Oprah's Natural Hair

"Although, never one to shy away from a style update, Winfrey is a firm believer that changing your hairstyle can change what we see and feel is possible. "I even notice a change in my dogs when they get their summer cuts: they’re friskier and livelier, feeling more themselves once the weight of the hair is released." 

Read more: http://www.oprah.com/style/Oprahs-Natural-Hair-on-O-Magazine-September-2012--Oprahs-Real-Hair#ixzz23SI2qRzs


I always believed that a total make over can chase the "blues" away.  For me its a way to feel different & more powerful, it felt more like I was leaving the past behind and a "new me was born".  I don't know why, but every time I was going to a rough patch in my life I would plan a half a day to a full day of pampering which included a trip to the hair salon and get a new hair cut or color, sometimes I would do both.  I have gone from brunette to blond, I have gone short hair to long hair; and let's not forget a trip to Nail Salon.





  

Their First Haircut

Boys and their first haircuts are one of so many things we as parents look forward to, after all it is considered all over the world as a "milestone" for a baby, and so may of us even save the first lock of hair, we simply follow our family's tradition.  

My husband and I agree that our son was going to get his first haircut after he turned one.

 

When it was time for our son to get a haircut, we had several discussions as to where to take him and who was going to be in charge and/or responsible of any future trips to the barber.  My husband and I agreed that it was going to be a "daddy & son" thing to do every other week since we had already established that my son's hair grew at an alarming rate and it was also going to be an "Father & Son" bonding time.   

On May 2008, at almost 18 months old, my husband took our son to get his first haircut, well, I should say when he said good bye to his beautiful hair!  

When my husband and son arrived home that afternoon, I was really excited to see his new look, but what I got was something else.  I experienced a wave of emotions, I cannot explain to you how I felt, I was furious/angry, sad, and I believe what my husband experienced was "FEAR".   Honestly, at that moment, he was right to be afraid, I wanted to kill somebody, and I just didn’t know who I was going to kill first, him for allowing it or the barber for doing it right and/or expressing to my husband the fact that he didn’t know anything about biracial hair.

After that horrible mistake, we had to deal with the consequences.  His hair grew back rather quickly, within a month his curls were back but they were no longer soft and shiny.  In fact, his hair texture changed, it is now thicker and dry, his type 2C wavy hair pattern changed more to a 3A curly hair. 

Now, we keep his hair short on the sides and the back and a bit long on the top, we have finally found products that work for him in order to bring back the softness and shine.  He also gets monthly deep conditioning treatments to restore and protect his hair from his exposure to the elements.  

Ms. Bree ..when I couldn't do much...

This is Ms. Bree, she was born 5lbs, my little bundle of joy was born with a head full of hair, as all of you can see, she had very straight hair.

No biggie right! well, let me tell you we were so wrong about this...

When she was about 5 months old, she started to lose the hair on the back of her head, developing a "bald spot".   At the beginning I thought I was doing something wrong but let me say that there is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent them, some children do get the bald spots!

In the above picture, you can see Ms. Bree at 6 months old, the front of her hair was getting curlier and curlier while the hair on the back was missing in action.   

Here she is at 12 months old, as you can clearly see she found the toilet tissue very interesting! 

Her hair was getting thicker and curlier by the minute, you can also see that her sides were still short while the hair on top was growing longer very fast.  Sure the hair on the back of her head was growing but it was growing at a much slower pace than the top, the texture was also different than the hair on the top of her head, it was dryer, and sometimes would get tangle in her or my clothing, buttons etc.

In order to protect her hair from the elements, we would use hats (for bigger toddlers) to cover her hair entirely.  

Here she is at almost 11 months old, this is the best hair style that i could do on her short hair.  The sides and the back were very short at that time, you can see it better on the picture below.   

I know that it is very scary when your infant starts to lose his/her hair, it is totally normal unless you see pattern through out their head, red/white flakes and/or when the infant is constantly trying to scratch that particular spot, and/or if the child is no longer an infant and suddenly finds a spot.  A parent usually knows when things are not normal.    

If you notice your infant having a bald spot just watch the way he/she sleeps.  Ms. Bree used to sleep on her back while at daycare, but on her tummy while at home, so her bald spot never got bigger. 

I found this article about Baby Hair Care:

http://www.babyzone.com/baby/baby-care/managing-baby-hair_65232 

Unfortunately, I didn't do anything to her hair back then, and as of this date I still wonder if I could have done something different to help her hair.  My daughter's hair is a combination, with really tight curls on the bottom and the loser curls on top, it is also known as 3b/3c Type of Hair.