The Northwest Scents Blog

Question: Do you have any tips for softening and styling my 6 yo's hair? She does not sit still for long. Thanks.

Answer:If your daughter's hair needs softening, I recommend that you try Northwest Scents shampoo and conditioner on her hair. I recommend the citrus ylang-ylang scent for her. Sometimes baby shampoos can actually dry out the hair. You can also put a little pomade in her hair after washing it, while it is still damp, to add softeness to her hair. Just put a little pomade in the palm of your hands, rub your hands together to warm up the pomade, and then gently grab her hair and rub the pomade in from scalp to roots.

As far as styling goes, for a 6 year old, braids and/or twists are
probably the easiest natural styling option. When I say braids, I don't mean hundreds of tiny braids all over her head. Just one or two that are done as cornrows.

One easy braided style is to just part the hair in two sections, by
taking a comb, and gently parting it down the middle from the center of her forehead to the nape of her neck. Gently comb each section, and use a scrunchie to hold the section in place that you are not working on. With the section that you are working on, gently do a cornrow from the forehead to the nape of the neck. Continue the braid to the ends of the hair. Do the same for the other side. You can finish the style by putting a barrette or other hair decoration at the end of the braid.

Another easy braided style is to just do one cornrow from the middle of her forehead to the nape of her neck. When you get to the nape of her neck, continue the braid to the ends of the hair. You can finish the style by putting a barrette or other hair decoration at the end of the braid.

If you do the braids at night, and then tie up her hair in a silk scarf (if she lets you), and if the scarf stays on overnight, you will probably not have to do her hair in the morning. If you do the braids at night, don't put the barrettes on until the morning, because sleeping in hair accessories can cause some hair damage.

If you don't know how to braid, or would prefer another option, you
could try loose twists. For a little girl, you could part her hair into two or four sections. Working with one section at a time, gather the hair together as if you were doing a ponytail, but use a silk or satin scrunchie to gather the hair together. Avoid rubbers bands and hair rubbers because these cause hair damage. After putting on the scrunchie, gently comb the hair and divide it into two sections. Twist the two sections together loosely like you are braiding them, but you are not braiding them, only twisting them (braids use three sections of hair, twists use two). When you get to the end of the twist, braid the ends of the hair together to keep the twist from coming apart, or attach a barrette or other hair accessory to keep the twist from separating.

Question: I have a 6 yr old daughter with extremely kinky hair and is very dry and brittle. I believe I may be harming her hair by blow drying, pressing and the heavy oils I put into her hair to try and prevent it from reverting so quickly. Please tell me which products I should use on her hair. because after reading your tips I know I am doing a lot wrong to her hair.

Answer: I would like to encourage you to try natural, unpressed styles with your daughter, and possibly go back to pressing when she gets older. I recommend as pressing a chemical-free technique for black hair care, , but for young girls, who can be wiggly, who like to swim and play and do things which would make pressed hair difficult to maintain, I recommend natural, unpressed styles. Dry, kinky hair can be softened easily with the right shampoos and conditioners. Please visit our site at http://www.natural-black-hair-care.info and take a look at some of the articles. One way to dealing with black hair naturally is by wet styling it. This is basically styling natural black hair when it is wet and moisturized. It is much easier to work with in this condition, than when it is dry. If you try this method, you might find it a much more enjoyable way to deal with your daughter's hair than pressing at this stage in her life. You can read about this technique at http://www.natural-black-hair-care.info/natural-styles-for-black-hair.html.

Question: Do you have products you would recommend for a boy's hair? Our son is full African American descent. I keep it cut very short. Also, we currently use J&J baby wash for hair & body, plus Eucerine lotion fo his body morning and night and oil sheen olive for his hair, but I only do that in the mornings. We wash his hair twice a week. Is this an okay regiment? Or do I need to be using a conditioner?

Answer: I don't have a line of products specifically for boys, but our regular product line is gentle enough to use on children, and I can provide the products in unscented (which I would recommend for babies) if you are interested in them.

If your son is really young (which he probably is because you are using baby wash) you don't need a conditioner. And you probably can limit the shampooing to once a week instead of twice a week. Bathe him as often as you need to, but I would recommend shampooing once a week unless it is necessary to do it more (such as if he gets food in his hair or does other things that babies tend to do).

I think that your regimen is fine (shampooing weekly, lotion for his body, and oil in the hair). Where I would be careful is with the product choice. I used to use Johnson and Johnson on my son's hair when he was a baby up until he was about 3 and from what I remember it dried his hair out. However, when my son was a baby, Johnson and Johnson didn't have the "naturals" line out, so my experience is from their original baby shampoo.

If your son's hair seems dry and/or brittle, or if he gets dandruff or cradle cap, I would switch to a different brand of oil (more natural). I'm not familiar with oil sheen olive, but if it is a product made with synthetic oils (mineral oil and/or petrolatum) I would switch to an oil or pomade made with natural oils and no mineral oil or petrolatum. Mineral oil and petrolatum are actually drying to the hair.