Previously, In this series of articles on care of African American children in transracial adoptions, I have discussed winter skincare, summer skincare, and basic hair care. It is not time to discuss advanced hair care problems for African American children.
Let us talk abut “Good hair”. (Notice the quotation marks. )
Most African Americans have hair that is called kinky or nappy. Others however may have what is often referred to as “good hair”. This simply means the hair is easier to comb and has a looser curl than the average black person’s hair. This good hair is usually a result of a mixed race child, or race mixing in previous generations. “Good hair” still needs special care.
Although a child with “good hair” may have hair similar to his or her adopted family (of a different race), it still has similarities to African American hair. This hair can be washed several times a week, if it tends to get oily, but in most cases, twice a week is plenty. Allow the hair to air dry, especially at the ends. If it stays wet for a long time, dry the roots and leave the ends damp. Excess eat will damage the hair and cause breakage.
Having “good hair” does not mean caring for it is easy. The benefits of having “good hair” is that it will not need chemicals if the child wants to wear it straight. A blow dryer or a straight iron will do the trick. On the other hand, “good hair” is still African American hair and it still needs extra conditioning and the proper amount of moisture, which can be difficult to determine. With too little moisture, the child will have frizzy hair. With too much moisture, the hair will be weighed down. Both too much and too little moisture in the hair can cause damage to the scalp. Too little moisture will cause a dry itchy flaky scalp. Too much moisture will irritate the scalp and cause skin problems on the scalp in adult hood.
I am testament to the damage too much moisture can cause on the scalp. I processed my hair with a Jeri Curl in the 1980’s and for two years, walked around with a wet, soggy, scalp to keep moisture in my over processed hair. I now have eczema on my scalp that started soon after discontinuing use of those products.
You will want to use the same products and combing technique mentioned in my basic hair care article.