Black Kids' Natural Hair: Our Favorite Products, Tools, Accessories, Books, and Videos

It's been awhile since I've given you an update on all of our hair faves! It's been over a year since I've done this. Ugh! Thankfully, my Facebook and Instagram followers were kind enough to remind me that it's time for some natural hair talk. So, here goes! 

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If you're new, we have four children, all of whom have a different hair type, and if we're honest, very different personalities, needs, and preferences. Figuring out what works is an ongoing journey, including what products to use (and in which order), which tools are the best, which accessories my kids prefer, as well as our favorite hair books and videos.

I am not a natural hair expert, and I urge you to seek tutorials, stylists, products, accessories, books, videos, and tools from Black owned businesses. I'm not here to teach you how to cornrow, for example.

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I'm simply here to share with you what works well for us, and some of our favorites. I regularly post my kids' latest hairstyles, tools and products we like, and favorite books on Facebook and Instagram. I hope you'll hang out with me there! 

NOTE: I SHARE ALL OUR FAVES WITHIN THESE PARAGRAPHS: VIA LINKS AND PICS (OF BOOKS). IF YOU CLICK ON THE LINK OR BOOK IMAGE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO READ THE DETAILS, CHECK OUT REVIEWS, AND DECIDE IF YOU'D LIKE TO PURCHASE.

Hair Styles

My big girls have only had one braiding appointment since March (!!!) 2020 due to Covid-19. I do hair every Saturday and Sunday. I've been posting all our styles which range from very simple--taking twenty minutes or so--to much more intricate. The goal for my big girls is that their style lasts from weekend to weekend, since school is back in session. The baby's hairstyle tends to last longer, as it's usually protected by beads.

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Hair (and Skin) Products

We used to snatch up and try every new hair product we could get our hands on, but that was getting expensive. I ended up giving away so much to other friends with Black children, because as we all know, not every product works on on every head of hair. In fact, most products don't work out. We believe in buying Black-owned, natural hair products. Currently, I'm using Camille Rose Naturals products on all my girls. Our absolute fave is the moisture milk.

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My son gets all the leftover products since he doesn't have a preference and his hair is in a short, bald-fade. He often uses Curls products, plus the coiling sponge. We love the Curls Creme Brulee most of the year, but we use the Blueberry Bliss in the summer. For shampoo and conditioner, we prefer Coconut Curls by OGX. 

On the topic of hair products, I'd also like to share with you our favorite skin products. We use Burts Bee's lip balm on our lips: natural ingredients and no scent or flavor.  For skin, everyone in the family uses Alba lotion. We buy the mega jug (a gallon) and refill our smaller bottles. We prefer this scentless lotion, but there's also a coconut option.

Hair Tools

I've posted several times that I'm a huge fan of this detangling brush. It works better than any other brush or comb we've tried, especially on my tender-headed daughter. I love this tool because it's cleanable, it's sturdy, it's adjustable, and it's relatively inexpensive (considering you don't have to constantly replace it like you do with the cheaper brushes). Be sure to read the directions when you receive it.

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Besides this, we use a basic rattail comb for parting and occasionally a detangling comb. 

Hair Accessories

We have jumbo beads (and a beading tool--oh yes, I use one), GabbyBows (they NEVER fall out!), terry cloth ties, non-damaging rubber bands, ballies, etc. My big girls rarely wear accessories anymore, but my preschooler does. We also bought a big set of colorful bows that have lasted forever and are excellent quality.

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Buying the set allows for consistency and saves money--instead of purchasing individual bows at stores on a whim. We use sleep caps for the baby from Africa Sleeps, and my girls wear cheap bonnets from whatever store we grab them at! 

Hair Videos

I learned to cornrow using this video on YouTube. I recently learned (finally!) how to add weave to braids using this video. We mostly stick to banded box braids. We really need to perfect cutting our son's hair. We've had limited hair appointments due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Hair Books

There are so many excellent hair books for Black kids, with more and more coming out all the time! 

