Thanksgiving/Fall Themed Hair



(Yes, I still have bad pictures!)

I like to do styles for holidays, but I couldn't think of anything for Thanksgiving.  I just decided to do a simple random part box braid/ponytail style and added some festive fall colored beads.  (yellow, red, orange and brown if you can't tell)

For this style I used Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Milk for moisture and curl definition, and I used some Taliah Waajid Lock It Up gel for hold.  See the She Moisture product reviews here and here! 

This took a little over an hour and a half to do, including detangling

This style only lasted for a day.  C's hair is very dry, no matter what I use!  Usually no style lasts longer than 2 or 3 days (3 is really pushing it) because C has extremely dry hair that doesn't stay moisturized. 

I put this style in the night before so C would be ready for school fast in the morning.  I expected a little frizzing since I made such big sections.  As you can see, C's hair was starting to curl up- it always does when it's braided, if we use beads or not.

This is fairly easy to figure out.  I just decided on rounded parts this time to switch up the look a little since I usually do straight, more squared parts.

I'm still trying to come up with something more original, but one thing that doesn't help is knowing that nothing is going to last long!

It looks like we might be doing a giveaway sometime soon in celebration of 100 followers- only 9 more to go!! :)  I wonder what we should give?.....

Shea Moisture Curl And Style Milk

I know I have been totally neglecting you all lately! : /  Well, I'm trying to work on that soon but for now...
Here's the review I told you I would be doing!

Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus Curl and Style Conditioning Milk

Price $9.99 at Walgreens
 
Consistency:
Creamy, light
 
Scent:
Tropical- exactly the same as the Curl Enhancing Smoothie

 

Ingredients: 

Deionized water, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut Oil)*, Isopropyl Myristate, Sugar Starch, Silk Protein, Essential Oil Blend, Melila Azadirachta (Neem) Seed Oil Caprylyl glycol, Sorbitol Esters, Algae Extract, Hyssopus Officinalis Extract, Salvia Officinalis, (Sage) Leaf and Equisetum Arvenese Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E) *Certified Organic

Product Description:
Shea Moisture Coconut Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk has coconut oil, silk protein and neem oil that adds moisture, body and shine to your curls. Keeps curly hair frizz-free, shiny and healthy.

Detangles, conditions and defines curls while restoring body and shine

Apply to damp hair; use sparingly, dispensing a dime-size amount into palm

Rub hands together and distribute evenly throughout hair

Avoid applying directly to roots

Do not rinse out, style hair as desired

I purchased this a few weeks ago and have already gone through an entire bottle.
This product is supposed to detangle, which I would have to say it does a fairly good job at doing.  However...  I had to use a lot of product for it to do anything for C's hair, even when it wasn't super tangled.
This did not help define C's curls at all.  By the time her hair dried and soaked the milk up, she was a big ball of frizzy tangles!
I've found that sometimes C's hair retains moisture and stays defined better if I use lots of extra product (whatever I might be using at the time) and I put her hair up in some sort of style.  So what I did was I used both the Styling Milk and the Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and I put C's hair into big box braids with some fall colored beads. 
I admit, most styles do not last longer than 2 or 3 days in C's hair because it is so dry and I have to do everything extra loose because of her sensitive scalp.  I was only able to leave the style in for a day this time!  The Shea Moisture products did nothing for moisture, and also the braid out was a nightmare.  No curl definition at all, and because her hair was so dry, it was also extremely tangled and hard to un-braid.

I would consider using this product just for detangling but I still need something else for definition and moisture... NOTHING seems to work on C's hair!  :*(
Have you tried this?  If so, what did you think?

Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie

Product claim...
Restores moisture, body and shine
For thick, curly hair
Reduces breakage, strengthens hair

Price...
$9.99 at Walgreens

Scent...
I would probably describe the scent as somewhat tropical.  I think it smells wonderful.

Texture...
This is creamy and light.  It's very easy to apply.

Description...
Nutrient rich vegetable butters condition hair, restoring moisture, body and shine. Enhances curls, minimizes frizz and provides curl control. For thick, curly hair. Sulfate-free and color-safe.

• Coconut oil: Hydrates and protects hair from heat and chemical damage
• Silk protein: Reduces breakage, strengthens hair, adds smoothness and silkiness
• Neem oil: An age-old ayurvedic oil that strengthens hair and provides brilliant shine
• No parabens, phthalates, paraffin, gluten, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, animal testing, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, or animal ingredients

Natural product, color and aroma may vary.
Made in USA

Apply to damp or styled hair


I liked the fact that they list what each ingredient does for your hair!


Ingredients...
Deionized Water , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut) , Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil , Persea Gratissima Oil (Avocado) , Vegetable Glycerin , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract , Silk Protein , Ammonium Salt , Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil (Neem) , Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil (Carrot) , Sorbitol Esters , Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5) , Caprylyl Glycol , Essential Oil Blend , Lonicera Caprifolium Flower and Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Honeysuckle and Japanese Honeysuckle) , Tocopherol (Vitamin E)


I wasn't expecting to find any quality products for C's hair at Walgreens, but I found myself in the hair products aisle so I decided to look anyway.
I saw a line of Shea Moisture Organic Coconut and Hibiscus products- the word 'organic' caught my eye!  I decided to try 2 of them... The Curl Enhancing Smoothie, and also the Curl & Style Hair Milk (review on that coming soon!)

