Sunday, June 17, 2012

Growth Update

It’s no secret that the tragedy of having to repair my little one’s precious locs was the motivation for this inspirational hair blog. Thus far we have gotten so much positive feedback from parents celebrating our efforts to inspire, encourage and inform. Some have said that they wish this page was around before their daughters reached adulthood, but that now they use some of the tips on their own hair. Still others try these simple but useful tips on their young daughters who are currently toddler and youth age. Either way, we are glad that sharing our stories have given hope and inspiration to our faithful readers. AND There is still more to come...

Now, here is a little more inspiration to offer for parents who have had a tragic hair experience like ours. Just to recap, my now five year old was born with a head full of fluffy dark locs. Her hair was strong and coarse and beautiful. At about the age of three and half I decided that it may be best to take her to a “professional” to maintain her hair health. Her hair was healthy and there was no indication of breakage or split ends. She hated for me to tackle her head full of hair so I thought that maybe she would act better for someone else.

So sad that I figured out too late that my task is a gift. I should have just endured the tears and the tantrums of a little girl. If only I had had a crystal ball, I would have never conceded to my fatigue and bewilderment from her carrying on. BUT unfortunately I did concede and the result was severe heat damage to my oldest daughter’s hair. My belief is that the dryer was way too hot and her hair was burned or singed. At that time she had several inches of beautiful, long pony tails. Since I first noticed the terrible damage till now, I have trimmed off at least 6 inches or more of her hair.

This story, however, does have a happy ending. Below is a current photo of her new hair growth.


Huge healthy puffs, yay!!


I think you may be able to see the braids down her back on this very poor iphone snapshot. Doesn't help that she is wearing a black t-shirt, huh? LOL!


It is not quite as long as it once was but it has grown out quite a bit. She and I are very happy and hope that her hair health continues.

What has contributed to the new growth? First, as with any form of health, it begins from the inside. We made sure to increase the protein in her diet (which is quite a task in its self since she does not eat red meat and barely eats chicken). We added Omegas as well; not to mention lots of hydration like water and Vitamin Water Zero. After we made sure her diet was satisfactory, we made sure to nourish the outside as well. This blog has chronicled much of our journey to discover the best products for her hair and the hair of my younger daughter as well. Without rehashing all the products, the consistency shared by all the products that actually worked was moisture and detangling ability. We applied pre-shampoo treatments prior to shampooing by weekly (we would go three weeks sometimes). We decreased heat, eliminating blow drying and when we did decide to use a flat iron or straightening comb, it was used with caution ensuring that the dial was not turned up to hot. All of the above served to promote and maintain growth. Half way through our process I discovered Doo Gro, Stimulating Growth Oil. I use this on both girls’ hair. I don’t know how much affect it has had on growth by its self, but it adds moisture to the scalp and some of the ingredients stimulate scalp circulation. These attributes can’t hurt. We have a ways to go, but I believe we are on the right track.

Stay on this journey with us and let’s keep finding new and innovative ways to keep our little ones healthy and beautiful.

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Monday, June 4, 2012

Shake it up for a change


If you are like me it is hard to change. AND staying in the same old rut can be easy and does not require a lot of thought. Two Heads keeps me searching for new ways to twist the tried and true but still keep it fairly easy on mommy (and daddy).


The below is my five year old sporting a spin off of the same old two pig tails style that every little girl has worn at least a million times :-).



Usually, when we do this style, we simply part her hair straight down the middle and pull each side of her hair up into two pig tails. We accent with barrettes on either side of the part and call it a day. Well, this particular day we wanted to be a little risqué and take a departure from the norm.





So this time we started with a zig zag part (which can be a little tricky). The part takes a little time because you want each zig and zag to be sharp and definitive so you may need to practice. By the way, I purposely have a little more hair on one side than the other. I love how it looks a little off set. I then zig zagged a little piece to the side at the nape of her neck to add a little interest. And finally we added two tendrils on each side to accent her little face. Instead of leaving the pig tails loose or braiding them like normal, I looped them over into puffs. I still added barrettes on either side and little tiny accessories to the tendrils. As you can see the tendrils are loosely twisted.




And there you have it…a little twist on the old school pig tails.  Shake it up!
Skirt: Target
Leggings: Target (2 seasons ago :-) can't believe they still fit)
Top: A gift from her grandmother
Sandals: Gymboree (last season)
Hair accessories: Walmart (believe it or not ;-))

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

Daily moisture



 
Ethnic hair of all textures needs moisture to grow and stay healthy. I just can’t stress that enough. So here is a quick tip to help you keep your little ones hair moist.
My two year old always looks most flattering when she is good and moisturized
By adding Doo Gro, Stimulating Growth oil and extra virgin olive oil moisture can be retained. Bring out the curls even more with pink oil moisturizer.




Dress: Baby Gap