as told by Michelle (mother) of Radiant Brown Beauty

What’s your child’s name and age? Tell us about him.
Christopher, warmly known as CJ to many, is my 11 year little boy diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. You probably know that, but what you may not know is he has a head full of curly, curly hair! His hair is even curlier than mine. I have to push and scrunch and rake to get my hair to curl up, because it’s kind of fine and more wavy (except the stubborn crown of course). CJ’s hair is just a massive ball of curls. So much so that our cat mistook his head for a scratching post once. LOL.

How do you care for her/his hair? What products do you use, how often do you wash/condition, what techniques do you use (i.e., how do you detangle), etc.?
Caring for CJ’s hair is easy peasy. Since it’s short, it never gets tangled. I wash his hair with the same products I use to wash my own hair, either Shea Moisture Coco-Hibiscus or Design Essentials shampoo. I don’t condition his hair. I just add a curl enhancer with conditioning properties and some oil to it. Then, I let it air dry.

What challenges do you face with your child’s hair?
He’s a bit sensitive to getting his hair combed (even when it’s detangled), so I figured if I could get it long enough to be braided, then it would cut down on the time of combing his hair daily. Plus, his dad frequently forgets to comb it when getting him ready in the morning for school!

What is a typical style? Do you employ protective styles? If so, how often?
Well, since he’s a boy, I don’t think he really needs protective styling. It’s not like he knows or cares anything about maintaining length :-). In fact, he’d probably be happy with no hair! He doesn’t much care about it. I’m the one whose all into it!

Do you have plans to cut your son’s hair at some point or particular age? Please explain why or why not.
I usually take CJ to the barber once every 2-3 months or so, because he doesn’t keep still. In the between time, I use a curl enhancer on his hair like what Jane Carter Solutions offers. I mainly use that one because it doesn’t do much for my own hair, so I use it on his. It enhances his curls pretty nicely.

I’ve actually decided to grow CJ’s hair! So now when we go to the barber, they only edge him up and trim it a little. I want to grow his hair out so I can braid it. When my oldest son Michael was a teen (similar hair texture), he would let his hair grow and then get it cornrowed. I loved how it looked and figured I’d try the same for CJ.

Anything else you’d like to add?
If you had to classify CJ’s hair type, I’d say it’s a mix of 3a and 3b. It grows very very fast (got me a little jealous) and I have often wondered how I would manage it longer. Braids it is.