EVERYDAY when I'm out I see at LEAST one child (1-4 years old) with edges completely gone. It really, really breaks my heart because that's how Pooh's edges were and KK's edges were on their way to the same. What happened and what did I do to save the edges? ABSOLUTELY nothing except accept that what I was doing was hurting my child's hair AND stopped doing it.
FIRST STEP: NO MORE HEAT!!! I really burnt Pooh's hair and especially around her edges by using excessive heat. It's been 11 months since she has had heat in her hair and it has done great. Now that's not to say I won't use heat ever again on her hair, but it does mean that it will not be often (1-2 times a year) and I will be sure to use heat protectant. I also will not try to get her hair BONE straight because she has 4b hair and there is really no need to expect it.
SECOND STEP: No more ponytails!! Since I decided to transition her hair, I stopped putting her hair in ponytails. I would usually do two in the front and 1 or 2 in the back. Now, I do twists, flat twists, etc. There are MANY styles you can do on natural hair that are FAR better for the edges. These styles would last a week at a time or even more and produced no stress on her hair. OFTEN times we don't realize that these "slicked" neat ponytails are simply too tight. They will always produce stress bumps and that's a sign we need NOT to ignore. If you especially see the white bulb (which may simply look like a white bump) that means you have pulled her hair out of the follicle. THIS is especially dangerous because prolonged practices like this could even stop that hair from growing there. Even my two year old will tell you when her hair is too tight...she will go "ouch" and will not let you touch it or cry when you do. Listen to your children. And again, with kinky, coily, and curly hair it is not necessary for your child's hair to LAY bone straight because THAT'S NOT HOW IT GROWS. Because our hair is easy to mold, if you just try you will find one to two wraps around the ponytail will suffice. It just needs a "hold" to know how to shape itself. Finally, if I have a need for "rubber bands" I use silicone ponytail holders that slip right off and do not cause tangles and knots.
THIRD STEP: I THREW OUT FINE TOOTH COMBS AND HARD BRUSHES!!!! And I know you're probably ready to close this post out right now but READ this with an open mind. Our baby's hair is not straight, it's full of kinks and coils. So the brush is not only yanking through those kinks and coils but also producing friction on the edges. How do I "lay" her hair down? Well if it's a style that requires that (which I rarely do) I will use either Shea Moisture Curl Soufflé or Eco Styler gel and then tie it down with a scarf for about 10 minutes. With KK's hair, it just curls up and I simply let it do so. But as I said, I rarely ever put their hair in a style that requires it to be slick. Another alternative I use if I need it is a toothbrush with much softer finer bristles. I also do not comb through our hair. AGAIN...kinks and coils. Combs will snag as well, and because I've found that even wide tooth combs snag our hair, I choose to finger comb. If this is just too far stretched for you, I would suggest a denman brush or a wide tooth comb. These are less harsh on our hair and especially our edges.
These are a few things that I incorporated along with our regimen. I am happy to say that Pooh's edges have grown in far better than before. I have even more pictures where her hair was LONGER and thicker until I begin to flat iron and put in too tight ponytails. I hope that you find this article helpful and not condemning! :)
But can we please just keep calm and save the edges?! LOL
#KinkyCoilyCool
**The last two pictures were of Pooh when she was 3, May 2010; the 2010 - 2012 comparison was in Dec 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment