Hair Day

Saturday is our "normal" day to do Maya K's hair, but if we have things going on Saturday, I will try to do it on Friday. This is one of those weeks :-).

I only shampoo Maya K's hair every 4 or 5 weeks. This happens to be a week that it needs to be shampoo washed, so that adds an extra step to the process.

I decided to write down times to give you an average for the length of time each step takes. I don't normally keep track :-).

Here is what her hair looks like before we get started.

I start by getting her hair completely soaked and then work the shampoo through the curls down to her scalp. I try to not rub the hair too much to prevent breakage. Then I rinse it all out. (This took 7 minutes.)

The next step is the most time consuming and results in the most complaints and whining from Maya K (keeping it real!!!). I work huge HANDFULS of conditioner into her hair. I do it a section at a time and probably use 8-10 handfuls. Then I use my fingers to detangle the curls (again, a section at a time). I usually end up with quite a bit of hair on my fingers that I throw in the trash. Then I add a little more conditioner and use a pick to comb through her hair more thoroughly. She despises this part of hair day!!!!! (This step took 15 minutes.) Here is her hair fully conditioned and detangled.

I leave the conditioner soaking in her hair while I wash her body. This is the easiest part of hair day :-). (2 minutes.) No photo.

After she plays in the tub for a while (today was 30 minutes), I drain the water and begin rinsing the conditioner out of her hair. Here is her hair after the conditioner has been rinsed out. (5 minutes)

Then I work a leave-in conditioner into her hair and use my fingers to pull it through the curls. (4 minutes) I pulled a piece down so you could see how LONG it actually is!!!!

It's finally time to get out of the tub, lotion her body, and get her dressed :-). (Btw - Absolutely NO towel drying of this hair is ever allowed!!!!) (9 minutes)

Today I'm going to put her hair into two-strand twists. They are simple and easy and don't take very long for me to do. She is sitting on her chair in front of the TV and I've got my tray table of supplies next to her.

It's hard for me to take pictures during the hair styling process because my hands are covered in hair product. But I tried to take a couple today :-).

I ended up doing something different than planned with her hair. I've been experimenting with things to do with the front and top of her hair when I do two-strand twists in the back. I like how the top turned out, but then it didn't look like I planned in the back. So I pulled all the twists up into a ponytail and then put barrettes on the ends :-). It's growing on me!!!

Styling her hair took  51 minutes today.

She got in the bathtub at 10:18 this morning and I finished her hair at 12:24 :-). It was a pretty quick hair day!!!! I like those :-).

Skin Care and Hair Supplies

I just shared this information with a friend on Facebook and decided that since I had taken the time to type it all up I should bore you all share it with all my blog readers!!!

Skin Care
I mix Cetaphil lotion with raw African shae butter to make a body butter. I mix it in my KitchenAid mixer and then put the mixture back into the Cetaphil lotion containers. I apply the lotion/body butter to her entire body (minus her face) once a day (and after her bath). I use extra virgin olive oil for her face. At bedtime, I wet her face and then put the olive oil on. We use Carmex on her lips once a day (twice during the winter). I also add Johnson's Shea & Cocoa Butter baby oil to her bath water to help her skin not dry out from the water.)

Hair Care/Supplies
I use Curly Q's Curlie Cutie Cleansing Cream for shampoo and I only shampoo her hair about every 3 or 4 weeks. I condition once a week with Curly Q's Coconut Dream Moisturizing Condition. I apply the conditioner, comb it through her hair with a hair pick, and then let it sit on her hair while she plays in the tub for 30-40 minutes. Then I rinse most of the conditioner out. I apply Kinky-Curly Knot Today leave-in conditioner to her hair as she is getting out of the water. I also comb the leave-in conditioner into her hair with the pick.

After she is all dried/lotioned and dressed from her bath, I put Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk (hair lotion) on her hair. Sometimes I comb it in, other times I just work it in with my fingers.

When I "style" her hair (flat twists, ponies, etc.) I have still been trying to find something that I like that really helps to "hold" it. This last week I used Shea Moisture Curling Get Souffle and so far I love it!!! Her hair has stayed in the flat twists better than any other time!!!

When her hair is in flat twists I really don't have to do anything with it throughout the week. I will add some of the hair lotion to the ponies at the back every other day or so, and that is it (she does wear a sleep cap every night that helps her hair stay in place). If I do ponies, I have to take the ponies out every other dayish and wet the section of hair and apply some hair lotion to it.

If I keep her hair "free" then I have to spray a full spray bottle of water on it and then work the hair lotion throughout it. I will sometimes use the leave-in conditioner after a few days of free hair. We de-tangle every morning when her hair is "free". Lots of whining and fussing on those days. I like flat twists :-).

List of Products
Cetaphil lotion - WalMart or Amazon
Raw African Shea Butter - Amazon
Curly Q's Curlie Cutie Cleansing Cream - Online
Curly Q's Coconut Dream Moisturizing Condition - Online
Kinky-Curly Knot Today leave-in conditioner - Target
Shea Moisture Curl & Style Milk - Target
Shea Moisture Curling Gel Souffle - Target

FB Friday

June 29, 2013 ~ "YOU gonna bead her hair?!?! You go girl!!! You 'ben YouTubin' it up!!!" This was the response of the lady at the ethnic hair store when I was checking out with beads and a beader :-).

We're an hour and a half into the braiding/beading process. I have learned that I need to make the braids tiny and then the beads go on easier. We are only about a fifth of the way done!!! I have a feeling that she is going to have braids and beads on the back half of her head and puffs on the top. Just sayin'.

I've spent four and a half hours on her hair. It's not done. Yet. I WILL finish it. Yes, I will.

We. Are. DONE.

June 30, 2013 ~ Happy Sunday!!!

July 1, 2013 ~ I weighed Maya K on our scale here at home this morning (so this is "unofficial") and it says that she has gained 8.5 pounds in addition to the 5 inches she has grown in the past 9 months!!! It hasn't been my imagination that she is getting heavier to carry around!!!

July 2, 2013 ~ Thanks to Maya K's braids, I now have a spray bottle of coconut oil and water sitting in my refrigerator.

Edible Peanut Butter Play Dough = FUN!!

I love reading. It's a therapy for me. I stopped taking the time to read when Maya K came home and I have missed it. It's time for me to MAKE the time to read again. So I am. I just finished a book that I started during quiet time yesterday. Life is happy.

"I don't think things...words....in my head. I just say all them out loud." ~ Maya K
Believe me, Honey, I know!!!!!

July 3, 2013 ~ Fireworks tonight!!!!!

I like fireworks. I LOVED getting to watch the fireworks with my DAUGHTER this year!! We had a great evening!!!!

July 5, 2013 ~ Yes, I do believe her American English is coming along nicely. "Mommy, I am STARVING!!"

Just 10 days and I will finally have my ring back!! It's been over a year since I was last able to wear it and I have missed it!!!

Maya K ASKED to take a nap today. So I let her. She was asleep in under 15 minutes!!!

Wordless Wednesday