Boa Constrictor

*I had a really great comment yesterday inquiring about the clear elastics that we use.  The reader pointed out that many clear elastics are just as harmful as the regular elastics and will tear out the hair.  This is true and you need to be cautious when using any elastic to secure the hair.  My preference is the "Goody" brand because they are really strong and I have very little problem with the hair being pulled.  I also buy the cheaper clear elastics that come in bulk from Sally's Beauty Supply but I never reuse them.  I clip each one out of the hair using a seam ripper from my sewing kit.  This way I'm not pulling out or breaking the hair and getting everything snarled up.  Hopefully these tips will help some of you out there.*

This hairstyle is just a different take on many elements that we've used before.  We call it the "Boa Constrictor" because the smaller braids are wrapping themselves around the large braid.

 

Begin with the hair wet and section out the top of the hair by creating a part from ear to ear. 

Now divide that top section into two pieces and create a 3-Strand Braid out of each.  Secure the bottom of each braid with an elastic. 

 Pull the rest of the hair back into a tight ponytail.  Wrap your smaller braids around the ponytail (have them go over the elastic holding the ponytail to conceal it) just to see where your ends are going to land and then unwrap the braids. 

 Braid your ponytail down to the point that your ends hit and then wrap the smaller braids around the large braid once more. 

 Try to have your ends in the back of the braid and you will actually add them right in with the hair of the large braid.  Finish braiding the ponytail and secure it at the bottom with an elastic. 

1-Year Anniversary & Flashback Friday: The Long Bang

It's official we have been posting hairstyles on this blog for one year now!  There are 250 posts on our site which should give you a large variety to choose from.  It's been so much fun to have this special little something to do with my princess but it's also been fun to hear from all of you readers out there.  I get several emails but I rarely get comments and I do LOVE COMMENTS.  :) 

 For today we have a flashback from when my princess was 5 years old.  We had been growing out her bangs for a little while and decided to put their length to use. 

We pulled her hair half up and then grabbed out two small sections of her bangs.  Using a fat curling iron we curled the ends of the sections.  Pretty simple but she looked very grown up that day.  :) 

Link-o Cinco De Mayo Hair

This post is a little bit late but I wanted to share the hairstyle we used for Cinco De Mayo.  My princess had a fiesta at her school that day and she wanted to be festive.  I could not for the like of me think of a hairstyle that would go along with the holiday so this was our best attempt.

 I started by created a short off-centered part at the top of the head.  Then I pulled out two thin sections of hair from the part (on the larger half) to use for my links.

 

Have your princess hold those while you pull the rest of the hair into a low side ponytail. 

 I then made 5 links which is my princess named the "cinco link-o chain".   Make your links by wrapping the two small section of hair around each other just like you would in the first step of tying your shoes. 

 Continue doing this until you have 5 links and then add them into your ponytail with another elastic. 

 Take your ponytail and create a Messy Bun and then top it off with a festive flower. 

This was our first time ever doing anything fun for Cinco De Mayo but we hope that yours was great as well!

Mother's Day Do

I was so lucky to have such a wonderful Mother's Day.  My husband and kids totally spoiled me and I had a free morning to think up a fun hairstyle for the special day. 

 My princess suggested that we have the word "MOM" in her hair so we went to work making it happen.

Begin by making 3 parallel sections in the hair by creating two vertical parts.  Your middle section should be a bit thinner than the two outside sections.  Clip each of the outside sections out of the way and pull the middle section into a ponytail.  Now create a bun with that middle section.  We have used a bun mold here and twisted the excess hair around the base but if you don't have a mold you can create any type of bun. 

Move over to one of your side sections and create a horizontal part from the ear up to vertical part.  This will give you a section of hair that you will divide into two equal pieces.  Secure each piece with an elastic.  Those two elastics are the top of your "M".  Now divide the rest of the hair on that side into 3 parallel sections.   

