High-quality hair doo-dads for AA toddler

August 2, 2008 6:23 PM

Where can I find high-quality hair doo-dads for my AA toddler?

My daughter just turned 1 and her hair is getting long enough to use barrettes or hairties. She's African-American (I'm white). I've been looking for great hair doo-dads for her. The selection at our local superstores and pharmacies is very limited, and the local black hair supply store disappointed me by mainly having very cheap, poor quality things. For instance, I was prepared to spend $20 or more on a high-quality boar's bristle brush, and they didn't have anything that cost over $5--and every time I brush her hair, the one I bought loses a few bristles.

I want covered elastics that are small enough for her tiny poofs of hair, rather than just rubber bands. I want barrettes that are beautiful and durable. I want a really really good brush for her. I want things that are charming, surprising and unique.

Where can I find them?

Bonus points for a site that not only sells supplies but has some pictures of toddler girl hairstyles.

posted by not that girl to clothing, beauty, & fashion (11 comments total)

I don't put anything fancy in my hair (I just use these or even better, scrunchies because my hair is long enough for them), I have no idea what brand my brush is, and I didn't like the barrettes and such my mother used when I was a kid. So I don't have any direct recommendations, but you might want to try browsing this form I learned a lot about my hair from these boards, and there's usually lots of good product recommendations throughout.
posted by quirks at 6:32 PM on August 2, 2008

Not geared especially toward African-American hair, but these meet your other wishes:
The Clip Fairy
No Slippy Hair Clippy
KenzieKlips
Gazzu
marymarsh

Etsy in general probably has a lot of stuff and many people will work with requests so you could specify smaller coated elastics.
posted by cocoagirl at 7:00 PM on August 2, 2008

To piggyback on quirks, my mother never spent more than 99 cents on any bauble on my hair when I was growing up and in fact, we own beauty supply stores now and sell a huge variety of very pretty ribbons and no slip barrettes and multicolor baubles for well, 99 cents. She's two, she's gonna go through like 10 dozen of those baubles before she starts school.

If you don't care for the variety at the stores, you might try arts and crafts stores for ribbons and the like. My mother used to do this for special ocassions and holidays. Just buy a length and cut them or combine two colors to make a really festive ribbon.

Really, your best best is to put her hair in little braids if you braid and then put some pretty no-slip barrettes on the end (although, again, she's 2. They're gonna come off. My niece always comes home after playing with her cousins with one braid sticking up where the barrette was holding it down.) For a good boar' bristle (which should be used very, very, very sparingly), try one of the high end beauty supply stores like Ulta. They always have a good selection. Good luck.
posted by notjustfoxybrown at 7:22 PM on August 2, 2008

You might want to take a look at Trash Ties. These are little satin-covered pieces of wire that you can bend into all kinds of shapes to hold your hair in place. They do take a bit of getting used to to figure out what works; my main issue with them is that the satin is a little too slippy on my fine straightish hair. I suspect they might work better on hair with more curl or texture to it. The wire is pretty strong though and doesn't really come out once you get the hang of it.
posted by fuzzbean at 7:27 PM on August 2, 2008 [1 favorite]

I'm Black (Nigerian-American). When I was a little girl, my mother would give me braided pigtails tied at the tops and bottoms with baubled elastics. I'm not actually sure what they're called, but they look like this:

O<>=<>O

^^^ circles are baubles, equal sign is a metal binding


Some black girls at my school wore tiny cornrows adorned with beads (for reference, Venus Williams wore her hair like this when she was a teenager).

mp.hairboutique.com is a great site for high-quality hair accessories. I'm certain they have what you're looking for.

And Tenderheaded Accessories has lots of excellent tools for kinky / curly haircare. I've shopped there several times. Their seamless, wide-tooth combs are must-haves.
posted by coizero at 7:52 PM on August 2, 2008

For a good boar bristle brush, go to a place like Sephora. They sell really high quality ones there in all different sizes. I still lose a bristle or two occasionally, but certainly not every time I brush my hair. Also, when I was small, my mother used to put my hair up in beaded elastics (we just called them beads) as well (exactly like the ones coizero mentioned). You can get those at Target.
posted by bluefly at 8:15 PM on August 2, 2008

Seconding Heather Bailey's Trash Ties! Even on my fine hair they're awesome - I imagine they'd be even better on her hair.
posted by mewithoutyou at 8:28 PM on August 2, 2008

Frederic Fekkai Brushes (linked from Sephora, but available at any high end beauty/cosmetic store) are absolutely amazing for any kind of hair, black or white. They are super expensive, but for a good boar-bristle brush, you will not find anything close to them.

Coizero: I wore those all throughout my childhood. My mom and I call them "beeble-berries". I have no clue about the etymology of that title. But it sounds funny so we like it.
posted by nursegracer at 9:26 PM on August 2, 2008

Be careful with the boar bristle brushes, especially on such a young child. African American hair is very delicate and more than anything, needs to stay moisturized to keep from breaking off. A boar bristle brush might be too firm on her tender scalp; it might also be too rough on her ends (if they tend to be dry) and cause breakage.

Have you considered a good paddle brush with rounded tips like this? It feels amazing and does a great job of massaging the scalp and detangling all hair types.
The most important thing is to keep your daughter's hair conditioned and moisturized to prevent breakage.

Mixed Chicks has a great line of products and they smell heavenly.

As for the baubles and ties, try Snapaholics or Hair Utopia.
posted by LuckySeven~ at 6:44 AM on August 3, 2008

If it was me, I'd go to a higher-end store (Carson's, Macy's, Bloomingdale's, etc) in an area that has african-american clientele. (Only because the ones that don't probably don't carry items specific to that type of hair.)
posted by gjc at 11:14 AM on August 3, 2008

Thanks, everybody. I went a little nutso shopping for cute doo-dads on line last night!
posted by not that girl at 6:36 PM on August 3, 2008