Disturbing sight on Castaway Cay

[sdwjones]

As a professional educator who wears braids year-round, I find this whole thread rather amusing.

Mine are professionally done, neat and culturally appropriate for my hair. It never hurts when I have my hair done in a salon, by a licensed stylist. Braids are a healthy, natural way to style my hair, not a trendy, hey-I'm-on-vacation-let-me-do-something-crazy fad. At work I keep them in ponytail, chignon, bun or otherwise put up appropriately.

I can't help but chuckle when I see whole families braided up like morons, looking silly on the beach.

If it hurts...if you look ridiculous...if it's not something you do to/for yourself on a regular basis...JUST SAY NO. Bo Derek looked silly and so do you.

 

[CheapMom]

I do think the little girls look cute but I am not going to encourage it as it might be painful. As for looking silly- my husband looks like a goofball in his Hawaain shirt when we vacation and I think that is great!

 

[cantwait2cruise]

Ok, I can not hold my peace any longer.

I have read many comments on this topic while visiting the boards. I hop you don't mind me putting in my 2 cents.

Let me begin with this statement, "I am NOT speaking on behalf of the braiders". They have developed an artform and they are using it to make money, not their fault.

My DD3 has her hair braided often and so do I. We are used to it and it does not hurt anymore. If it is not something that you are used to having done, it does indeed hurt. But the pain, in most cases, is minimal. Some braiders are tighter braiders than others, just as there are differences in the techniques of our hair stylists here in the states. The tighter the braiding, the more it hurts. However the style lasts longer if the braid is tighter. As you have this procedure done more and more often, the pain lessens and the tolerance for the pain increases. When going to have extensive braiding done, I take a pain killer before and afterwards (equivalent to giving a child Tylenol, before going to the doctor for a shot). I am not suggesting this for anyone, just saying it is what I do. As for my DD, she does not ever have extensive braiding, so she does not need this.

Most of your DDs are, I would believe, having cornrows done. These are the braids that have the hair close to the scalp. This is the type of braiding that hurts the most. To minimalize the pain, may I suggest that you request "plaits" or individual braids as the style when approached on the island. This style involves the braiding of individual sections of hair, therefore it does not hurt as much.

I am a teacher and definitely NOT racist, but there is no other way to say this except to just say it. Any time our students have down time (which is not often), the white girls are always wanting the black girls to braid their hair. And usually, the one getting her hair braided is in pain. When asked why continue if it hurts, they all say the same thing... "it is worth it in the end". Now this may be something that, as adults of a different generation, we may not understand. But we can compare this to many different, more adult situations. To name a few:

Eyebrow waxing hurts, but you get a cleaner arch.
Artificial nails hurt (esp if one breaks), but the tips are gorgeous.
Ear/Body Piercing hurts, but most can not wait to have it done.
Tattoos hurt, but is quite common even with our generation.

Why do we do these things, knowing that it hurts...because it is worth it in the end.

I do agree with some, you know your child better than anyone else. You know when enough is enough and you know when the pain is too much for the child to bear. Most importantly, you know when and if your child is mature enough to make the decision as to how much pain is too much pain.

All I ask is that you remember, even when we do not understand ourselves, for others, "in the end it is worth it".

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Mine are professionally done, neat and culturally appropriate for my hair. It never hurts when I have my hair done in a salon, by a licensed stylist. Braids are a healthy, natural way to style my hair, not a trendy, hey-I'm-on-vacation-let-me-do-something-crazy fad. At work I keep them in ponytail, chignon, bun or otherwise put up appropriately.

SDWJones - I agree with you 100%. My daughter gets it done yearly while in St. Maarten, mostly because people will stop asking her to have it done. She had the cornrows, said it hurt, but she new that going into it. What cracks me up is the 30+ years olds that look totally ridiculous and they don't realize it!!!

After the first few days, the average "white" persons hair (not sure if I can say this or not without getting in trouble these days!), will start to "splinter" or break off, and get frizzy on top, the scalp will start to burn, and it looks even worse!

Funny thing, we were in a grocery story last week, and I approached a islander with cornrows, I knew there was something I could put on my daughters hair to keeps the braids down, like a coconut cream waxy kind of stuff, she advised me not to, it would destroy her hair and just break it off completely, as she put it - "Her hair isn't strong like ours"!!! It's not meant for this!

I laughed, because stupid me would have loaded her head up with this greasy stuff and she would probably end up bald!!!

Picture of daughter with her braids, and new friend!!!

 

[KAMLEM]

Originally posted by sdwjones

I can't help but chuckle when I see whole families braided up like morons, looking silly on the beach.