*So far we have only used this twice so I might do a 2nd. review later, but I'm thinking this is something I might want to buy again!  I've been having such a struggle with finding a quality product for C's hair that I was ready to give up and go back to using whatever cheap things I could buy at Wal Mart or somewhere.  BUT since I found something organic that I don't have to buy online, I'm hoping I've found a way around that!  :)

Anyway, I used this on C's damp hair.  Whenever I try a new moisturizer or anything that is supposed to enhance curls, I like to leave C's hair down to put it to the ultimate test.

C with her pumpkin she painted at the fundraiser :)

This isn't the best example, sorry!  We were at a fundraiser and I was too busy to stop and get pictures, but I got this one from my Aunt.
After a long day of running, jumping in bouncy houses, playing with farm animals, games and more C's hair still looked pretty good.  Her hair was big with lots of shrinkage, but I expect that and that's ok!
C's hair still had lots of definition, even though she had some frizzing going on which you can see here.  When I got an up close look, C's hair looked moisturized- that's all I can ask for!

Like I said, I might do another review later since we've only used this product twice, but so far I like it!
Have you tried this Curl Enhancing Smoothie or any of the other Shea Moisture products, and if so did you like them?

C Can Braid

Since C was 2 years old, she has been trying to help with her hair.  She started just sticking a bunch of random barrettes all over, and then she decided she wanted to try and braid.  The only problem was, she decided to do this at school on her own hair...  I don't think I have to tell you how that turned out!
So, after seeing what she did to her hair and how proud she was of it, I decided to give her her own little practice style head to do whatever she wanted with.  That way, she could learn and style to her heart's content without causing any damage to her own hair  :)

C got this two years ago for Christmas, and I'm sure glad she did!  She loves putting accessories and braids in her dolls hair!  :)    This is a photo of one of C's very first braids done on this head.

Of course I had to play with C's toy too!  I like the way the yarn braids look on this doll's dark hair.

C did this braid while I was doing her hair before school.  Look how much better she's gotten since she started!  :)  She perfected braids after just a short time playing around with this styling head- she got this when she was only 4, so I think that's pretty good!  Yay C!

C is 7 now and really wants to help with her own styles.  This is something she will benefit from learning, so I'm really happy she likes doing hair so much already!  I let C help with hair time by picking the way she wears her hair (unless I have something in mind), letting her choose which accessories she wears, and also finding the right colors and handing them to me.  Her favorite thing to help with is sorting beads- she also LOVES to use the spray bottle!   :)

Does your child help with their own hair styling?

Side Cornrows Into Ponies

This style was actually inspired by yesterday's Curly Friend, Jerrica.  I love the faux hawk look and I was in the mood to do cornrows!

As you can probably tell, this looks a little different than a faux hawk normally would.  This is because half way through the style, C reminded me that today was favorite hat day at school! I planned on a low side pony so curls could show under the hat, but since I didn't want to undo all my work, I decided that I would do something a little different...

The first ponytail (in front) was planned.  I love to show off C's curls, so that was going to be a curly ponytail.
Her hair is a little messy in this pic because this was taken just before her bath and bedtime, plus she had gym today and also wore a hat!  :)
All I did was divided the left half of C's hair into 3 more sections and added ponies.  I left all of the hair from the ponies down.  As I said, she wore a hat today and I wanted the curls to show. 
I didn't get a pic of her in her hat because she wanted to take it off when she got home, but she looked so cute!  I'm hoping to talk her into putting it back on tomorrow for a quick photo, but I didn't want to wait to post this since I've been kind of quiet for a while.

C did one of her 'daughters' hair while I did hers  :)

She was so proud of it, how could I not show you?! <3

This style took me about an hour to do- I'm a slow braider for one thing, and I took a while debating if I should take the cornrows out and do my original style or leave them and come up with something else... Personally, I like my decision! :)

I used some leave in conditioner and lots of coconut oil to moisturize- C's hair is always super dry no matter what o_0  Then I used lots of Taliah Waajid Lock It Up Gel.  I've been using this a lot lately because I like the price and availability, and also I like how it holds styles and defines C's curls.  I'm trying to decide what to use next...

Well, I guess that's all I have to say about this!  I'm going to switch this up just a little in the morning, but before I do, I'll just have to get a pic of her in the little hat she wore today!  So you might want to stop by tomorrow and check it out!  Also, I got new hair accessories (which will be part of my 100 follower's giveaway) and I want to have some opinions as to what to do with them!  ;)

Curly Friend- Jerrica

I've been a little busy to do anything worth showing lately, but I do have a little something coming tomorrow and a few things in mind coming soon! :)
But for now, meet our Curly Friend, Jerrica!

