Baby Boy's Hair Care

The little one is growing and so are his curls. After shaving his head during spring and when his hair grew in very unevenly his father and I decided to let it grow. It took some getting used to. I love him in his short hair, he looked so much like a little boy. But now I love watching his curls grow.

Since his hair is growing a bit had to change from his baby hair care routine. And I'm still tweaking his current routine. But right now since he is only a year and a half I want to keep his hair care simple but still get him used to me caring for his hair. 

Every time I bathe him I wet his hair. But only two or three times a month do I add product to his hair. What I use then is a conditioner. Right now we're using Shea Moisture Mango & Carrot Kids Extra Nourishing Conditioner. 

First I spray his hair prior to his bath with some water and comb through his hair as much as possible. He is small, he won't sit still for this. 

Then when he's in the bath I saturate his hair. He has very low porosity hair (just like his dad) so the water just ends up on his scalp. I have to massage it in to his hair for it to get wet. 

Then I add the conditioner. I massage it into his hair and let it sit for a few. Sometimes I have to rinse it out almost right away 'cause he wants to get out of the bath tub. He hates rinsing his hair, so I always have to rush this step. 

When he comes out I apply coconut oil to his hair, maybe half a tea spoon that I first rub between my palms. I massage this in to the hair as well. The reason why I do this right away I that I want as much moisture to remain in the hair as possible.

Then I dry him off, rub his body with coconut oil or my Shea butter mix now in winter. 

The next day and between washes I try to remember to spray his hair with water daily. He loves this! He'll come when I'm spraying my hair or my daughter's hair and go: "Spray!" Then I massage it into his hair 'cause otherwise the water drops just sit on top of his hair. Some days that's it. Other days I apply some coconut oil on top. Or I may spray a bit of Afrocenchix Sheen and mix it with the water I previously sprayed by massaging. 

Second day curls

Baby boy's hair is generally dry. And it doesn't help that he wants to wear caps and hats all the time. But he's a kid and I don't want to complicate things even more. 

If he had longer hair I think the routine would be the same. Maybe I'd add a natural leave in conditioner. And if his hair got dirty (sand, food, whatnot) more often I would probably co-wash a bit more often. But I doubt I'd use a shampoo, I don't see the need. I'd also use coconut oil and perhaps aloe vera gel for styling. But I don't think small kids need to be subjected to an array of products, especially unnatural ones. 

We are still deciding on what we want to do with his hair long term. Locs? Big fro? Short with a fade? Mohawk? Time will tell. But both his dad and I are totally in love with his "deep curls," as his father calls them.