| Biracial Hair Care Tips & Guide | This guide is written to give
you a
little education on biracial hair care and to answer some of the
questions we get most often. These tips on Biracial hair care should be
helpful in developing a regimen to give you healthy hair.
After a
short introduction, we'll move
into
a question and answer format. To immediately reach the
section
you're most interested in, click on the question to be taken directly
there.
Introduction to Biracial Hair
Care
Expectations for Biracial hair
What tools will I need to maintain my /
my daughter's biracial hair?
How do I comb kinky hair? My
daughter complains when I comb her hair.
How often do I wash my hair? How do I
wash my hair? How do I dry my hair?
How do I condition my hair?
What about deep conditioning?
What should I use to moisturize my
hair? How often should I do it?
Should I oil bi-racial hair? How
often?
What should I use?
What about styling bi-racial hair?
How do I keep my natural ringlets?
How do I control this frizzy, curly
hair?
Should I perm or relax biracial hair?
Ponytail tips
Sleeping
I've heard I should trim my ends.
Should I? Why?
What about hair growth supplements?
Summary
I have written a short
general
guide called:
African and Biracial Children’s Hair Care tips.
It’s
available on our website. I wrote that guide at the request of many
frustrated mothers. We often receive emails from adoptive mothers of
African American children and white mothers of biracial children. That
guide gives some rules-of-thumb that are useful in developing your own
hair care regimen or one for your child. But, I have found that people
are requesting more detail as to exactly what to do. They
want
tips for bi-racial hair care that are more specific. Unfortunately, I
can’t tell you exactly what’s best for you or for
your
child. I purposely avoided a cookbook approach in the original guide
because proper maintenance of hair is more of an art than a science.
Every person’s hair is slightly different and therefore
requires
a slightly different maintenance routine. Even my two daughters, with
the same father and mother, have different hair types. I find that an
oil that is great for one is too heavy for the other. After years of
trial and error that I have developed regimens that work best for each
of the three of us. While my own children are not biracial, I do have
several biracial nieces and newphews and have helped many people with
biracial children. So, I do have hands-on expertise in this
area.
I am still tweaking the routines for my daughters as I find
new
products
and as I gain more experience. But, I will share my tips and routines
with you.
These should be useful starting points for you to develop your own
routine.
Biracial hair care can be even more difficult to figure out than
African hair care. We are often approached by White mothers who have
given birth to children with hair very dissimilar to theirs and what
they are used to. Interracial (actually, transracial) adoptions are
becoming more common, creating the same situation. Most African
Americans are multi-racial. So, African American hair has a wide
variety of textures and needs. Biracial hair care must cover an even
broader range of textures and needs.
Expectations
for Biracial Hair
The number one complaint we get about black hair is that it looks dry
or dull. We get the same complaint about biracial hair, followed
closely by complaints of “frizzyness” and
difficulty in
combing. Before you go too far to make your natural hair full of sheen
and shine, it’s best to have the proper expectation. Natural
Black or African hair will not be as shiny as permed hair or Caucasian
hair. A major part of what makes hair shiny is the structure of the
hair, not just the amount of oil or moisture it contains. If the
cuticles lay flat (smooth hair), the hair will reflect light better
(translated will appear shiny). If the cuticles are raised, the hair
will absorb light (translated will appear more dull). Without changing
the structure of the hair (as in getting a perm or relaxer for us
African Americans), our hair will only be so shiny. By applying a lot
of grease (see below for the types of oils I recommend) to make it
shinier, you could end up damaging the hair.
Having said that, natural African hair can appear healthy, smooth and
have a nice healthy sheen. As I said, the second complaint we get most
often about biracial hair is that it is too curly or too frizzy. There
are some things you can do to control frizzyness and curliness. But, if
you want to effect “permanent” (permanent until it
grows
out anyway) changes, you are looking at a chemical process. One thing
we often advise mothers about though is please do not expect your
child’s hair to be like yours. And, please do not make her
feel
as though something is wrong with her hair because it’s
“frizzy” or curly.
