Need help for my niece's hair

[hawaiianhoney]

Need help for my niece\'s hair

Hi

I'm new here. I found this forum a year ago when wondering how to get my hair to stop breaking, but haven't posted since then.

Anyway, my name is Jodi, I'm a SAHM to 3 wonderful kids and I am in need of some advice. My little niece just turned 11 and her hair is in pretty bad shape. The kids at her school make fun of her because even after getting her hair relaxed, it kinks up into little knots around the edges. Her hair has broken off very badly on the ends. You can't even pull it all into a ponytail (or several for that matter). My sister keeps her hair in braids with weave so that she will go to school. Otherwise, she just cries and begs to not go to school.

Is there something that my sister can do to get her hair to stop breaking and grow? No one else in our family has hair like hers so we don't know how to take care of it. Everything that we have tried that works for our hair seems to make hers worse.

Can anyone help? All suggestions are welcome! Thanks a lot!

 

[Dejuan42]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

i dont have any help for you but im going through the same thing with my hair just breaks and breaks and i get made fun of because my hair won't grow and my hair is extremely nappy. nothing works for me that works for everybody else either. So can anyone help me and hawaiian honey lol.

 

[pebbles]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Hi hawaiianhoney, welcome to the forum!

Can I ask how old your niece is? If she still has the relaxer in her hair, I would first suggest cutting it off. Your niece sounds to be young still, so growing her hair back will NOT be a problem, even if it gets cut kind of short. If your niece and sister have no objections to cutting her hair, do so, and put her on a regime of washing and doing a deep conditioning treatment with heat, every 4 days. And use a moisturizer on her hair morning and night to combat dryness.

Also do a protein treatment for her regularly every 4 weeks to get her hair back into shape. You can try Nexxus Emergencee or Keraphix. There are some other popular and effective protein conditioners that will work great as well.

If she doesn't want to wear a little afro to begin with, leave enough hair to allow her to do braids for now, and gradually cut off the relaxer as her hair grows out. Still have her wash and condition her hair regularly even if it's in braids. You may not be able to do this twice a week, but at least once a week would be great.

Thankfully, your niece is young and she can bounce back from this temporary setback in no time at all.

 

[hawaiianhoney]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Thank you for your reply Pebbles.

My niece is 11 and she is really self conscious about er appearance. She is becoming interested in boys and feels left out because her older sister has really long hair and gets all the attention from boys. They just make fun of her and call her "nappy head" and it hurts her.

In your reply, you said to leave enough hair to put up in braids. Did you mean to braid her hair with her natural hair only or to add some weave to it? I was curious because I suggested to my sister that maybe getting her micro braids would help her hair to grow out and keep her from feeling like she's ugly while it grows out. With the micros, she'll still be able to get the conditioning and keep her roots moist while keeping some "hair" on her head.

One last question and I promise I'm done

What can my sister put on her roots so that she can make them soft? Right now, even when her hair is wet, you can't get a comb through it. She has to rake over the roots with the brush. My cousin suggested carrot oil. Would that be sufficient?

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and I hope I'm not being a pain!

-Jodi

 

[Allandra]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Welcome to the LHCF.

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Wow I feel so sorry for your niece HH. I know how it is to be the notty haired girl at school and get made fun of.

I know that a lot of people here use unrefined coconut oil to make their roots softer, more manageable and to help strectch out relaxing periods. I hate to say this because a lot of people think I am crazy when I do, but conditioner washes 3 or more times a week will make her new growth really soft and manageable. I do this for my 4a hair and it is a soft as cotton. I have about 3-4 inches of new growth.

If you all decide to cut off all of the damaged hair and start over, it would be wise to leave at least a couple of inched so extenstions would be possible. I am sure your niece won't mind wearing extensions until her hair grows out.

