I’m embarassed to say, but one of my biggest “fears” about caring for Evyn is: how in the world will I know what to do with her hair? It dawned on me tonight that I don’t even know what kind of shampoo I should use on her hair! Just normal Johnson’s Baby shampoo or something special?? I was already having a rough day so this reality just about put me over the edge.
I found myself in the hair product aisle at Wal-Mart tonight completely lost and reading the backs of bottles trying to figure out what all the different products are for. After looking completely stupid and out of place, I finally walked over to a kind looking woman who I thought might know how to help me and asked very bluntly…”I’m about to bring home my baby from Ethiopia and I have no idea how to even wash her hair. What would you suggest?” (awkward Emily moment!) Then I literally started crying. I’m a mess. She was gracious and very patient with me. She showed me exactly what I needed and encouraged me that I would be just fine and figure it out. I feel much better about managing Evyn’s beautiful locks (well, more like fuzz– she doesn’t seem to have a lot of hair yet anyway in the pictures).
Any suggestions out there? Products you love? Things to avoid? I can use all the help I can get on this topic. 🙂
the vogeltanz family 
curls.biz saved R’s hair. We started using their products when R was 8 or 9 months old and never went back. For Evyn, get the “It’s a Curl” baby shampoo and conditioner. They have a great baby leave-in and something called Itsy Bitsy spirals that is also great for baby’s hair. We still use the baby shampoo and conditioner for R, but I actually just ordered the kids’ versions of both to try out. Now that her hair is long, I use the curl milkshake, detangler, and curl jealousy. I love their products, and although they are more expensive than what you can find at Sally’s or Wal-Mart, they are great and well worth the price, in my opinion.
The main rule you want to go by is that you do not use shampoo with sulfate in it! That is drying for our girls’ hair.
For body wash, I use Aveeno. I also use aveeno lotion for her as well as something a friend of mine makes for her ET son!
At HH they use johnson’s baby shampoo and baby oil. I am planning to bring a small amount of this (I got a travel pack at Target) with us to ET and use it in country. However, baby oil actually caused R’s skin to break out so I stopped using it on her about 3 months after she came home. I’m planning to use the Johnson’s for E for a little while after she comes home just so everything isn’t completely different for her.
Oh, also, a satin pillow case is a MUST!
PS– don’t be embarrassed. I had no clue when R came home!
Hey Em –
I read this blog of a family who has a 1-year old Ethiopian little girl. They have recently had to set their status to private but here is the blog: http://weloveourlucy.blogspot.com/
They really have a heart for adoption and I’m sure she would be happy to chat with you. She seems to keep up with her comments on her blog – so maybe you could get in touch with her that way.
I know you will be a great mom for Evyn!!! 🙂
Oh and I forgot to mention the reason I thought of their blog was that she did an entire post on product for her baby’s hair!
Hey, found you browsing the adoption blogs… There is a blog called happygirlhair.com – super cute and helpful!
Betsy ( working on dossier for infant girl w/ AGCI )
didn’t mean to be anonymous!
I agree about the Curl products, that’s what I am planning on using. Anything with a tear-free formula isn’t ph balanced and there for can be very drying for her skin. CAN. There’s no one formula that works for every child so chances are you will have to try a few! Don’t be embarrassed about not knowing, I’m a hairdresser and I’m doing research on it. The hair blog you were suggested has great ideas on it as well! Can’t wait to see pics of your beautiful girl!
Here’s a blog that you should definitely check out…I love, love, love it…in fact, it’s become one of my new blog obsessions right now…Enjoy!
http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/