Skip a Step

Since V only wore the 8 large cornrows for a week, I decided to skip a step with her next style and recycle those parts.  I was not yet sick of the style, it just had to be redone because it was such a mess.  So I kept it simple and just doubled the amount of braids going into the ponytail!

I have been avoiding beads this summer.  Trying to really rest her ends and gets some growth.

The 4 cornrows going up the back of her head became 8.  Similarly the 4 cornrows in the front became 8. The difference being that for every 1 cornrow I replaced it with a set of Criss-Crossing cornrows.  Well, Crissing cornrows I suppose, they don't actually Criss and then Cross.  (It's ok if you don't think I am funny.)  

The other change I made was that I took the 1 cornrow from her bang area and split it into two.  I had these two cornrows continue back into the criss-crossing ones behind it.  

If you would like to watch an OLD video of ours with the instructions on how to do Criss-Cross Cornrows, Go For It!  Miss V was quite little when we made this video and I think it is the one where she has a cold and makes a bunch of gross nosies for your listening pleasure.  This is also the one where I don't realize I was in my pajamas until I was uploading it to youtube.  Good Times.  

Katie

Not Always Picture Perfect

Today's post is to let you all know that HAIR is NOT ALWAYS PICTURE PERFECT IN THIS HOUSE!  You all get the benefit of seeing freshly done styles, but the reality is that that only lasts so long.  And I am the queen of stretching a style.  It took me years to get comfortable with the idea, but fuzzy hairstyles are no longer my worst enemy.  I surely have occasions when I want my kids to look their best.  And I also have my moments where I find myself suddenly wishing my girls were looking a bit tidier - eek!  But for the most part, I have learned to let go of obsessively caring about what other people were thinking about my kids hair.  It's a good feeling.

So after 5 1/2 weeks with V's second set of box braids I decided to take them out because it was one of those moments where I wanted her looking her best.  We spent last weekend in Illinois visiting with family that we only see every couple of years.  I needed to do something simple due to time restraints so I went with an old favorite, 8 large cornrows into a ponytail.  Click the link to see the last time this style made a blog appearance.  The difference this time is that I wanted to show off Miss V's big beautiful puff!  So instead of braiding or twisting to the ends I only braided up to the ponytail and than banded off each cornrow.  Which I then gathered into one ponytail holder for a GIANT puff!  Gorgeous!  This is a picture perfect moment.

Our second day in Illinois was a beach day.  I was not keen on the idea of this much free hair playing at the beach.  That is why I banded off each cornrow individually.  It made it easy for me to go back and continue each cornrow into a hanging braid.  It was a pretty fast process and looked cute.  Also fun to be able to sort of show off 2 different styles in one weekend.

Now for the not so pretty part.  These bigger cornrows are only meant to last a week - TOPS!  V was pretty rough on them over the weekend, I had her wear a swim cap at the beach because I still have fears of sand and seaweed, but unfortunately I think putting the cap on and off can mess the hair up a bit.  Then she had swimming lessons on Monday, where we have NOT been using caps.  I am proud to say I am no longer afraid of water!  On top of all that I have been super sick the last few days and she has not been getting her hair sprayed daily.  So this is how V looks after a week of all that....

Thank goodness I am feeling better.  Looks like tomorrow will be hair day.

Katie

Removing Floss Hair Wraps

I have had many people ask me how to take out the hair wraps from my last post.  To tell you the truth, I was wondering the same thing!

I consulted my friend that I got this idea from and she said, first of all, that she leaves the wraps in her daughters hair ALL summer.  So no need to rush and take them out!  She also said that she un-knots them and makes little snips with her scissors to get them out.

Well, I took little E's out yesterday because I was worried about it damaging her baby fine hair if I left it in that long.  I was NOT interested in untying every single knot  - NO THANKS!  On E, I was able to slide/stretch the knots down about 3 or 4 at a time.  This made an opening in the wrap between knots that I could grab her braid and pull it out of the bottom three knots.  Then I moved up another 3 knots and slid them down a bit and pulled the hair out again.  It was still a bit of a slow process but faster, I am sure, than actually untying each knot!

I ended up taking V's wrap out today because we will be saying goodbye to the box braids tomorrow.  Her second set of braids lasted 5 1/2 weeks without a problem, but we are going to visit family this weekend and she needs a new 'do!  So out came the floss!  I did the same thing with her as I did on Little E.  First snipping off the bottom knot and then working my way up from the bottom sliding her braid out of about 3-6 knots at a time.  Occasionally I hit a stubborn spot that I used my scissors to very carefully make a little snip at the floss.  It took a few minutes to take it out, but as a mom of a curly girl, I am not a stranger to spending a lot of time on V's hair.  This was really quite simple!