As far as washing and conditioning. I suggest washing once weekly and throwing in at least 2 deep conditioners in a week to help get the strength back in her hair. Do a protein treatment on the 4th week. The deep conditions would be putting the conditioner on her hair and applying a plastic cap and letting it sit for about an hour or sitting under a hooded dryer for 30 ninutes or so. I use Lekair for my deep conditionin a lot and it works wonders for restoring elasticity and strength. Try to find a gentle shampoo not too harsh. Creme of Nature gets a lot of votes her.

And even you her hair is in extensions, it still needs to be washed and moistured on a regular basis.

Good luck and keep us posted on how her hair is doing!

 

[dontspeakdefeat]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Oh and I forgot to say Welcome to the board!

 

[sassygirl125]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

[ QUOTE ]
What can my sister put on her roots so that she can make them soft? Right now, even when her hair is wet, you can't get a comb through it. She has to rake over the roots with the brush.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hide all of your sister's brushes...

Get her a Jilbere Shower Comb (Conair makes them too--I've seen them at Wal-Mart) and tell her to apply something wet and slippery (but not real greasy) to her daughter's hair before combing it. Kids Organics Shea Butter Detangling Lotion or something like that. Extension braids sound like a good idea. She can have some hair on her head while her real hair is growing out.

And tell your niece that those same boys will be trying to date her one day real soon. Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Welcome to the board!

Edited to add pic of KO products. I think they make a shampoo and a deep conditioner too...

 

[pebbles]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Hi Hawaiianhoney,

I meant leave enough hair so that extensions can be added to her hair to braid. I should have made that clear.

Micros are nice, just be sure to pay attention to the edges around her face. Sassy gave some great recommendations for products you can use on her hair.

Please feel free to ask all the questions you need to ask. We're all here to help as much as we can.

 

[Spagirl]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Hi Hawaiianhoney...Welcome to LHCF!

In adding to what the others have shared with you I would suggest, if haven't seen already, 2 threads:
<ul type="square"> How To's TWA Styles if your niece wants to wear her present length in nice styles

Hair Tips General hair care tips and more [/list]

I HTH as well!

 

[cutebajangirl]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Hi and welcome,
I have to agree with those who suggested micro's . I think though that basically what we mean is small human hair braids, right ? not the ultra tiny ones. If you do this and get the edges done on a proper time scale not the "oh she is a kid so lets just wait until the braids get raggedy", her hair will most likely grow. (not suggesting at all that you will do this though- just a comment on what I have heard elsewhere

)I knew a girl in elementary school who did this in 5th and 6th grade and her hair grew so well that by the time we were in 7th and 8th grade all the boys wanted to get with her.

So Sassygirl is soo right.

 

[Peachtree]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

Welcome

 

[aqualung]

Re: Need help for my niece\'s hair

I want to help her too. This is what I'd do in her situation:

1. Braids are the best styling solution for kids seeking length. I personally wouldn't do MICRObraids (excessive shedding when removed in my experience). I'd cornrow her moisturized hair down using synthetic hair of the same color. Don't just cornrow her hair all by itself -- it'll mat and loosen quickly. Don't braid too tight! Don't braid too close to the hairline! (If she won't wear the cornrows out in public, consider latch hook braided S-curl extensions. It's a fun, supercute style for her age group. Cheapest strategy is to find a friend who cornrows and add the braided extensions yourself. PM me for details &amp; pics if you're interested.) Moisturize the cornrows and scalp with S-curl. Redo the style every month while she regains length. Wash, protein condition, moisturize, and put those braids back in.

2. For combouts, don't use brushes. Detangle in sections when WET using a showercomb or wide toothed Ace comb and some John Frieda Relax Texture Correction Serum or LUST. Take your time. Detangle ends to roots. Profective Root Health or coconut oil or castor oil or ORS carrot oil will soften those roots. Don't forget the hairline.

3. No more relaxers for a bit. While you're braiding her hair, it'll be stronger w/o chemical. Once she starts getting length back and wants to show it off, just press and curl it (not a hard press) for the holiday. Then back to braids.

I hope you find a routine that works for her and a braided style she likes. Braids will rest it from manipulation for extended periods, but the trade off is that she won't be able to wash and comb as frequently.

Meg