JJ Cuts Her Hair

Stop. Rewind. All the way back to New Year's Eve. JJ had requested something sparkly in her hair for the party we were going to. We decided on sparkly yarn twists. She loved them - they were exactly what she wanted.

But there was drama!

It's taken me a while to write about this - partly because my life is extra-busy right now - but also because it was soooooo traumatic ):

Mid-morning on Dec 31, the yarn twists were almost complete. There was just one small patch left to twist - right at the top of her head - maybe 4-5 twists' worth. We had been watching Shrek for the billionth time, and a good song came on. JJ asked to have a break to get up and dance, and I agreed. I let her dance, and I took a break to make a phone call and finalize our party plans.

I was vaguely aware of JJ checking her hair in the mirror, and was also vaguely aware of her saying something about how she didn't like the look of the puff of untwisted hair at the top of her head.

After a few minutes, I was off the phone and JJ was back in her "hair chair". I went to add in some yarn to one of the final twists and my heart skipped a beat. I had in my hands a section of short hair, it was only about an inch or two long!? I immediately thought "Yikes! Major breakage!" and I sat for a minute, trying to figure out how this could have happened. Her hair had been in small twists for all of December...a PROTECTIVE style - how could such a large section break off?

I hadn't even processed my next idea in my head when I asked out loud..."Did you cut your hair?". JJ smiled at me. She looked almost proud of herself (??!!!) and said "Yes!". She looked over at the scissors I'd been using to cut the yarn, and back at me again, still smiling....

In the few minutes that I had been on the phone, and with little brother, big brother and Daddy D all in the room, JJ had somehow managed to cut off the last bit of hair that was to be twisted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was in complete shock. I asked "Where's the hair??" and JJ pointed to the kitchen floor. Yup, that was her hair. A fair amount of it, too. EEEEK!!!!

Channeling as much of Daddy D's "go with the flow" attitude as I could muster - and thanks to some much-needed words of wisdom and support from awesome facebook/blogger friends - I pulled myself together and finished the style. I was actually very "lucky" that I was in the middle of yarn twists! I was able to re-do some parts so that most twists had at least some long hair left in them. In the end, there were 2 or 3 twists that were mostly yarn. In the photo below you can see a more-yarn-than-hair twist. The circle shows where JJ's hair ended, and I matched the length to her non-cut hair. Yeah, that was a lot of length...GONE.

BUT...No one even noticed! And we had a great New Year's Eve.

JJ and Uncle E - Cheers!

The yarn twists ended up becoming an unplanned long term protective style.  I decided to leave them in because JJ loved them, but also to buy some time (hair growth time!) before figuring out how to camouflage the short hair in her next style. The twists actually stayed in for the entire month of January!

JJ is definitely not the only child to have cut her own hair. I know I've seen and heard other stories out there. Anisa from Braid With Me cut her hair twice! You can read more about Anisa's accidental hair cut here at Beads, Braids and Beyond.

How about you? Did you - or your child - ever cut your/their own hair? Please share - I love stories!!!

Thank you for reading - it has been very therapeutic for me to finally write about that fateful New Year's Eve. Check back soon for more on the our month of twists, and how we've handled the camouflage job for 2012 so far!

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!!

The Trim

Freshly trimmed,
with Supercurl Cream

A couple of weeks ago JJ and I ventured over to The Curl Ambassadors for a trim. The stylist, Shanlea, had infinite patience for JJ's uncertainty about the experience. After realizing very quickly that sitting on a chair in the main part of the salon wasn't going to work for JJ, she took us to a quieter "back room" and brought out a bag full of toys including lots of curly-haired dolls. JJ settled into playing hairdresser with the dolls.

This is to show the texture
(I need a better camera!)

The Curl Ambassadors specialize in dry-cutting (trimming dry, as opposed to wet hair). After a trim, Shanlea washed and conditioned JJ's hair with Deva products for curly hair and then used the Supercurl cream by Uncle Funky's Daughter. Check out the fabulous videos for Uncle Funky's daughter products. We picked up a tub of the Supercurl cream, and use it for loose hair, and sometimes for twists. So far I'd say it's good, but it was quite pricey - about $40 (with tax) for 8 ounces. I use it quite sparingly because of the price. I usually use shea butter and almond oil for twists (see my post on The Usual Routine).

Shanlea gave JJ her own "curl map" with personalized instructions for curl care. She answered my million+ questions about JJ's hair and was very well-versed about products and their ingredients. It was a great experience all-around. Thanks Shanlea!