Hey Curlies,

I know I should have done this post long ago especially with my baby girl, Zuri, hitting her 1 1/2 year mark! She has very thick hair with very teeny tiny coils with 4 to 5 inches of length when stretched (pulled) all around her head. Her hair is beautiful and so soft like cotton (and it looks like cotton) which I attribute to her Dad’s side of the family being 100% Nigerian. 🙂

Because Zuri is not old enough to wear a satin bonnet to her crib, as I still send her to bed in her PJ’S and a halo sleep sack, then protective styling is a must, especially with her hair constantly making contact with her cotton crib sheets!

I have looked into a satin pillowcase for the future but you are not supposed to put pillows in an infant’s crib so in time I will gradually move to that. I think when she is 2 or 3 then she will be ready for a satin bonnet or pillowcase!  I can’t wait!

Below are some tips on styling your baby girls natural hair kinks, curls and coils.
•Avoid rubber bands and tight hair ties but if you must use ties then stick to mini satin scrunchies or ouchless ribbon elastic hair ties. Ginny don’t do beads! Ain’t gonna happen ever! Hated them as a kid and they are totally uncomfortable to sleep with! (You get the point!)
•Try not to immediately restyle hair that has very recently been protective styled. Most likely baby girls hair will be a little tender from the hair laying a certain way. Give her a day or two after take down.
•Stay away from extravagant OR tight hair styles.
•Stick to easy styles as baby girl won’t still still for long. I like to do two strand flat twists styles that are fast to do and take down. I avoid all braids because they are time consuming to take down and do.
•Never keep styles in for more than a week. You don’t want the hair follicle to constantly be laying in the same direction which will affect hair growth. You want the scalp to be massaged so blood circulates which helps hair growth and sticking to a weekly routine will help as baby girl will appreciate the scalp massage on wash day during the shampoo process.
•Style on damp hair always! No explanation needed! DON’T put her through that! Dry hair takes longer to style and you use more product aimlessly.
•Stick to a weekly routine from washing to styling. I shampoo, rinse, apply a slippery instant deep conditioner, finger or wide tooth comb detangle, rinse, she plops with an old t-shirt, I put a leave in conditoner on, distribute with my fingers, and then I style on damp hair. This helps baby girl know what to expect!
•Use products with lots of slip . This is very important for thick baby kinks. The conditioner you use should melt tangles and allow you to easily manipulate and style baby’s kinks.
•Give her something she likes to look at like a book or play with when styling and/or detangling as you don’t want that little fish jumping all over the place!
• Stick to all natural products with simple ingredients (I.e. coconut oil, Behentrimonium chloride, water, etc) as you don’t want a lot of build up and you want the washing session to be quick! Water soluble silicones (not natural but simple plastics) like Dimethicone and amodimethicone are ok and help with slip.

Hopefully these tips will help you! Good luck!

Favorite Product Line Up (we like to keep it simple!)
– Shampoo – EverButter Morning Joy Cleanser
–Deep Conditioner – EverButter Coconut Cream Pie, Shea Moisture African Black Soap Purification Masque
– Leave in conditioner – Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia, EverButter Chocolate Souffle Leave In
– Styler / Moisturizer – NATURALICOUS Moisture Infusion Styling Creme, Karen’s Body Beautiful Super Duper Hydrating Hair Cream, Donna Marie Super Buttercreme, EverButter Buttermint Smoothie
–Styler /Butter – Oyin Handmade Juices and Berries Pomade, Qhemet Biologics Aethiopika Hydrate & Twist Butter

Ginny
~Embrace the Natural You~