Bethany Discussion Forums

Yes...I loved the "It's a Curl" line from curlz.biz. Their "Ring Around the Curlies" is a great leave-in condition...and it smells fantastic. Their other products are great, too. I used them a lot when Jarah was younger, and didn't have as much hair!!!

http://www.curls.biz/curly-hair-product ... 16176.html

Thank you for your recommendation! Is there a specific product you use from their line? I think I have looked at them before but wasn't sure what to get?

Thanks so much! I'm going to give it a try!

I just saw your post! We must have been posting at the same time that day! Thank you for the recommendation! I might have to try the sample pack!

We absolutely LOVE Blended Beauty's Curly Cake Shake! It smells so good and is an awesome leave-in for B's hair. We use it every day as part of our hair routine.

Okay, so someone said they only comb their child's hair once a week... so my question is, how to you keep it looking nice (down) if you don't first wet it, condition, and comb/detangle it? B's hair is sooooooo thick and sooooooo curly, that I have to comb it out to get all the moisturizer worked in. And NOT moisturizing daily isn't an option... So just wondering???

I can't remember if it was me who said they only comb it once a week...but I'll answer anyway.

C's hair is pretty long and very curly. I wash it once a week, work some hair dress in it and style it. I rotate by week what style we do. Twists, braids, puffs, pigtails, cornrows...etc. Since it's "up", I don't have to comb it out. I just spruce it up daily as needed. If I leave it out (which is pretty rare now because it's getting so long) I have to brush it out daily--and it still will have lots of knots in it.

I think Camm suggested Products of the Earth (?) for hair....

I just ordered some: the oil type spray and the leave in cream. I havent used the cream yet, but have used the oil--which is pretty thick, so I think I'm going to have to dilute it a bit.

I just started getting worried about all the chemicals going into dd's hair...since we've been using products pretty much her whole life.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for natural hair stuff that works well? DD needs moisture and control. BTW, I love curly cake shake, too!

I found a great product that is cheap. I went to the Chinese shop and found Kids Organics by Africa's Best. It's organic, smells good, and gets out all the tangles. I use the shampoo+conditioner that is purple. I also just got the lotion that gets out all tangles. Here is some at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Africas-Best-Orga ... B000E240QY

I have the Kids Organics too. It does smell really great and does a fantastic job at detangling! You can also get it at Dollar General for $5 (a two pack of both the shampoo and detangler).

I know someone who uses all natural aloe vera gel in their hair as a moisturizer and detangler. I'm going to pick some up soon and try it out, because we are going through the curly cake shake like water and at $19 a bottle, it is costing us a fortune. It'll be easier once B's hair gets long enough to put into a leave-in style, but using it every day is expensive! I'll have to look into that Kids organic!

A recommendation came from a friend of mine at work for a nice conditioner: BB Oil Moisturizer hair lotion with castor oil and aloe. It has a GREAT coconut smell and works AWESOME!! Don't let the word *oil* stop you - it's just like conditioner. It's in a hot pink & white bottle with a hot pink cap. Walgreens $3.29 for 12 ounces. She said you can get it at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, etc.

We've been using it for a few weeks and it really gives DS's hair a nice shine and keeps the curls really nice. You can just put some on the hair when it's dry and it will unfrizz and bring back the shine between washings.

We use it too! After spending tons on other hair products...the cheapest works just as well (if not better)

The "oil" is much needed for AA hair (or at least dd's AA hair). One of my friends (he's AA) swore by it and because he was a guy, I sorta blew him off (he keeps his head shaved) BUT, when we finally did buy it, it's worked great! Got ours at walmart.

I typically put it on dd's hair before styling in twists or braids. It helps keep the style looking "neat" and seems to have a bit of hold to it.

I just wanted to post a few tips I've learned over the past few years about my bio daughter...her hair is so much more like her daddy's hair and really nothing like mine at all. She's six and i have the advantage of having an African American husband and in-laws to help...although they dont currently live near us. Also, she has really pretty long hair now 'cause I never cut it only trim off split ends.

1. SWIMMING: get a swim cap with a chin strap for the summer if you plan to swim in pools with chlorine. the chlorine dries the hair out so much and swim caps without chin straps just slip off.

2: PICKING OUT THE HAIR/BATHS: It's so much easier for me to pick out her hair if I do it first in the bathtub. I wash her hair about every third or fourth day (I use Pantene for black women) then I rinse and put the conditioner on and PICK IT OUT WITH THE CONDITIONER IN HER HAIR STILL...thats the key. Its so much easier to do it this way. After I rinse the condit ioner out, I put in leave in conditioner and pile it up on her head with a pony tail holder while I wash her body. I never let regular body soap get in her hair. Even the moisturizing kind is too drying for hair.

3. STYLING: At six years old, my daughter doesnt think much about her hair and so I have to do something that she can play in care free. Braids work the best. If I braid her hair it takes me about five minutes to pick it out in the tub after I take the braids out. If her hair is in a pony tail/puff or down in some way unbraided it takes me around 20 minutes to get it picked out.
Its easiest to fix her hair asap after she gets out of the tub while its wet. I put in detangler if I need it while im styling and leave in conditioner while I'm styling. My favorite style is what we call "two back braids" because it keeps her hair out of her face and its neat and tidy. I part it down the center, comb it into one pony tail on each side, but on the back of the head not by the ears. This keeps clippies and/bows from getting in her eyes when she runs. I use ouchless pony tale holders...I dont remember their name, but they're small, clear, and kind of this thick plastic material. They wont break the hair, so they're great. Then I put it into two simple braids ... one on each side of the head...and put a holder at the end. You can put clippies on the top and bottom of the braid if you like.

4. MAINTINANCE: Every morning before school, I redo the braids because her hair has gotten a little messed up by then. It only takes me about five minutes. I get a spray bottle of water, leave in conditioner, two small ouchless pony tail holders and clippies to match her outfit. Just spray each side with water, put in a little more leave in conditioner (their hair needs it every day and it never looks greasy), comb it into two new holders, and rebraid each braid. This is easy because it doesnt have to be totally picked out and restyled, its just putting the hair back in place.
Also, about once or twice a month I use a cholesterol product in the tub instead of conditioner. It deep conditions the hair. You leave it on for about five minutes before picking the hair out and rinsing it. Keeping the hair moisturized and picked out is so important. It keeps the hair from breaking and it keeps it soft.


5. WRAPS: wraps work to keep the style in place over night and to keep fuzz out of the hair, but my daughter always slides out of them no matter what I do...I've even tried my husbands wave caps. She wont keep them on. But if you can get your child to keep it on they're really helpful.

also, I love mixed chicks leave in conditioner and their regular conditioner more for their detangling qualities than moisturizing. i think a child with more relaxed hair than my daughters would do really well with this product to put in and leave it down.

The style Halle's wearing in our profile pic was: three regular braids on each side (six total) worn for two days, then unbraided so that they look like big curls or twists, put up into two pony tails on either side of her head. So cute, I love that style. I have other styles too, if you want to know more, let me know.

Hope any of this helps someone! I'm getting a boy for my second child, so I wont be doing all this braiding. That'll be such a change for me

STEP 1: Clean wet hair parted down the center


STEP 2: Comb it into pony tails


STEP 3: Braid and done!

Thanks so much for posting over here!