Elongating the Curls

I have had several emails asking me how they can let their daughters wear their hair out and natural, without it shrinking up to their ears. You can stretch the hair out by doing twists, braids, or banding. For a more natural look you should do it on wet hair.

I am going to give you a run down on how we got this look on A.

Sunday night we:

• Rinsed her hair with warm water
• Applied about a quarter size amount of Giovanni Smooth as Silk shampoo. Washed scalp & rinsed.
• Applied a very generous amount of Giovanni Smooth as Silk conditioner. Left in for 30 minutes with a plastic cap. After the 30 minutes I detangled her hair with a wide tooth comb and rinsed.
• Applied Giovanni Direct Leave-in
• Pulled her (wet) hair back in a low ponytail and banded the ponytail. I used about 10 Goody Ouchless cloth covered ponytail holders going down her ponytail until I got to the end. A went to bed and...
• In the morning I took out all of the ponytail holders. Her hair was slightly damp, which is okay because the weather is nice here, I added a little Mixed Chicks Leave-in and a cute headband and she was good to go!

This was wash day, which is why it included so many steps. You can just rinse your childs hair, apply a leave in, then band, braid, or twist the hair. I have gotten a similar look on A from doing 5-6 big single braids, I do them fairly loose because I didn't want a really defined braid out. I wanted more of a natural look. When I do this she definitely doesn't have as many tangles as she would if I let her wear it out and natural without stretching it a little. It is a bit more frizzy and her curls are not as defined, but that's okay.

To maintain this look:

• Moisturize the hair at night. Rewetting is optional. (only if you are going to band, braid, or twist it again) You do not have to comb/brush the hair.
• Band, braid, or twist it back up. If you do not want to do that then put the hair into a very high, loose ponytail on the top of her head.
• Have her sleep with a satin bonnet or pillowcase is possible.
• Take it down in the morning, add a leave-in or moisturizer....good to go!

If you plan on letting your child wear their hair out for several days, I highly suggest once you wash their hair you leave the conditioner (I like to add virgin coconut oil along with the conditioner) in for 15-30 minutes. Longer if possible. I prefer leaving it in overnight (when she wears her hair out for a long period of time) for a very easy detangling session in the morning. Remember, remove any knots or tangles with your fingers You cannot "remove" knots/tangles with a comb. You can rip through them with a comb, and as A said "nuh uh, we don't happen to dat." lol. (watch the video if you don't know what I'm talking about)