A hair post.

 Disclaimer: I'm not an expert. 

I make hair/body butter, 

I have 3 African children, 

and I am their primary hair-care person. 

For only 10 months. 

I'm no expert. 

People ask me questions about my kids' hair A. LOT.

"How did you learn how to DO that?"

"What do you use?"

"What 'type' of hair do they have?"

So...

I took some photos when I was "doing" #6's hair this week so you could see for yourself!

First...

The STUFF:

My box of bows, ribbons, frilly stuff.

My box of beads and a few snaps.
Note the bottom left square...
beading tools: must-have for beading hair.

Aubrey Organics J.A.Y shampoo, bottle of conditioner+water,
hair bucket, brushes/combs, scissors and
(not pictured) nail clippers for removing rubber bands,
and bottle of oil blend for whatever.

I shampoo only about every 2 weeks unless there's some kind of stickiness that won't rinse out with just water. I don't like most shampoos, but this new bottle of Aubrey Organics is made for dry, damaged hair and since both girls will need some of their ends trimmed off once it's a little longer, it fits the bill. I have (from left to right) a blue detangling comb that both girls hate (but it works well), a pick (I never use), a boar's hair brush, pin-tail comb (I love this one), rat-tail comb (that I used before I got the rat-tail, but not anymore), two wide-toothed combs, a wooden skewer (for pulling up rubber bands to remove them), and scissors. The bucket is actually a diaper changing thing from Munchkin brand. I love it because it can go with me to the couch, bathroom, kitchen counter, or wherever and doesn't tip over easily. 

Container of barrettes and rubber bands.

Rubber band box, small container of deep conditioner,
small container of snaps,
container of large rubber bands, and
of course... Babycakes!

All of the stuff IN the hair bucket.

The stack of hair goodies!

Tangle Teezer and my (real live used jar) of Babycakes.

Awesome snaps I found at Family  Doll@r!

Okay, so.

First, I either spray their hair with the conditioner/water bottle, or rinse it in the sink.

While it's wet, I put some babycakes in my hands...like so:

Half melted/half not. I rub my hands together and get it all melted.

Once I have it all melty, I spread it onto their hair in sections. 

While it's in sections, I detangle that section.

She has very thick, very tightly coiled hair.

I divide in half front to back.

Then I divide from ear to ear,
but work with half at a time.

Do not fear the oil. 

See how it's kind of white from the oils?
It's okay. It will soak in. I promise.

Then I start my braids, twists or whatever.

You MUST have salon clips. Lots of them.

I use the clips to hold the braids down flat while
I finish the style. I use them to keep hair out of the way
and keep a section together while
I dig for the right rubber band.
You want lots.

She likes to choose her rubber band colors and
pick them out of the box for me!

Lots of tiny braids... and purple bands for this week!
I am SO happy with how much her hair has grown!!!

She's happy with her braids too!

EDITED: This particular style took me around 90 minutes. I'm not the world's fastest braider, and I have tried several times to learn to corn row or flat-twist... and I just can't do it. The time that I DID manage corn rows, I didn't LIKE it on my girls, so I stopped trying. As for length of time the style stays in... about 7-10 days is average. It could maybe stay up to 14 days, but I don't really like the fuzz that they get.

As for our littlest guy...

He waits for the girls to get done then hops in the chair!

He is a serious lover of the Tangle Teezer.

I don't know if you can tell by this photo,
but his curl pattern is very different from both girls.

He is almost ready for some twists or something...
but I can't decide what to do yet.

Just don't turn your back and leave him with the jar of babycakes...

Next time I do #5's hair, I will try to remember to take photos and let you see that too!

Different hair week... but still adorable!