Jo is sporting some pretty cute two strand twists this week. Lili is in simple poofs that I'm changing every few days. I've been doing simple hair-do's lately as I gear up and prepare for some intensive summer do's. I'm going to try to do some labor intensive small cornrows on Jo's hair and leave them in for 4-6 weeks. I've ordered some sleep caps (we already use a satin pillow) to try to keep them nice for longer time periods.
I've been experimenting with making my own hair and skin supplies for a while now and I almost have a recipe perfected. All the measurements are approximate because I just eyeball most things. Here's the recipe so far:
LiliBella Lotion Bars
3 oz pure unrefined Shea butter
2 oz beeswax
2 oz pure coconut oil
essential oils for fragrance
I cut up the shea butter into smaller chunks and place in a microwaveable bowl. I then grate the beeswax from handmade candles my BIL gives us. I melt both of those in the microwave. I add the coconut oil and essential oils then mix together. I have a small tin that I use as a mold and let sit until solid. It looks like a little bar of soap but it's actually lotion. I like making a bar so I don't use too much product on their hair. I rub the bar in my hands like soap and then apply to their hair like pomade or gel.
I use a similar recipe for their skin but use more oil and less wax. Lili's skin just glows from it. When I took the picture of her above I was just amazed at how great her skin looks now. I've started using it too.
6 comments:
SOOO beautiful! You make me want to make hair products. Except that most days I can barely manage making dinner!
You inspired me, a while back, to actually try to do cornrows on my 18 month old. They didn't look so hot, but they were a start.
Believe me my cornrows looked a mess in the beginning...and still do sometimes. I'm often embarrassed because my kids' hair isn't as cool as the other kids at the playground/store/coffee shop. I just keep reminding myself that their mommies grew up doing this and I grew up with pigtails and french braids. I'm really working hard to keep my fingers close to the scalp to keep them nice and tight.
PS. I couldn't manage making dinner tonight. We're having leftovers.
How old were they when you started? and how do you get them to let you do it? My 2.5 year old won't have any of it. It's a great day when we get two afro puffs instead of one. The lotion sounds great, and it's all things I have on hand. I'll give it a try! Sounds like a SAHM business to me...
I am going to forward your recipe on to a friend of mine.
Josie was born with a head of hair. I started doing simple poofs with her when she was only a few months old. Lili came to us at over a year old and it was obvious that caring for her hair had not been a priority. She still isn't as patient and often wears simpler styles than her sister because she doesn't sit as still.
For any style that requires more than 15 minutes of sitting....Finding Nemo does the trick at our house.
Our little one has been with us since birth, and the best advice anyone ever gave us was to "get your hands in her hair" before she was six months old, even if there wasn't much hair to work with, so she would be used to having it handled. She tolerates it pretty well, although sometimes (like when a hairstyle is 90 percent done and just needs to be finished) there is a certain amount of wrestling!
We are fortunate to have a couple of people in our lives who enjoy doing her hair and are very, very good at it -- a young woman who used to be in my church youth group and has two baby girls of her own, and one of her teachers at day care. We pay them more than we ever would have imagined spending on a baby's beauty treatments ($15-25 depending on the style), but it's worth it for the time it saves us and how healthy and beautiful it keeps her hair. Unfortunately, that also means I get less practice than I otherwise might!
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