American Girl Hairstyles

American Girl Hairstyles Biography

Source(Google.com)

I have 3 biracial daughters. When they were very young, I used baby care products made by Weleda and Aubrey Organics (both lines should be available through local health & natural foods stores in Canada or USA.) They aren't "no tears" formulas, but they are very gentle on the skin, made with very pure botanical products and vegetable oils. I never had any skin or scalp problems at all, probably because these soaps/shampoos do not dry the skin or hair (unlike mass market drugstore and children's products which contain some pretty harsh ingredients....most parents are extremely careful not to get soap suds in baby's eyes in the first place. Also, you want to use only a tiny dab of soap or shampoo - if the suds are flying around enough to drip into baby's eyes, you're using way too much!

I gave daily baths, but only used tiny amounts of soap; I shampoo'd only once or twice a week. Play it by ear - if your baby sweats a lot in the summer heat, then a more frequent shampooing might be in order to wash off the accumulated sweat and grime that could cause skin rashes and infections. I never used baby oil or lotion because their skin was never dry, even in the middle of winter living in a woodstove-heated house.

I don't know about the advice to never brush or comb hair for the first six months. My kids all had thick masses of curls from birth, and I can't imagine the hideous mess their hair would have been without gently combing and brushing every day, especially when it gets wet from a bath! Hair care (unless it's a boy with a close-cropped head) is going to be a big issue, and the sooner your baby gets used to combing and brushing, the better. I would think that after six months of never being combed, your baby's head is going to be a real rat's nest of snarls all the way to the scalp, which can cause skin infections in and of itself, not to mention a real nightmare the first time you try to comb it! But maybe others have another outlook based upon their own experiences.

Hi adoptn! Here's something you might like for your website on AA hair care. You can edit it as needed, and it's OK to use my name.

-Pat

A new Black hair salon has opened in our town this summer, and I decided to give it a try with my 8 year old biracial daughter. What a great experience we had!

Chantelle, the owner, was so friendly and helpful right from the moment we walked in. I asked her to just trim the ends of Hannah's hair (the ends were frizzed from a summer of sun and swimming in the pool) and give me some help and suggestions for hair care products and simple styles. She was a veritable fountain of AA hair wisdom, and more than willing to impart her knowledge to me, the virtual klutz with a comb.

Then she took me under her wing. She went over all the basics of AA hair care, including frequency of shampooing (no more than once a week, preferably only once every two weeks); to comb out hair starting at the ends, not the scalp; to shampoo in the shower instead of at the sink so that the water does the work of washing the conditioned hair straight down and easing out tangles; and on and on. She showed me how to get super straight parts using the rat-tail of a comb, and how to scrunch gel into her hair and gently dry it to set the curls if we wanted curls. And, most importantly of all, to make sure that the hair is sectioned and secured in braids or twists every night before going to bed so that it doesn't get matted during sleep. That way, in the morning you simply undo the hair one section at a time, comb it, oil it, and re-fasten it. SO SIMPLE!! And then, as we were leaving, that blessed young woman told me to call her back in three days and let her know how we were making out.

Chantelle gave me so much confidence to do something different with Hannah's hair other than pull it back into a puff. This morning she went to school with three neatly sectioned braids swinging jauntily with each step. (I sectioned the top and braided it straight down the back, then sectioned each side and put a braid in each.) We used every bangled ponytail holder we had, and she looked so fine!

For Hannah's dry, but soft and fine tightly curled hair, Chantelle recommended Soft Sheen's Optimum shampoo and conditioner, plus Baby Love's Hair Lotion and Paul Sebastian's clear styling gel for styling.

We wound up using some different products than were recommended. Hannah hates the feel of gel and hair lotion, so we settled on a nice, light oil: African Pride Hair, Scalp & Skin Oil. It is rich in botanical oils and extracts, has a nice, light fragrance, and it doesn't weigh down her fine hair the way that baby oil or the heavier lotions do. The Optimum shampoo and conditioner are good products for her hair, but I found the fragrance overwhelming (I, the klutz with a comb, am also allergic to perfumes.) Matrix/Biolage has a shampoo, conditioner and detangler for dry hair that are working nicely, but they are pricey salon products. I've also found that Infusium conditioner (found in any drug store or supermarket) and their Leave-In Treatment for dry hair seems to work well, and I can tolerate the lighter scents in those products.