The Loc Hawk

Little Brother K has been sporting a new 'do - the "loc-hawk"!

Last time I updated here about K's hair, I had just put in a headful of two strand twists. 

I was in a dilemma about to twist or not to twist, to cut or not to cut, and to loc or not to loc.  Now it seems I've done all three!

For a while, I went with twisting. Here is K's hair on New Year's Eve: small two-strand twists.

We stuck with twists for a while; long enough that they started to loc naturally.

K's own photo of his locs at the front

K's curl pattern in much tighter at the front and the back of his head. His hair is looser and finer in the middle. 

The varying sizes of K's curls, compared to a marker

His hair was beginning to loc quite nicely at the front and back, but the middle was not loc'ing well at all. I started to help the locs along, using my homemade interlock tool (literally a paperclip with masking tape around it to avoid snagging). 

I use a 4-point method similar to the one used in this video by DynamicRunner. 

K actually enjoys getting his hair done these days, so once or twice a week while he watches TV, I have him sit for some re-twisting/interlocking. The locs continue to be a work in progress, some are well-established while others need more time.

Here is an idea of the thickness of the locs:

K's locs are a little smaller than a pencil in diameter

And now - onto the CUT!

To give K's hair a new and interesting shape, we decided to cut the sides into a mohawk - technically a loc-hawk? Using the electric clippers on number 1, I cut down the sides and left the locs at the front, top and back. 

K loves his rockin' new look!

Little Brother's Two-Strand Twists

K has a head full of two-strand twists!!

Lately Daddy D and I have been trying to decide what to do with K's hair. 

Do you remember his little mohawk?

Well, it's all grown out.

And it's long enough that it is getting very tangled, very quickly. The tangles are significant, so day after day of loose hair is becoming a less viable option. 

Another issue is that K is a bit "tender-headed".  He will tolerate finger detangling, but the only comb/brush he will tolerate is the Tangle Teezer, I think he likes the way it feels on his scalp. That being said, the jury is kind of out on the TT (for example, see this poll at The Natural Haven).

Daddy D still leans towards locs - which opens a whole other can of worms about locs on young children, and is definitely not something the extended family would embrace. In fact, as I've mentioned in previous "boy hair" posts, they have made it very clear to us that their preference is for short hair on boys. 

Sooooo, we could cut his hair.  It wouldn't be the first time. 

In fact , K had very short hair at one point:

But he has also has a pretty big 'fro:

And a long time ago...... before he could run away from me, I used to actually "style" K's hair. 

We decided to ask K his opinion. Since everyday loose hair was out, we gave him the choice of a hair cut or twists. He chose twists. 

I had no idea how this was going to work out, as he has literally not sat more than 2 minutes for any kind of hair time in the last 2 years. 

But it went very smoothly, and with a couple of TV shows, some snacks, and some breaks for jumping around I did manage to twist up his whole head. I think it must help that he sees JJ having her hair time every weekend - he actually seemed quite proud to be getting his hair done, like his big sister. 

He loves it!!!

Which means, further decision making is on hold, for this week, anyway! 

Any opinions on boy hair? On inviting young children to be involved in decision-making about their hair? On family pressures? On locs for children? I'd love to hear from you! 

Big and Little 'Fros

I've been doing lots of experimenting with Big Hair. I'm even working on a post about it! But in the meantime here are a few photos that are just too cute (in my humble and totally non-biased opinion) to keep to myself. BTW - please ignore the product residue on JJ's hair - like I said - I am experimenting!! I was checking to see if the residue would be gone when hre hair was completely dry. It was not. I think in my zeal I used too much leave-in condish - but it came out well with another rinse. Sigh...always learning! 

My hair is bigger than yours!

But I still love you!

For the record: JJ's major shrinkage

Little Brother Hair Update!!!

On Saturday my sister-in-law called and offered to take JJ and Little Brother K to Grandma's for a sleepover. Daddy D and I jumped on the opportunity to go to a concert. It was a last-minute thing, and K was whisked away right after nap, and before a good detangle. I do always try to have his hair look as "nice" as possible when he is with my in-laws, because they aren't too keen on his many curl-pattern, messy-looking afro. But the timing just didn't work in my favour this time around.

I had a premonition. I said to Daddy D, I have a feeling they are going to cut K's hair. About an hour later, there was a phone call. It was Auntie, asking if they could take K to the barber. I let Daddy D deal with this question. Daddy D continues to want K to have locs like him, but  his family is not supportive of that idea. Daddy D has been considering a cut for K for a couple of weeks now, ever since I showed him the Daddy & son haircut pictures at Mainly Braids (hi Shay!!). After some negotiation the Aunties were told not to touch the top of his hair, but that it was okay to cut the sides.

