Their hair is growing longer, thicker and stronger due to these small changes.
1. No More Daily Manipulation
As newborns when their hair was super short and their hair routine was less than one minute, I did their hair daily.
Now that they are older, both of them have hair past their mid backs which means their hair routine takes time, patience and hours of sitting still (something our 4 and 7 year olds aren't currently into).
2. No Beads
Beads make a pleasant sound, feel good and are super cute, but the girls feel they add too much time to our hair process.
So we skip this step.
3. Rarely Use Rubber Bands
We used rubber bands at the ends of their beads. No matter how hard I tried to avoid it, when I removed them, it would sometimes take out a chunk of hair.
Now we only use rubber bands to secure styles like Bantu knots or to put their plaits in a bun.
4. No More Curly Fro
I love when their curls are out, but maintaining it means redoing their hair daily and the girls aren’t interested in sitting through that process.
5. No Dry Brushing
One of our daughters is tenderheaded, which means, dry brushing literally hurts her. Our other daughter’s hair is a lint magnet, which requires washing to remove. So I usually brush their hair only when it’s wet.
6. No Gel (For The Girls)
Since we keep their hair plaited, they don’t need gel. I occasionally use gel, for short-term styles like a bun.
7. Limited Accessories
Even as newborns, I noticed the headbands would sometimes leave impressions in their scalp. So I rarely used them (which is probably one of the reasons our girls were often confused as boys).
I’m still of the mindset that less is more, so we don’t use any accessories that may cause damage to their hair.
8. Rarely Use Shea Butter
We switched to oil because the butter was super heavy and weighed down their curls. It also took multiple washes to remove from the hair. We now only use it if their plaits really need it - which is very rare.
9. No More Trims
I stopped trimming their hair. An elder explained to me that cutting hair is like cutting yarn, it makes it split and unravel more.
She also explained the spiritual significance of our hair as being our external nerves and helping us decipher other people’s energies and intentions.
It makes perfect sense to me, so I’ve stopped trimming their hair and it has been growing like crazy.
I’m slightly disappointed that I used to cut our daughters’ hair (especially the oldest).
But hey, I’m still learning.
To keep their ends healthy, I keep them coiled and sealed with oil.
Very rarely they will get a knot that’s so tight I have to cut it out. This only happened once in the past year, so it’s definitely rare.
What about you? Have you switched up your little one’s hair care routine? What changes have you made? How has it improved your hair health? If you haven't already, setting hair goals can be super helpful on your journey.
Until next time.
Love Thyself,
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