Mixed Chick Hair Dictionary

Mixed Chick Hair Dictionary?   What is this you ask? Well, having curly hair puts you in a category all by yourself. Since becoming natural, I’ve had to learn several new terms myself. If you are raising “mixed chicks” or children of other ethnicities with curly hair, there are  a few terms you ought to become familiar with. Here’s my cheat sheet for you:

Co-washing: The use of conditioners to wash in lieu of shampoos. Shampoos can be drying, while conditioners moisturize. Shampoos also don’t do a great job of detangling.

Detangle: Okay, you think everyone know what this means, but having curly hair adds a whole other twist on the term. The thicker and coarser the texture, the more work it takes to keep the curls from intertwining and creating tangles.

Wide tooth comb: Having naturally curly hair means that you can’t pick up any old item to style your hair. A wide tooth comb glides through your hair instead of creating tangles.

Protective Styling: Any style that allows your natural hair to have a break and allows minimal stress (braids, wig, etc)

Natural: Natural means you are wearing natural curls without any chemicals to alter the natural state (i.e. relaxers/perms).

Wash and go: Now this was deceiving to me because I thought I could literally wash my hair and go. This just means you can use a product to run through your hair to bring out the natural curl. Depending on the texture, this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45.

Big Chop: Some women decide that they no longer want to use chemicals to straighten their hair, and the process to returning to the natural curl can be sped up by cutting off the relaxed ends and allowing the natural curl to come back.

 

The big chop!

I hope this post has helped you understand naturally curly hair a little bit better. Do you have questions about any other terms that you’ve heard that I didn’t mention here? Ask away! Are you raising biracial children? Hashtag pictures of your children with #arethoseyourkids. I can’t wait to see them!