Hair Care

Adopting really was a difficult thing to do.  It is for everyone I know.  It took way too long and way too much money, heartache, worry and stress.  We kept being told that it was when they get home that the real tough part starts.  And we did have a really, really rough period with Andy as he was gaining trust and adjusting and learning so many things.  But for Hana, I have to say, she's been fairly easy.  The toughest part of her has by far been her hair.  I know I have made a big deal about it before, but it really is a big deal. Nobody can really know unless they've actually handled her hair and tried for themselves to take care of it.  Not every African has hair as difficult as Hana's.  And I tend to think her hair tops the list.  

Taking care of her hair is a very long process and I suck at it!

Months back I spent a pretty penny on having a professional do Hana's hair.  And it was so worth it!  This lady is from Kenya and really knows her stuff.  She braided Hana's hair into cornrows, then loop-tied some fake hair in to make her look extra adorable, and to take my troubles away.  But you can't keep it in forever.  It has to be taken out at some point so that you can really clean and condition her natural hair again.  

So as I took out her fake hair, I took photos of the process.  I want to document it here.

As you see here, her real hair is in grown-out cornrows.  I have taken half of the fake hair out, which you can see some of at the top of her head.

 See the difference between the real and fake hair?  Night and day.

 Getting all the fake hair out took about an hour.  Here she is holding it.

 Then there was getting her cornrows out.  I saved this for another day.

 Still in the cornrows, right before I took them out.

 Getting the cornrows out took over an hour too.  Here is what her hair looked like after taking them out.

 It's kinda cute.  It's like a white girl's hair after taking out braids, in a way.

 But a LOT more poofy.  But I couldn't keep it this way.  It needed to be washed, conditioned and combed through.  Just washing, conditioning, and combing through took over an hour too.

 By this time I didn't have much time to style it.  So I hurriedly put it in 2 French Braids for the next day.
At this point I had spent about 4 hours at least, on just getting her hair undone and cleaned.  It was taking me back to the days when this was a weekly process.  I have way too much on my plate to devote a few hours a week just on one child's hair.  Sorry!  So I decided to get her back in to get new fake hair and cornrows.  But before we did that, I needed to get it cut.

 Here's Hana at Great Clips just before getting that done.  I had them do a deep conditioning treatment on her first because her hair was so dry and brittle.  Then the poor lady attempted to comb through her hair.

 After quite some time, she asked for another lady to come in and help her.  And with conditioner and combs in both sets of hands, they worked through her hair together to try and get it combed through.  Her hair is extremely thick.  We're talking world record, type thick.  Here she is after the washing, conditioning and combing.

 And then the process of cutting began.  This took quite a while too.  She took about 4 inches off, although you can't tell because there is so much kinkiness to her hair, that you can't tell how long it truly is without stretching it out.  The process at Great Clips took about another hour.

 Then I had to take Hana to the African hair place, where she'd get the cornrows and fake hair tied in.  This took another hour and a half to do.  Which in my opinion is quite speedy!
I let her choose the color and I am afraid I don't like it too much.  But oh well.  She also wanted it super long, so I told her she could keep it long until she has to go back to school in a week.  I will cut it shorter for her then.
Here's the finished product.  Total time to get from point A to point B?  About 6-7 hours!  You white girls need to be thanking the Lord daily for your hair!