November 28, 2007

What do I like?

First, Zoot had some good points today about pimping products and why she does not normally do much pimpage. I should be clear about my own pimpage - I am only talking about stuff on which I have spent my own cash. It is merely stuff that I have happened across - some through trial and error. And truly, I mention things because I want to hear what you have to say back. For example, I talked about lip balms last week and several of you mentioned Burt's Bees. I then remembered I had some laying around - the lip shimmery stuff. I pulled it out and realized that Hey! I do like this stuff particularly now that I am getting used to wearing lip balm. Besides, with our budget this year, Burt's Bees fits in quite nicely as opposed to Aveda which is best saved for the plumper wallet. And I have you folks to thank for reminding me of the Burt's Bees (X would probably like to thank all of you, as well.) Anyway..... I could go and on about all the stuff I have discovered because others mentioned it. In the 3 years I have been blogging, I have posted about 2 thing I received for free - one book about stress and the Mama Knows Breast book. Am I done with full disclosure? Did that cover it? Zoot had some good points.

So....Today, I am raving about two products that are totally stylin' my baby girl's curly locks. It is an odd combination, but it is working for her. As a Straight Hair girl, I am utterly and completely fascinated with Anjali's hair. It has taken me awhile to figure out what works because it is a careful combination of scalp and hair. And most importantly - NO BRUSHES. Maybe, a comb, very lightly, before I apply everything. Overall, a light picking with my fingertips works best. If she ends up being a Curly Girl for Life and ever wants to straighten her hair on an ironing board with an iron, I may have a heart attack.

I hate my heavy, straight hair that resisted even a spiral perm. The thought that my girl may not ever have to suffer straight hair makes my heart sing with joy. And yes, I am fully aware that if she does end up with Curly Hair she will despise that. I think it is every woman's destiny to hate her hair. However, my goal in life is to teach her how to properly care for her particular type of hair and maybe, perhaps, possibly as an adult, she will grow to appreciate her hair for whatever it turns out to be, curly or not.



I use Cetaphil for variety of things. I use it for my face cleanser in the morning - it truly is gentle and moisturizing. I also use it as a diaper rash prevention. The moment a butt in my house turns pink, I begin applying it. It forms a light, non-greasy barrier to moisture (bonus: it does not get gross when on clothes). With Arun, I have rarely had to use diaper cream in his 2 years so far. EVER. Anyway, this is what I use to wash Anjali's hair. Johnson's and Johnson's is a soap and with her curly hair, it seems best to just not wash it with anything soapy. Except that her teeny scalp needs to be washed and it gets flaky and needs to be combed while wet. Cetaphil to the rescue. It does the trick without drying out her hair to a frizz.


It cracks me up that I am already buying expensive product for my girl's hair, but seriously. This stuff does the trick. I wash Anjali's hair with the Cetaphil maybe once a week - I comb her hair while wet with the cleanser - I comb every which way to work her scalp out a bit. About every other day, I wet her hair down a bit and apply the California Baby leave-in conditioner, then I let it dry. Then, I pick it out with my fingers. I never, EVER brush it with a baby brush, once it is dry. Well, only when I want to get Crazy Hair Pictures.

Okay - I open the floor to you regarding baby hair care......

8 comments:

Dee said...

I can't speak much about baby hair care because I just wash Zach's with Suave Kids shampoo/conditioner combo. I've used a little leave-in conditioner on his from time to time when it is feeling extra dry.

But, for my own super curly locks, I always use a moisturizing shampoo, heavy duty conditioner and very rarely use any kind of brush. I just pick through it with my fingers while it is wet and try not to touch it again. I use a little bit of gel or spray gel to keep away the frizzies and let it air dry.

You do have me curious about the California Baby Leave in Conditioner though. As much as I hated my curls growing up, I'm really hoping that my baby girl will inherit them.

Mamma Sarah said...

Because of Alex's reaction to everything, we have never used J&J anything. We use Kiss My Face Olive Oil Soaps. Yeah, they are a little pricy, but it was the only thing that didn't freak his skin out. My mom commented this past holiday with how wonderful he smelled. :-) We use it on his hair also and it doesn't leave a greasy over soapy mess. Once a week, I use Pantene Conditioner just to tame the curly locks.

Chetna said...

As a curly haired Indian mom who straightens her hair religiously who gave birth to a curly haired daughter whose hair I adore, here is my advice:

Keep using the Cetaphil cleanser to wash her hair. After the bath, a simple trick I have always used is to rub Cetaphil cream (the one that comes in the big green tub, not Cetaphil lotion) in between your palms and run it through baby's hair. It calms the curls into perfect ringlets. The older my daughter got (she's now 3), the wilder (and longer) the hair has gotten. I have now succumbed to using Loreal's Tangle Tamer spray. It helps so much in the mornings as I bathe her at night. Every morning, I brush a total bird's nest into perfect ringlets after a few quick sprays of Tangle Tamer :)

You summed it up when you said women are destined to hate their hair - I have relaxed, straightened, japanese thermaled, ironed (on an ironing board!), and CHI-ed my hair through the years just to achieve that perfect straight look! That being said, I love my daughter's curls and I can't ever imagine her without them...now I know what my own mother must have gone through!

CGK

Cagey (Kelli Oliver George) said...

All,
I LOVE the Suave Kids line of shampoos and do use that for Arun. I tried it once on Anjali and it dried her scalp too much. Perhaps when she gets older.

Dee,
Holy crap!!! You are having a girl? What happened to your feeds??? I just assumed you were sick and pregnant when my blogline feed didn't show up. A girl? Awesome!

Mamma Sarah,
I will definitely be looking into the Kiss My Face stuff. Thanks for the info! Anjali has somewhat sensitive skin and we have an appointment for a pediatric dermatologist for her.

Chetna,
Also, thanks for the information!! I am committing to memory "L'Oreal Tangle Tamer". Awesome! I suspect I will need that later. I will also be checking out the Cetaphil Cream - I know which one you are talking about and it would be much cheaper than the California Baby Stuff.

Goofy Girl said...

Hmmm...I feel very pedestrian. We use Lever soap and J&J shampoo on Goofy Junior. I tried some L'oreal for Kids once and it just didn't make his hair shiny like J&J.

Jenny said...

I have always used the J&J on my kids too. I have a lot of skin allergies, and so do my kids, but they've never reacted badly to the J&J stuff. I myself am allergic to the Mennen Baby Magic brands for some reason, so I don't buy it. As far as lotion, Eucerin really is the best for dry baby skin, but I happen to be allergic to it, too. (I'm allergic to Lanolin, which is made from wool, and is in about every type of lotion you can imagine.)But the kids aren't so when their mouths and cheeks start breaking out like they are now because they constantly like their lips in the wind, I put the Eucerin on their face and then wash my hands really good and I'm fine.
Also, someone gave us a sweet little giftpack of the California Baby stuff once, and big hivey rashes soon followed for all, don't know why. I really hate trial and error, can I just point that out? Agh!

Me said...

Please try to not be TOO horrified if she irons her hair. I've been in that situation more than once. Curly hair can be a giant pain in the ass.

CPA Mom said...

hey there, just catching up with you...bad friend, hanging my head in shame...

my daughter has curly curly hair and eczema - we love the circle of friends shampoo - and their Little Docs line - I did a post on it recently if you need more info - and a discount code if you need it. Truly great stuff! I just bought some more for stocking stuffers....