Braiding Hair For Camp

[Anonymous]

Am I nuts?

My 7 year old is going to 10 day overnight camp for the first time this summer. She is so excited, and ready, and, in fact, my only practical concern is her hair.
She has moderately curly (3A/Keri Russell) hair. Her hair is in fair shape, not great, and I've suggested several times that she get a short bob, but both she and her father are adamantly opposed. She tries hard, but she is no where near self sufficient with brushing. I know its not for lack of effort, as she can now shampoo and condition independently, and will spend 15 - 20 minutes with the detangling brush. However, she gets may 1/4 of the job done, and I have to do the rest. She is also able to do her own pony tail, but even I have trouble with her hair if I can't braid it up at night, and she's no where close to being able to braid.

So, I was thinking of getting her hair done in small, cornrow like, braids for the 10 days of camp. Has anyone done this? Will they style stay in relatively thin hair that's on the looser side of the curly spectrum? Will she look ridiculous? I honestly believe if she goes to camp with her current hair skills, she will come back with such a tangled mess that we will be forced into a very short style. And, since its not for lack of trying, it's not like thats a helpful incentive. That's not the end of the world, but if this is a reasonable fix ,I want to try it.

[Anonymous]

I would let her go, and let her hair get snarled if that's what happens. Or she might surprise you. I would NOT do cornrows. Not only would they look silly on a white girl, but they would expose parts of her scalp that are not usually exposed.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. We've been looking online, and some white girls look pretty cute, to my eye, and some look pretty rediculous. I may compromise and just do 6-8 French braids down the side. That will buy 3-4 days.

[Anonymous]

Nothing wrong with cornrows. They are cute depending on the braid pattern. They are many cute ones. Look up ideas on YouTube and Pinterest for children with curly hair. My sister always did them in my nieces hair. Just remember whomever is doing her hair make sure it's done well to last for that many days. Also give her something cute to wrap her hair every night to keep the cornrows neat.

[Anonymous]

You can also reach out to the camp. I was a couselor for many years and it would be a totally normal on a 7 year old's info card to have a heads up that Larla's hair gets tangled easily, she's still working on managing it herself, and It would be great I if a counselor could help make sure it gets brushed and pulled back. It's kind of expected that 7 year olds need more hand holding than the older kids.

That said, I would have low expectations for how great it will look at the end of the session, and not make a big deal out of it if it is a bit of a mess. It doesn't hurt to at least put the issue on her cabin counsellors radar screen before the tangles set in.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks for other suggestions! I could honestly care less how it looks. My concern is purely that it will be so tangled we will have to cut it. If that's what happens, it happens, but I'd like to avoid it.

Her hair care takes me 15-20 minutes daily (on top of her work). Any less than that and it's more work the next day. It's not a reasonable request for a counselor.

[Anonymous]

Oh, I should say, I don't care how it looks neatness wise! I assume all the 7 year olds will be pretty messy by the end. That's camp!

[Anonymous]

Have you considered "thinning" her hair by her hairdresser to reduce the volume?

Also, don't send shampoo--only conditioner, and teach her to comb her hair with a wide-tooth comb in the shower with the conditioner in her hair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thanks for other suggestions! I could honestly care less how it looks. My concern is purely that it will be so tangled we will have to cut it. If that's what happens, it happens, but I'd like to avoid it.

Her hair care takes me 15-20 minutes daily (on top of her work). Any less than that and it's more work the next day. It's not a reasonable request for a counselor.

OP, I'm a former camp staffer and agree with the post at 9:19. It's fine to put it on the camp's radar especially if the camp is used to having kids her age there. Any experienced staffer has seen this issue before -- your daughter won't be the first kid they've had who had badly tangled hair.

You can be clear that you're not asking a counselor to spend 15 minutes a day on her hair -- you're right, that's not doable, and they might tell you they don't help kids with hair at all -- but you can just say you want to note that your DD's hair might end up tangled. If she tends to get upset if it's badly tangled, you might mention that too, but you also need to work with her on that before camp, so she really understands that no one is going to be there arranging her hair. (She'll probably be having too much fun to care as much when there, though!)

I would work with her now on a few things:

--Wearing hats. A sturdy baseball cap, the kind with a hole at the back, is good for pulling her hair through the hole and it stays up in a ponytail and off the back of her neck (because that hair is going to be HOT on her at camp).
--Do you use a simple pump-spray, leave-in detangler? If not, I'd try some and teach her at least to use that and brush it into her hair. Some kinds do help hair be less tangled though it'll look greasier as well.
--I like the French braids idea for the start of camp! But it won't last 10 days, so prep her on what happens next. I'd try it on her now, maybe over some weekends, so she's used to sleeping on the braids - that would be a deal-breaker for my own DD, since she says sleeping on a braid is too lumpy; be prepared to deal if your girl says she won't sleep on the braids.
--Does the camp have swimming daily? If so, she would need to wash out her hair even with the braids in it or her hair and scalp will be pretty fried by chlorine if it's a pool, or will frankly get smelly if it's a pond. Again, I'd test the braids before sending her to camp with them, to see if she can really keep them in for days at a time, since swimming and bathing as well as sleeping issues might mean they don't work.
--I have worked at a camp that had lots of ticks. If the camp she's going to is a very woodsy camp, you need to ensure that she has hats and/or bandanas to wear over all that hair as much as possible and that she gets practice wearing them. I've found that some kids just hate to have any hat or bandana on their heads so it can take some getting used to.