If it hurts...if you look ridiculous...if it's not something you do to/for yourself on a regular basis...JUST SAY NO.

Why not? I'm not going to spend $50 to have my daughter's hair put in corn rows every few months at home but if it does not hurt and she wants to do it on vacation once a year then I am going to let her do it. If you choose to believe that doing so makes us morons you go right ahead and believe that. I guess there must be quite a few morons on DCL.

 

[dtuleya]

Originally posted by Mr. Bill
We men are soooooo glad that we are naturally good looking and don't have to go through this!

ROFLMAO! The price us women have to pay for beauty!

 

[allshookup]

My daughter was petrified about having her hair braided but she was dying to get a hair wrap. A lady approached us in St. Marteen and said she would do a hair wrap but she started to braid her hair instead so we left. We never did find anyone to wrap her hair on the eastern cruise but we went on a recent cruise to Nassau and one of the locals did a beautiful wrap in her hair that lasted a couple of months. We eventually just cut it out and saved it to re-clip in her hair whenever she feels like wearing it. It was much cheaper and pain free!

 

[ClarabelleCow]

this may sound stupid, but what is a hair wrap??

 

[*Huey*]

ClaraBell,

A hair wrap is colored thread, beads, etc. wrapped around a small section of hair.


I occasionally do about 10 cornrows on the top and sides of my hair (headband style) just to take the easy way out (wash and wear!) I'm over 30 but don't think it is really that noticable. The braids hanging down the back of my head blend in with the thick wavy mass of hair I have! I will definitely deck myself out with braids next April!

 

[DenverVal]

Both my DDs wanted their hair braided, sat through it without comment, and when I asked if it had hurt, both kids said no. I think they looked wonderful, and they took the best formal photo of their lives with those beautiful braids. We dabbed sunscreen in the rows and they never got sunburned. They sleep with a kerchief over the braids to keep the frizz down. Having their hair braided kept them looking neat and tidy the whole cruise and no fuss over needing to use the blow dryer or curling iron. Hair washing consists of rubbing shampoo on the hands and patting them over all the braids, then rinsing. Piece of cake! If they want it done again, I'll let them.

Hair braiding appointments can be made on embarkation day about 5:30. On the 4/24 western cruise they were on deck 4 near the theatre, check your navigator when you board.

 

[rae519]

Originally posted by sdwjones
Bo Derek looked silly and so do you.

Funny you should say that. One of my family members keeps telling me how funny white women look with corn rows. Yup, Bo looked pretty awful.

Rae

 

[val2001]

Did you have to pay the full amount in advance ? Just curious as some people posted the Mom in question was thinking "I paid for it and you're having it done". Don't you pay at the end?? And if the child wanted to stop after a couple braids, then just pay for what had been done....

 

[DenverVal]

You pay at the end, because the final price is based on how many cornrows were done.

Valorie

 

[gottaluvdis]

Just got back from the 4/29 Wonder. Hair braiding was everywhere, and each time I asked my daughter (7) if she wanted a few, she said an emphatic "no". It became comical how many times she said no in Nassau. We chatted with a girl (about 10 or 11) sitting in front of us waiting for Disney Dreams who had just had her hair done, and she said it hurt and that she wouldn't do it again. That was all my daughter needed to hear to re-inforce her opinion. She would have looked cute with a couple, but she knows herself and wasn't willing to put up with the pain (at least for now). My husband and I were glad too - we all would have ended up suffering!

 

[dizneyusa]

We were on the Wonder and my daughter likes having
the braids done in different styles sometimes.

The first time we were in the bahamas and other
times we were at a hotel or on the ship.

But, I agree, it does have alot to do with WHO is
doing the braiding. My daughter said only one time
"mom" it's pulling to tight and I right away told the
girl and all was fine. But, it has never happened
again and I always let the girl know before they
even start that please be gentle and they do not
need to be soooooooo tight, its ok.

Now for that mother that subjected that poor
little girl, I feel soooooooo bad for her and I
just wish someone would have said something
(Like is everything ok?), or maybe I might have
got a castmember and let them know and let
them ask if all was ok. I just felt bad for the
little girl to have that kind of experience. It
should have been fun. But, who knows what
the reality was? We can only see the perseption
was pretty darn bad.

So, yes all little girls, older girls, moms and grandmoms
just ask the girl braiding to be gentle and that you do
not need them so tight........hopefully that will help
a little.

I think the design of the braiding to the middle of the
head and the rest left long looks the nicest

 

[Kimer]

Okay - my daughter is a major wimp - I mean she gets a splinter and she thinks she is dying....and SHE got her hair braided on the boat and was fine....must depend on who is doing it!