Learning as I Go and a Warning

Having an Ethiopian baby presented one challenge for this White gal….what to do with his hair!?  At the orphanage in Addis Ababa, the special mothers used baby oil in the infants’ hair to keep it moisturized.  When I got back to the states with him, my African American friends confirmed that baby oil was good to use in his hair.  So that’s what we did for the first few months.
It turned out, however, that baby oil was NOT good for MY skin and, in general, poses a health risk to infants and toddlers.
Whenever Abraham is sitting on my lap, I love to kiss the sweet curls on top of his head.  All this skin-to-baby-oil contact caused me to break out with big, ugly pimples on my chin!  When I did some research into baby oil (which is pure mineral oil), I found that mineral oil can, indeed, cause contact dermatitis.  (Read here). As I researched further into baby oil, I found that baby oil can cause severe respiratory problems and even death in infants! (Read here).
Wait, what?  This product that is marketed and sold as a product to use on infants and that sits carelessly around a nursery room without a single warning label on it can cause DEATH?!  Some cases of death were from ingesting it, but other cases were caused by inhaling baby oil that was near the infant’s mouth and nose.  The inhaled oil coated the lungs and the toddler suffocated to death.
That was it!  The baby oil went in the trash.  My dermatitis cleared up, but what to do about Abraham’s sweet curls?  I looked up some all-natural hair milks that were made exclusively for African Americans and found that most of the ingredients were what I used in my lotions.  In fact, the hair milks were lotion with smaller amounts of thickening agent.
With a list of natural ingredients and an idea of the results I wanted, I went to work creating my own lotion for Abraham.  The lotion I use on his skin is the same lotion I use in his hair, and he gets a lot of compliments about both!  Now, his curls are moisturized and defined (and they smell great, too!)  I know exactly what is in his lotion because I put it in there!  My favorite ingredients to use in his lotions are Aloe Vera Liquid, Pistachio Butter, Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E Oil, Avocado Oil, and Sweet Almond Oil  I don’t use them all in the same lotion; just various combinations.  And, my chin looks great!  Bonus! 
Here are some before and after pictures of Abraham’s hair. 
Abraham has beautiful curls that are typical of the Amhara people in Ethiopia, but without hair lotion, they look fuzzy and matted.


Now, for mom’s remedy.  I wet his hair a little first and then slather on the lotion.  I use a wide-toothed comb to comb the lotion through and remove any knots in his hair.

Now, his sweet curls are shiny, moisturized and defined!