You should picture your child’s hair as a collection of fine
fibers. You should treat it as gently as you would a fine washable silk
blouse. The better you treat her hair, the easier it will be to grow
and the better it will look. You should be aware that African hair and
biracial hair tends to be drier than Caucasian hair. The structure of
our hair makes it more difficult for the oils to work their way from
the scalp to the ends of the hair. Because our hair is kinky, it tends
to tangle more and pulling these tangles out can cause breakage. In
spite of appearances, black hair and biracial hair tends to be more
fragile than Caucasian hair. The lack of moisture and elasticity and
the kinks that get grabbed when styling or combing make for hair that
can be broken easily. Someone once asked me if natural hair is meant to
be combed. Actually, the answer probably is no. I don’t think
our
hair was structured to be combed at all. So, as long as we’re
going to do it, we have to do it causing the least amount of damage
possible.
Both of my daughters have natural hair. We receive a lot of compliments
about their hair. They are technically not biracial. We have a mixed
heritage (as do most African Americans). But, many of the same things I
do for them can be adapted for biracial hair care. Here are my
“secrets”.
Tools
for Biracial Hair Maintenance
Combing
Out
Kinky Biracial Hair
This section will be particularly important to those of you
who have
not worked with kinky hair. Never try to comb out kinky hair while it
is dry. Use a moisturizer to provide elasticity to the hair and to
reduce friction. Be sure you have a wide tooth comb. You might want to
look for a “detangling” comb. If you’re
used to fine
tooth combs, it might look a little strange to you. But, generally
speaking, the farther apart the teeth the better. I generally do not
use bristled brushes because I find they tend to grab the hair. I have
a Kakakiki KombBrush, which does a great job on the girls’
natural hair. It’s a combination comb and brush in one
device.
It’s shaped like a brush, but has round teeth more like a
comb.
Be patient and gentle when combing kinky hair. If your daughter is
screaming, you might want to consider that you are pulling too hard. I
begin by working in sections. I part the hair and tie off the part I am
not working on at the time. I gently grasp the hair near the scalp with
my free hand and work the comb against that hand, rather than against
the scalp. Comb gently beginning near the roots and work your way up-
until all kinks are free. I then tie that section off and start on the
next section.
Tips
for Washing Biracial Hair
You should begin by washing hair about once a week.
In the
winter this might stretch
out a little longer. I wash more often in the summer when the kids are
playing outside and sweating. But, one of the
commonly made mistakes non-African parents of Biracial or African
children make is to wash their children's hair too frequently. Many of
my
Caucasian friends wash their own hair daily because they have fine hair
that gets weighed down with their natural oils. In a biracial child,
overwashing can lead to dullness and dryness. For biracial hair care,
you may want to consider washing a little more often than once a week.
But, you will rarely want to wash more than a couple of times a week. I
like to use different shampoos
to eliminate the possibility of build-up from a particular shampoo. I
alternate between:
Washing an infant's hair
If your child is very
young (too
young to keep her eyes closed), use a no tears baby shampoo. These
shampoos contain agents that keep the eyes from stinging. Our shampoo
for babies and young children is Kayshay Kids Baby Shampoo, which
is a mild, moisturizing shampoo excellent for babies. Most of
these shampoos can be drying,
especially for African or biracial hair care. So, if you use someone
else's baby shampoo, transition to a nice
mild shampoo as soon as possible.
Drying biracial hair
Wash gently, but thoroughly, massaging the scalp while washing. When
you dry, blot with a towel rather than rubbing vigorously. Avoid heat
as much as possible for drying. Allow the hair to air dry or you can
even use a conditioning cap to drive some of the moisture out before
blasting the hair with forced hot air.
Tips
for Conditioning Biracial Hair
Immediately after washing I recommend conditioning with one of these products:
Deep
Conditioning Biracial Hair
At least once or twice a month, after shampooing, deep
condition the
hair. I use one several products:
Put one of the deep conditioning products on after shampooing and use
either a microwave or professional heat cap for 30 minutes or so. The
gentle moist heat from the caps allows the cuticles of the hair to open
and the moisturizer to penetrate the hair shaft. A good hot oil
treatment could be done here instead.
