“My 8 year old daughter is a diva. I admit she gets it from me, but not in a bad way. She just loves her natural hair as much as I love mine. I’m so happy about this because I didn’t love my hair as a child. Like me, she wants to wear it out but between playground dirt, sticky hands and just plain breakage from wrestling with her brother, I’m not sure this is the best idea. I’d like for her to enjoy her hair but not at the expense of breakage! Any tips you can give?”

Little girls just wanna have fun, too! Styling your daughters hair down and out can be a fun experience for her… whether it’s for a special occasion, or a regular school day. Switching things up every now and then can be a good thing…even if it means a slightly longer detangling session!

When I was a little girl, my mom only let me wear my hair out on special occasions. Specifically Easter, Christmas… and school pictures, of course. It was always fun to wear my hair out because it made me feel older than my age. I didn’t care about length or swang, I just cared about wearing my hair just like my mom and sister!

Now that I’m a mom, I rarely style my daughter’s hair down and out, not even on special occasions. CONVENIENCE being the reason. It’s more convenient to style her hair in a way that lasts for days. You know, with kids you’re always in a rush of some sort (or is it just me?)! With a down hairstyle there is more upkeep. Plus I would imagine, if you are sending your child to school multiple days with this style, you’re just asking for more dirt and debris (like gum… gasp!), right?

As a rule of thumb, your lifestyle is the deciding factor. If you have the time to maintain the down style and are prepared for some extra detangling time, then feel free to style her hair down as often as she requests. Just keep an eye out for the condition of her hair (rough or splitting ends, more dryness, etc.) and keep it in check. Just like with your own hair, you’ll know when enough is enough and it’s time to put her hair back up in a protective style.

As an alternative to a full blown down and out style, and to err on the side of caution since she’s so young, try styling braids, cornrows, or twists downward and curling them at the ends with rollers. It’s much easier to maintain and moisturize, yet it still allows for showing length and letting it swang!

Ladies how often did you want to wear your hair out as a child vs. how often you were allowed to? How often do you think a little girl should wear her hair out, and what do you do with your little ones?

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lately, i’ve been getting tons of email alerts for sales on straighteners. is this a sign? should i be wearing my hair straight for the summer? hmmm? i’m not sure. actually, that’s not totally true, i’m PRETTY sure i want to wear a protective style wig this summer – as in all summer. i have a few styles to try out and test to see which ones work best with my face…you know, the usual, so i doubt that a hair straightener will touch my hair this summer at all. but what about you?

“not your average chic” tee shirt | woven platform clogs | leather and gold chain bracelet | sleek canvas tote bag | pink rubber watch | purplish pink nail polish

do you plan to rock your hair in any straight styles this summer. or say go for a cropped cut, or even the poetic justice braids that are back and on fire like an arsonist house. i really do want to try the poetic justice braids but i’m not sure i am going to do well with those sucker sitting on my edges. we’ll see.

so what are your summer 2011 hair plan? anything good or fun in store? PLEASE SHARE so we can exchange ideas! :)

photo

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care routine for winter 2010 – *spring 2010

shampoo: since i only shampoo once or twice every 30-60 days, i use a cheapie shampoo – Suave Daily Clarifying Shampoo. this does the clarifying job excellent.

conditioner: Deva Curl One Condition . this is a staple and i’ve been using this since 2009. i also like L’Oreal Everpure Moisture Conditioner for color treated hair and/or Garnier Fortifying Conditioner for dry hair.

i am washing my hair with conditioner to retain moisture (co-washing). additionally, since i’ve been protective styling my hair, i have not been using aveda products that are for color treated hair. i do plan to get my hair colored at aveda again this fall or early winter.

i co-wash my hair once every two weeks.

deep conditioner: Pantene Relaxed and Natural Breakage Defense Mask Deep Conditioner. though i cannot say this is a staple yet, it gets the job done excellent!

sealants (for moisture): unrefined shea butter, extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil.

*i plan on testing out organic lines to replace my shampoo and conditioners (which are almost empty) and will be updating about them once i’ve been able to use the products for a month. if they work well, i’ll be replacing my usual products above with as many organic and natural products as possible.

length

well, i have to say that i’m almost stunned myself. here i was thinking that since fall of last year that i’m STILL arm pit length (on the chart it would be where your hair touches the top of your armpits). i thought this because i’ve been battling single strand knots like a mother! i hate those things. and there aren’t many things in this world that i hate! murderers and single strand knots…yep that’s about it!

single strand knots, also now called “fairy” knots, are little knots that form on individual strands of hair (fairy meaning they are so small only tinkerbell herself or some other fairy could have tied them). i get these when my hair is out in an afro for days in a row, so that’s why i’ve been protective styling my hair since early fall last year. they cause soooo many set backs it’s not even funny! though i know i’ll have to get a chunk of hair chopped at the end of my protective styling challenge, i feel better knowing that i’m closer than originally anticipated.

hair styles:

i’m protective styling my hair until late fall 2010. see my post about it here: winter to summer hair 2010: curly fro then “big chop” to pixie

to care for it, i co-wash my braids every two weeks and seal in my moisture with either coconut oil, evoo or mimosa hair honey from carol’s daughter.

i take down my cornrows, do a super detangle job,  and deep condish my hair once a month with my pantene mask. i normally deep condish overnight and re-braid the next day while my hair is sitll wet. i rarely, if ever, do much manipulation to my hair when it is dry. this has helped TREMENDOUSLY in retaining my length.

during the week, i wet my braids and add evoo or my other oils or the honey to my hair to seal them. i also pay attention to my ends and moisturize them as well and then stick them under (i cornrow my hair back and then make one big plat from the cornrows and then tuck the plat under itself).

tools:

really, just my number one love, my shower comb. i co-wash my hair in 4 sections while detangling with my shower comb:

so, do you have a winter routine established? how is your winter hair coming along? and how is your routine working out for you?

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