Tips for Curly Hair

This is just a short list - and probably very obvious if you've had any expereince with curly hair before... but I hadn't!! When I started I needed to know EVERYTHING. I have very very straight hair and had NO idea what to do with Q's curls! So, for all of you that are in my boat - here's a place to start!

1. Comb hair when wet!
2. Use a wide-tooth comb (not a brush)
3. Avoid any and all shampoos, conditioners, and products with any ingredients that end in -cone. SLS is bad too. (Sodium Laurel Sulfate)    (Visit Naturally Curly.com for more info on products!)
4. Don't be afraid to space out the washings - water does a great job even without harsh soaps! Especially on young heads. Washing too often and using soap too much can actually cause hair problems and extra oil production.
5. Spritz hair with water to "revive" your curls later in the day, if needed. This can also work for a "second day hairdo" if you have added product the first day and not washed it out yet - you can just spritz and go the second day!


I hope everyone had a Blessed and Fun EASTER!!!!!

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)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all had a great day.

I wanted to share a few Easter pictures of the kids with you all. :)

Here's the picture with the Easter bunny. Notice how A's hair totally covers one of his eyes. lol

A's hair. Yes, I went with the updo.

Sibling love?

....or not!

I have several more pictures but I am trying not to do a picture *overload* as I normally do. :P

How was your Easter?

 

Sesame Street at Kids Foot Locker

Last week I went to Kids Foot Locker to get Lil man some all white Nike Air Force Ones to wear on his first birthday. Well, while I was there I saw the Sesame Street Dracula shoes and fitted cap. Now, I know these have been out for some time now, but I could NOT resist the price. All of the New Balance Sesame Street shoes were $10 (in infant sizes, which go to 10, I believe) and the fitted caps to match were $3! So this is just a heads up for mommies with boys...or girls for that matter! I love a good deal.

Who says boys can't wear purple? :P

Hippie Pigtails

Today Baby Mermaid requested "hippie pigtails" I think because she designed some new bows to go with her Easter outfit and her aunt gave her a headband! so this is what I came up with that used both new hair accessories. WARNING this post is over accessorized but it turned out very cute! we may start using three hair accessories on a regular basis LOL

I started a french braid here in the center of her part going toward her ear,

I already have the other side done.

Braiding

this is where I finished off her braid,

I left the rest of her hair long, Oh by the way I bought some Tresemme conditioner LOVE it! It leaves her hair so smooth!

Here she is with her cute bows that she designed you can see them here at Chic-Clips Chic-Clips and her rocking hippie headband!

and here she is flashing us a peace sign I guess this was a good version of Hippie Pigtails!

thanks for looking

Heather

Glinda the Good Witch!

To cool for hair was Glinda in a recent production of Wizard of Oz, I had to do her hair for the 6 performances and I thought I would give you some pics, She had a HUGE crown and she had to fly so her hair had to be up so it didn't get caught in the mechanism to fly her but not up so high that her crown couldn't fit, when I first thought of Glinda I thought of long curly hair which would have been pretty, but she didn't want it yanked out when they flew her so this is what we came up with!

We started out by putting her hair in three low pigtails

she sat here for a long time holding the camera, by the time we were done with the show I could put it up in about 10 minutes if I didn't have any costume problems that I had to deal with!

then I put each pony in a pin-curl bun, I used TONZ of hairspray! it made the bun look nice and neat and keep it in under crazy circumstances, (she also had to wear a tree costume with a head sock and a jitterbug costume with a head sock so the bun had to stay!

here is a different view of her first bun

the second one done! now it looks like a long bun all the way around the back of her head, I thought I got a close up of the back of her head but we must of had a costume issue come up because I cant find it with the 100+ pics she took while sitting here!

Here she is from the front all Glinda'd out!

and from the back, you can see the harness that she has to fly with and her hair pretty well from this shot!

First relaxer at 9 months old

I got permission from sistersnaturally to post this video.

This is a video showing you how damaging a relaxer, especially at such a young age can be. This adorable little girl (towards the end of the video) got her first relaxer at 9 months old from someone other than her mother. She has a little hair in the back, a bald spot in the middle of her head, and straight hair on the top.

Please rate this video. By doing so you will get the word out.

Personally, watching this mad me very sad. I felt sick to my stomach when I saw her bald spot and kept holding my face. I feel so bad for that little girl and her self esteem. Kids can be really cruel.

Thoughts?