Why Didn’t She Come With Hair Care Instructions?

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Congratulations, you just found out you are having a baby! If this is your first child, I am sure the emotions are running wild. Is it a boy or a girl? How will I decorate the nursery?  How many baby games will I have to play at my baby showers?  For a lot of people, the décor of the nursery will come after you have found out the gender of your baby and you will want to play all of the baby games known to man because let’s face it, who doesn’t love a good game. 

After your emotions of giddiness and excitement have subsided and reality starts to take shape, your questions may become more serious. What is my baby plan going to look like? How do I change a diaper? Who can I hire to do my child’s hair, because I don’t know how!?  Not to worry, there is literally a book to answer any and every question you could have about birth and after.  “What to Expect While You Are Expecting” is like an instruction manual on being pregnant. It’s great! 

But wait, that last question might not actually be on your mind; some people really do have all the luck. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the instruction guide on how to do my daughter’s hair.  

My daughter is biracial and was born with straight hair and I thought to myself “YESSSSSSSSSS I have struck gold!” I can handle straight hair; I myself have straight hair thanks to chemicals. But six months into her life here in the outside world, it started to curl. Ok, still not a problem because they are thick curls and I can still use the Wet brush on them. About two months later, I start to notice that the back of her hair is starting to get matted and dry and THAT, my friends, is when the trouble began. 

Now I’m panicking. What kind of shampoo should I use? How can I brush the knots out without taking my daughter’s head off like a Barbie doll? How do I keep the moisture in?  SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, HELP ME PLEASE!!

Since I haven’t figured it out yet, I probably spend at LEAST thirty minutes in the hair care aisle reading the back of every shampoo, conditioner and detangler bottle trying to find the right combination to make this process easier.

Why Didn’t She Come With Hair Care Instructions?
Audrey at 10 months

Needless to say, most nights are spent in tears (both hers and mine) as I try to wash her hair. The fact that she doesn’t like water in her face doesn’t help things. The whole process goes something like this.

  • Put oil and detangler spray in it as she is trying to climb away from me or pulling a ‘dead man’s pose’ because she knows what’s coming
  • Brush the knots out of her hair. I have to put her in a monkey grip as she is flailing her arms and body around, just so I can put it up in a cute little pony tail the following morning. Shoot, half the time I don’t even bother putting her hair up because I’m still exhausted from the workout the night before.  And don’t even get me started on trying to BRAID her hair… are you kidding me (not that I even know how to braid hair)?!

So if you see me struggling in the hair care aisle, run the other way!

OR if anyone out there knows of a hair care instruction manual, this momma is up for a good read.

Why Didn’t She Come With Hair Care Instructions?
Audrey at 2 years old

 

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Sydney Mcleod-Bryant Barnett
Born in Boston, but raised in Mount Pleasant, Sydney left South Carolina to go to Lenior-Rhyne College (now University) where she met her husband and graduated with a degree in Political Science. She and her husband moved back to Mount Pleasant in 2012 and are currently living in the family house (zoo) with Audrey who is going on 8 and Amelia who is going on 2, a dog and two cats. Sydney loves re-familiarizing herself with the city through the eyes of her children , traveling, learning Korean and listening to audiobooks.