Do you like your hair? What (if anything would you change if you could?)

"If you were to ask me that as a kid or young adult I would of said no! But now with all the ways to wear my hair and now that I learn to take better care of my hair Im more comfortable with it.
There is something Id change. I get in grown hairs in my head and that makes it so that my styles gotta come out or I cant even get my hair done sometimes. At times like that I do have wigs I wear.


Do you now or have you ever used chemicals on your hair?  If so, what made you decide to do so and did you regret it?

Yes I used chemicals a few times as a teen. My mom always kept my hair up for me as a kid but then when I got too old for all the little bows and what not then I decided I want my hair down. Well my friends was all gettin their hair perm and talk me into it. I didnt regret it. My hair look nice when I had it permed because I would use the flat iron or hot comb and make it sleek. The reason why I stopped perming was because I was getting the same results with hot combs and that was cheaper.


What is your hair routine?

Dont really have a "routine" exactly. I just style when ever and I moisturize my hair every day and each night. I sleep in a cap/bonnet/scarf so that my moisturizer does not get all over my pillows and so my hair stays neat. OK maybe I do have a routine! Lol!


What products do you use?

Your not gonna agree with this. But my idea of natural hair just means no chemicals. I use what ever product looks good to me at the time. I use hair grease because its cheap easy to find and it keep me from getting head lice. A few weeks ago everyone I work with had got head lice! We all share head sets which have foam padding and that is how the head lice spread. There is 2 black employees other than myself who do not use hair grease and they got lice along with the other white employees. So yes black people DO GET HEAD LICE but the hair grease makes it so that the eggs can not stick! Im willing to take my chances with the hair grease for that reason and the fact that it does the EXACT SAME THING for my hair as the expensive products every one cant live with out! ;) Dont beleive that it causes health problems. If that was true there would have to be a warning label and you would hear story about people having problems due to hair grease. I just laugh when I hear/see folks raving about how bad and dangerous it is! Come on folks its hair grease. Its safe. Lmbo!


What is your hair type? (if you know it)

My hair is in the 4c range Id say


What is the best and worst hair advice you have gotten?

Best advice-sleep with a cap or bonnet, scarf or anything you like. It really helps keep my hair neat.
Worse advice-hair grease cause cancer hair loss and lots of problems with health. This is not true! I have a cousin in cosmo school and she never heard that rumor. She asked her teacher and everyone and they said that hair grease might not be the best thing to use BUT it does NOT cause health problems. I asked my dr, she never heard of anything and I have been trying to see cases of hair grease causing problems and still havent.

What advice do you have to offer?

Dont follow the crowd when it comes to your hair or anything else really. Just because a certain person or people likes or does not like something it does not mean it wont work for you. Alot of companies will come up with stories to scare you into thinking you will lose your hair if you use certain things or that their product will make your hair grow. Well I think I am proof that your hair WILL grow even if you chose to use hair grease instead of some other products about 10 times the price! My hair is decent length and I have cut it.


Can we see some of your styles?

I dont have the best styles to show because for one Im not a good stylist. Lol! I have to take my pics off my cell phone but here you go! Yes it is my real hair in each pic. I used hair grease in each pic along with some icee olive oil.

Thanks so much for putting me on your blog and I hope to be on again!




Thank you for sharing your photos and story with us!  Feel free to contribute again any time!   :)
 
I'm always looking for people to feature, so if you want to be featured, please email me at   curlyhairisbeautiful@gmail.com  for details!

Black And Neon Style- Transformed

Last night I finished C's hairstyle by turning the crown braid into 6 cornrows.

I was really happy with C's hair this morning.  She had almost no frizzies at all, and her hair was still looking fresh and moisturized.
BUT...
Before school, a woman thought her hair looked neat- which was a nice compliment to me until she decided she wanted to rub her hands through it and push the beads up to see how they were put on : /
Then C was playing with her hair trying to put all the hanging braids into a ponytail, and that caused some frizzing too.

I left it up to C to decide if she would get her hair taken down tomorrow morning (so she could wear the braid out to school) or if she wanted to deal with the frizz until Monday.  We decided together that the beads will come out in the morning and the hanging braids will be put into a ponytail.  We don't have any special plans this weekend, so I'll just let her hair frizz on and she can wear the braid out on Monday!  :)

So how do you like this style?  How frizzy do you let your/ your child's hair get before you redo it?

Black And Neon Style

Well, this is actually a 3 day style...   On Monday, I did 5 big ponytails.  This was a super cute look for C!  She was wearing all black and neon.  The color is a little washed out, because I'm back to having to take all my pictures with my phone again :(

This was just a very simple style that gave me a way to incorporate each color from C's outfit into her hair style for the day.

