Moldy Hair?!?

Today's post was researched because of a comment that was posted to the blog on an old post (I have comment moderation on anything older than a week so I make sure to notice when people write!)

I didn't end up publishing the comment on that post because I felt it should get "spotlight" attention :)

Here's what "M" had to say:

"As a curly haired girl myself, I just want to say that you actually shouldn’t style hair while it’s wet. Apparently, it can actually grow mold (I know, gross!). I used to sleep with it wet in a pony sometimes until I read that and now I am anal about making sure it’s fully dry before pulling it up. Just wanted to let you know in case you hadn’t heard that one before. :)"

I want to say a big Thank You to this lovely lady for her input. However..... I have been doing some reading and I haven't found much to make me worry about my current routines.

First, from my own experience, I've gone to bed uncountable times with my hair wet. As a child I had very very long thick hair that was always braided into one big braid at night - and I never had mold. Now, granted, I have straight hair, but I'm not really sure what difference that would make? Maybe curls (texture) would hold the water better??

So I "googled" it. I got a whole lot of nothin'!  (well not quite nothing...)

There were a lot of sites talking about hair molds - as in ways to set and style your hair. There were also sites that dealt with mold in the environment and how that affects hair growth, etc. But I found very few about moldy hair. Most of what I did find showed that it's possible, but they were forum posts with few helpful answers.

Which led me to try naturallycurly.com's forums! and The Long Hair Forums! (There wasn't much as far as quantity, but the quality was worth it on these two sites!)

From what I can tell, mold in hair is possible. But it isn't very common. "Mildew hair" is more common, however, or a musty smell. 

(some say that MOLD actually can't grow if the hair is kept clean because mold is a bacteria - hence if you have clean hair, or rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar - that will kill the bacteria. Other sources, however, say that isn't true and that fungus and mold can grow anywhere! lol)

 The conclusion seems to be that if you keep wet hair up tight for more than 24 hours, not letting it have any air to breathe - that mold or mildew could start to form. Or give you a musty smell. If you smell something or have doubts you can try rinsing with ACV and water in a 50/50 mix. (I do this anyway instead of conditioner!)

This could happen with curly or straight hair, thick or thin - but people with more hair (long or thick) will be more prone to it because it's harder for the hair to breathe when it's up tight like that.

Things to know about Musty/Mildew/Moldy Hair!

*Do not leave your hair in a tight wet bun for longer than 24-48 hours.

*If you need to have you hair up like that while wet, it's best to re-style the bun a few times throughout the day. (Shake your hair out and let the air get to it before you put it back up.)

*Having your hair styled in such a way that still lets the hairs dry is fine. So feel free to put in a ponytail, or do some braids and styles with wet hair - Just make sure that the hair has the ability to dry on it's own. If after 24 hours the hair isn't dry inside the style, it might be a good idea to undo the hair and let it get some air.

*Pay attention to your hair. A funky smell could mean mold, it could mean you need a new hair care routine, etc.

* Essential oils can be a preventative measure as well - see quote below :)

"Mildew is a fungus so "technically" it's mold... Well, that's another great reason to use products with essential oils in them, especially tea tree, peppermint, geranium, lavender, lemon, bergamot & cinnamon. I did a search and found all of these cited in real scientific studies as having both antibacterial and fungicidal properties. I think it's much healthier for different reasons to at least partly diffuse before going to bed." 

- courtesy of a forum post on naturallycurly.com

Final thoughts from me?? Well, it's good to know that this is a concern, however, I'm not really concerned! I will continue to style Q's and my own hair while it's wet. I will continue to make sure that our hair is dry within a reasonable time after styling. and I will probably invest in some EO's!


What are your thoughts?? Have you ever worried about moldy hair? Have you ever experienced it??

Thoughts on Accessories ... What are yours?

Something I've been learning about accessories ... at least where I live... is that I might as well buy cute unique pieces online (from places like Etsy stores, etc. see previous post for some ideas) because anything I find around here is just about the same price and is BORING! run-of-the-mill. Walmart had one or two cute ones, but they aren't any cheaper than bows I've found online made by work-at-home moms! I'd much rather support a fellow mama than a big corporation like Walmart or Target! But that's just me... 

What are your thoughts?

What are your favorite stores for hair accessories?

Baby Hair Accessories!

In emailing with a friend/reader of the blog (Hi!!) about baby hairstyles and options, I came across some super cute websites that might help us spice up our Baby's selection when it comes to hair accessories!

