Friday Feature ~ Love Your Girls Biracial Curls!

Friday Feature!!!! My favorite part of the week sometimes, I must say! Today you get to meet Diva R and her mommy! They have their own hair blog, too! (Check out some past Friday Features for other blogs and inspiration as well) You can find Diva R in the starring role at www.loveyourgirlsbiracialcurls.blogspot.com

So with no further ado - here is ...... 

Diva R!!

What is her daily hair routine?

At night I wash and condition Diva R’s hair with Bee Mine Botanical Shampoo and currently Vive conditioner respectively, followed by a gentle squeeze dry using my hands with help of a towel to absorb some of the excess water from her hair, (never rubbing). I then let it air dry a little for a few minutes and I apply our moisturizer, which is currently Bee Mine Juicy Spritz and/or Lavish Curls Moisturizing spray. Then Diva R will sleep on a satin pillow case or use a satin bonnet alternatively. The following morning I will finger detangle after I spritz some distilled water on her curls to moisten and liven them up after being slept on overnight. This usually takes me a few minutes to do. I then spritz/apply the moisturizer on and begin styling.

Do you have any other "routines" that you add to that, but don't do every day? If so, what are they?

Sometimes I will put a protective style in Diva R’s hair to keep it tangle free over night such as French braids, cornrows, or even pony tails on the back or lower sides of her head so she won’t feel them while she sleeps.

I also do hot oil treatments once in a blue moon.

Do you use chemicals in her hair?

NO WAY! Never and wouldn’t even consider it.

Do you use heat (hair dryer, curling iron, flat iron, etc) on her hair?

No I feel the same way about heat and heat tools that I do about chemicals, just not something I feel good about using on Diva R’s hair as of yet. I would like to leave this decision up to her when she’s of sound age to understand the possible consequences of using any of these methods.

Have you ever straightened her hair? Why or why not? What were/are your thoughts on straightening curly hair?

No I haven’t straightened or hot combed Diva R’s hair, it is very thin as it is and in my eyes her hair is too fine for that and her hair seems to be sensitive as it is and easy to break off. I honestly believe this is very damaging and not necessary to do to a child’s hair let alone curly hair because I feel ALL natural curlees should be loved, cherished and appreciated in their natural forms and children’s hair and scalps are more fragile than adults so with that in mind I would like to keep her hair healthy with continuous growth and not cause irreversible damage to it while she’s young causing her potential issues in the future with permanently damaged hair that she hates.

What is your favorite way to do her hair?

I like to do Diva R’s hair in MANY types of ways; anything that illustrates her natural healthy curls is an all time fav of ours. She of course loves beads, clippie’s, flowers and the like all over her hair!

What do you like best about her curls?

The versatility in her hair texture, the fact it’s natural and how healthy her hair is!

What is the worst hair advice you've ever received?

Overall, it would have to be the general advice from people of one nationality who treat all hair types the same. I could never treat Diva R’s hair like mine (me being Caucasian), nor entirely like a 100% Black American’s hair, because her hair is a good combination of both ethnicities so by me using products with stripping chemicals that are ok for my hair type on her hair it would in turn make her hair like plastic and it would loose every bit of life it has… On the other side of the spectrum if I were to use greases, waxes and heavily oiled products that are usually more suitable for coarser hair types on her hair it would pull it out from the roots and possibly make it fall out from the harsh abuse incurred that wasn't designed for fine hair… I tend to find advice from seasoned professionals with a mixture of experiences and knowledge to suit us best.

If there was one thing you could say or one tip you could give a young person with curls, what would it be?

Don’t buy into the hype of straight hair, it’s not all it is cracked up to be and what God gave you stemming from your roots is what it was destined for you to have and consider it a BLESSING if nothing else at all and treat it as such. Nothing is lovelier than your natural curly hair and there is hope and help for any curl type and every curl type is manageable. 

If there was one thing you could say or one tip you could give to the Parents of young children with curls, what would it be?!

Stay away from relaxers, chemicals and heat. Anything that could potentially damage your child’s hair future and esteem is NOT worth using regardless of advice received or what you do on your own hair. 

Don’t ruin your child’s chance at LOVING and taking care of their hair and have overflowing self esteem for your own at the moment convenience or lack of hair knowledge. Take that time to learn about your child’s hair, experiment (safely), network with other parents who can relate to the type of hair your child has to get new ideas, also know that there are many ways to learn how to do and care for your child’s hair even if you are BUSY BUSY BUSY, have no hair knowledge at all or have tried time and time again with little success. KEEP searching don’t give up!

Anything else you would like to add that I haven't thought to ask?!

It is a great idea to begin doing your child’s hair while they are babies to get them accustom to the life-long journey of hair esteem that will precede their baby years being a boy or girl. Just pave that foundation young for them and allow them to love their hair and be proud of it in its natural state and any addition to its natural state. If you allow them to partake in the fun it will make for a smoother time! We consider it bonding time  and I began doing her hair when she was a baby, just never learned how to cornrow until she was after two when I was at my breaking point of not knowing what or how to do anything…

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Well I guess that period of not knowing how to braid, etc, is OVER! Great job with Diva R, I must say! (That last style is SO creative!) She is such a little cutie!! and I totally 100% agree with all she has to say about loving the hair that grows out of your head. There's not a single reason in the world to change it! Just learn it and love it!!! TOTALLY!  Remember, check out her blog, too!

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