5 Hair Products This Multiracial Family Can't Live Without, and How We Choose What We Buy

Hair.  It's a BIG topic in the transracial adoption community.  And for good reason.

Trying to find the perfect hair products is overwhelming and expensive.  Not to mention, confusing! And for a family likes ours where we have four kids (and four different hair types, lengths, and style preferences), it can get pretty complicated!   

However, we have a good routine in place for each child, including the products we use.  And if you follow me on Insta, I post new hairstyles often!  

First, here are our rules for choosing hair products:

1: Affordable.  I'm not spending $20+ per bottle of hair product.  No way.  Not with four heads of hair.  Not happening.    

2:  Healthy.   No dirty beauty ingredients allowed.  We try to live a life as toxic-free as possible, and this includes hair products!

3:  Scent-worthy.  I'm super scent-sensitive, so I'm picky about products.  If it doesn't smell amazing (and not overwhelming), I'm not buying it, no matter how good of a product it is.  

4:  Accessibility.  I'd better be able to order it from Amazon, or I'm not buying it.  Because when you need product, you NEED product.  (Now, I do try to stay ahead-of-the-game by buying product from my local Black beauty store.  But with four kids, I sometimes forget to get product before a hair styling session.)  

5:  Black-created.  I prefer the products come from a Black-owned, Black-created company.  (Though I have purchased products we've enjoyed from other companies as you'll see below.)  

So here are our top five favorite products:

1:  Camille Rose Naturals.

This is the brand I use on my oldest two girls.  Every single product smells amazing, is affordable, and works!  There are instructions on every bottle stating how to use the product (free hair tips?  yes, please!)  Here are just a few of the products we use: the cleansing rinse, kids' brown butter hair balm, and the kids' sweet pudding buttercream. I haven't met a Camille Rose product I don't like!  

2:  Curls.

This is the brand I use for my son.  The creme brulee leave-in smells like dessert (duh) and is my absolute favorite!   The blueberry bliss is also delish, but I prefer to use it in my son's hair in the summer, as it just smells summery.  There's also a blueberry bliss gel option.   We "finish" his hair using a coiling sponge:  it gives the curls definition and looks simply adorable!  

3:  Honey Baby Naturals.

So I was having a hard time finding products for my baby girl (1.5 years old) that would keep her finger coils moisturized.  I much prefer finger coils to afro puffs!   They are a protective style for shorter hair, easy to re-do, and so cute.   After I tried one Honey Baby product, I just KEPT ordering more products from them!  We currently use the shampoo, conditioner, detangler, and leave-in moisturizer.  AND, to top it all off, they make a body lotion in a matching scent!   I love when ALL products have the same scent, otherwise the mixture of scents is just overpowering, even nauseating.   

4:  Satin pillowcases and crib sheets.

Yes, this is a hair product.  We use satin pillowcases over the backs of car and booster seats to protect hair, as well as on our kids' bed pillows.  There are many colors to choose from to match their preferences and room decor.  We own over ten of these!   

The satin crib sheet is a hair-saver for my toddler.  Now, satin crib sheets can be really expensive, which is why we only own one.  But this one is the most affordable I've seen.  Fair warning:  it snags easily on things like velcro (think bibs) and zippers, so if you wash it, wash it by itself or with other soft bedding or clothing.  There's a pink and blue option, too. I'm asked about the crib sheet ALL the time.   

5:  Trader Joe's Tea Tree.

Cradle cap and dry scalp struggles are real, especially with infants!  I swear by Trader Joe's Tee Tree shampoo and conditioner for dry scalp situations.  (I DO NOT recommend it for day-to-day or week-to-week use otherwise.)   To remove cradle cap, slather the child's scalp with coconut oil and leave on for twenty minutes.  Then brush with a baby brush.  Then wash the hair with the tea tree shampoo, followed by the tea tree conditioner.  Then apply your favorite leave-in moisturizer.  Three treatments, and my baby's cradle cap was gone!   We then transferred the shampoo and conditioner (which is really affordable, by the way; and the bottles are large) to our guest bathroom shower for any guests to use who forgot to bring their own product.  