I parted C's hair at an off centered slant from the front of her head (above her left eye) to just under her right ear.  I tied this section off into a ponytail, added a lime green ballie and braided the hair into 2 braids.
*In each ponytail I did 2 braids- one was ended with a black barrette, and the other with a barrette matching each ballie.
I divided the left over hair in back into 4 sections and once again made 2 braids from each ponytail.
Very simple! :)

For this style, I wet C's hair with plain water, then I added some coconut oil to her hair and scalp.  I used a generous amount of Taliah Waajid Lock It Up Gel on each ponytail and braid.  There was virtually no detangling for this style because C's hair was in a braid overnight.
This style took 10-15 minutes to do.
Since this was just meant to be a 1 day style, I didn't worry too much about making each ponytail even.

Check out my next post to see how I changed this style up for days 2 and 3!  :)

Braided Pigtails With Curls

Well, I wasn't even going to share this style because it's just so simple but once I was done with it, I thought it looked too cute not to show it!  I like this style because it's simple, and it also shows off C's curls (which is my favorite look) and it also shows a little bit of skill since I added 2 small cornrows- and it was nice and neat yesterday morning!

C asked for this style!  :)
She said she wanted a braid on each side in the front and then pigtails with a bunch of braids, so that's just what I did!

I didn't like the way the little cornrows looked just hanging there, and since I've been trying to put as little stress on the hairline as possible, I didn't want to add any beads or barrettes.  I decided to just add them to the ponytails, which I think looks pretty cute.



Front View



Here's the side/back view. It looked really pretty in person! C's curls were moisturized and well defined at the ends of the braids and I just loved it!

I used Taliah Waajid Lock It Up Gel (it's becoming our regular product)

I simply parted C's hair straight back into 2 sections, and tied them off into loose temporary ponytails.  Then, I parted all of C's short baby hair in front and put it into a loose cornrow on each side.

After I was finished with the cornrows, I added extra gel to the ends of them, and to the edges of each ponytail in back.  I grabbed the cornrows and added them, and then I just simple braided about 8-10 braids into each ponytail.  I stopped braiding about an inch or so from the ends, so that C's curls could still be shown. :)



I think the back view is so cute :)



I did this style yesterday morning, and it only took about 20 minutes to do.  I kept this style for today and just re-tightened the ponytails, then added some ballies to match her outfie for today.  It still looked presentable, but it definetly has to come out tonight.

*I'll be doing a post later to explain why I've been doing such simple styles lately (besides not having much time for hairstyling!)  And also maybe I'll do something special tonight since I have a simple dinner planned and I'll be home most of the evening! :)  So please check back tomorrow!

Random Parted Ponies With Curls And Braids

Kind of a long title, but if you read my blog often, you already know I'm terrible at naming my posts! :)
Haha, oh well it explains it enough I'd say!

Anyway...  This style is nothing new or too exciting, but it's another one of my favorites for a busy school morning.  I did this on C's hair on Thursday, and then Friday I braided the rest of the ponytails.

This style took 30 minutes to do.  Since I found Taliah Waajid at a local beauty supply store, I'm going to be using a lot of that!  I don't like the idea of ordering through mail and I hate the idea of waiting!  I like to know that I can find what I need when I need it, and if I run out, I don't have to wait a week or more for new products to come.  It's also much cheaper when you can just go buy it in the store!  :)

So, for this style I used Taliah Waajid Lock It Up gel- this is one of my favorite products!  I used a regular rat tail comb for parting, and some Goody brand Ouchless ponytail holders, then I added some cute accessories and we were finished.

Since we didn't have a whole lot of time for braiding, I decided to leave some of the ponytails curly.  These pictures were taken at the end of the day on Thursday and it was rainy (again) so her hair was a little frizzed out. 

We're still trying to come up with something more exciting, but I do like the random styles a lot.  It takes a lot less time when you don't have to make sure both sides are alike and even!

2 French Braids Into 1 Simple Braid

I couldn't decide what to do with C's hair this morning.  It's supposed to rain all day, so I knew whatever I did her hair was going to be frizzy by the end of the day and I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it.
I've been trying to do more protective styles, especially for the front part of C's hair, so today I decided to go with this simple style...



(Sorry for the dark pictures- as I said it's a rainy day!)

I parted C's hair from ear to ear about 2 inches back (to about where her ears start) and then I did a slightly slanted part in the center of her head to make 2 separate sections in front.  Then I made a simple protective french braid on each side. 

I braided the protective braids into the big simple braid in back.

And here's the front view.  You can't really see where the part is because of the bad lighting, and the fact that we were short on time made me not even think of having C put her head down! 

For this style, I used some Taliah Waajid gel and a rat tail comb.  I wet her hair with some water and a little coconut oil, then I added the gel around the part lines and through the hair in back to help the shorter hairs stay in a little better.

I added a pretty matching bow to C's hair and we were done!  The whole style only took us about 15 minutes to do, so it's a perfect choice for a zero time morning!  :)

 *I really am trying to be more creative!  Hopefully something will come to mind soon! :)

Pigtails And Slanted Part Pony Tails

This style didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to but I still like it.  I started it yesterday and then I finished it up tonight.

Her hair really did look better in person...

