For the first few months, we had microbraids- recommended to us by an African American woman. The braids were pretty, but expensive ($220!! and another $50 to get taken out) and also a little rough on her hair. Upon taking them out, I got nervous. So I dutifully signed up for the "ethnic hair care class" offered by Children's Division. The teacher of the class was very informative. I took copious notes while casting my fear of looking stupid to the wind and asking lots of questions much to the entertainment of the others in the class. Jimmy's comment was "I learned one thing. This is really complicated." The class focused on natural hair care and not getting hair relaxed to avoid chemicals and to help hair be healthier and grow more. So my initial plan went out the window and we decided to give natural a try. All was well until the first shower when I realized what kind of curly hair we are dealing with. Yikes. So I jumped into action... and we watched the entire movie Slumdog Millionaire while I combed out hair and tried to help her tame her locks.
Thanks to the class and a friend's recommendation of the website Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care I have purchased all of the right products, but I'm still nervous. We are not good at styling and I have to say that the two trips we've made to salons have been a bit intimidating. I'm the only white girl in the room and I'm asking lots of questions. I understand the stylists I'm interacting with may not be used to this dynamic, but I'm trying to communicate "I care about this girl and I want to learn to do this right!" It's just a little annoying when I get the vibe that they don't care to help much! I am not deterred and have been asking for advice from African American women I know and even some I don't know!
Just another learning experience in this foster parenting adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment