Berkley's Hair Intervention

One thing we did this summer (yes, I'm still catching up on summer) is a major intervention on Berkley's hair. I had been told over and over that it would not be easy to take care of African American hair, and I totally believed the rumors, but nonetheless, somehow my baby ended up with a mess of hair that needed major help.

See what I mean?

LOL! Just kidding!

Seriously though. Here are a few shots of her hair before the intervention.

Is this heart-warming or what? I love this picture! That hair, though? Not so much.

The fro!

Very blurry (sorry), but this is what she looked like some mornings. A mohawk fro. Gotta love it.

We tried doing different things with it to make it look cute:

Pigtails are super cute, but the truth is, I couldn't even comb the hair into those--I just grabbed it and stuffed it in.

Super cute from the front--not as cute from the back. Plus, she would only leave that headband in for hmm. . . let's see. . a couple of minutes. Little rascal.

The worst part is that I couldn't even comb through it in the back anymore. I'm not sure how or when it got that way. It's like one day we woke up and her hair was super thick and extra curly and no amount of hair product would do the trick.

That's when I knew it was time for an intervention. So, we followed the advice of another family with children who had unmanageable black hair and set up an appointment. I was nervous, let me tell you. I was certain these women were going to hang me up by my toenails when they saw Berkley's hair.

I took Hallee with me for extra moral support. They didn't hang me up by my toenails, but they did reprimand me just a little bit. I'm sure to them I sounded like an idiot as I tried to explain the products I had been using on her hair and how often, etc. I had been washing it, trying to comb it, etc.

That's when they gave me the 411 concerning the treatment Berkley's hair should really be getting, and they went to work. Poor Berkley!!! Two hours later we left the salon, but it was a long, grueling two hours, let me tell you! I felt like the worst mother in the universe for allowing my baby's hair to get to the point they had to go to such drastic measures to save it (It was starting to turn into dreadlocks--yikes!).

We decided the best form of action would be to chemically straighten her hair so we could comb through all of it and get rid of the dreads. It took both Hallee and I to hold her and keep her hand down while the cosmetologist applied the very potent straightening cream. Berkley did not like it one little bit. Then it took two stylists to get it rinsed out.

This was the worst part. After applying the straightener, they had to comb through her head of very tangled curls. It took forever and was very painful. I felt like crying right along with Berkley.

Is this heartbreaking or what?

 Hallee held her while she got her hair straightened with a straight iron at the end of the process. I was pretty much physically, and especially emotionally, spent by this point.

Teenage daughters sure come in handy sometimes, especially sweet ones like this one:)

 Apparently Berkley was even more exhausted than I was! She fell sound asleep while they styled her hair. The trauma was over at this point, and she was completely tuckered out.

So sweet!

 The end result was worth it, I just have to say. I did want to bawl once again, however, when I first saw her. My two-year-old looked like she was at least four!! BUT I could comb through her hair! It was a miracle!!!

I sure love this little beauty!

Here is a picture of the back. Who knew her hair was so long? They actually cut about three inches off the back, too. 

In the end, we all survived the process, but it was a life-lesson for me, to be sure. I whipped through the beauty supply store on the way home to gather all the products they suggested I use on Berkley's hair, and I have faithfully combed through it every day since! I definitely do not want to repeat that little experience again!

We now have a huge basket of hair products just for Berkley. It's a little ironic we use more products on our two-year-old than on the rest of our family combined, but after our experience this summer, I just go with it. Some things just have to be. And besides, she's absolutely worth it!!

Her hair is actually still curly, which I love. It's just more manageable now. I think it is beautiful!