Triple V

This is a simple hairstyle that takes less than 10 minutes to complete and we always need to have a stash of those hairstyles handy!

We call it the triple V because of the three braids forming the V's on the back of the head.

Begin by creating a small part at the front of the head.  Ours is off-centered a bit but you can place it wherever you like.  Comb the remaining hair down straight.

Start on the right side of the head and section out some hair from the part down to the top of the right ear.  Smooth it out with a comb and then create a Regular 3-Strand Braid that will be long enough to reach to the back of the head.  Have your princess hold that braid while you move over to the left side and repeat the same steps.  Pull those two braids to the back of the head and combine them with an elastic.

Now you will grab a small section of hair directly behind/underneath that previous section and create a braid out of that as well.  Have your princess hold that while you move to the opposite side and repeat the steps.

Join those two braids at the back of the head - along with the ponytail from the previous braids - and secure it all with a new elastic.  Repeat these same steps with one more section of hair from each side of the head to create your 3rd "V".  You can finish off the style by curling the hair as well.

BOWtiful

I've done a few of these "Ga Ga" bows before  but I wanted to show you one other way to do this. I found that this way seems to hold throughout the day better.

Start with wet hair and pull it all back into a ponytail - or piggies or whatever style you are looking to do.  Now section out about 1/3 of that ponytail from the top to make your bow out of.  Divide that section into two equal parts. 

Start with one of those parts and create one loop of your bow, whatever size you like.  Now take a small clear elastic and secure it over that loop a couple of times to hold the loop in place.  Make sure that your small clear elastic is resting as close to the original ponytail elastic as possible.  Do the same thing with your other part of hair to create the other loop of your bow.  You should now have two loops and two clear elastics resting by your main elastic. 

 Take the hair from your loops that was left over and criss-cross wrap that around the three elastics to hide them.  You will first cross them behind and then criss-cross them over the front. 

 Finish by taking the ends behind the ponytail and then including them with the rest of the hanging hair as you divide it into three equal sections to braid.  By braiding these ends in with the rest of the ponytail it will secure them in without having to use any bobby pins. 

Hopefully this way will help a few of you that struggle with theses hair bows. 

Friday's Film: Swedish Piggies

We tried to get this video up as soon as possible because we had a lot of response on the hairstyle and many requests for a video.  I wish that the hair on the video looked a little more crisp and clean but you should still be able to get the general idea.

If you want to see pictures of the finished product as it should look, you can refer to the original post here. 

See, now wasn't that easy?!  :)

Barrel Bun With Braids

This is a new twist on an old favorite.  Those of you that have followed us for a while know how much I love Barrel Rolls.  :)  This is simply a Barrel Roll Bun that we've added some braids to.

Begin with wet hair and pull it all back into a tight ponytail.  You can have a small part in the front if you like but it's not necessary.  You can also have your ponytail high or low depending on where you want your bun sitting in the end.

Pull out some small sections of your ponytail - as many as you want - and create some Regular 3-Strand Braids.  Secure each one at the bottom with a small clear elastic.

Set the braids off to the side and create your Barrel Roll Bun using the remaining hair.  You can find an instructional video on how to create a Barrel Roll Bun here.

Once you've finished your bun you can take your individual braids and wrap them through and around your bun in any fashion that you like. 

Use bobby pins to secure your ends in behind the bun.  Spray it with some hair spray and then add a flower in the center to finish it off. 

Elegant Updo

Here's a hairstyle for you that looks really complex but is actually quite simple.  It may take a couple trial runs to get the feel of braiding sideways but practice makes perfect.

Begin with wet hair and create a small off-centered part at the front of the head.  Comb the rest of the hair straight down. 

Begin on the left side and grab a section of hair right by the ear.  Divide it into 3 equal sections and begin braiding sideways toward the right ear.  You will be adding a section of hair into the far right section of your braid (the top section) every time you plate the braid.  Do not add hair into the bottom section - just the top so that it is a Half-French Braid.  Also be sure to keep your braid somewhat low on the back of the head.  

When you get over to the right ear you will slowly twist your braid  down toward the neck and then have it start heading back toward the left ear. 

This is where you will begin to add in hair to both sides of your braid as you plate it for a full French Braid.  Make sure that you gather up all the remaining hair as you work back toward the left ear.  Tip:  Add the top sections of hair in tightly so that the braid is snug up against that first braid going across the head.  Once you have gathered all of the hair up you will simply finish braiding the hair with a Regular 3-Strand Braid and secure it at the end with an elastic. 

Take that 3-Strand Braid and bend it underneath the French Braid you just created and bobby pin it onto the head.  Be sure to tuck and loose ends up into the braids so they are hidden.  Give it a good spray with some hairspray for hold and then add some cute hairpins to dress it up!
This is an easier version of our Waterfall Updo that we did a while back and take much less time to accomplish.  The steps are not exactly the same but the outcome looks very similar.

Friday's Film: Back & Forth Half-Up

We had a lot of requests for this video and I apologize for it taking so long but we had to squeeze in our Holiday Hairstyles during December.

This is a tutorial for the Back & Forth Half-Up hairstyle that we did a while back.  

This video seems a bit dark and I apologize for that.  When my princess has wet hair it's even darker and harder to see.  :(  Hopefully you still get the general idea.

You can find instructions for the original post here.  This style is nice because it's only about 5 minutes in the making!

Swedish Piggies

Here is a hairstyle that we came up with one morning and it is one of my new favorites.  You will want to make sure that you start with wet hair and you can use a hair gel to help it hold if your princess has finer hair.  This style works best if the bang are grown out but you can also modify it if your princess has bangs that hang on her forehead.

Create a short, off-centered part at the front of the head and comb the bang area down toward each ear.  Comb the rest of the hair straight back. 

Begin with the left side of your part and comb the front bang area down by the ear and then around the back of the head and over behind the right ear. 

Gather a portion of the bangs from the right side of your part and combine that with your left section by securing it with an elastic just behind the right ear.  You should now have one small pony on the right side of the head and the rest of the hair still remaining down. 

 Grab a small section of hair from the right side now - from under the previous section and elastic - and smooth it across the head and over to the left side.  Grab a small section of hair from that left side to add to your new right piece and secure them together with an elastic.  You will now grab another section of hair from the left side and this time you will comb it over to the right and secure it into that ponytail that is already there with another elastic. 

 Keep doing this back and forth across the head so that you begin to have a swept look.   Once all of the hair has been gathered you are finished and should have only two piggies remaining.  You can leave the piggies loose like we've done here or finish them off with braids or curls.