as told by Adrienne (sister) of NaturalEmbrace

What’s your child’s name and age? Tell us a little about her.
Well first let me say that Kynnede is my sister and she’s 14 years younger than me. So, sometimes it does feel like she’s my kid. She’s 11 and just now beginning to pay attention to things like her hair, but still doesn’t take care of it as well as she should. I’ve been trying to tell her about the importance of deep conditioning and sleeping with a satin scarf, but … she’s young and doesn’t listen. Plus, she lives in San Diego with our Dad (I’m in Maryland) and he knows nothing about hair. So, she’s pretty much on her own out there. When she comes to visit, we do as many girly/beauty things as possible. But it’s hard to get her to retain anything I teach her because I don’t see her very often.

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.?
When Kynnede visits, I usually take her to get a trim, because her ends are always looking frayed beyond repair. She loves long hair, but I tend to convince her to keep it short until she can better learn to take care of it.

While with me, I make sure she conditions more than she uses shampoo and I always supply her with sulfate free shampoos. But, I don’t even bother with trying to give her silicone free conditioners. She doesn’t deep condition either … so it’s just conditioner in the shower and then she detangles her hair while wet with conditioner, which is about the only thing that has stuck with her after all I’ve told her. She never combs through her hair while dry, but does have a tendency to slick it back with a brush. She usually co-washes every other day, mainly because she’s a wild sleeper without a satin scarf and wakes up with tangled hair … especially if I don’t fit it into a bun or braid the night before.

Do the same products that work for you work for your sister’s hair?
Her hair texture is completely different from mine. It’s a lot looser and more in the 3 family instead of the 4. She can have awesome Botticelli curls when we really work at it. Her hair doesn’t really resist too much and I’m not sure what products she uses regularly when home. But, with me, she uses Tresemmé Naturals to co-wash and I use the Cantu-Shea Butter Leave-in before styling her hair. I sometimes use Eco Styler Gel, depending on the style. Her hair loves the Cantu though, so I made sure she went home with a big bottle! We also did a mini henna treatment, because she wanted red highlights … we didn’t leave it on long enough to make a difference, but it did enhance the natural light brown highlights already in her hair.

What is a typical style? Does she employ protective styles? If so, how often?
 Kynnede hasn’t quite embraced her curls … at least she loves her curly hair, but doesn’t like how her hair looks. I styled her hair in braids for a braid out and it came out awesome! But, she didn’t like it and quickly pulled her hair up into a ponytail, which is her main styling choice. I’m trying to get her to not tie her hair so tightly, but she doesn’t listen … and she keeps using the elastics with the metal on them (despite the fact that I throw them away every time I see them). If she doesn’t have a ponytail, it’s in a bun. Her hair grows quickly and has been waist length before, but she just doesn’t care for her curls well enough at the moment, so her hair isn’t as great as it could be.

What challenges do you face with your sister and her hair?
Mostly, she’s stubborn and wants to do whatever is easiest style-wise and whatever won’t make her look weird. It would be easier for me to teach her about her hair and to care for her curls if we lived in the same state, but we don’t. So, I do what I can while we are together. I’m hoping it’ll get easier when she gets older … she’ll listen eventually!

Has your sister ever had relaxed/texlaxed hair? Why or why not?
Her hair has never been relaxed. Our mother wouldn’t hear of it and none of us wanted to relax her hair anyway … the thought never came up!

Anything else that you’d like to add?
Nothing, just that my sister is pretty awesome for an 11 year old! Very mature for her age and I love hanging out with her!