The result:

When he came home I was afraid to look, but when I did, I loved it! But I do feel a bit like my baby boy is gone and has been replaced with a 2 1/2 year old teenager. He just looks so much more mature! He loves all the attention from his friends and teachers, as well as pretty much anyone who passes us on the street.

If you like this - check out K's newest mohawk - a "loc-hawk" - here!!

Really different curl patterns on one little head - what to do?

Here is little brother K just after his last hair cut (November 2010):

It was a real barbershop haircut. He cried a bit and we fed him 6 little boxes of raisins to distract him. Daddy D and I were both a bit overwhelmed. Daddy said a firm no to "marking" (I think that's what it's called - when the barber cuts the hair very close to look super neat around the forehead). Anyway it wasn't awful but it wasn't the happiest experience either. 

Daddy D has locs and would like K to have locs too.  Daddy D's family doesn't love Daddy D's locs and they have definitely expressed their disapproval of locs on a 2-year old.  What to do? We could keep his hair short. But since I am learning so much about caring for longer hair I figure why not try longer hair for him too? We live in a very diverse city and boys we see have a wide range of hair styles including braids, twists, afros and locs along with shorter hair. 

My challenge right now is that K's hair is getting longer, but looks, well, **messy**. 

See the different curl patterns? Don't worry, it's a plastic drill.

A slightly different angle...

His hair LOOKS like it's all different lengths. It's really not though, it's just that his hair ranges from 4b-type springy coils to large curls on the top of his head that are almost....straight!?!?!?

What to do?

More Little Brother Hair

K's hair with Supercurl cream

K's hair never gets as much attention as JJ's. As I've said before, he's not too big on manipulation. I've been experimenting with different products for his hair. He has a different curl pattern than JJ - with tighter coils framing his face and looser curls at the top of his head.

His usual routine:

• Shampoo every week or two depending on circumstances, using a no-sulfate shampoo or a mix of warm water and baking soda. Then I leave conditioner in for as long as he's willing to sit in the bath, finger detangle, and rinse. Occasionally I go "all-out" and comb with a wide-tooth comb while the conditioner is in. "Style" clean hair with a leave-in product or shea/oil combo (coconut/almond/macadamia).
• In between shampoos, co-wash (with conditioner only) and finger detangle. 
• Daily routine (morning): spritz with water/jojaba oil/leave-in conditioner mix, finger detangle while applying coconut oil. In the evening K sometimes sleeps with a cap, especially because he likes to do what his big sister does. When I remember I apply some shea butter mixed with either coconut/almond/macadamia oil before bed.

Once in a while I'll use some fancier product on his hair. The other day I used some of JJ's Uncle Funky's Daughter Supercurl Miracle Moisture Cream. It looked and felt soft, and smelled amazing. Interestingly, it seemed to make his coils even tighter.  JJ asked him if he had a hair cut! I've been able to "revive" the Supercurl cream so far (three days) which makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth (I'm a bit thrifty, and this cream was not cheap)! Did I mention it smells nice? I'm not big on scented products in general but I do find this one pleasant.

The Big Brother

I can't end 2010 without a post dedicated to the big brother. Big J has different genetics, and thus different hair. His is a little wavy, and he prefers to wear it kind of "surfer" style. One of my proudest Mama moments was when he donated 8 inches of growth for wigs for people undergoing chemotherapy.

Here are the pics:

Before. 

More before.

3 "ponytails".

After - had to leave a surfer "swoosh".
JJ zipping by in the background with some cool zigzag parts.

Everyone's end of 2010 hair.

Happy New Year!

The Little Brother

I should mention that JJ has a little brother, K. I am a bit more focused on her hair than on his. He's not nearly as patient as JJ for having his hair detangled or styled - JJ will actually **ask** to have her hair done - often! K - not so much.

Daddy D would like K to have locs just like him.... eventually. In the meantime though, we have experimented with the 'fro, twists, some braids, and some very short hair:

Twists - from the front

Twists - from the top

The biggest 'fro - so far. Note many different curl patterns.

More of the big 'fro.

The big chop. Wow, that was short!

The current medium-sized 'fro.

All the product & hair routine info that I've gathered has come in very handy when it comes to his hair  - but that's for another post!