Tips
for Moisturizing Biracial Hair
The most important key to healthy African American or Biracial
hair care is moisture. Because of the structure of our hair, it tends
to become dry easily. Dry hair lacks elasticity and therefore is
brittle. Moisturize with good products and do it often. Moisturizing is
not necessarily the same as oiling. And it is certainly not the same as
putting on what we used to call “grease” (see
below). After
the Deep Conditioning or Conditioning I moisturize. I
recommend
moisturizing at least twice a week. I moisturize whenever I
style
and often in-between, if we happen to be wearing a leave in style for
several days. I use one of these products:
To
Oil or Not to Oil Biracial Hair
The subject of whether to oil or not is controversial in African or
biracial hair care. You’ll have to decide for yourself. My
experience has been that, for my daughters, and me, oil is good for our
hair. The right oil though is of vital importance. We only use all
natural oils, mostly plant oils. We avoid mineral oil and petroleum
based products. The one notable exception to the plant oil rule is emu
oil (an animal oil). I love emu oil! Not only does it soften
and
lubricate, it contains essential fatty acids and reduces inflammation
which helps hair grow. However, oiling is one of those places
where
you’ll really have to experiment. One of my daughters can use
a
heavier oil than the other. She can even use pure Shea Butter. The
other daughter’s hair is too thin and looks weighed down with
Shea Butter. My biracial nieces have different needs. One has very
fine, smooth hair and needs no additional oils at all. The other can
use a light oil which really helps control the frizziness.
To apply the product, I put a little of the product in
the palm of my hand (and melt it, if it’s a solid product). I
then rub it on the hair and massage into the scalp. I will not use
anything that doesn’t melt at body temperature. If I happen
to
use something with a little beeswax (which has a relatively high
melting point), I make sure it still melts at body temperature so that
it doesn’t build up. I often mix a couple of the products. To
be
safe, I mostly use products that are liquid at room temperature. Some
of my favorite oils are:
- Shea Butter Oil- has the wonderful properties of Shea
Butter, but
in a much lighter, liquid form. We began our company selling nothing
but Shea Butter products. That was before Shea Butter was as popular as
it is now. It’s still a key ingredient in many of our hair
and
skin care products. We use Shea Butter as the main
carrier oil in several of our products.
- Emu Oil- unbelievably good for scalp health. Improves
circulation, reduces inflammation and has natural antiseptic
properties. All help promote hair growth.
- Jojoba Oil- the closest thing to natural sebum itself.
Jojoba oil
is technically a wax, not an oil. It can actually make oily skin less
oily and dry skin more oily, In other words, it helps bring skin into
balance. In the case of biracial hair care, we are generally seeking to
add oil to the scalp.
- Castor Oil- nice all natural plant oil that helps humectify
(draw moisture to) the hair and scalp
You can choose from the following products
(from heaviest to lightest in order)
Repetition
This is very important. I repeat the Moisturize and/or
Oiling steps above on a daily basis when I’m combing/styling
the girls’
hair. Even if we’re in a non-comb style (like twists),
I’ll touch them
up just about daily, with something. I’m careful to avoid
build-up and
I don’t use a lot of product.
Styling
Tips for Biracial Hair
Generally, I style the girls’ hair without the use of styling
products. Since they are young, mostly, they’re in ponytails,
plaits, braids or the like. But, I mix it up and am very cautious about
overly tight styles that can lead to scalp damage and even a certain
type of hair loss. I especially avoid any styling products that might
be drying to their hair. You’ll want to be very careful with
hair
sprays, mousse products, gels etc. But, there are a few aids
I use for certain hair styles to provide hold or some straightening:
- Treasured Locks Curl Tamer- use
this on the occasions
when you want the hair a little straighter to completely straight.
Combined with a blow dryer, this allows me
to easily get their hair ready for styles for certain occasions.
- Treasured Locks Thermo Shield-
spray that provides protection from heat damage when flat-ironing,
using a curling iron or pressing.
- Nubian Heritage Raw Shea Butter Loc Butter- great all
natural
Shea Butter based loc butter that I’ll use for twists or
styles
where I want a little more hold
- Treasured Locks Locks of Curls Pomade
& Gel-
provides hold
and moisture in one product. An aloe vera based gel product with Shea
Butter oil and other natural moisturizers & softeners. This is
great for two strand twists or to hold braids in longer and with less
frizzing. Also can be used to work kinky hair into curly
hair.
