Chocolate Hair / Vanilla Care : Natural hair care for kids, adoption, and family life.

July 30, 2011

How We Wash Yarn Extensions

We wash Boo's scalp once a week. Period. Regardless of what style she's wearing. A healthy scalp is so important to healthy hair. And besides, we don't want her doing the "weave pat." Yarn extensions are no exception. Yes, washing hair with a style in does make the style get fuzzier, and in the case of yarn extensions, the yarn will probably slip a bit, but it's a small price to pay to keep Boo's head healthy.

Family Friday: Trolleys and Battling Comic Con Crowds

It's never too early to start exposing Boo to music events, even if they are as different as night and day. And it's also never too early to teach her about navigating public transportation and being perfectly accepting people in all of their diversity, even if they are wearing super hero costumes, make-up, wigs, and/or carrying a variety of props.

Tried A Hair Product That Hasn't Worked for You? Sell It!

We've all been there. We bought a hair product or accessory believing that this would be "the one" that would solve all our problems/woes/issues. And then we give it a go, it doesn't work, and we are now out the money we spent on it.

Protecting Hair from Breakage in the Carseat

When Boo was a baby, we would often have her wear her sleep cap in the car. She still does so now for really long car trips. But for daily trips around town, we are a little more practical and use a satin scarf instead.

Nappturalite Radio Mentions "Open Letter" Post

Just want to send out a thank-you to Nappturalite Radio for sharing an excerpt from An Open Letter to People Regarding Touching Chocolate Hair on their radio show this past Sunday, July 24th. The feedback from this post has been nothing short of remarkable and I really want to thank all the readers (and now listeners) who have shared it with others.

Product Review: Bee Mine Juicy (Moisturizing Daily Spritz)

Okay, yes, I tend to invest a lot of money on hair products for Boo. Her hair is amazing and has special needs that mine does not have. That being said, I decided to take my personal hair care into my own hands this weekend with somewhat painful results. And wouldn't you know it, Bee Mine Juicy, a product that I'd been using to moisturize Boo's yarn twist extensions, turned out to be just the thing I needed to provide some much-needed relief to my own head.

Family Friday: First Modeling Session

Not that we are planning on going this route at all with Boo, when Nicole Benitez Photography put out a casting call for a little girl Boo's age, I submitted her photo just to see what would happen. Seriously, I had no idea what to expect, from either the experience or from Boo. Miss Nicole is not only an amazing photographer, but she has been blessed with a gift for working with children like I have seen in no other. So what we thought might be a scary and uncertain experience turned out to be a fun afternoon chatting with "an old friend." It's amazing sometimes how God works in our lives.

An Open Letter to People Regarding Touching Chocolate Hair

(photo by ManojVasanth)

Dear People Who Have, or May, Come Into Contact with My Daughter,

Thank you so much for your interest in my daughter’s hair. Yes, it is beautiful, we both appreciate your compliments. Yes, she’s very patient and has no problem sitting to have her hair done. She’s been getting her hair done since she was very small and knows of nothing else; her hair regime is a fact of life and she doesn’t see it as the burden that you do. Nor do I.

Book Review: Little Bill Books (Series)

I came across the Little Bill Books quite by accident. My husband is teaching summer school (as he does every year) and was placed in a classroom who's regular teacher had the series. He loved them so much he just had to bring them home to share. And I'm glad he did because I had never heard of them and might not otherwise have known they existed. If you are looking for "brown books" that teach moral lessons while celebrating diversity (including natural hair), then look no further. This series, all written by Bill Cosby, is awesome.

Bubbles Are Soap

(photo by FotoDawg )

Duh, right? I know it sounds silly to even say that "bubbles are soap," because it's something that we all know. But think about it: Would you put soap in your hair and not rinse it out?

Trying to Curl Yarn Extensions with Curlformers

Yes, like everyone else we have "hair fails" too, and this was one of our most recent. The last time Boo was wearing yarn extensions we had just received our Curlformers and were eager to give them a try. I know for a fact that you can curl yarn extensions (we've done them with rollers before), but I was über excited to give the Curlformers a try and just couldn't wait to see if they would work. Patience is really key when it comes to natural hair care. And Clearly I wasn't being very patient.

