A Hairy Situation

One thing that has certainly been new for us on this journey is Ethiopian hair! It is quite obvious that Joseph's hair is very different than both Jack and I, and with that difference it has required very different care. After 6 months we have finally felt like we have the hang of how to keep his hair looking good. This requires infrequent shampooing (compared to our own hair anyway), and a great morning routine with wetting the hair and applying lots of leave-in conditioner (we have grown to love Cantu Shea butter leave in conditioner). Other than having to chase him around the bathroom every morning to do this, things have gone great . . . that is until we decided that he needed a HAIRCUT!!

We had been putting it off for months as we were nervous about him sitting still to have it done. But finally last week I could take it no longer and we made our way into a salon in Lafayette Square which was recommended to us by friends who have children from Ethiopia. This is what he looked like before going into the salon.



Unfortunately, I wish I could post an after picture, but . . . well . . . the haircut didn't happen. After 20 minutes of screaming, bribes, and lots of tears, we couldn't even get him to sit in the chair - not even on my lap. Ughhhhh.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and this is what happened next. Am I crazy or what? I know nothing about cutting hair - especially Ethiopian hair!!




And here is the final product! Not too bad for a white girl, huh?