If you are curious, I am planning to leave B's wraps in for the remainder of the summer unless they start looking yucky.  My friend doesn't have curly daughters so she probably isn't spraying their hair with oils daily like I am.  So far, the oils aren't having a negative effect of the floss wraps.  They still look bright and fun!  I will probably take B's out in a month or more when we get ready to do her back-to-school tightening.

Katie

Hair Wrapping with Embroidery Floss

Oh you guys - I am so excited about this!

It is EASY, EASY, EASY!  I have seen this done since I was a kid, but somehow I never knew that it was so simple to do.  I am even more excited to tell you that it is even EASIER to do on locs than on straight or loose hair because you can skip the first few steps of the process!  Just look how cute this looks with B's locs!

Not only is it easy, but it requires very few materials, is inexpensive and doesn't take too long to do!  It doesn't get much better than that!  This technique can be done on ANY hair type and on just about any length of hair.  As long as the hair is long enough to get a braid in, you can do this.

Little E - Little Braid

Cousin G

We wrapped V's box braid!

I have to give a shout out to our special guest, my niece, who helped us out with this video - Thanks G!  And Thanks to my sister who filled in as Camera Girl too!  I also can't neglect to give credit where it is due.  A friend of mine posted the written instructions for hair wrapping earlier this week on her cute blog, Practical Praise, and now I am obsessed!

The video explains it all.  So enjoy!



If you try this - PLEASE send us your pics or put them on our facebook page!!!!

Katie

Tidbit Tuesday

DID YOU KNOW???????

That July is B's Locaversary!  Yes, ALL of July, because it took me that long to put her locs in!  This is B's 3 year Locaversary and her locs are more gorgeous than ever!  She loves them, I love them, everyone who meets her loves them!

In honor of B's beautiful locs I am going to try to do a few loc related posts over this month.

For today I wanted to share a video I found on youtube a while back about this girls 5 favorite loc accessories.  I liked it because she was using some things I had never heard of before - like a Dreadsock which looks like a great alternative to the sleep caps my girls use.  I also LOVED her idea for how to use multiple thin headbands.  Unfortunately, although we have those same headbands and love them, I tried to use them this way on B and it didn't quite work.  I am not sure if it is because he locs aren't as big and fluffy as the girl in the video, or just because she is an active girl and I knew that they would fall off in a matter of minutes.  I still love the idea :)  I also love, love, love the hair wrap.  I want to wrap B's locs so bad because I think you can get some really gorgeous looks this way, but we haven't invested in anything to wrap them in yet.

Hope you enjoy the video and stay tuned for more of B's locs, coming soon!!!!

Katie

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Hello my neglected on-line friends!  Yes, the summer madness goes on!  But I am here today with a cute post about my daughter B.  I also want to warn you to watch closely, because in spite of my bloggy neglect, we have TWO giveaways coming at you soon!

So here is the story - During the last week of school B's grade was hosting a Marketplace for two of the younger grades.  They were given free reign to choose whether they wanted to sell a good or a service.  Many kids chose to sell trinkets and food items, but not my B.  She was dead set on having a Hair Styling Booth!  I just find this adorable.  And as my title suggests, I find it very flattering that my daughter would want to do something that she sees me spend SO MANY HOURS doing!  And this isn't the first time in the last few months that she has shown an interest in hair styling.  I noticed on a school paper awhile back that she stated she wanted to be a hair stylist when she grows up!  Isn't that cute!

We used V's buddy Miss A (a frequent after school guest who has made an appearance here before.) as a hair model.  B chose 4 different hair styles and took pictures of them to put on a poster.  I picked up a few packs of cheap combs and hair things at the dollar store, and anyone who got their hair done was able to keep the comb!

These are the hairstyles she was offering:

This one B came up with on her own.  I think it is cute!  It is a pigtail style if you couldn't tell.  

This was a suggestion from me, also pigtails.

This was B's idea and her most popular seller.

Another idea from me.  This one is a twist into a ponytail.

Unfortunately for B, her booth wasn't the most frequently visited.  It is pretty hard to compete with Root Beer Floats when you are selling to 6-9 year olds!  As a matter of fact, B's own sister didn't even visit her booth, but she did buy 2 root beer floats!  Oh that girl!  Overall, B had a good time with this experience and I think she could definitely have a future in hair!

Happy Independence Day!!!!!!

Katie