Separate the hair from the two elastics into two equal pieces each and twist those pieces.  Have the left twist from the left elastic be included with the bottom-left section of hair that you created.  Secure it all together with an elastic.  Now combine the remaining twist from the left elastic and the inside twist from the right elastic in with the bottom-middle section of hair.  Secure that with an elastic as well.  Secure your final twist with the bottom-right section of hair and you have finish your "M". 

Move over to the opposite side of the head and repeat the same steps for your final "M". 

You now have 6 small ponytails - 3 on each side.  Weave those ponytails through each other so that the 6 ponytails end up on the opposite side of the head than where they started. 

Braid the 3 strands on each side into it's own braid and secure the braids with elastics at the bottom.  You can tie some ribbons at the bottom of your braids and add a flower to your bun if you like.

  Now you have "MOM" in the hair and it's perfect for celebrating Mother's Day!

I hope that all of you wonderful moms out there had a great day!

Flashback Friday: Getting Glamorous

Here we go again with the overnight curlers...  but they're so fun! 

My princess had some seriously thick hair as a little girl so we ended up using a couple different kinds of curlers. 

She thought we should just keep this as the hairstyle because it looked so glamorous!  :) 

She had beautiful ringlet curls the next day for her dance performance. 

 In fact, she had beautiful curls for the next few days!  (Gotta love the curling power of those sponge curlers!)

Princess Dreads

My princess had dance picture scheduled right after school.  It was a P.E. day for her at school and I knew I would only have enough time to through her costume on and get to the studio.  This left me the problem of figuring out how to do her hair and still have it look good by the end of school.  I decided to do some dread lock braids in her hair because I could easily have her unplate them in the car as we drove to the studio and then I could run a quick brush through it and be done!  Problem solved! 

 I started off creating some small pulled ponies at the top to help keep the hair out of her eyes. 

 There were two sections of these ponies and I made sure that they were pulled in separate directions for a nice look.

  From that point I started sectioning out pieces of hair with the rat-tailed comb and creating 3-Strand Braids.  I braided each section as low as I could and then secured it at the bottom with an elastic. 

 I did this all the way around the head and ended up with 28 individual braids.  (Now this did take some time so make sure you plan accordingly.) 

The kids at school thought her hair was so neat and kept wanting to play with it.  I changed her into her costume at school and then hopped in the car to head out.  My princess had half of the braids unplated by the time we got there and I quickly helped unplate the rest.

 We ran a quick brush through it - this helped loosen up the waves - and she even had 5 minutes to spare!  :) 

Her pictures turned out great and she was even able to wear it like that the following day.

Easter Wraps

For Easter this year we wanted to try something that we hadn't seen done before.  I absolutely love the creative minds of all those wonderful hair bloggers out there and sometimes I get lost in their genius.  :)

This hairstyle is quite simple.  Begin by creating a zig-zag part at the front of the hair and then sectioning out some hair, down to the ear, on both side of that part. 

 Pull each side into an elastic and create a Pull-Through out of each small piggie.  Now create a 3-Strand Braid with each of the two sections and secure both braids together down at the neckline with an elastic. 

 Lift the braids up and comb the remainder of the hair nice and flat. 

Now you're going to start with one side and gather a section of hair right below the ear and twist it tightly.  Now take that twist and wrap it around the braid.  When you get down to the elastic just pull the twist down behind and secure it into the braids with another elastic. 

 Continue gathering small pieces of hair from the side of the head and twisting them - then wrapping those twists around the braid and securing them at the bottom with new elastics. 

Once you have gathered up one side of the head and wrapped all the hair, move over and repeat the steps on the other side of the head. 

You will end up with several small elastics around your group of hair at the neckline but you can add a hair clip to conceal them.  We've also added some flat iron curls to the ponytail to give it some body.

 Also add some hair pins to your Pull-Throughs at the top and your hairstyle is finished.  

Hope you all had a great Easter!