beavercreekmom Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hello- 3 of our 6 children are African-American. Their skin and hair is soooo dry. We have used special lotion and hair conditioner that has been recommended to use by friends that are AA. But the ingredient list is long and scary (and flammable!) Right now we are using equate lotion from Walmart (that I am not happy with) and Burt's Bees for their hair. Does anyone have any better, healthier, more sustainable (something I can come up with without Wamart) ideas? Thanks, Beavercreekmom Link to comment
Stephanie Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hi there, All seven of my children are black and I know exactly what you mean about the skin and hair. A couple of things, first of all, I don't know if you're dealing with boys or girls, and there is a huge difference when it comes to the hair. Two of my children are girls and once of the hardest things for me to finally start doing was STOP washing their hair. When you do, you strip out all the oils and conditioning you have done. Now, we wash it maybe once every two weeks. And, no, it is not dirty or smelly. As a white woman, it was a hard concept for me to understand, as I have to wash my hair so often. Also, a black lady suggested to me that whatever lotion we use, add some plain old vaseline to it. Finally, now, especially my older three boys just use the vaseline itself on their skin. It is amazing how their skin just absorbs it. One more thing, what kind of soap they use makes a big difference. My mom has started making goats milk soap (I hope to be able to do this in the future) and this really helps their skin. Hope some of this helps a bit. Link to comment
Mother Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 to Mrs. S Beavercreekmom. I believe you'll find some help in the sub forums above this one. There're some good recipes for home made lotions and creams. You can use most of them with or without herbs. When you use oil for the base though be aware that certain oils are actually drying. (I believe they are listed in one recipe) I like to use almond oil or sunflower oil in mine but have used a lot of different ones. Coconut oil which is really solid when cold is great for dry skin and can be used in hair as well. Rosemary oil is a great addition for any oil that is going to be used on the hair. You might want to list the ingredients from your lotions and conditioners here so we can help you find substitutes for them. Again, welcome to Mrs. S. Link to comment
Mother Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 There's a good thread in the Urban forum about shampoos that might give you some help. A good list of herbs for conditioner as well. It's here. http://mrssurvival.com/forums/index.php?sh...mp;#entry282548 Link to comment
beavercreekmom Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 Thank you, ladies, for your help! I'll be reading up on this and be sure to get back to you if I have any more questions. Thanks, Beavercreekmom Link to comment
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