Book excerpt: The term “tender-headed” is a colloquialism used in the African-American community. Caring for ethnic hair is a unique and interesting process that brings forth a lot of debate and conversation. We share many familiar experiences and expressions. For instance, when the term “kitchen” is used in reference to doing African-American hair, we who have endured the hair styling routines of our heritage may remember that word being used to describe the thick hair at the nape of the neck. One thing is for sure, “tender-headed-ness” is one of those things that is common ground for many multi-cultural people. What's even more fascinating is that a multitude of brown girls like the characters in this book can share in this experience of getting their tangles untangled, under the skillful and quick fingers of their mothers, grandmothers or aunties, who have probably also gone through this same process themselves, when they were once little brown girls too. For many multi-cultural girls and boys, being “tender-headed” is a cultural trait and getting those tangles untangled is an often times uncomfortable but bearable rite of passage that many of us have gone through. Because of its unique texture, there are some challenges to getting their hair styled. It isn't always pleasant, but it certainly is memorable.