Dear Sugar: Hair & Skin Hacks for Black Children

Hi, Sugar:

A few weeks ago, I wrote an extensive updated post on my kiddo's hair, because I'm asked ALL THE TIME about hair styles, hair care, and books that promote pride in one's hair!   

Today, I'm sharing my favorite beauty hacks for Black children! Here you go:

1: The versatile product. 

The challenge:  Protecting hair.

The answer:   I love these satin pillowcases.  They come in multiple color options (let your child choose).  They are inexpensive, washable, and the open-end allows you to easily slip them over car seats, booster seats, bed pillows, etc.   If we are traveling a long distance and I expect my kiddos to fall asleep in their booster/carseats, we usually have them pop on their sleep caps.   

2:  Magic crib sheet.

The challenge:  Baby girl's hair is rubbing out due to sleeping on her back (safety first!) and her hair rubbing and resting on cotton crib sheets.  

The answer:  A satin crib sheet.  I know, they seem expensive.  And with my first three babies, I was like, NO WAY am I going to pay $30+ for ONE sheet.  But with baby #4, I decided to give it a whirl since she was losing so.  much.  hair. in her crib.  Sugar, this sheet is a game-changer.   Not a single hair has been shed in her bed.  Read that?  NOT A SINGLE HAIR.  I only bought one and just wash it as needed, since I'm not looking to invest in two sheets.   

3:  The detangling/moisturizing/re-braiding hack that saved my sanity.

The challenge:  My second daughter doesn't wear extensions; her braids are all her hair.  But she has SO MUCH hair and it's so long, not to mention she HATES detangling time with a passion.   

The answer:  I clip out rubber bands, which are at the base of her box braids, with nail clippers, then I wash and condition her hair (or just co-wash, depending on the week) with the braids in.  Then about every fourth wash, I do undo the braids before washing so I can really get at her entire scalp.   This is when I do a coconut oil deep treatment, followed by a shampoo and conditioning session.    Keeping the braids in during most washings allows me to moisturize, unbraid, detangle, and rebraid one braid at a time which is so much more bearable for a tender-headed girl!    

Also, some of you may be wondering about varying the parts, since it's not healthy to use the same parts over and over.   I usually start the month with bigger braids.  Then the next time, I take one section and break it into two or three braids (for more and smaller braids), thus creating more parts and varying the parts within the section.   The smaller braids last longer.

4:  It's not just for boobies: our secret beauty weapon.  

The challenge:  Chapped cheeks, cracked lips, super dry knees and elbows.  

The answer:  Ya'll.  I'm addicted to nipple cream.   Addicted.  Make sure to buy organic.   Vaseline is so incredibly unhealthy and disgusting:  I loathe it.  Plus nipple cream is in little containers, so it's portable!   When my son was sick with the flu and breathing only through his mouth, his lips were SO cracked and tender, so every chance I got, I put nipple cream on his lips and they healed nicely.

5:  Healthy skin on-the-go.

The challenge:  School, extracurriculars, daycare, summer camps, and day-traveling. 

The answer:   Create mini beauty-care kits for your children's backpacks and for your car.   This should include lip balm (buy in a multipack to save money), lotion (again buy in multipacks for a better price), and anything else that helps your child.  For example, my kiddo who struggles with anxiety (which manifests itself in the form of stomach aches) carries little organic ginger or peppermint mints in the kit.  (Buy the ones without artificial sweeteners or colors and again, multipacks are always cheaper.) We also keep hand sanitizer in the kits and for kids who need it, small fidget toys and ear buds (to cancel noise in situations where auditory sensory issues come up).   

Don't go buy a special bag.  Just find some of those freebie cosmetic bags you get, for example, and label it with a permanent marker with your child's name.    Be sure to remind your child it's there and what it is for, and emphasize the importance of taking care of one's body!   

I'd love to hear what you're hair and skin hacks are!

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