Before I had AA children, I had NO IDEA of the amount of work that went in to their hair!! I had only had children of several other races – all with very straight hair. The first week that I became a mom to AA children (a sib group of FIVE), I stayed home the entire week and still didn’t seem to have a grasp on the hair care, the braiding, etc.! NOW, when I see several little girls who have well cared for hair, I always go up to praise the mom — I know it’s taken hours and hours to have it look that way.

I’d love to say I became “good” at it. Instead, my Ethiopian daughters were older at arrival, GREAT at doing hair – including their own – and they LIKE to do others’ hair….they’ve taken over and I have gone back to very simple care and styling for now….maybe one day, I’ll get “good at it”…

I was just poking around the hair archives here… I recall that you trimmed one of your daughter’s hair a while back, and were surprised by how much effect just a little trim had. Can’t find it. Any other thoughts on trimming? Have you done it since?

(My little one arrived in the U.S. with hardly any hair, just a very short strip down the middle like a mohawk. The ends that were that “original” hair are in terrible shape, and feel different from the rest of her hair. I’d like to trim that, but am apprehensive.)