This is how I planned on styling C's hair, only I wanted to braid the hair coming out of the ponytails in front.  I also planned on adding beads.  I didn't get the chance to start this style until after C had her dinner and bath, and by that time we didn't have much time until bed time!  So, what I was going to do is make all the braids in back, and then this morning I was going to add beads.  Well, for some reason my alarm didn't go off and we only had 10 minutes to work with C's hair!  So this is how she wore her hair today.

This style took me around an hour or so to do, and whenever I do styles with lots of braids and /or ponytails, I take extra time to make sure C's hair is well moisturized so that the style will last as long as possible.

This is a pretty easy style to follow.  Here's what I did...

As always, I detangled C's hair first.

Her hair was already parted from ear to ear, so I kept that part.  I took out the braided headband and tied the hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of my way.

 I know this is a poor diagram!  :)  But it makes it easier to explain what I did this way.

First I made the parts in blue.  I just made straight diagonal parts from the top to the bottom of C's hair.

Then I parted straight across, making sort of diamond shaped ponytails.

I tied each section off with a rubber band and braided it.  Very simple.

C's shirt had a little rhinestone butterfly on it, so we used some butterfly ballies to match.

And don't you just love her glasses?! :)

This was taken at the end of the day, because as I said, we had no time for pictures this morning!

By the time I took this picture, C's hair was starting to frizz up pretty bad.  The ponytails were extra loose because I don't want to pull the hair along her hairline too tight and cause breakage.  As you can see, her hair was trying real hard to curl up and get out of the ponytail.

Styles never last very long in C's hair. No matter what the style, and no matter what products we use, we never get more than 3 or 4 days out of anything- and 4 is pushing it!

C's hair is always very thirsty and even sleeping with a satin bonnet, her ponytails come loose and slip down over night, plus her hair frizzes a lot.

I decided to get at least one more day out of this style, and I re moisturized and added beads.

*The buns in front aren't staying that way for tomorrow, I'm going to make them neater in the morning.

I rubbed some coconut oil into C's scalp, then I wet her braids for moisture and added coconut oil (to seal it in) and some gel (to lay all the frizzies down)

Then I added some beads.

Here's a close-up picture of C's braids after just one day.  Her hair pokes out of her braids trying to curl up and I can't keep it down no matter what I do!  We've tried everything but her hair just seems moisture resistant.  :(  

It's basically pointless to try and moisturize after the first day, because it ends up making her hair look worse.  That makes us have to start over almost everyday, which is most likely causing extra damage.

If you have any tips for moisture retention, I'd love to hear from you!...

Simple Braided Headband

C has to wear uniforms to school, so a lot of times even though she still looks cute, she has to dress pretty plain.  To me, it doesn't look right if C is in dress clothes and has a bunch of random ponytails or beads, so I like to do her hair simple to kind of go with her outfit a little better.

Lots of times I also let C pick her own hairstyle (if I don't have anything special planned) and today this is what she chose.

We didn't have time for many pictures this morning, but this style doesn't really need more.

All I did was dampened and parted her hair in half from ear to ear, and tied the back off with a pony tail holder.  Her hair was in french braids yesterday, so I just took them down this morning and there was no detangling needed.  Then I put some gel along the part line and all around the edges.  I started at the left side of her head and did a dutch braid all the way across.  When I got to the end of the braid, I took a small section from the back (under all her hair) and added the braid with that hair to make a ponytail.  All of the rest of her hair covers up the ponytail so it looks more like a headband.

This style only took about 15 minutes to do, including parting, so this is a good style for when you're in a hurry in the morning (or anytime!)

I'm planning on something a little more special for tomorrow- if I can get inspired :)   So check back tomorrow for another style.

Winner!!!

I know a few people have had some problems leaving comments for the giveaway, and I have no idea why, but I'm very sorry if you were on of the few who had problems!

If you didn't win this time, I will be having more giveaways!  I'm planning one for when I reach 100 followers :)

Anyway, it's time to announce the winner!! :)

And the winner is................

I've counted twice and it looks to me like the winner is Bari!

Congratulations Bari!!!

Please contact me with your mailing information by Friday so I can send your package out to you!  :)

Thanks to all who entered!

Simple Curly Cornrows For Back To School

Well, C goes back to school next Monday, so I've been trying to come up with some simple and quick hairstyles for those mornings when we don't have much time.
This is actually her style for the zoo tomorrow   :)

This style is by no means anything special, but I've missed seeing C's hair styled since I haven't done much with it this summer, so I thought I'd share it with you all anyway.

It was very simple and only took about 25 minutes to do.

We just washed C's hair, so it was already wet and moisturized with a leave in and some coconut oil.

I parted her hair in half, from ear to ear and sectioned off the back with a ponytail holder to keep it out of my way while I worked on the front.

I made an off centered part, just to make it a little more cute than just plain straight back braids.

Then I sectioned off the right side and did a few simple cornrows on the left side.  I used Taliah Waajid Lock-It-Up gel for hold.

When I started this style, I planned on alternating big and small cornrows.  It didn't work out that way because C's hair is thin in the front and she has some spots where the hair is too short to braid.