First we were talking about styles (see my my two previous posts on Baby Hairstyles and Simple Styles) and what it really comes down to is - at some point, you're just out of hair on these little heads!! There are still lots of styles and different options, but often we become stumped. And often it's purely due to a lack of more hair! :)

One thing we can do though (depending on your personal preferences of course!) is to vary the accessories! We can add clips and bows and flowers and hats and headbands... and the list goes on .... !!! (Just be careful not to leave headbands and hats on too long, and to make sure they aren't too tight. Babies don't have the vocabulary to tell us if/when they are uncomfortable or starting to get a headache!)

I highly recommend saving your money on "cheap" poor quality clips. Q and I don't have much available off line around us, so we succumbed and I bought her some cute little clips from Walmart. Some of them broke before they even got to her head! And the rest broke on the first use. I'm sure not all of their stuff is like that, but it didn't give me any reason to waste my money on their baby hair clips again! (The alligator clips didn't break, but they have ribbon all around the clip, so they snag and pull a lot. :( )

So, I decided to see what I could find online! Here's a start:

Bitty Bows Boutique

Sugar and Spice Bows

Hair Clippy

Lil Sugar Plum

Poppy's Boutique

Hair Bow Holders

Warming the Heart

Disclaimer - I have NOT tried any of these products, I have never spoken to any of the businesses, and I'm not trying to get you to buy anything!! But I also know that finding these things can be hard, so I did a "SwagBucks" search and found all this on the first page! Maybe it will be helpful to someone! Let me know what you think of the products if you end up trying any!

However ... if you DO want to buy something that I have an invested interest in (hehe!), I have set up an amazon store through this blog, so if you were to buy anything from that - Q would get a commission (well, I suppose I would! lol - but then I just give it to her anyway :)  ) It's still pretty new and under construction, so please just know that! Also, if you have any recommendations of other things you'd like to see available through it, let me know!!

Enjoy!! 

(No purchase necessary...!)

What kinds of products, styles and accessories do you like using on your babies hair??

Edited to add these Etsy stores:

Lovely LuLu Hair Bows


Beautiful Bow Baby


Edited to add these sites known for cute accessories:


Snapaholics



Gymboree


Curly is Cuter


don't forget Claires, Walmart, Target, and The Children's Place, too. :)

What I Wouldn't Try ... yet...

Q's hair loves to frizz. It loves to get matted. It actually often takes on a life of its own! I used to joke that it really was just begging to be dreaded! :) But I haven't/won't do that to it. Not until it's Q's decision. I LOVE the look of dreadlocks, but I think that's probably a decision best left up to Q. :) 

Go here to see other pictures of DreadHeads! :) (If it comes up right away like it did for me, there's a picture of a CUTE lil 5 year old boy with AWESOME dreads...)

However, I must say it's something I would love to learn more about! 

Anybody here been brave enough to try them on their own head? What were your experiences??

(p.s. Q's been sporting the frizzy pigtails often these days as I'm back to work and we don't have an efficient morning routine worked out yet!)

A New Approach to Hair

I've stalled posting this for the last two days trying to get a picture! Ahh! But, no avail. I haven't been able to catch Q still enough to snap one - or, of course, I don't have the camera at the right moment, or, like now, she's fast asleep :)

But I wanted to share the essence of what we've been doing the last few days. :) We've been on the run a lot lately, and on top of that Q's losing a little interest in sitting still for getting her hair done :) (not too surprising! Maybe I need to invest in some new movies! lol)  But in the meantime, I've been retraining my brain on what "doing her hair" means. In the past I have really only gone for the detangled, smooth, neat curls. 

(That's not to say her hair was always perfect, far from it! But when I did it, it would start out neat. At least until we got in the car. The carseat is my nemesis!) 

Then, after a 12 hour train ride (yikes!) and other factors, I've been learning to embrace the frizz! :D

And more recently, in the last few days, I've been finding that I'm okay with just a nice detangle, and a quick clip or two. (Q still doesn't leave these in very well, so it's kinda of a trade off - she can either let me put ponytails in in the morning, or have me re-clip the clips all day long! lol)  Today was really the one I wanted a picture of. I had twisted two small twists at her forehead, added some hair on the way back, and then banded them together with a tiny elastic. I added a clip, too :) But as the day went on the whole thing has kinda fallen to the side. It's very loose and ... I love it! It's not neat, but more the "messy" style maybe? What I find so cool is that it keeps changing (as, I suppose, it slowly falls out.) and morphing into something new.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I'm learning to enjoy all the different aspects of different hairstyles, the neat ones, the frizzy ones, and the ones that slowly change as the day goes on. And the ones that look nothing like I intended them to when I started out! There is cuteness in many different looks :) even on the same head! Enjoy it all!!