth will cause it to appear a lot smoother.