Cherish My Daughter

Many of you have requested a video so I'm doing one, but you should know that I'm NOT giving credit to any particular product for the success I've had with the girls' hair. I think we fall prey so much to false marketing and many of us will buy anything that promises to increase growth or eliminate dryness. I've had a cabinet full of products in the past that did absolutely NOTHING toward fixing the problems I was experiencing with my girls' hair. Their hair remained the same length year after year and was very dry and brittle. I had to change my expectations, my methods and be committed to just letting their hair do what it was designed to do. This can be very hard, especially when many cultures use the straight aesthetic to measure beauty. In my experience, trying to keep vibrant nappy hair smooth and perfectly coifed at all times is a recipe for dryness which often leads to breakage. People who know me in real life can testify that I am at home with A LO...

You could win a free original Tangle Teezer OR Magic Flower Pot (Tangle Teezer for girls). I share the details here.

When I saw this I contacted Tangle Teezer about trying this out so I can share it with you! Of course I taped my trial. You can see it here .

You know we have issues...LOL!

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There's some controversy about the use of castille soap as a shampoo. For example, popular YouTuber Kim , of KimmayTube tested the ph of Bronner's Castille Soap and found it to be much higher than the recommended range for hair (between 4 and 5). You can watch her explain her findings. She also did an informative series fraught with good visuals on understanding the effects of ph on hair. That said, I've been using diluted castille soap successfully for YEARS, but I've never tried Bronner's Castille Soap. I had a bottle of Trader Joe's Castille Soap . Turns out Trader Joe's formula includes Aloe Vera --which has an acidic ph---probably bringing down the overall ph of the product--perhaps balancing it for hair. The manufacturer recommends it's use as a shampoo right on the bottle's label. I did not get a chance to personally test the ph of my bottle, because by the time I noticed Aloe as an ingredient of my castille soap, the bottle was empty...

I took down HMGs re-twisted style for these big cornrow twists. I thought a lot of shed hair was trapped in her twists and wanted to remove them to avoid matting. I tried a new mix because she'd just washed her twists and I wanted to style her hair without having to wash it again. I've been studying the effects of acidifying the hair shaft to a ph between 4 and 5. This causes the shingles on the hair shaft to lie down, creating a smooth surface for the strands to glide past each other. Open shingles snag and catch as the strands make contact. Detangling conditioners are designed to impact the hair shaft in a similar fashion, whether by chemically altering the behavior of the shingles or coating the strands to create a smooth surface. I like the idea of using aloe vera juice because of it's acidic ph and moisturizing properties. I've read testimonies that it leaves nappy hair soft and supple. I didn't really measure, because I only had about a little more than ...

You know I would NEVER use the comb part of the rat tail comb to detangle nappy hair on the first pass. I have seen people use them on nappy hair once it's already been completely detangled. I've never tried it on my girls. I do , however, frequently use the tail end to make my parts. Up until now I've been using the comb on the left--which is completely made of plastic. It makes satisfactory parts. It's also good for prying apart moderately small to big braids. I'm always looking for a hair pin or some other sharp item to remove knots and tiny braids. No more! The metal tail is the TRUTH! Not only does it do a better job on unraveling the braid/twist stitch, it's excellent on those knots. It also makes great parts. My only concern is my tendency to absent mindedly rake the tail too hard across my daughters' scalp while making a part. I have to be super careful with that metal tip. I cringe at the ramifications of making a mistake. Can you im...

Just because something is natural does NOT automatically mean it's harmless. How many of us have watched actors eat hair products marketed to be safe for our hair because it was safe to eat? Later, we were shocked to hear back reports that people were losing their hair to these same "safe" products. There's a definite science to the way nappy hair behaves. Know what you're putting in your daughter's hair. A good way to investigate before trying something is to research other people's experiences with what you're thinking about using. The internet has made it so easy to track products. Consumers even video tape their experiences and make it available to the public for FREE on You Tube. When a product tempts me, I spend some time seeing what a range of people--with a similar hair type--are saying about the product. I especially scrutinize the negatives. If I'm satisfied, I may try it.

Adding castor oil to your hair along with your cheap conditioner may give it more slip power (the ability to make the shingles on the hair shaft lie down so the strands will slide by each other and tangle less). There may be a definite method to making this trick work. Spritz a tangled section of hair (no bigger than 3x3 inches) with water. Slather about a quarter size dollop of castor oil directly to the hair. Top that with the same amount of conditioner. Detangle the section starting from the ends. I purchase my castor oil from Walmart (near the vitamins) OR a health food store. For more details on this check out my video on Cherish My Daughter channel .

Oils don't moisturize nappy hair. Many Mocha Moms remember sitting on the floor between an older woman's knees to have their scalp greased and hair oiled. We've all made the mistake of trying to moisturize nappy hair with grease and oil. Some naps thrive anyway, but I never experienced optimal nappy hair until I began to moisturize with water. The hair shaft is full of tiny openings. When applied to dry hair, greases, and oils coat the shaft and seal the openings. This prevents the absorption of water. Water makes the nappy hair shaft moist and supple. Oil can make it outwardly greasy, crispy and brittle over time. Grease and oils play an important part in the moisture process. They lock in moisture. While nappy hair loves water, it evaporates from the shaft quickly. Moisture is balanced when we are able to trap small amounts of water in the shaft before it evaporates. This is achieved by applying oil to damp or wet hair. Some oils are thicker and heavier than ot...

The most important thing I've learned from experimenting with products and regimens for my daughters' hair is to read labels. Conditioners are formulated to do specific things for specific hair. A host of conditioners are made of expensive ingredients, and promise to deliver miracles. Many people hope conditioners will reverse hair damage. I try to keep my daughters' hair healthy by avoiding heat, and chemicals relaxers. I treat their strands gently. I encourage them to drink lots of water, exercise, and eat a healthy diet. We grow strong strands from the inside out. I don't believe a conditioner will force my daughters' hair to grow. I don't believe a conditioner will repair split ends. I don't believe a conditioner will make my daughters' nappy hair shine like the straight haired image on the packaging. I don't believe the weekly application of a conditioner will restore the moisture balance of hair I routinely stress and dry out. I don't ...

Nappy hair is full of loops, twists, and bends. Some people's strands swirl in "s" and "o" shapes while others angle in "z's". The important thing to remember when considering a shampoo is the degree to which the strands you are trying to cleanse curve and rotate from scalp to ends. The more dense the coilage , the more difficult it is for the natural sebum secreted from the scalp to wind its way down to the ends before wash time. This translates into dry hair. When you wash nappy hair, the goal is to remove dirt, dried sweat and product build up. It's important not to strip the hair completely of the precious natural sebum which promotes elasticity. Consider straight, wavy and loosely curled hair. When sebum is secreted from the scalp of someone with hair these textures, it meets little obstruction and travels down quickly and easily. This translates into greasy hair. A strong detergent is needed to regularly lift excess sebum which ...