Her First Curly Haircut

As I sit here thinking about how to start this post on my baby girl’s very first curly haircut at 7 years old, there are so many things I want to say. I’ve been a mother to multiracial kids for seven years and I’m always amazed at how prominent the theme of mixed curly hair has been in our lives. Curly hair is a big deal! Indeed, the journey to loving our naturally curly hair started long before my daughter had a hairdresser put her hands into her head of curls… but I digress.

You’re here to see a 7-year-old girl with super curly hair get her very first haircut and I totally understand. Because, well… It. was. awesome! We spent the day at a fun curly hair event in Los Angeles where my daughter was selected to receive a free haircut from an amazing hairdresser from New York City. But the most memorable for me – as the mother of a curly hair kid – was being surrounded by so many beautiful women with curly hair, as they tell my baby girl how beautiful she is.

Curly Haircut

If you ever have the chance to take your pre-tween/tween mixed kids with you to a natural hair event, please do so! The energy of curly hair empowerment and encouragement is not often represented in our kids’ lives and I wanted to experience that with my girl.

Rizos on the Road was created by two Afro-Latina women with an aim to explore multiracial identity, Afro-Latino culture as it relates to curly hair, as well as tips and tricks to caring for our natural tresses. And it was at this natural hair event that my 7-year-old got her very first curly haircut!

Her First Curly Haircut!

Curly Hair Tips I Learned

My daughter’s hair was cut as a live demonstration by Ona Diaz-Santin (otherwise known as The Hair Saint on Instagram). Ona was so sweet with my apprehensive girl, taking the time to introduce herself and chat with my daughter about her “hair goals”. No one had ever asked us about our hair goals before!

After the consultation (and basically smothering her with love), this was Ona’s plan for her super curly hair was to:

• Give her a basic trim to remove dead ends
• Maintain overall length
• Give shape to the hair so that it framed her face better
• “Depoof” hair with interior layers

This was the first time a hair professional actually put their hands into my child’s hair, so I was anxious to hear her thoughts. I was happy when Ona commented on the health of her hair and encouraged me to continue our focus on moisture retention and protective styling for little girls (my girl’s hair is rarely out these days). She confirmed that my daughter has, at minimum, 3-4 different hair textures on her head – ranging from 3b-4b. Talk about mixed hair, right?!

After The Curly Haircut

Anyone with curly hair will tell you that it takes a few days or weeks for a cut to look its best. You gotta get home, wash it again and let the curls fall into their new place without a stylist pulling at them. At the end of this day, my little girl’s hair was extra big because of the constant touching but I knew right away her first haircut had been a success.

Here are a few things I’ve noticed since her first curly haircut:

• I can see her face while her hair is down!
• There is way less volume to combat when her hair is down.
• Her ends feel healthy.
• She needs significantly less conditioner.
• Her ponytails and protective styles are way easier to do with so much less hair.

Loving Super Curly Hair

After the cut with Ona, my sweet baby was asked to stand in front of a huge group of women and comment about the experience. YOU GUYS, I was SO proud of her!!!!! Standing tall and with her curls on full display, she told all these grown women – many who had just shared their tumultuous past learning to love their naturally curly hair – that she LOVES her curls. She said, “I love my curls because my mom said I was made this way on purpose”.

Society may say otherwise, but a mother’s opinion still reigns supreme. So even when you wonder whether your kids are listening, remind your beautiful biracial children the same thing: they were perfectly and purposefully made.