TightlyCurly Logo
Translate:  
Skip Navigation Links
Available now!
Curly Like Me, the off-the-grid, do-it yourself owner's manual for tightly curly hair, is ready for ordering. Grab your copy today!

Every purchase made from
this site (through Amazon)
helps support it — and it
doesn't cost you anything
extra.





Here are some of the questions I get asked the most, and what my answers have been. This way you can get your answers immediately, without having to wait on me. And you never know, you might find answers to a few questions you didn't even know you had yet.

*This is still a work in progress. I'm continuing to add many more questions, and we are still ironing out a few quirks. But we wanted to make this available as soon as possible.

There are several ways to choose the question(s) you'd like answered:




... or you can ...

 


... or you can ...

 
 
Question:
I just transracially adopted an African American baby and I'm not sure how to take care of her hair (it's too short to braid).
Answer:
Congratulations on your beautiful child! I'm so glad you are interested in learning to care for her sweet little curls!

You can check out everything Jennifer is doing for Arden's hair to get an idea of how best to do your child's hair. There are a few adjustments I'd make now since she's a baby:

You can begin these techniques immediately. However, it's best to just finger comb her hair after washing it (no Denman), just because her scalp will be so delicate. When she's older, and when her hair needs more combing than what your fingers can do, very gently use the Denan, careful to avoid her scalp until she is older and her scalp isn't as delicate as I'm sure it is now.

Also, do make sure the water isn't too hot when you do wash her hair. Maybe check the temperature of the water on your wrist to make sure it's okay before ever putting the water on her scalp (my mom would put the water in a cup and gently pour that over our heads when she rinsed them).

Also, I'd say for now, just use Paula's conditioner and shampoo because they have no fragrances, no colors, and no irritating essential oils and she's researched every single ingredient in it to be safe for hair and skin (she didn't just hire a chemist and let them put in anything they wanted to. She made sure every ingredient was rigorously and scientifically tested to be safe). Johnson's baby shampoo is also fine, but I don't think they make a heavy enough conditioner for combing, fingercombing, or keeping her curls calm and together, so you'll probably need to use Paula's conditioner for a while. I'm looking into more good, safe products for babies, but I know these are as safe as I've found so far.

These techniques work on all kinds of super-curly hair. If her hair is too short to braid. No big thing. Just have her sleep on it how it is now, and in the morning smooth over it as often as needed with your hands wet with water and conditioner. Add a bit more conditioner if her hair really frizzes. This should get rid of morning fuzziness and smashed curls.

I hope this helps! Congratulations again, and it really does make me so happy to know you care enough to find out how to love and care for your daughter's beautiful curls.
 

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2024 TightlyCurly.com. All Rights Reserved.