A lot of times I just go ahead and try to work the short hair into C's cornrows and as her hair dries, that short hair will poke out on it's own.  When ever I do that, I make extra sure not to pull the hair too tight so that I don't cause any breakage.
I have been trying to make sure that I keep the short hair out lately because it's so fragile and as I said, I don't want to cause any breakage.

You may or may not remember I did a post few months back saying I was starting to use Bee Mine growth serum.  I never did a follow up on that because I didn't like it, but I know I really should have done a follow up review either way.  Anyway, I'll do that a little later, but to make a long story short... C was allergic and it caused a lot of thinning.

I'm still never able to differentiate between baby hair and breakage in the front, so I'm not sure if the short hair is baby hair that's growing out or not.  What I do with the long hair is I twist it up into a little curl.  That way it looks more like baby hair, at least to me.  I like to use the Lock-It-Up gel for this because it has GREAT hold and gives amazing definition! 

One thing I notice is that when I do cornrow C's hair straight back, the shorter hair is more uniform than when I use a slanted or off centered part.  That is because all along her hairline is short baby/broken hair- I hope that makes sense.

So, I just did the same thing on the right side as the left, only I braided the cornrows going downward instead of toward the back/center of C's head.

This picture is a perfect example of what I was trying to explain. 

If you notice, there is a very small amount of hair on the outside of the first braid, along her hairline.  This is obviously baby hair, this is the only time I can tell!  :)

Her hair was still pretty damp, but the ends of the braids were mostly dry.  Look at those gorgeous curls! 

As I already mentioned, I used the Lock-It-Up gel for the cornrows, and then I also rubbed a small amount down the entire length of her hair for definition.

My plan was to do half-rows and then use a few barrette beads as a simple way to add color to the ends of each braid.  I changed my mind when I saw how beautiful her ends turned out and I thought about doing some box braids in the back.  I decided against that because I don't really like the way box braids look on C, and also I wanted this to be simple and quick!



Her shirt has a rainbow zebra  :)



I put the back section of her hair into some big braids for a simple braid out in the morning, and I put her bonnet on right away so that she could relax the rest of the night.

Even though this is very basic, I like this style because it combines my two favorite looks for C- Cornrows and curls!

I wasn't looking forward to doing C's hair even though I wanted it styled.  The reason for that is I figured my hands would be sore since I went so long without doing any styles, but I also wanted to do some new posts.  I'm glad I decided to, because my hands aren't nearly as sore as I thought they would be and now we can get to the zoo bright and early tomorrow morning without having to do much with C's hair!  Yay!  :)

Also, there's still time to enter our Back To School Giveaway!  :)

Teaching 'C' To Wash Her Own Hair

This post is not only about washing, but also about helping your child learn how to work up to washing.

C is 7 years old now and of course, she wants to do things for herself- that includes washing her own hair!  At first I wouldn't allow her to try and wash her hair on her own, because I was afraid she'd get her hands caught in her hair and pull it, causing breakage.  I realize she will have to learn sooner or later how to wash and care for her own hair, so I've been including her in washing time.  

C has learned that when wetting her hair, she has to push the water down to wet her hair- not rub her hands in it. The same thing goes for when she is conditioning.   Most of us already know this, but it's important to keep in mind that our little girls don't know.

(I hope no one finds this inappropriate!)

When it's time to wash C's hair, I divide her hair in half (with my hands) and then I separate a smaller section for C to work on.

I give her a handful of conditioner- I want to really stress that she needs extra! Then I tell her to rub it through her hair, from the top (roots) to the ends.  Then I explain to C that she needs to carefully run her fingers through her hair, starting from the bottom (the ends) and working her way up to the top...

Pretty much just all the basics, only I explain to C what I'm doing the whole time and guide her to do the same thing on her own.

So far C has been doing great!  I always make sure that her hair has been detangled the night before and put into a protective style.  That way, her hair doesn't need much finger detangling so it's fast and easy for her.

Here are some tips I've come up with...

As I already said, detangle the hair the night before, and put it into a protective style for sleeping. 

Make sure your child sleeps with a bonnet or uses a satin pillow case (you probably already do this anyway)

I like to let C detangle half of her hair while I do the other half.  That way she's not too overwhelmed with the amount of hair and she won't get discouraged about caring for it herself.

Once again, always give her extra conditioner.  While detangling the hair, be sure to watch your daughter carefully, and show her what to do when she gets to a spot that she can't get her fingers through.

Each time we wash C's hair, I specifically look for a section of hair where there's a tangle I can't just run my fingers through so that she can see how I work the tangle out.

When we are finished finger detangling C's hair, I have her take small sections of hair and squeeze, making the conditioner squish through her fingers.  That helps work it into the hair and makes it easier to get out excess conditioner.  (It's also fun for C)

I always make sure that C knows only I can use the scissors!  This is especially important, obviously!  :)  That way, your daughter won't go around cutting chunks out of her hair! 

*This is what worked for us to get C started with hair washing on her own...

