Many mothers encounter a challenge when caring for bi-racial children’s hair. The main challenge is often the frizz, and the fact that the hair seems to be dull and dry. When adopting, or caring for a child whose hair type is different than yours, many parents are at a loss at what to do to care for their children.
No two hair types are the same, but the tips we are giving you can generally be applied to most cases. The most important thing to remember is that maybe not all will work with your child, and that your child’s hair can adapt better to one tip than another.
The one thing to keep in mind when dealing with Bi-Racial children’s hair is: it can be kinky/curly/frizzy, but it’s usually different from an African-American only hair. It may have the same look, but a child’s hair is a lot more delicate, and you should not, in any case, use powerful products to straighten or relax their hair.
1. Get to know your child’s hair
That “dull” look that many first timers see on biracial hair is common. The kinky texture of the hair prevents the hair follicles from sitting flat, so not much light is reflected on curly hair in general. Also, a lot of parents fight to pull all the hair in a tight ponytail or braid for lack of knowing what to do with it.
Find out how the hair grows, in which way the strands tend to grow, and try as best as you can to follow it. If you do do a ponytail on one day, go for a style that will keep their hair down on the next. This prevents the hair from being constantly pulled on the same direction, and it will avoid pulled hairs along the hairline.
2. Kinky hair needs natural oils
If you’re not used to biracial hair, you may think you need to constantly wash it so you can give it more shine. In reality, curly/kinky hair is so dry it thrives with natural oils. So just because you need to wash your hair everyday, it does not mean your child needs it too. It is actually recommended to try and wash it once a week only. You can do rinses in between the washes, but do not use shampoo, and be sure to follow up with a leave-in conditioner, to add back the moisture.
3. Rules on brushing
All curly hairs should not be brushed after dry. It disturbs the curl pattern and turns your hair to a frizz fest. If you have to, spritz some leave-in conditioner on your hands and lightly run them through your hair. Also, invest in a good brush – trust us, it’s a game changer. Generally curly hair should be brushed in the shower, with conditioner on, but you can opt to brush it right afterwards, with the hair still wet adding leave-in conditioner. Use either a wide toothed comb, or invest in a detangler brush, such as Knot Genius.
Detangler brushes can be used on wet hair, and won’t pull out hair as normal brushes will. Their bristles are designed to glide through the hair, avoiding breakage.
4. Shampoo carefully
It’s super important to use a good shampoo when washing your child’s hair. Invest in a good moisturizing shampoo, and if your child is still and infant find formulas that won’t cause tears. Make sure all your products are free of silicon and parabens – those can be extremely harmful. Be gentle when shampooing to avoid too many tangles, but make sure you can reach the scalp to thoroughly cleanse it.
Depending on just how kinky your child’s hair is, you may even find that a Cleansing Cream works better than a regular moisturizing shampoo. What are cleansing creams, you ask? Exactly what the name implies: it’s a conditioner that delivers the same cleansing property as a shampoo, but without stripping any moisture from the strands.
This one from Eufora has a non-lathering formula, that delivers maximum hydration for extra dry, frizzy, unruly hair.
5. Pat dry, avoid heat styling
Bi-racial hair thrives best when left to its own devices. So when you leave the shower, don’t rub your child’s hair dry. Pat it dry and allow it to air dry as much as possible. We really recommend skipping any heat tools on children – there’s no need for the stress of that on the strands – but if you absolutely need to use it, make sure
6. Styling products are your friend
Your styling products have to focus on moisture. And we advise you to add some sort of cream to help with controlling the frizz and maintaining the shape of the curl. Eufora came out with the Curl’n line, with products that will replenish the moisture, as well as hydrate the strand and enhance your curl.
If there is one styling product from the line you should have for your child, we recommend the Curl’n’Forming Cream.
This cream helps you to create, define and shape curls. It leaves the hair soft and touchable, adds shine, and is made with an anti-frizz formula that gives ultimate frizz protection. You should also do a deep conditioning treatment starting once a week at least. This line also has a Nourishing Treatment that should be applied on cleansed hair and left for up to 10 minutes. Rinse it while in the shower.
This treatment nourishes the dry curls and waves, while strengthening it. It protects curls against damage from heat styling, and controls frizz.
These steps should work for all kinky/curly hair children. If you’re the one dealing with the kinky hair, there are a ton more information about styles, how to wear your hair to bed, oil treatments, etc that we feel may be too much for children. Then again, you may want to try if you think these steps we listed just aren’t enough. The most well-rounded site on this is Treasured Locks.
