Lovie's hair is naturally curly thanks to my natural curl (which didn't surface till puberty hit and then HOLYCRAPCURL happened) and thanks to her daddy's afro ways. I know (from years of crying over dealing with my hair) a few things about dealing with hair like hers because it's how I had to start dealing with my own hair:
- Limit hair washing to once or twice a week.
- NEVER comb/brush while dry.
- ALWAYS and ONLY ever comb with a wide tooth comb whilst hair is wet with gobs of conditioner.
- Always use a leave in conditioner.
- Try not to ever touch hair once it's "styled".
So this is how I manage Lovie's mop. It works out well because only washing it once or twice a week and not combing it when dry saves us lots of time in the morning. I get her up, spritz her hair with some frizz free tangle tamer product, scrunch a bit, and go. And since I always am answered with "No!" (her favorite word) when I ask if I can put her hair up, it's even easier.
Well, Monday, the day after we washed her hair, she came home with sand in her hair. UGH. Sand. In her hair. In her mop of curls. Tight curls.
DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET ITTY BITTY PIECES OF SAND FROM THE SCALP OF A CHILD WHOSE HAIR NATURALLY NESTS ANY AND EVERY LITTLE THING IMAGINABLE BECAUSE THE CURLS JUST TRAP IT ALL THERE?!?
Very hard. Very, very, very hard.
I now hate sand more than I hate glitter. And glitter, prior to this new encounter with sand, used to be referenced as the Devil.
Anyway, after about an hour of running water through her hair while she screamed and cried, "No mama!! NO MAMA!!!!!" (while I flashed back to the movie Mommy Dearest: "No more wire hangers Sand!!"), after washing and scrubbing and rinsing and fluffing and rinsing some more, I finally got her out of the tub and, while she was glued to the TV, twisted her hair for the first time.
WHY HAVEN'T I DONE THIS SOONER?
Oh, because she hates having her hair/head touched.
So yeah, I twisted little sections of hair, while wet (though next time I need to make sure each section is really wet because by the time I got to the back, it just didn't look as good as the front ones), sent her to bed, and the next day I threw the twists, still in tact (holla!), up in a ponytail. Super cute.
Then last night, before bed, I let the ponytail down and she (her hair) became all Coolio on me,
and for my amusement, I didn't untwist and sent her to bed.
Then this morning, I untwisted, spritzed, and off we went.
I still think sand is very evil. Even if it did lead me to finally twisting her hair.
I didn't think anything could be worse than glitter. Lesson learned vicariously, thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, glitter! LOL
ReplyDeleteThe twists look pretty cute, but she can pull off anything :)
hehehe...I'm sorry to laugh at your misery. I can relate a little bitty bit...My girl HATES her hair brushed, or anything in it. Just shampooing her hair is a chore, some kids just have very sensitive heads. But I am thankful because the girls hair is stick straight and she can get away with not brushing it. So kudos to you for figuring out a hairstyle that works for your girl!
ReplyDeleteSand IS evil!!
ReplyDeleteThis is how I have to deal with my frizzy hair too, I feel your pain
ReplyDeleteI can remember getting chewing gum in my hair. We tried peanut butter, crisco, you name, even tried crying it out, nothing worked but the scissors.... :(
ReplyDeleteyeah not looking forward to that day...
DeleteFiguring out how to do a daughters hair while they fight, scream, or whine the entire time is such a pain in the butt. Kudos to you for figuring out a hairstyle she'll sit through. I'm still working on my child.
ReplyDeleteI love how you refer to glitter as the devil. My kids don't know about glitter and if anyone ever tells them about it, they will be punished severely.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea frizzy hair could be so challenging. Good for you for dealing without going all Mommy Dearest on her.
oh glitter is just.. dumb. so frustrating. we have none of it at home and never will. she gets it at school. argh. same with the sand ending up in her hair. i take her to the park quite often to play in the sand but it never ends up in her hair!
DeleteWhen I was a child, I used to find it completely fascinating to be at my neighbors on a Saturday afternoon. This was the day the daughter of their home got her hair styled for the week. First was the comb out, with lot's of scalp massaging (tight braids and ponytails hurt when you take them out). Then there was a thick moisturizing paste to be worked in that smelled like lanolin - a smell I still love. Then the little girl got to choose which bobble ponytail holders she wanted. Next, her hair was sectioned off, each section either braided or put into a two stranded twist.
ReplyDeleteAww...I think it ate my comment. Anyway, I think it's great that you left her hair for your amusement! Teheheh.
ReplyDeletei am not kidding; she looked like a baby Coolio. :)
DeleteSand is pesky. I remember having to put about an inch and a half of water in the tub, having my daughter lay on her back, and literally swishing her back and forth to get the sand out. Ellen
ReplyDeleteEwwwww SAND. I love twists. But then I love most things that I can't do to my own hair.
ReplyDeleteMy 9 yr old has very tight curls. Sand is indeed evil. EVIL. I wanted to throat punch a little kid who started a sand war when Cam was in Kindergarten. It took me FOREVER to get all the sand out of his hair. I still twitch thinking about it.
ReplyDeletesand in shoes is my worst nightmare. So far we have avoided sand in hair.
ReplyDeletei've heard that baby powder works wonders in getting it out of stuff but wasn't keen on dumping it in her hair..
DeleteShe is so, so cute!!
ReplyDelete:) thanks.
DeletePoor thing! There is a reason God didn't give me any girls. He knew I would not be able to do it. Hee Hee
ReplyDeleteThose twists are adorable. So cute.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin has hair just like that! Never got sand in it though, that I remember anyway!
ReplyDelete