Biracial hair styles....still learning.

[jeff2mozy]

My youngest of 4 boys all biracial hair is way coarse i have tried the motion hair lotion something called super grow its like scalp mouistorizer what else can i use .. i use several things and with in 30 it dont look like i have put anything in it and i definitely dont wanna cut it

[MommaC]

Yeah--I think pulling it too tight (especially for long periods of time) can damage the follicles and cause some baldness issues. I've got a mess of curly hair myself, but I don't know a whole lot about African-type hair. I know there are two books out there that can be helpful: "Curly Girl" by Lorraine Massey (and there's a whole chapter in there about African hair) and "Curl Talk" (which I haven't read yet). Check around at your local salons--there may be a stylist who has knowledge and ideas that will be helpful to you. Good luck!

[bx mom]

I'm an African- American mother, of a 12 yr old, biracial (half-caucasian) son.

My difficulty is maintaining his extremely dry & flakey SCALP! When he was younger, this wasn't a problem. Whether his hair was long, thick & curly (think of the character "Little Richie" from the former tv sitcom: "Family Matters"), or if it was cut low (in a neat "fade"), all I had to do was wash & condition (usually with an all-in-one product such as "Creme Of Nature" conditioning shampoo), followed by a quick "towel- blot" (just enough so the hair wouldn't drip) and finally, an application of a "pink oil type" moisturizing hair lotion (I've noticed many of you have mentioned the use of this, or another similar product on your biracial children's hair - lol), to help retain moisture & add shine. I've also occassionally used products on my son's hair, designed for "Jherri Curls" & other body waves (ie: "Care Free Curl," Soft n' Free," "Wave Noveau," etc.), which were popularized by many African-Americans back in the 80's, including "yours truly" (lol), because I found that they provided a tremendous amount of moisture to his hair as well - besides most of those products indicate on their labels, that they can be used on permanently waved OR "natural" hairstyles.

However, recently, no matter which shampoo & conditioning/ styling products that I use on my son's hair (even those specifically designed for dry, flakey or problem scalp), OR how frequently/ infrequently I use them, he still suffers from this embarassing problem! I've even informed his pediatrician about it, but all she suggested was for me to use some of the products that I've already tried (but they don't work)!??

[MommaC]

Is it for sure DRY scalp? I only ask because oily scalp produces very similar flaking tendencies (per my husband). Have you asked a hair stylist who knows about African-American hair and scalp? I really think that would be the most productive. Good luck!

[bx mom]

Actually (MommaC), I find it interesting that you aksed if the flakiness was a result of "oily" scalp (as opposed to dry) because I considered the same possibility... Since my son IS half-caucasian and because I am aware that caucasians tend to have "oilier" scalp (which is why as a understand it, most prefer to shampoo their hair on a daily basis, in order to help eliminate the oily "buildup" that can accumulate and possibly lead to dandruff & flakes if they don't), I thought that perhaps my son inherited his FATHER'S "flakiness" LOL(caused by oily buildup).

However, my son's scalp is definitely DRY! In fact, I conducted an experiment... When I just shampoo & condition my son's hair WITHOUT adding any oil afterward (just leaving it "squeaky clean"), flakes begin to appear, as soon as the hair drys. However, when I add oils to his hair/ scalp (even if I do it sparingly), it eliminates the dryness, but it becomes TOO greasy & unpleasant to touch!

The problem is my son's hair texture... although it is thick & curly (when he's not wearing it cut short), it isn't as "coarse" as my own (or that of MOST African-Americans that I'm familiar with). Therefore it doesn't "absorb" the grease the way (most) African-American hair does. In fact, most African-Americans (including myself), tend to suffer from extremely "dry" scalp (which is why we usually shampoo our hair less frequently than most caucasians do - usually weekly/ bi-weekly). The reason is because our hair & scalp tends to be a lot more dry than caucasians, and shampooing too frequently can lead to "increased" dryness & flaking because it "strips" our hair & scalp of the natural oils that they produce. This is also why we often have to ADD oils to our hair & scalp (ie: hair grease, pomades, oil sheen sprays, oil moisturizing lotions, etc.), to help alleviate our dryness.

In fact, most of the stylists that I've spoken with about my son's problem, who happen to be familiar with African-American hair (including my beautician & my son's barber), have all recommended that I use some of the oil based products that I mentioned before, to deal with his condition - but none of the suggestions seem to be the RIGHT solution!??

[jeff2mozy]

my main concern is the backof his head the top is real tight curl not nappy head just curly fro but the back is so coarse it feels like it is just knots and it lays upwards to the top of his head no matter how much hair lotion i do or dont put in it and if you pull it down it is so long that comes down to his back but itis just so knotty and coarse it just looks like it is knots all thru it i have asked hair stylist and they keep saying keep putting hair lotion in it it wil get better well it hasnt yet just keeps getting longer i guess im gonna have to wait till the top gets as long as theback and jsut keep it up in a ponytail till he gets old enough to keep it braided at all times

[jeff2mozy]

i have 4 boys 6,4,3 and 8 months only the baby has long hair but with my older boys should i put hair lotion in their hair even though i keep it short .

[MommaC]

bx mom...How frustrating! Even though I'm caucasian, I almost never shampoo my hair (only about once or twice a month). Even then I put the conditioner on the shaft of my hair and just massage the shampoo through the roots to get rid of any build-up. I started all that after reading Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey. The only oil that's ever been recommended to me for my hair (which is thin and fine) is Biosilk. It's definitely an OIL and has moisturizing effects, but it's not as HEAVY as other oils that make my hair look and feel greasy.

jeff2mozy...I'm very familiar with the "rat's-nest-on-the-back-of-the-head thing"! My daughter has the same thing! Only her weirdness is emphasized by other strange aspects of her hair: she has long dark corkscrews on top of her head, lighter colored straight hair on the sides, then the nasty rat's nest on the back of her head. Yikes. She looks a mess. She is caucasian, so I don't use anything too "heavy" on her--just the Johnson and Johnson baby conditioner in the green squeeze bottle (I'm blanking on the name right now, but I buy it at Target or Wal-Mart). It can be used as a rinse-out or a leave-in. Because she has such fine hair, I usually rinse it out...but if I need her hair to appear more under control, I run some of that conditioner through her mess before we go out. As far as whether or not to use hair lotion on your big boys...I'm not at all qualified to answer that questions, but if what you're doing is working for them, stick with it! And, of course, it won't hurt to experiment with it either. Isn't that great advice?! Leave it alone, or try it. Whoa.

[bx mom]

Thanks for sharing MommaC (smile) - maybe I'll give the "Biosilk" a try (for my son)...

[MommaC]

I hope it works! Good luck