You should begin by washing hair about once a week. In the winter this might stretch out a little longer. I wash more often in the summer when the kids are playing outside and sweating. But, one of the commonly made mistakes non-African parents of Biracial or African children make is to wash their children’s hair too frequently. Many of my Caucasian friends wash their own hair daily because they have fine hair that gets weighed down with their natural oils. In a biracial child, over washing can lead to dullness and dryness. For biracial hair care, you may want to consider washing a little more often than once a week. But, you will rarely want to wash more than a couple of times a week. I like to use different shampoos to eliminate the possibility of build-up from a particular shampoo. I alternate between:
- HumiNature Nothin’ But Nature Shampoo
- SheaMoisture Shea Butter Shampoo
- Treasured Locks H2G Awaken Emu Oil Shampoo (moisturizes and stimulates growth- my favorite!)
- Treasured Locks Huminature Moisturizing Shampoo
- Treasured Locks Free & Clear Shampoo
- Between Washings- If your child swims or sweats from her scalp, you may be tempted to wash too often. One way to stretch out the time between washings is to just rinse the hair with warm water, condition and go from there.
Washing an infant’s hair
If your child is very young (too young to keep her eyes closed), use a no tears baby shampoo. These shampoos contain agents that keep the eyes from stinging. We do not sell any no-tears shampoos. But, these shampoos can be drying, especially for African or biracial hair care. So, transition to a nice mild shampoo as soon as possible.
Drying biracial hair
Wash gently, but thoroughly, massaging the scalp while washing. When you dry, blot with a towel rather than rubbing vigorously. Avoid heat as much as possible for drying. Allow the hair to air dry or you can even use a conditioning cap to drive some of the moisture out before blasting the hair with forced hot air.