A trip to the salon

Michael has been begging for weeks to get his hair cut. Mostly, I think, because he hates having his hair done and I told him if he gets his hair cut I won't have to do it anymore. Every time we talked about it he would tells us that he did want to get his hair cut, but that when they cut his hair in Addis Ababa he cried because it hurt. For some reason I was thinking that this first trip to the salon since we've been home would be different.

After what felt like (and probably was) weeks and weeks of searching for an Ethiopian salon, we finally found one in Saint Paul. We went last Friday to get the kids hair cut.... or at least that is what we thought we were going to be doing.

The Ethiopian stylist, Biftu, was very friendly and helpful. She gave me lots of tips about their hair and names of products I should be using. She said that both of the kids hair was healthy and hydrated with the exception of one spot on Liliana's head.

Biftu cut Michael's hair first. She took off about half the length on top and a little more than half on the sides. As you can see Michael looks happy and content to be at the salon and ready to get his hair cut. That lasted for about 30 seconds. As soon as he saw the clippers he started to whimper. He probably was remembering those clippers from the orphanage. I thought maybe he would get over it after she started and he realized that it wouldn't hurt. I was wrong. He just cried more.



Here he is upset about getting his hair cut. I vaguely remembering him saying something about stopping and wanting to be all done, but it is all such a blur now. It went relatively quick. And to be honest, I can't blame him for crying. I think I would have too. She was really moving the clippers through his hair pretty quick and his hair is quite curly. You can see me in the mirror trying to get him to stop crying. Poor guy.





The final results were good, though. Biftu taught me how to do these little twists on his head. I am excited to try it out at home. They stayed until we washed his hair. He tolerated having this done to his hair much more than the hair cut. Here he watching a TV show while she finished his hair.









After Michael was finished, It was Liliana's turn. Biftu said that Liliana really didn't need a hair cut, but we did need to treat her damaged hair. It is in an inconvenient place- the back of her head. Although the rest of her hair was looking great, this spot continues to break because she sleeps on her back and her glasses strap rubs on the back of her head. With this in mind, Biftu said the only way to strengthen the hair so it will grow is to keep it in braids.




Liliana actually sat quite well for this hour long process. She did say, "All done" while touching her head quite a few times, but we made it through. We let her suck on a pacifier to keep her from whining too much since she wasn't entertained in the slightest by the TV and we didn't have any toys with us. Note to self - bring toys to salon next time...

We are going to keep the braids in for 4 weeks washing them once halfway through. After the 4 weeks is up, I will take them out and wash her hair again. Then I will attempt to braid her hair myself. I am not sure if they will turn out nearly as good as these, but as long as they stay in I guess that is all that matters since their purpose is to facilitate growth of her damaged hair.

We didn't go to the salon with any idea that we would get her hair braided. For that reason her 2-year-old pictures as well as our Christmas pictures will feature Liliana with her braided look. I would have preferred her to have her beautiful curls. Oh well, there is always next year! And she does look pretty stinkin' cute in those braids!! :)