Pinterest Boards: Windows of the Soul?

Like most people, this last month has been about curbing a new addiction....to Pinterest (you can find my boards here). Granted, if you look at my boards, there are not many, but they are rather diverse in nature and I have no intention of stopping now. If you have not yet heard of Pinterest, it is sort of like bookmarking your favourite site/page/photo in a visual way, giving you the opportunity to organize those bookmarks categorically on "pin boards" instead of folders. Moreover, it gives you the chance to see pins on other people's boards, and to me that is the most amazing thing of all.

Book Review: It's All Good Hair

Originally published in 2002, It's All Good Hair: The Guide to Styling and Grooming Black Children's Hair is a 160-page book that covers the very basics on caring for chocolate hair, written by journalist Michele N-K Collison. If you are contemplating the possibility of working with chocolate hair, just want to read up on what it's all about, or don't have regular access to a computer, then this book would be a great place to start for you to start. If you don't fall into one of those categories, then perhaps you should think twice before buying it.

Yarn Twists with Halfmoon (Seashell) Parts

I was inspired to try these parts a while back when seeing them on Beads, Braids, & Beyond. I did some "Diamond Yarn Twist Extensions" a while back, which sort of looked closer to the finished product at BBB. Then I tried some real "halfmoons" in my "Bantu Knots with Seashell Parts," all in the hopes of working up to doing a full head of yarn extensions with these types of parts. They are supposed to be easier and less time consuming that traditional boxes. And I suppose that would be true for anyone other than the OCD, super hyper-critical-part-nazi that I am.

Adoption Day, Three Year Anniversary

I can't believe that is already three years ago today that Boo joined our family, legally, as we signed off on all adoption paperwork and made it official at the courthouse. And what a day it was.

A Vanilla Perspective on the Politics of Free Hair

There are a lot of social issues regarding wearing natural hair in it's free state (i.e., as an afro). And as a vanilla mother of a chocolate little girl, I hear my fair share of people's opinions on whether or not I should be letting her run around with her hair "all out there." I've been caring for my daughter's hair since she was born, and publicly blogging about it for almost a year. However, there is no other time when I get more advice and comments about how to care for my daughter's hair than when I take her out in public with her hair free.

Maintaining Free Hair: Wash-n-Go Preschool Style

Boo has been wearing her free hair for almost a week now. She rocked her little afro on the Fourth of July (see "The Freedom to Rock Natural Hair" and "Happy (Afro) Independence Day") and has started summer school with free hair. So far, so good as far as preschool is concerned; that is, no big sand/mud incidents of which to speak! I expect that she'll be wearing this style until the end of the week when I will do something more protective. In the meantime, we're maintaining Boo's hair in a modified "wash-n-go" fashion, which is working out nicely for us.

Happy (Afro) Independence Day!

As I mentioned in my previous post, "The Freedom to Rock Natural Hair," we are participating in National Afro Independence Day this Fourth of July. Not only do we honour our freedom, the fallen soldiers who have served this country, and those still fighting, we also honour our right to be naturally free, sharing Boo's natural hair in all it's splendor, just the way that God made it.

The Freedom to Rock Natural Hair

This year we are proud to be participating in National Afro Day. Last year Boo's hair was in a protective style for the Fourth of July, as we were we were in the middle of moving and focusing on the tasks at hand. Having rocked her Willow-Inspired Fauxhawk for nearly three weeks, it was time to say goodbye to the yarn and hello to her natural hair.

Apple iPod Touch Giveaway: Winner Announcement

I have to be really honest. I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to give away just one prize. Seriously. I started second-guessing myself, thinking perhaps I should have sold it and purchased several smaller items to give away or something. It was hard to grasp how big of a prize it was until it came down to selecting a winner. I've grown to care about so many of you that it was really hard to not be able to give everybody one; however, if I win the lottery or something, I might just do something like that!