How We Handled... Sand in the Hair

In the beginning of June, I shared a style update of Hope's box braids.  I expected at that time for her box braids to last a few more weeks.  Well, it's been a while since I posted and I wanted to share that her braids did last a few more weeks!  In fact, we didn't start to remove them until the last weekend in June.  The decision to remove them at that time, though, was made for us by a certain...shall we say...hair disaster.

Look closely at the photo above, and hopefully what you will notice are the smiles on my children's faces.  Look at the backdrop of the photo, and you can, of course, see that we were at the beach when the photo was taken.  Beach setting + "hair disaster" = can you guess it?  Yes, we had an issue with sand.  As you will see, though, the word "issue" does not even come close to describing just how much sand we had to deal with in my daughter's hair on this day.

Anyone who understands the unique qualities of African and African American natural hair knows that sand and natural hair do not mix well together.  Just a little bit of sand can be a big problem.  On this day, we did not have just a little bit of sand.  Far from it.

Here's what happened...

Our local beach has a swingset which my kiddos were playing on.  Hope was swinging away happily when she took a fall.  Head first.  Into the sand.  My first concern was her safety!  (She was fine...crying for sure, but not hurt at all, thankfully!)  After holding her and determining that she was okay, I then took a moment to look more closely at her hair.  The photos below don't even come close to actually showing just how much sand was in the hair, but hopefully you can get a bit of an idea of what I was dealing with:

Keep in mind that Hope was wearing about 100 mini box braids, and you may be able to imagine the amount of panic I was feeling when I examined her hair.  Each braid was covered in sand, and Hope's scalp was also covered in sand.  I knew my reaction was very important, though, so I was careful to project calmness.  I knew that we needed to go home to begin addressing the sand, but I also knew that how I handled this disaster event would communicate something important to my daughter.  Hope's hair care is important, and I would certainly be addressing the sand in short order...but, we were at the beach and we needed to enjoy that time anyway before heading home for hair care!  Remember that photo of Geoffrey & Hope at the top of this post?  That picture was taken after Hope fell in the sand, and after we all spent about 15 more minutes playing on the swings.

Once we were home, it was time to start taking care of our "issue with sand."  How did I handle it?  I recalled a very helpful post I had read previously at Chocolate Hair Vanilla Care regarding sand, and I remembered that the go-to tool recommended in the post was a vacuum.  That's right...a vacuum.  Since mine has a hose attachment it was the ideal method for me to try.  One at a time, yes one at a time, I vacuumed the sand (as best as I could) from scalp to tip from each of Hope's braids.  That method removed a great deal of the sand from the braids, but not all.  Here you can see there is a lot less sand in the upper section of Hope's hair compared to the lower section, which I hadn't vacuumed yet.

After finishing the vacuuming, I washed and conditioned Hope's hair in the bath.  Normally, I just use a cup to pour water over Hope's hair, but this time I did use the hand held shower head for wetting and rinsing, which seemed to help.  I was very pleased with the results at the end of Hope's bath:

Virtually sand-free!  (Which is more than I can say for our bathtub, which had a huge amount of sand in it!)

And, so began the process of removing Hope's box braids.  Which was just in time, really, since we had plans for Hope to participate again this year in Fros on the Fourth.  (Even though July has nearly come to a close, I still intend to share the photos of Hope's Afro coming soon.)

As important as properly caring for Hope's hair was on this day, I knew it was equally (or even more) important for me to display a loving attitude throughout the process.  I made sure to stay patient and gentle as I worked.  Then, when it was all done for the night, I said to Hope:  "Do you know what is going to happen if you ever get that much sand in your hair again?"  (Assume a mock-stern tone.)  Her response was something to the effect of how much trouble she would be in.  I said, "No, if you get sand in your hair again, then I will take care of it again.  That's all!"  The best part was when Hope said, "When I grow up, I be a Mommy, when my daughter gets sand in her hair, then I take care of it!"

Blessings,
Nikki

Embracing the Fuzzy Moments

Yesterday I realized that it has now been nearly four weeks since I completed Hope's latest style, box braids with cornrows.  Our box braids normally hold up very well, so I expect them to stay in for at least the next month or longer.  As I mentioned in the original post, however, it was my first time putting in cornrows, and I really didn't expect them to last longer than a couple of weeks.  I planned on the need to remove them and either redo them or opt for more of the single box braids in the front.  Time has just passed by, though, without me noticing a real need to do anything other than maintain the moisture needs of Hope's hair.  There has not yet been a moment when I have felt that these cornrows needed to be restyled.

Have a look~

You may notice that the cornrows are beginning to look a little fuzzy.  Well, maybe a lot fuzzy.  It's possible that you took one look at those cornrows, especially in the second photo, and you thought to yourself, "She needs to do something about that!"  For the cornrows are definitely not as tight and sleek as they were when I put them in, for sure.  Some of Hope's little 'baby hairs' have sneaked out of those cornrows, and, yes, they are also looser than they probably should be.

So why haven't I addressed the fuzz yet?  I guess the answer lies in my thoughts on fuzz, and also in my answer to another question:  Why do people care so much about fuzz?

My daughter is only four years old.  I certainly love the way her hair looks when it is newly styled and looking sleek and fresh (fuzz-free), but I don't love the way her hair looks any less after a little time has gone by and that sleek look has gone a little fuzzy.  I also don't see the need to subject Hope (or her hair) to repeated and (in my humble opinion) unnecessary styling just to correct what some may see as a fuzzy style.  As long as the moisture needs of my daughter's hair are being met (and they are) then I am not bothered by the fuzz.  Hope certainly doesn't even notice, which means she obviously does not care...so why should I make her conscious of her hair looking fuzzy at such a young age?  Soon enough, she may start to listen to the world's opinions about her appearance, so why start now?  I would rather help her celebrate and love her hair at every stage of every style--and yes, that means embracing the fuzz!

Now...I would like to see Hope get at least another month out of her box braids.  Will I let the fuzzy cornrows go for another month?  No, likely not.  But I'm not in a hurry!  I am also without a set plan...I may simply redo the cornrows or I may replace them with additional box braids in the front.  Hope has a dance recital at the end of May, so that may influence my decision.  I'll post a style update once we're done.

We are definitely getting good use out of this style, as we always do with box braids.  In the photo above, I had put all of Hope's braids into one large french braid and left that in for several days.  When I removed the french braid, Hope's box braids had this lovely wave.  She's also been playing around with accessories, such as those cute little pink and purple clips as well as some headbands.  Also adorable was the ballerina bun which she wore a week ago.

The message of this post is so much more than to show off some photos of how we've been styling Hope's braids, or even to comment on my thoughts about fuzzy hair versus sleek hair.  It really goes to the heart of my philosophy on Hope's hair care...it is for Hope, and, as such should always be driven by my desire to honor her needs as well as her stage in life (i.e., while she doesn't notice the fuzzy look at age four, I'm sure she will at age fourteen and so my approach to it will change to honor that when that time comes).  While the world will certainly notice Hope's hair, and some people may express opinions (favorable or otherwise), I must never care more about those opinions then my own and that of my daughter.  I must also trust my own instincts about how to care for her hair, including how and when (or whether) to restyle a look that has gone fuzzy.

How about you?  Do you embrace the fuzzy moments?

Blessings,
Nikki