How
to Maintain Natural Ringlets in Biracial Hair
Many biracial people have naturally beautiful curls when their hair is
wet and would like to keep that look once the hair dries. If
you
have naturally soft curls, one of our clients has suggested a way that
she styles her biracial hair that works for her.
For those with softer, natural curls
who just want more definition, this is a great technique. This hair
style is well suited to bi-racial hair types.
For soft springy curls here is the procedure.
- Wash hair at least 1x per week (the other days just
rinse)
- Detangle hair each day
- Put in a leave in conditioner. Whatever helps detangle and
leaves
hair feeling soft. SheaMoisture Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioner is
great for this step.
- Saturate hair with Black Earth Protective Mist Bodifier
- Put Treasured Locks Locks of Curls Curl Defining Pomade
& Gel or other styling gel in hair
- Apply a little hair oil
- Let air dry if possible (you can put your hair in a
ponytail to stretch it a little or just let it air dry
- In the winter- use a blow dryer on the lowest temp, gently
stretching the hair as you dry it.
Controlling
Frizzyness & Curliness in Biracial Hair
As I said earlier, expectations are important when it comes
to hair.
Most of the time biracial children are not going to have hair that is
as smooth as Caucasian or Asian children. So completely eliminating
frizziness and/or curliness may require drastic methods and send a
message that the natural hair is undesirable. But, we do have
products that
will help reduce the frizzyness, to an extent. Natural-Laxer
MIX
is a treatment that can be applied about once a month. It is
all-natural and works to gently tame wild hair. We’ve had
people
of various ethnicities who are very pleased with it. It does not
actually alter the structure of the hair like a relaxer would. It can
be applied in the home and wears off after several weeks. For those
looking for a more permanent solution, a mild relaxer, a texturizer or
a kiddie perm might be something to consider. Before you do though,
please read our precautions when it comes to permanents/relaxers
(see below). If you’re not familiar with them, please be
informed before you make that decision.
Other products
we offer that help when styling curly and/or frizzy hair include:
- Treasured Locks Conditioning Balm-
Treasured Locks
Conditioning
Balm is a botanically rich, leave-in conditioning and styling balm that
straightens and controls curly frizzy hair while, giving incredible
shine and manageability.
- Treasured Locks Liquid Silk- A
space age blend of silk
proteins
for redefining any texture hair. Curly hair becomes smooth and shiny.
- Treasured Locks Curl Tamer- just
shampoo, towel dry, apply
product and blow dry for those days when you want to wear your hair
straighter. Fantastic product for biracial hair.
- Treasured Locks Locks of Curls Pomade
& Gel- doesn’t eliminate
curls,
but defines them turning kinks into soft flowing curls or just
smoothing out curls and making them more defined. With the proper
styling technique, you can get those bouncy flowing curls you see on
the stars (instructions are on our website)
Perms
and Relaxers for Biracial Hair Care
We often get questions concerning perms for young girls.
Generally, we
recommend against perms for prepubescent girls. Their hair and skin
aren’t fully developed and changing their hair texture this
early
in life (especially a permanent change) can send the message to them
that their hair isn’t good enough. Our nine year old is proud
of
her natural hair and says she will never perm it. But, our six year old
says she will. Ironically, it’s the older one who has the
thicker
hair. When they are old enough, they can decide on their own.
I use Natural-Laxer MIX on our older
daughter. It has made her hair much more manageable and
improved the texture. I can comb her hair in about half the time it
used to take and I’ve seen a large reduction in the amount of
hair left in the comb after combing.
Perming or relaxing the hair might seem like an easy solution to the
kinky/frizzy/hard-to-comb problem. But, there are several things you
should know before heading down this path. We’ve seen unaware
mothers actually make things much worse by not knowing this before
getting started. Consider the following before you start perming.
- We do not recommend home box perms. People often ask us to
recommend specific perms to them. We do not recommend any perms because
we do
not sell any. A beautician has told us that they are not the same
quality as the salon perms. I don’t know if that’s
true.
But, even if it is not, a chemical relaxer or perm is a process that is
best performed by a professional. Serious damage can be done to the
hair (that can never be repaired, it has to grow out). A relaxer,
improperly applied can do permanent damage to the scalp. The only
compromise we would even contemplate on this would be to take your
child to a local beauty school, if you just cannot pay the money the
salons are charging. At least they’ll get the perm under
professional supervision. And, the cost is usually a pretty small
fraction of the cost in a salon.
