On Saturday, Travis and I went to a class at our adoption agency called African American Hair and Skin Care. Although Travis wasn't initially signed up to go to the class (on purpose), I talked him in to coming with me since the boys were at their grandparents for the weekend.
To quote Travis after the class was over "Wow, this is going to be a lot of work."
This class was so fun and what a great idea! We received great tips on which hair and skin care products work best, where to buy them and when and how to use them. Since African American hair is quite different than Caucasian hair, we were in need of some advice. I took pictures of a lot of the products to use as a reference and wrote almost three pages of notes.
There was a sweet little girl there as the "model". She let all of us touch her hair and come feel how soft it was supposed to be after the professional was finished with it. What a trouper!
Hair products were passed around the room so we could smell and feel. We got a list of does and don'ts, which was really helpful since I currently "do" a lot of the "don'ts" with my boys and their very Caucasian hair.
Biggest lesson learned: Our hair is just different, so it needs to be treated differently than our daughters hair should be treated. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize.
Biggest surprise: Our little girl should sleep on a satin pillow case (not cotton) or wearing a satin bonnet to protect her hair from the cotton fibers that can pull on or get stuck in her hair. Who knew!
Although hair might seem like a minor thing, it could be very important to a little girl. Especially a young lady who might have hair different than her mom, her siblings and her friends. When you are young, it's hard to be different. But different is good and different is beautiful. The hair professional that taught our class encouraged us to embrace the natural texture and look of our children's hair. I am paraphrasing when she said, "They will want to be like you, to have hair like you. But remind them that God made them beautiful just the way they are."
So with that advice, and the tips we learned at this class, we are excited to be starting this journey, hair and all. I am really looking forward to some different hair styles around our house. Bring on the afros, braids, beads, corn rows and more!
