Smorgasbord

So this hairstyle is a little bit of everything, hence the name.  Start by sectioning out the top area of hair by creating a part from ear to ear.  Divide that area into two sections by parting it a little off-centered.  Now you will have two sections of hair, a large one and a small one.

  Go ahead and begin with the large one and divide it into two parallel pieces.  Dow divide each of those smaller sections into two pieces and ties them into a half-knot.  Have your princess hold the extra hair while you move over to the smaller side and repeat the same steps.  You should now have four half-knots.  Have your daughter hold the hair from those half-knot while you move on.

 

 Divide the remaining hair down the middle using any part that you like.  We have used the zig-zag part here. Pull each side up into a piggie. 

 Now go ahead and take the hair from your princess and add the strands closest to the right ear directly into the right piggie and secure it with another elastic.  Also take the strands closest to the left ear and add them directly into the left piggie.  Now take those middle strand from the 4 half-knots and criss-cross them over each other in any fashion you like.  Have the strand from the right knots be eventually added over into the left piggie and the strands from the left knots be added over into the right piggie.  (Hopefully that makes sense.) 

 I went ahead and finished off the style by creating a Quad Braid out of each piggie and folding it up under itself to make a Puppy Dog Ear. 

 I added a flower clip directly over the elastics and ends of the braids to finish it off. 

Flashback Friday: Dorothy Hair

For Halloween 2008 my princess decided she wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  This was perfect as far as her hair was concerned because it was the right color and the right length!

 

 Dorothy hair is pretty simple and it most often parted with a straight division right down the middle but we decided to make it a bit more modern and offset the bangs a bit. 

We created two even French Braids going all the way down the head and then we continued plating about 6 more times after all of the hair had been added in.

  We placed the elastic directly under the final plates of the braids and then curled the remaining hair into one large ringlet by using hot curlers.  She wore this style 4 days in a row - a dance performance, school, trunk-or-treat and then Halloween night so I got really good at it.  :)

All Chained Up

So here's one I came up with while staring at my daughter's "Link-O Cinco de Mayo" hairstyle.  I figured, why not make a bunch of links and jut hook them all together? 

 I started by creating a small (off-centered) half part on top of the head.  I then sectioned out 1/2 inch of hair running parallel on both sides of the part. 

I also grabbed a small bit of hair from right behind where the part ends and added that in with the smaller group of hair. I had my princess hold the two small sections while I pulled the rest of the hair back into a tight but low ponytail.  I pulled out a bunch of small clear elastics to have ready before I started my links. 

Start with the larger section of hair which should be from the larger side of the part.   Wet it down really well and then separate a small piece from near the bang line.  Split that piece in half and start creating your links.  (Fold  one over the other and pull through just like when you start tying your shoes.)  Pull the first one tight and then keep following links loose so they create a circle.  Make links all the way down to the ponytail and then add that hair into the ponytail by wrapping another elastic around it.

Move back up to the part and section out another small piece just behind your first.  Repeat the linking process but make sure to feed one of your pieces through the previous links each time you create a new one.  This will join the two lines of links.  Add it into the ponytail at the bottom with another elastic. 

 Continue doing this around the head.  I ended up with 4 linked chains on the large side, one chain right behind the part and 3 linked chains on the small side. 

Once they were all added into the ponytail I grabbed a small section of hair from the ponytail, wrapped it around all of those elastics to conceal them, and then pulled it back through the ponytail using a Topsy Tail.  I finished it off by braiding the ponytail and adding a flower clip at the bottom.  (You will also want to spray the finished product with hairspray so that it holds tightly throughout the day.) 

Braided Bang

My princess has been dying to try this style out and I'm proud of her because she actually did the braid in front all by herself! 

 Our first step was to section out the bangs in the front of the head.  We clipped all the rest of the hair back and combed that section forward. 

 She started her braid and slowly added hair into one side of it as she plated.  She made sure to pull the braid down toward her face to create the "bangs" look. 

She added all of the hair in from that section and just finished plating the rest of it into a Regular 3-Strand Braid. 

From that point I took over and pulled the rest of the hair - including her braid - back into a tight ponytail.  I combed out any remaining plates from her braid so that all of the hair was straight. 

 I then grabbed a small section that I wrapped around the elastic and then pulled through the ponytail using a Topsy Tail.  

We finished it off by braiding the entire ponytail and adding a hair clip at the bottom.  My princess said that she didn't recognize herself in the mirror because she's not used to having bangs.  :)

Flashback Friday: Crazy Hair Day

My princess was 5 years old in this picture and it was her school's "Crazy Hair Day".  I asked her what she wanted to do for her big day and she came up with this hairstyle all by herself. 

We divided the hair directly down the middle and pulled each side up into a piggie.  I dried both sides and pulled out my irons - a flat iron and a ringlet curling iron.  I straightened one side of her head and then made lots of tiny ringlets on the other. 

 It was funny to see how much longer one side ended up being than the other! 

She definitely looked crazy for her big day!

Pop Diva - Straightening Tips

My princess recently saw a picture of Taylor Swift (who she LOVES) dressed almost exactly like this so she wanted to copy the look.  

I straightened her hair using a product called "Straight and Sexy" which we applied to the hair while it was still wet.  (Make sure you always protect the hair with some type of product before using hot irons.) 

 I began by completely drying the hair using a round brush and making sure to not get the hair dryer any closer than 8 inches away from her hair.   I then straightened it from root to end using a 1 inch ceramic flat iron. 

 I curled the bottom of the hair under using the same flat iron and just flipping it under at the end.  This helped to create a loose curl instead of something tight. 

Our last step was to throw on the sequin hat but this style is also beautiful with a headband.   

French Waterfall

A while ago I posted these instructions for the Topsy Tail Waterfall.  It had a very beautiful look but it was very loose so this is a bit of an updated version to that but this one does require the knowledge of the French Braid which the other does not. 

 I will give specific instruction for the hairstyle show here but you can use the French Waterfall as a headband, two braids or in any other form you like. 

Create an off-centered part that goes all the way back to the crown of the head.  Now create a parallel part 1/2 inch inside of the first and clip aside that new thin strip of hair. 

Create one more part parallel to the first two but make sire it's about 2-3 inches across the head.  Now you will create a French Braid out of the new section of hair (making sure to only gather hair from inside this parted section) and only add in hair until the crown of the hair.  Just finish plating a Regular 3-Strand Braid after that point.  Secure it at the end with a temporary elastic. 

 Now grab your Topsy Tail and that thins strip of air that you set aside.  Poke your Topsy Tail through the first plate of the French Braid and feed a bit of hair from your thin strip directly through it.

 Do this again with the second plate and so on until your entire thin strip has been fed through the plates of the French Braid. 

 Now brush all of the hair down to the nape of the neck and secure it with an elastic - making sure to include the braid.  Take the temporary elastic out of the braid and brush it into the ponytail.  Now braid the ponytail and secure it at the end with one final elastic.  Add some hair clips to finish it off.