Finger Curls

when i orginally did this style i got alot least 20 comments asking how i did it. So since i started my hair care blog i decided to post it here for everyone to see. It is possible to get gorgeous shirley temple curls with only using a spray bottle and extra virgin olive oil. i began with her hair washed and conditioned. using my hands i parted the hair and pulled small sections out. i got the strand i was working with extemely wet and added a bit of olive oil to the strand. using one finger i twisted the hair around my finger until i got a perfect little curl. i repeated until i got her entire head done. we used this style for a pageant where she queened and people kept asking how she got such perfect little curls. with a satin cap this style held up for 4 days.

throw back style small two strand twist

this is her whole head in simple two strand twist. we do this style when she asks for barrettes. it doesnt take but maybe an hour and shes a happy camper after that.

throw back style cornrolled front twisties in back

this style was done for school like most styles. She has three day old cornrows in the front and two strand twist in the back. her "crown" is curlies from gymboree.

throw back style big two strand twist

this style was done back in January of this year. Marz was almost 2 and a half. From start to finish it took me about 45 minutes. If i recall correctly it held up good for her whole school week (3 days).

throw back style september 2009

this was a quick style did to go shopping one day last year. i did a few two strand twists in the front half of her hair then brushed out the back and let it hang natural.

Throw Back Style

this style is from the end of august. Marz was 25 months old. its a variation of two strand twist with a ponytail right on top of her head.

Halloween Puff 2009

This was her style for the day before halloween at school. freshly cowashed hair treated with a bit of pink oil. Her bow was made by me :D We use this style when our hair is taken out of one style and needs a break but cant be worn down to school.

Old Style: Cornrows and a afro back

this style was done back in October when my daughter was 27 months old. The fronts are braided and the back is out in an afro. Notice how much shrinkage her hair has.

All Natural No Products

I have been getting several request for more styles so i went through my SD cards and pulled some of our older styles for you guys. If theres ever a need or request just hit me up, ill be sure to accommodate your request in a timely matter. The first style im going to post is my daughter with no product in her hair just her beautiful natural head full of curls. Her hair was slightly damp in these pics so it hasnt puffed out all the way.

Curlformers

After reading alot of excellent reviews about curlformers i was so excited to pick up a pack and give them a try, since ive been been trying to find the perfect curls for her first recital coming up in June. I picked up a pack of ten and the hook for around 17.00 with tax. i got home took down our old style, cowashed her hair then parted it ear to ear. i seperated the top into 3 sections and put rubberbands in the sections. Next i put a ponytail in the back half. I treated her hair with a bit of gel (i know i know ewww) then put the curlfomers in the ponytails. she slept on them perfect with no complants. In the morning i mositurized her hair, put it pony tail holders to match her outfit and took out the curl formers. It took about 5 minutes to take out 10 of them. She was ready for school faster then ever. I LOVE curlformers and will be picking up another pack or two for her recital hair.

new style 5.14.10

This style was done in a hurry, we had just completed washing her hair (see post below) and she was super cranky and over tired. But something needed to be done (she had a big race the next morning) so i parted about a third of her hair. I braided the sides into two straight cornrows then the middle i parted into three parts and cornrowed it back reversing the direction for each of the three parts. I added beads to the end of the braids then did a zig zag part in the back added piggies that were banded for the night and viola she was ready for her satin night cap and bed. The morning of the race i moisturized the banded piggies took the bands down and we were ready for a race. Marz finished first in her age group.

Banding

For those of you curious as to what banding is here you go. Its pretty simple. this style was done with black rubberbands soaked in olive oil although i dont recommend using black rubberbands for banding with the risk of breakage that banding causes. We normally use between 7-10 bands for each ponytail. this will vary depending on how much hair your child has.

Our Washing Rountine

Since this is a hair care blog i figured i would add our washing routine for those that are curious out there.

1. Remove old hair style if they hair is in a style that needs to be taken down. If there black rubberbands involved i add a generous amount of olive oil the the rubberband and hair around the rubberband then cute the rubberband out making sure i dont pull on her hair and cause any breakage.

2. We move to the bathtub, i have a hand held shower head (the best investment yet!!!). I soak her hair down with water then apply a small amount (between nickel and quarter size) of dove intense damge shampoo to her scalp. I carefully wash her scalp (not her entire hair) then rinse out.

3. I apply a generous amount of herbal essences hello hydration conditoner to her hair (we go through a big bottle every two weeks between me and marz) and let it set for about fifteen minutes.

4. I begin detangling with my hands, work gentle and dont pull on hair. after i get the bigger tangles out i use a wide tooth comb to get the rest out. Most days detangling takes around 5-10 minutes.

5. I rinse half the conditioner out, not all of it. Marz hair tends to be dry and the extra conditioner doesnt hurt it.

6. I squeeze excess water out of her and pat dry with a cotton t-shirt (towels can be kind of harsh to curly hair)

7. if i dont style i part her hair down the middle and band it.

Half braids, half down

Ok so this will be the first style that i post. braids in the front, they look tigher then they are her hair was still damp in the 2nd pic. Notice that i used rubberbands but i braided out the hair some and didnt put it right to the scalp. I did this to prevent breakage and stress on the scalp. After this i cowashed her hair with herbal essences hello hydration conditioner detangled it with a wide tooth comb and my hands. I do not under any circumstance pull at her tangles, i gently detangle. I squeezed the excess water from her hair and patted dry with a cotton t-shirt. after that i used mixture of hello hydration conditioner mixed with extra virgin olive oil and water then banded her hair and covered with a satin scarf. The next morning i treated with the mixture again, un banded her hair and fluffed the curls around and we were good to go. She has had this style in all week, were taking it out in a couple hours to put in a new style since its time for a wash.

To Blog or Not To Blog

Well i got the random idea to start a blog about childrens hair care. I started doing some research. I found one really sucessful blog http://www.beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/ but that was it. So here i am starting my own little blog. If it will catch on im not sure. I guess ill start with a little about myself, im Loui (pronounced Low-E) im 20 years old. Im a photographer and college student, i also run a boutique that sells bows galore. Im mommy to Mari My'Angel, she will be 3 in July, you will see me refer to her as Marz alot. I've been doing african american and biracial hair since i was about 11 years old, so for almost a decade. Im mixed (jamaican, puerto rican, hugarian, and irish) Marz is mixed with all those plus indian, itailian, and african american. She is the true definition of a mixed baby.