Natural alternatives to products for afro hair

[mammya]

My dd is mixed race and has masses of curly hair which needs lots of conditioning, especially when combing and styling it. At the moment I am using conditioner and detangling spray in the Baby Love range of products for afro hair. I chose Baby Love because the smell isn't as sweet and sickly as the other afro hair children's ranges, but I am increasingly unhappy about the amount of chemicals these products contain. Does anyone know of effective natural alternatives? I have tried olive oil (too oily, doesn't help much with detangling) and coconut oil (not keen on the smell, goes rancid very quickly and THEN smells real bad). How about shea butter? Or cocoa butter? Any advice welcome

If you find a source of pure Shae butter, Mammya, let me know! It worked wonders on DS'a dry skin, but the African Herbal shop we used to get it from has closed down. I can't see it being much help on your dd's hair - a bit thick, I would have thought.
DS has Anglo-Asian hair, also in masses of curls. The only thing I have found that works is Body Shop Leave-In Conditioner, which is great. Don't know about it's toxic content though! Body Shop aren't usually too bad, are they?

You can get Shea butter from simplyscents.co.uk.

Thank You, Twinkie - and it says it's good for hair, too, mammya. (personally I think it would be good for v short hair or to hold hair on braids etc, but not to keep a mop of loose curls under control - too heavy and sticky)

mammya, I haven't got Afro hair, but I do have extremely curly hair. I've tried most of the curly hair products on the market.... Good conditioners include the Pantene perfect curls one, or the pink Trevor Sorbie one (be careful with this though, as it stings my eyes). There's a very good Trevor Sorbie styling cream as well (pink again)which smells yummy. Hope these suggestions are of some help.

mammya, have you spoken to any hair stylists who specialize in afro hair? I've know one who told me that mums of mixed-race kids have a terrible time dealing with their kids' hair if they themselves have European hair & haven't dealt with afro hair all their lives. If you rang such a salon, or even brought dd in, you might get some good info. (?)

Thanks all for your replies.

Expatkat, I have asked for advice from black people, from mothers of mixed race children, from people in shops specialising in afro cosmetics, you name it...
I also get a lot of unsolicited advice but that's another story... The trouble with most of these products is they contain very long lists of ingredients, some of which don't look very friendly. And the children's ones, in particular, tend to smell horribly sweet and sickly.

Hoxtonchick, the trouble is that afro hair and scalp tend to get really dry (I know my dd does) and I'm not sure products just formulated for curly, but not afro, hair would be oily enough. There's also the "stinging the eyes" factor which tends to be more of a problem with products meant for adults.

Blu, the Body Shop stuff sounds good, will have to check it out. I usually put conditioner on dd's hair before I plait it, so thickness not too much of a problem.

Twinkie, thank you, I will check out the website and get some shea butter then.

mammya,
I used to use boots detangling spray (for children) non sting when my hair was long as it was just knots. I works, doesn't smell and doesn't dry your skin (I have scalp psoriasis so have to be very careful) HTH nothing worse than lugs!

hi mammya, try some Phytologie's Phytopure Baby Almond Oil Shampoo it is natrual. when combing out try jonsons and jonsons detangling spray, it doesn't smell too sickly. I find that afro products are quite harsh and full of baddies by nature. a nice cream to use is carrot oil, try the one by At One. also there is a range called organic root stimulator, they do wonderful products that may be what you're looking or. the shea butter hair and scalp softening lotion would be good. they do a carrot oil cream too, which has no mineral oil or pretroleum.
Ask for samples of these products in hair shop as it is best to try products before shelling out for them only to find it's not for you.
use a wide tooth comb to ease the hair. Do you plait dd's hair? this can help to keep hair soft.

Thanks Helsbels and Champs, will give these a try. I had actually been wondering about carrot oil, hadn't thought about asking for samples, what a good idea!

no probs.