- If you insist on applying perms at home, please read and
follow
the instructions carefully. Do not keep perming the part of the hair
that has already been treated. Only apply the perm to the new growth
(the kinky stuff underneath). Perming the same part of a strand of hair
over and over again thins it a little each time. Eventually, it will
break. This is not an "if" question. It's a "when".
- If you begin to relax your child’s hair, you must
keep on
doing it. When the natural hair reaches a certain length underneath the
relaxed hair (hair grows from the root), the hair begins going through
a transition stage. At this point, the hair is very vulnerable to
excessive breakage. Generally speaking, a perm will be required every
6-8 weeks unless you are prepared to transition back to natural hair.
Transitioning, without taking proper precautions can be very traumatic
because of the breakage.
- If you relax your child’s hair, you weaken the
hair and
reduce the ability for the scalp to naturally oil itself. Permed hair
is especially delicate and must be cared for even more diligently than
natural hair. But, it's better to perm hair than to fry it with
excessive heat trying to make it straight or to end up breaking it off
by combing it too aggressively.
Ponytail
Do’s and Don’ts
As I mentioned earlier, these bound hairstyles are great for little
girls. They keep the hair from going wild and from tangling. I can
often get a few days out of a style, too. But, these bound styles can
lead to hair disaster- as in severe, and even permanent, hair loss.
Here are some dos and don’ts you will want to be aware of:
- Don’t- use common rubber bands to hold her
hairstyles.
Also, avoid the bands with the metal clips, which grab and break kinky
hair. Rubber bands cause too much friction on the hair and will
eventually cause breakage. Buy covered bands or smooth bands made
especially for hair.
- Do- remove any bands from the hair every night before bed
time.
Even the best bands should be removed before retiring for the evening.
- Don’t- pull the hair too tight. While it may be
attractive,
if you see your daughter’s eyebrows arching like
she’s just
had a face-lift you could be doing damage to her scalp. If you start to
notice bumps around her hairline or elsewhere on her scalp, you could
be causing traction alopecia. Normally, changing the hairstyle easily
reverses this. But, if it is continued, this practice can lead to
permanent hair loss.
Sleeping
As instructed above, please remove tight bands from hair
before
sleeping. Using a satin pillowcase or a satin sleep cap will reduce
friction with the pillow and help retain moisture in the hair.
Trimming
the Ends
The ends of the hair are the oldest parts because hair grows
from the
root. If the ends are neglected, they can begin to split; causing
damage even further down the hair. It may be counterintuitive. But,
trimming the ends can actually lead to having longer hair. If you
notice the ends of the hair are very dry, you might want to make sure
you are doing a good job conditioning. If you notice they looked
frayed, more tangled than normal or split, have them trimmed. I
neglected this for a long time with my girls. But, since starting, I
immediately noticed an improvement in the manageability of their hair.
It was actually easier to comb just after trimming the ends.
Hair
Growth and Hair Health Supplements
I use the Treasured
Locks H2G Hair Growth Supplement
and Treasured Locks H2G Hair Strength Supplement. I have had a
noticeable improvement in the condition of my hair and nails since
using these supplements. Proper nutrition is essential to good hair
health. Supplements
can
certainly help with that. However, we do not recommend these
products for children under the age of 13. They are formulated for the
needs of an adult. I can recommend the use of our Treasured Locks
H2G Hair Growth Serum. I use it for both myself and
the girls.
The blend of essential oils and emu oil help promote hair
growth
by stimulating the scalp and by keeping the hair well oiled and soft.
Summary
I hope you find this guide useful. We know that what you really want
is a cookbook approach. But, for the reasons we stated at the
beginning, that just isn’t possible. If you follow these
general
guidelines and learn how to look for signs of hair health, you can
easily begin to make your or your child’s hair more
manageable
and healthy. After a few days, weeks and months of using the right
products and the proper techniques, you will see a noticeable
improvement.
If you have any questions after reading this, please do not hesitate to
contact us. We’re glad to help. We’re available at http://www.treasuredlocks.com.
Peace,
Tywana
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