She might come home and add her vote to yours for cutting her hair off. Her hair sounds like my DD's hair and cutting is much better than 20 minutes a day of hair prep on a child of seven!

[Anonymous]

OP, my daughter's first year at GS camp was when she had just turned 8, and at least that year, the teen counselors (CITs maybe?) all helped the girls comb their hair and pony tail or braid them every morning. It was her favorite part of the day!

I would suggest that your daughter at least get a shorter than usual hair cut before she leaves -- not a bob, but "shorter for the summer heat".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I nuts?

My 7 year old is going to 10 day overnight camp for the first time this summer. She is so excited, and ready, and, in fact, my only practical concern is her hair.
She has moderately curly (3A/Keri Russell) hair. Her hair is in fair shape, not great, and I've suggested several times that she get a short bob, but both she and her father are adamantly opposed. She tries hard, but she is no where near self sufficient with brushing. I know its not for lack of effort, as she can now shampoo and condition independently, and will spend 15 - 20 minutes with the detangling brush. However, she gets may 1/4 of the job done, and I have to do the rest. She is also able to do her own pony tail, but even I have trouble with her hair if I can't braid it up at night, and she's no where close to being able to braid.

So, I was thinking of getting her hair done in small, cornrow like, braids for the 10 days of camp. Has anyone done this? Will they style stay in relatively thin hair that's on the looser side of the curly spectrum? Will she look ridiculous? I honestly believe if she goes to camp with her current hair skills, she will come back with such a tangled mess that we will be forced into a very short style. And, since its not for lack of trying, it's not like thats a helpful incentive. That's not the end of the world, but if this is a reasonable fix ,I want to try it.

Black people do this ALL of the time. I would definitely get her some type of hat to protect the scalp in between the braids. You will need to tell her that she CANNOT take the braids out under any circumstances. My cousin ended up with a short fro after going to camp (at 9, I think) after letting some of the kids at camp take her braids out. She came back and it was matted to her head and there was no way they could comb it out at that point.

I doubt the counselors are going to want to take 15-20 minutes every day to do her hair (but you already know that).

Telling a 7 year old that she has to be completely responsible for her hair or it will get cut is kind of mean. As a 3A/3B hair person myself, I think the PPs are doing you a disservice by telling you she needs to be able to do her own super curly hair at 7. You are clearly in the process of teaching her to handle it - it will take her longer than a child with pin straight or even wavy hair.].

I will tell you that she could probably get away with wearing it in a ponytail for those 10 days, IF you are willing to do the detangling work when she gets back. Even with swimming, playing, etc - tell her to wash it ONLY after she goes swimming. I like the PPs idea of sending her with conditioner only - have her cowash and detangle as best she can after swimming and put it up in a ponytail. If she can do that, there will be some tangling/knotting when she gets back, but with an hour or so of you de-tanging and getting out knots, her hair will be as good as new. You could also send a satin pillowcase with her to sleep on.

[Anonymous]

I would do the 6-8 french braids which should last a few days. When they get too frizzy/messy her camp counselor can help out. I agree with sending conditioner or cowash (As I Am is the brand I use but the are others you can get from Target.) I was also a camp counselor and doing the girl's hair is not an issue at all.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you /so/ much for the tips. I have completely straight hair and have always had super short styles and I don't even want to deal with blowdrying my hair. My husband is a definite 3C, maybe even 4, and I had to educate myself in an area I didn't even know existed so my daughter would just look presentable every day.

She is well on her way to self care. She can wash and condition (although sometimes she gets the order wrong). She knows how to use the leave in detangler although the she's not the best at spraying the back. She knows which brush to use when, but she just isn't thorough with brushing yet.

When I'm here at night, I always braid her hair, so she's used to that. I work a lot of nights, though, and her dad isn't as thorough, so I'm experienced in what one suboptimal day or care can do.... and it's not pretty! She's slept in plain pony tail more than once and I normally have to cut it out the next day.

This is seriously not the end of the world. And, I'd secretly love for her to end up with a bob if it comes to that after camp. But I'm so glad I asked, as I'm learning tips I never even thought to ask about!

[Anonymous]

OP with one other thing! I did put it on camp's radar, btw. They have /extensive/ precamp forms and they ask specifically about self care and other concerns. I didn't even get into bedwetting here (1-2 X/month) , as she has a plan for that and I know the councilors will be experienced with how to handle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you /so/ much for the tips. I have completely straight hair and have always had super short styles and I don't even want to deal with blowdrying my hair. My husband is a definite 3C, maybe even 4, and I had to educate myself in an area I didn't even know existed so my daughter would just look presentable every day.

She is well on her way to self care. She can wash and condition (although sometimes she gets the order wrong). She knows how to use the leave in detangler although the she's not the best at spraying the back. She knows which brush to use when, but she just isn't thorough with brushing yet.

When I'm here at night, I always braid her hair, so she's used to that. I work a lot of nights, though, and her dad isn't as thorough, so I'm experienced in what one suboptimal day or care can do.... and it's not pretty! She's slept in plain pony tail more than once and I normally have to cut it out the next day.

This is seriously not the end of the world. And, I'd secretly love for her to end up with a bob if it comes to that after camp. But I'm so glad I asked, as I'm learning tips I never even thought to ask about!

A bob would look terrible with that hair type.