I did all of the above, only I detangled all of C's hair on my own.  I rinsed that out, and then I let C help me work a leave in through her hair.  That way she got to get an idea of what to do without actually having to do any detangling.  :)

Washing hair alone is something most kids her age are already able to do (I'm stuck on keeping C 'little' as long as possible since she's my last baby!)   So if you are already allowing your child to wash their hair alone, what things did you do to help them learn and at what age did you teach them, or plan to teach them?

 

Come back tomorrow to see the simple style I did for C after her washing was done!  :)

Back To School GIVEAWAY!!!

Sorry I have been away for so long!  Whenever school isn't in it's family time for us, especially summer vacation!  :)  But soon school will be back in and hopefully I can get back to normal.  Yes, its that time of year again.  Time to buy back to school clothes and supplies- which of course includes hair prettys! 

We have been stocking up on hair accessories since the end of June, and have picked up some things to give to ONE lucky follower...

There are lots of things in this photo, so just in case you cant make everything out, here's what the giveaway consists of...

One 6 oz tub of Taliah Waajid Lock-It-Up gel, Set of 2 Hello Kitty metal/multi color rhinestone barrettes, Set of 2 metal/clear rhinestone bow barrettes, Curl Tamer brush, set of combs- one plastic rat-tail and one metal rat-tail, one 500 count tub of multi-color rubber bands, one pack glittery pastel colored bow barrettes, one pack  glittery pastel colored flower barrettes, one pack primary colored barrettes in heart and star designs, one pack pink/purple mix mutli flower design barrettes, set of 2 corker ribbon barrettes (pink/multi), one pack primary colored multi bird design barrettes, one stay- on satin bonnet (black), set of 10 light gray ballies, set of 10 bright primary colored ballies, set of 5 neon colored butterfly ballies, 2 packs EACH of the following: jumbo size black and white heart beads, standard size princess crown beads (clear), standard size princess crown beads (choose between pink mix, brown mix, purple mix, blue mix, white or multi colored- mix or match) and standard size multi colored star beads with the shinny finish, one pack of GOODY ouch-less mini elastics (no metal), multi colored, set of 6 glittery heart snaps, set of 3 peace sign/heart/star design ballies, 3 sets of jumbo size purple mix beads, your choice of 1 flower clip, ANY color (orange, yellow & purple pictured),  lilac/light gray colored flower clip, set of 2 neon pink ruffle/flower/bead bow style barrettes, one set of 2 neon green ruffle/butterfly bow style barrettes, AND one set of seashell beads in your choice of white (pictured), pink mix, purple mix, blue mix OR clear. Up close pictures will be provided via email upon request, but only the colors I have available in our personal collection (if you chose a color I don't have I will purchase those only  if you are the winner)

I hope I didn't forget anything!   :)

To enter, you must follow CHIB.  (Just click the follow button to your left)  You can enter ONCE DAILY!

For additional entries:

Tell me which colors you would choose for your flowers, princess crown beads, and seashell beads if you won for ONE entry total.

1. Tell me your favorite item in the giveaway for ONE entry total.

2. "Like" CHIB on Facebook for ONE entry total and leave a comment here saying you did.

3. Mention our giveaway on Facebook for ONE entry total (leave the link please)

4. Mention our giveaway on your own blog for TWO entries total.

5. Follow us on Twitter @inlovewithcurls for ONE entry total.

6. Tell me what you would like to see for our next giveaway for ONE entry total.

7. Tell me what you would like to see more of on my blog for fall and beyond for TWO entries total!

That's it!  There are lots of extra chances to win, so everyone has good chances!

The contest starts TODAY, 8-14-11, and ends Sunday, 8-28-11   

You will have until 5pm to get all your entries in on 8-28-11 and the winner will be chosen on Monday,      8-29-11 at 6pm.

Good Luck!  :)

Dove Nutritive Therpy

I haven't been doing much with C's hair lately and I've been busy visiting family and having computer problems on top of it, but hopefully now I can get back on track with my blogging!

We went to Target today and I decided to find the Dove Nutritive Therapy system.  I knew that the ingredients would be less than perfect, but I was still planning to buy at least one of the Nutritive Therapy products.  Of course the shampoo was out because of all the sulfates.  Since I like Dove products so much for my own hair, I decided that I wasn't going to read the ingredients of the leave in smoothing cream- I was just going to buy it.  Well, when I got home I wished I would have checked the ingredients over a little!  This 'nurturing' oil has mineral oil and petrolatum in it-  I definitely can't use this for C's hair   :(

Price: $5.99

Appearance:  Creamy, yellow color- one plus is it smells VERY nice!

Description:  Controls frizz & boosts shine even in humid conditions.

