'Can Somebody Comb That Baby’s Hair?!'

Service had just ended and I was standing in the narthex of the church. During the service, I noticed a new visitor sitting off to the right side of the sanctuary. After the worship hour, she forged her way through the welcoming crowd to speak with me. “Reverend Miller, Reverend Miller, my name is Mercedes Anderson. May I ask you a question please?” She boldly wanted to make me an offer I could not refuse.

“Well first off, welcome to our church. Yes, of course you may, ask away!” I responded.

“May I have an opportunity to cut your hair?" she asked. "I am a stylist. I was watching you as you were speaking and I really have an idea for your next hairstyle. Trust me, just say yes. I bet you have never figured out what to do with your hair! Have you?”

Mercedes wanted to teach me a thing or two about my head!

It was her words, “I bet you don’t know what to do with your hair…” which pushed me to the front door of her New Canaan, CT salon, Mercedes Hair Spa. “Rev, let me explain your hair to you. Look, see, you hair comes out straight and THEN curls at the end. Probably, your entire life, you have been fighting the curl at the end of your straight hair! Just cut the curl off and your hair will be straight!”

OMG! She was right — that was 12 years ago.

My mother was Philippine American of Danish West Indian ancestry and my father was a mix of African American-Amerindian ancestry: I was a mixed race kid. Mom with her Asian pin straight hair gave birth to me — her baby with every wild root possible in my head. We learned early in the game of hair grooming, you can’t boil my hair and you can’t deep fry my curls. You must stir fry my locks! Something like frying calamari — you have to ZAP it QUICKLY for it to behave.

She actually used the men’s styling cream Brylcreem —“a little dab will do you” — Clairol’s Vitapoint or Alberto's VO5 to brush and tame my wild rooted long wavy braids. NO WD-40 Heavy Hair Grease, PLEASE — WAY TOO HEAVY for my mixed roots! Ha’mercy, as I became a teen, I was left to figure out my hair styles on my own. When I see multiracial families and little mixed heads gone wild, I know I have earned the right to shout out: “Can somebody comb that baby’s hair!”

God bless her, recently I saw a Japanese mom with her beautiful blasian (black and Asian) lil’ girl at the ; my heart went out to her. Mercy, I wanted to just “mind her business” and hand her Mercedes’ business card; all I could do was think to myself, “Can somebody comb that baby’s hair!” I knew the poor lady didn’t have a clue what to do…all I could remember was walking around my hometown with my own Asian Island Momma. OMG!

Stamford, this is our reality check! Stacy Davis, cultural diversity blogger writes that intermarriages in Connecticut are the rise. The fast growing percent of newlyweds marrying outside of their race is the Asian spouse. How could that be, you might ask? Well Stamford Advocate staff writer Elizabeth Kim analyzed the new color palette of our city.

Kim interprets our city’s 2010 census report and clearly explains to my thinking why folks have to “comb that baby’s hair!” Kim reports, the city’s black population has declined by 5%, the white population has declined by 3% and the Hispanics are now the largest minority group in Stamford. The Asian population rose by 65% as Kim refers to this group as Stamford’s rapidly burgeoning community and with love in the air, you know the rest of this story.

Hope Yen, writer for Associated Press, released this new view of America’s melting pot! According to the 2010 U.S. Census, she reveals there are more minority babies than white babies. America’s “Crayola Coloring Box” is adding new shades and blends; thusly the social order is changing. The statistics project that racial and ethnic minorities will become the U.S. majority by midcentury. Young families will be faced with just what to do with their babies’ head of hair!

What’s a good blog post without a “HOW TO TIP” for that baby’s hair? Get a base product like Pink Oil or Blue Magic’s Coconut Oil or even Momma’s Brylcreem or Vitapoint. All of these products I have mentioned are available at , Wal-Mart, ; they are around your local retailers. Now it’s like cooking! No one recipe will work. Trial and error is the best formula for taming young wild roots.

For your experiment, purchase small amounts of Vaseline, Glycerin, Mineral Oil, Lanolin, Water, Beeswax, Olive Oil and water just to discover your own formula. Take your base moisturizing hair cream and blend with any of these ingredients. You will find the correct combination to thin and mix with your base product; simply make your own pomade that works best with your child’s hair. Then stock up with the ingredients that work for your specific recipe.

For tween and teen straight styles, spritz with water or a solution of diluted hair conditioner with water to loosen the curls, blow out straight with roller brush and hand hair dryer, then bump with a mild flat iron or electric curling rod. Walgreen’s has most of these items. Try Mixed Chicks Hair Products for the curly look!

Completely frustrated? Just call Mercedes! To keep up with more mixed reviews you can search and follow @Mixis Living on Facebook; they offer reviews on most everything you can think of as related to living in America’s new mixed canvas.

p.s.~Enjoy this note: Google Images: Afro Asian Hair!