Hair care at FIVE: our routine

I just finished putting twists in Adelia's hair.  Nowadays I do twists way more than braids.  They're just quicker.  It took me awhile to figure out how to do them right, but I've got it down now: Take two strands, twist each strand tightly the same way (I go right) and then twist one strand over the other the OPPOSITE way (I twist left).  For a long time I didn't have the opposite part down so my twists looked terrible.

I haven't figured out how to manage the twist-out, yet (taking the twists out and separating the hair so that she can wear it down as a style), but I'm working towards it.

This is a blurry photo, but you get the idea:

This is in between two styles- the top half of her head is in twists, and the bottom half (see the beads?) is still in braids that I will take out soon and switch to twists.  I have a friend who is always trying to talk me into relaxing Adelia's hair, but I just love her natural curls, and it is so a part of who she is and I want her to embrace it and grow into it.  So I persist. 

I am so thankful for video tutorials on caring for natural hair.  Last night I searched for natural hair blogs and found this article that features seventeen women who blog or post videos on youtube about caring for their hair.  I searched some of the women by name and ended up watching several videos.  I'm such a visual learner that I LOVE being able to watch a video that teaches me how to do it!  Mark even watched a few with me.  It is seriously UNREAL the amount of time it takes to care for natural hair.  If you ever see a black woman with natural hair you should compliment her, because- wow-- the WORK. 

This is my general routine with Adelia's hair, five years in:

1. WASH: approximately once a month, using a natural coconut shampoo that I ordered a long time ago from Cornrows & Co.

2. CONDITION: Lather on leave-in conditioner after washing (lately I've been using Giovanni).  We're talking lots of conditioner, fingering it through her hair, when wet.

3. TOWEL DRY:  Scrunching up the ends of her hair with the towel- not scrubbing the towel on her head to dry.  The water naturally runs down her curls and drips off the ends, so I just scrunch those repeatedly.

4. SECTIONING: I didn't know which step to put first: detangling or sectioning.  I have to detangle it somewhat- mostly with my fingers- before I section it out (with a rat-tail comb), and then I clip each section and work on detangling the individual sections.

5. DETANGLING:  This (and sectioning, above) is everyone's least favorite step.  Ouch.  It hurts Adelia, and it takes forever to detangle and comb out those tight curls.  I use a deep conditioning mix of Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Vitamin E oil and Olive oil.   Recipe here.

6. STYLE: Lately, I alternate between smallish twists like in the photo above (for one month) and then I'll wash, etc (steps 1-5, above) and for the next month, style with bigger, fewer sections: banded at her head and twisted out (fatter twists).  I style a couple hours at a time, over a period of days.  (Before ending Day 1: I'll keep the sections by putting in fat twists or braids.  On Day 2 (which may, in fact, be three days later) I spritz it with water and add more conditioner and detangle it all over again before styling.)

7. TRIM: Prior to washing the next time around, I trim the ends of her hair while they're still in twists. (Often just cutting off the rubber band at the end of the twist and the hair with it.)

What I do not do is moisturize her hair on a daily or even weekly basis.  I should really do this.  But I forget.  Every once in awhile, mid-month, I may rub some jojoba on her scalp or the ends of her hair.

If you're an adoptive mom and have tips on doing your daughters hair, please share.  I love learning more about how to care for Adelia's hair!