Revolutionary weightless nutri-oils:

• Smoothes uplifted cuticles that cause frizz
• Deeply nourishes
• Leaves hair easier to manage and style

Ingredients Water (Aqua) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Cyclopentasiloxane , Dimethiconol , Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine , Glycerin , Behentrimonium Chloride , Fragrance (Parfum) , Dipropylene Glycol , Mineral Oil , Lactic Acid , Petrolatum , Potassium Chloride , DMDM Hydantoin , Disodium EDTA , TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond) , Hydrogenated Coconut Oil , Adipic Acid , Gluconolactone , Sodium Sulfate , Trehalose , Iodopropynyl , Butylcarbamate , Yellow 5 (CI 19140) , Red 33 (CI 17200) , Blue 1 (CI 42090)

I was very disappointed because as I said, I really like Dove products for my own hair!  I don't even read the ingredients when a product is going to be used only for my hair because I actually need a shampoo with sulfates or my hair is too oily, and I don't use or need anything special for my hair so I pretty much could care less- unless it's Mineral Oil or Petrolatum.

Obviously there are more harmful ingredients than good!  I won't be making that mistake again!

Do you ever buy products without looking at the ingredients? 

What is your favorite leave in product?

Sunshine Award

We have received the Sunshine Award!  :)

Thank you so much to Kandy Land Kurls for nominating us, I really appreciate it!  If you haven't already, check out her blog here! 

In order to collect your award, here's how it works:
Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them
Tell one thing about yourself
Then nominate 10 blogs
Stop by and let them know you chose them!

One thing about me:  My favorite restaurant is Red Robin

one thing about C:  She likes to sing  :)

Now for the 10 blogs... This is going to be a little hard, since most of the ones I know of have already been nominated! :)

KJ Braids

Hair With Purpose

Chocolate Hair/Vanilla Care

Happy Girl Hair

Mainly Braids

Adopt-A-Do

RedPunzel

Dream Weaver

Girls Curls

Babes In Hairland

So, I hope no one beat me to nominating these blogs!

Thank you again Kandy  :)

Star Spangled Hair- "Fire Cracker"

I know I said I had a few styles in mind for the 4th of July, and I planned on doing them until some things came up.  The main thing was extreme pain in my fingers and hands.  For that reason, I decided to combine 2 of my ideas into this somewhat simple but very busy style. 

I think I liked the last 4th. of July hairstyle better, but I still like this one too.  :)  The streaks of red reminded me of a firecracker, especially before I cut the ends of the yarn off, so that's what I'll call this style.

I don't use yarn very often- actually this is only the 2nd time I've ever done it, so I'm not even sure if it looks right.  Of course I like it because,well, I did it!  I started off by just making a big star in the middle of C's head and made a Bantu knot in the middle like I did with the stars in the last 4th. of July style I did.  Instead of yarn-rows in the back, I did some regular cornrows.  I decided to end them with banded braids in red, white and blue rubber bands.  I might switch those to barrette beads later.

As I do with every style, I started with wet, well moisturized and detangled hair.  I usually leave that part out just assuming everyone knows to do that, but I thought this time I'd mention that part anyway!

First I parted a line down the center of C's head, to get an idea of where to start the star.

Once I had the star parted, I tied the hair inside into a big Bantu knot and started my cornrows.  Then, I parted about the width of my thumb all the way around the star where the cornrows would go. 

*As I said, this is only the 2nd time I've worked with yarn.  This was the first time that I ever incorporated yarn into cornrows, so I think I could do better if I was to try again.  (Which I plan to)  :)

I decided how long of a piece of yarn I would need by holding the yarn at her scalp with about a half inch or so extra, and stretched her hair with the end of the yarn in my fingers.  I used about 2 inches more just in case... It's better to have a little extra than not enough and have to go back and redo the cornrow! Once I had the right length of yarn for the first cornrow, I cut an equal length of yarn.

This is one time I really wish I had someone home to take pictures of the next process because  it's going to be really confusing to explain!  I'll try my best though...

Section off where you want the cornrow to begin.  I usually use a very small amount, but with the extra thickness of the yarn and C's hair being so thin near the hairline, I started my cornrows with a little extra hair (which is why there's a little bit of hair without yarn at the beginning of some of the cornrows)

With the 2 pieces of equal length yarn, wrap them around the hair, kind of like you're going to make a knot. Start your cornrow with one strand of just hair, one strand of hair with one piece of yarn, and one strand of just a piece of yarn.  Cornrow as usual.  (I hope that makes sense...)  keep braiding all the way to the end, then tie off into a tight knot to keep it from unraveling.  *Some people burn the ends, I don't like to use fire during hair styling! ^_^

After I finished all the cornrowing around the star, I did 2 regular cornrows (without yarn) on each side of C's head.  I didn't add yarn because we wanted to use our new star beads, and the braids ended up being too thick with the yarn. 

I decided to do ponytails in the front this time instead of cornrowing.  I gathered C's hair into a ponytail on each side and made big braids.  I wrapped some yarn around the middle section for more color.  I ended each braid with a red barrette.

I added a few festive red, white and blue beads with some star beads and she was finished!  This took me around 2 hours, mainly because I didn't have a plan and just was coming up with the style as I worked.

 So, what do you think? 

*If you have a 4th of July style to share, send it to me at curlyhairisbeautiful@gmail..com  and I'll post your pictures!  :)