Black hair is not something Amy or I had much of any experience with prior to adopting Asher. We’ve stumbled through thanks to the generous advice of many people in our lives (and we welcome additional feedback going forward!). Along the way, we wondered how long it would take until Asher took an interest in his own self-care, figuring it would be something on the order of age 9 or 10.
Fast forward to the present, and sure enough as Asher nears 9 ½ years old, he is giving increased attention to his hair as a form of self-expression and identity. We have tended to keep his hair short to make it easier to brush and wash, and lately Asher has requested lines and lightning bolts, even going so far as to show me examples from social media that have caught his eye.
But what he really wants is to grow his hair out. He doesn’t particularly like me hovering over him with the short-haired brush at breakfast and dinner, and would much prefer for his hair to be long enough to “pick” out, and even better for him to be doing the picking. Which, Amy and I believe, is right on time for him to take responsibility.
Since we have typically gone no more than a couple of months between his head shaved down to the scalp, it’ll be somewhat new territory for us for him to grow his hair out to more of an afro length. But it’s what he wants, and we think it’s appropriate at the age he’s at to let him do that. DMs are open for any advice folks want to offer!
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