We are going Natural!

I have three beautiful, bi-racial daughters with three very different hair types. Brianna is twelve and has a mixture of her father's coarse, very kinky tectured hair and my softer texture pinky sized riglets. Jadyn is seven, and her hair is all her daddy's. Her hair is a light brown with highlights that are red. Isabella's hair is jet black, with soft riglets just a little smaller than my own hair. People may laugh, but I prayed for Isabella to have "good hair." Being a white woman, I had never realized just how "Big" a deal hair was to black women. I had always had a wash and go attitude toward hair as I grew up. My curls were somewhat out of control, and I always longed for stick straight hair like all the other girls in my class. When I had Brianna I had no clue how to do anything associated with coarser textured hair. I thought maybe Brianna would have hair like mine when she was born, because her hair was so soft. I quickly began to realize that it was different than mine. The longer it got, the more I had no clue. I quickly learned how to do cornrows. Learning to do this served two purposes, one to braid Brianna's hair and two to braid her father's hair. I refused to let him have his hair braided by another female. Brianna's black grandmother had lots of suggestions for Bri's hair. One suggestion was to gease her scalp. I went out and purchased a big tub of hair grease. I would use the tiny elastic bands (the ones that everyone else was using on the other black children's hair) and section her hair off into little braided or twisted ponytails. I did eventually get really good at this, but Brianna's hair didn't grow really fast. So then came my next suggestion: "Keep it in tight cornrows-it will help pull her hair to make it grow faster"--, so I did. "Put beads on the ends of loose braids to help weigh the hair down so it will grow faster"--so I did. Oh! and the combing her hair. I tried and tried, but wow! I used to get some pretty bad knots it mine, but these knots were on a completely different level than mine had been. When Brianna was five I permed her hair. Yep, I should be shot, I did say five. Please remember that I freely admit that I was clueless and chose to listen to black women in the family that I assumed knew more about black hair than I did. This helped with the combing, but I still had to take a straighting iron to her hair to get the sleek, shiny look. When Brianna was five I had Jadyn. Her hair does not have my texture at all. It is super thick, coarse and "Wew!" As the years went on I learned how to add extentions, to do braided designs, kinky twists,... I have permed each of the two oldest hair since they were five. I eventually threw out the grease, started to stop taking everyone's advice and did some research.

This is Briann after a year of refusing to put grease in her hair. My belief is that grease clogs the pores and slows growth. I honestly don't know if this is a scientific fact, all I know is that her hair grew. I still had issues with the perm completely frying her hair. Her ends were aweful.

This is Jadyn. She doesn't look very happy here, because I had just finished doing her hair. Again look at her ends. I know now that I was torturing my kids hair. This is a good hair day for her, and here is a not so good day....

Most days I didn't have a clue.

This is Isabella. Her hair is a little tighter than mine. She has also had her bad hair days. Like the one below in which she took a pair of scizzors and chopped the entire front off. I then had to finishe the job. I cried while she laughed.

This is her hair now. All this to say that I have decided to stop putting chemicals in Jadyn's hair. I am trying to talk Brianna into it, but I am not going to force her to go without a perm. She is old enough now to make some descions when it comes to her hair. So Jadyn is going natural, and my prediction is that eventually Brianna will too once she sees what is going to happens to Jadyn's hair. If anyone has suggestions please give me them! I am going to start with the technique that I learned on www.tightlycurly.com. I think that the technique makes complete, commense sense. Till later, be blessed!