When she first came here from Haiti, her hair was in tiny braids that took three hours to take out. So, I thought she could go natural. But, you still have to condition and kind of comb through her hair everyday or it becomes a tangled mess. Isabella DID NOT want me to touch her hair. She cried and writhed on the ground like I was killing her. She did not want to fix her hair herself. She wanted to roll around in the sand. So, of course, it became a tangled mess and I had to cut it short. I felt terrible about it, especially when African American mothers glared at me like I had cut off her legs or something.
Next, we moved on to dreadlocks. I know why they are called dreadlocks because we both "dreaded" having to twist and pull apart 150 locks on her head every month. So, we cut those puppies off.
Recently we went to a salon had it braided with fake hair. Which, by the way, you are not ever, ever supposed to tell anyone that you are using. Nor are you supposed to ask other people if they are using fake hair. Trust me on this. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.
The salon insisted I stay with her for the entire 3 hours. Or course, I had Anastasia and little Catherine with me. Have I mentioned that neither of them are super patient?
Also, the cost of the braiding was more than our weekly grocery bill. Guess how long it lasts? Three measly weeks.
So, now we have it short again. But there is one thing I have learned. I may not be African American, but she is my child. When I get rude stares and people comment about how terrible it is that she doesn't have her hair done, I just smile.
"She is beautiful just the way she is" I say.
Certainly not, she is stunning!
ReplyDeleteWhat I found incredibly eye opening is the documentary Good Hair by Chris Rock. It's all about the african american hair industry. You would probably like it too! It's all about the chemicals in hair products and the tons of money spent by women in the aa community on their hair. It was very eye opening.
ReplyDeletehttp://weloveourlucy.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteDo you follow this blog?? She has a ton of good information on AA hair :)
But your little girl is as sweet as can be with any hair style :)
Hi Catherine, I am enjoying reading your blog tremendously -- love your sense of humor, as well as dedication to helping those in need. I am Russian, and I know how horrible a life of a Russian child in an orphanage is. The latest law passed by the Russian government kills me. Unbelievably sad.
ReplyDeleteAnd now to the topic -- my best fiend is African American, and she stopped using shampoo altogether and switched to conditioner washing. Here is a site dedicated to it: http://www.naturallycurly.com/topics/view/co-washing I hope it helps.