Cornrows with 3 strand twists

   I didn't get a chance to take pictures of how Baby KD's hair came out after banding last night. It for sure stretched it on the bottom half mostly. Her hair is so thick that next time I will do more sections on top. Her hair did feel really soft, so I think I am set for the conditioner. We will be staying with Hello Hydration by Herbal Essence. I caught wind of a tip to not fully rinse it out, so I will be trying that next week. I just placed her hair in two twists today for school. (still need accessories).
   Tonight when I combed her hair down there was still a level of dryness that I am destined to tackle. I need to come up with a routine that works and stick to it.  Still waiting for the money to go product shopping.  Hopefully a constant routine and moisturizing as well as de-tangling at all levels will be what her hair needs. 
  I searched under my sink threw all the old products I have purchased over the past. I came across two that were at the level I want to start using. Tonight I used Tiny Twirls daily moisturizing styler.
   

I only used this product once before. I attempted to let her wear her hair out. I remember not liking it because it did not make her hair hang down with curls like I imagined and it left her hair sort of crunchy. But, now with my new knowledge of washing, de-tangling and moisturizing I decided to give it another try. I first used coconut oil on the parted section and then used this product on each piece where the twist would be along with on her corn rolls. I then soaked the rubber bands in coconut oil and sectioned off squares starting at the back of her head. I first attempted sister twists for this style which was inspired by Beads, Braids, Beyond.  I could not get the sister twists, so I resorted to a three strand twist that I ended up loving much more than the two strand I normally do. I then did a few braids on the side and top. I do need to improve on my corn rolls but, it served its purpose just fine tonight. I added a few beads on the ends to match her shirt for tomorrow and she was done. Total style took about one hour.

 

I do worry about what kind of spray to use daily, but I do hope to be product shopping with in the next few days.  I am hoping this style lasts at least 5 days and then plan on keeping the braids and letting her so a twist out all over for two days. So total days 7. I will be doing an update on day three to how things are holding up. 

Over all I love this style. Next week I plan on doing box braids and trying out Curly Q's custard, which is the other product I had under the sink. She asked me to take this picture:

New Hair Wash Routine for Baby KD

   Tonight was the most pleasant hair washing experience I have had with my baby in the last three years. She screams like no other when getting her hair washed!! I was convinced something happened at birth when the nurse washed her up until tonight. I changed locations from the tub to the sink. It was a much better position for the both of us. I rolled a towel up and placed it under her neck. I used Panteen Smooth to wash twice with. (This was after I finger detangled her hair while dry before the wash). Then I used Herbal Essence Hello Hydration conditioner. I ran my fingers threw it a few times to detangle again and rinsed. I squeezed the water out of her hair instead of rough towel drying it. She was tear free!!

   I started with a part that went ear to ear, added some coconut oil and finger detangled before running a wide tooth comb threw it.  I then banded her hair all the way down and did the same thing on the top in two sections. In the end she had three banded sections.

  Tomorrow for school will be a quick style. Can not wait to get products because at this time I do not have a moisturizer or styler to use in her hair for the morning quick style. I will have to resort to the Mayonnaise and Honey product I have been using. It is nice smelling but I still have issues with dryness using it.  After school I plan on doing my first style on her. I am currently still doing a little last minute research but I will be posting pics tomorrow because she has picture day on Thursday. Cant wait!!


Off subject...I will be doing an organizing project with her hair stuff. It is a mess I notice now that I am focused on hair care. I was almost embarrassed to post, but hey! we all start somewhere right?

Boring quick style

This morning we were pressed for time and I just threw her hair in two puff balls. I then realized how boring this is now that I have been exposed to all the beautiful childrens styles out there. Most important I need to play around with accesories. Maybe it would of been different for us if I had two big bows for the front of the puffs or a cute headband. Again, I need a better moisturizing product to style with because it was not as moist as I know it should be. I did use goody ouchless bands to secure the puffs!!

 Ya, she was a little mad about having to take a picture for the new blog...lol. Its all for your best interest baby. We live and we learn.

Braid out Results

I spent the morning at the doctor with my oldest daughter. She has been sick with a cold and was having a hard time breathing. This was right after I dropped my baby off at pre-school. So, all morning I rocked a wool hat to cover my braids I had put in last night. Finally this afternoon I took them down. I am pretty happy with the results. I do like the Eco Styler gel but feel I need to put on a layer after the conditioner to seal the moisture in my hair. I found another website http://www.curlynikki.com. I learned about sealing the hair right after conditioning it with an oil. I already have coconut oil, so I will start with that. I also need a product to spray on to moisturize everyday. Product shopping and review will be in the near future. My ends came out kinda straight....hmmm.  Anyway this is much better than the straight dry fro I have been sporting and will try an upkeep on this the next few days by sleeping with a silk bonnet and using one of the many oil sheen products from my flat iron days. Just for now until product shopping day.

Baby KD

   My second daughter was born with a grade of hair that was brand new to me. According to her grandma she has hair like her daddy (who now keeps his cut low). It is sooo thick, dry and I have the hardest time making it retain its "s" shape curl that I know it has. I know it has all to do with my lack of knowledge on how to take care of it and what products really work. Now, I have tried at least 50 products threw these past years but yet to find one that impresses me.I can admit I have not started trying the brands for little girls curls...They just always seemed to be a bit pricier to me and my dollars need to stretch these days. I know you get what you pay for so I am opening myself to spending a little more on her hair products.

   Last night I was trying to research natural hair care for kids on You Tube and came across www.beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com. I fell in love with of course the beautiful little girl, but also the video tutorials and her blog. I also became a Facebook fan and friend. I cant rave enough of the knowledge I picked up. So, today being a new day as soon as my baby came home from pre-school I took out the little scrunchies that I read cause breakage.  We will not be using them on her hair anymore. I guess i have been naive because I do notice the hair that comes out along with the scrunchies and how hard they are to get out even after being in only one day. 

I really liked the styles on Beads website that included sister twists. I just played around with her hair and the parts that were already in there.  I want to learn how to braid and there are links on how to corn roll on there too. Again, did I mention I looove her blog??  I used to get baby KD's hair braided, but again dollars fell short so that did to, But hey I am determined to teach myself. I also desire protective styles for her hair because she is thin around the edges and I'm sure that's due to ponytails and bands being too tight.

So,this is what I am working with. I plan to wash, condition and band her hair tomorrow to get ready for a style I am going to try for picture day Thursday at school. This is her after playing in the bath and getting her twists wet.

Introducing Teen k

    We have learned to laugh at the mistakes we make instead of cry about them. My oldest daughter is adventurous and full of confidence. She "dares to be different". She had really long pretty hair all the way up to about the 7th grade. At that time she started insisting on combing her own hair. By high school Teen K ventured into the desire to color. Since then she has had blond, red, dark brown, and every other color you can imagine then has went back and did it all over again. Let me also mention we permed it..(shame, I am hanging my head down at this point).
    Now, don't get me wrong, the styles were cute when they were done and she has an amazing ability to style her hair really nice and doesn't mind taking a huge amount of time doing so. I assume like most 16yr olds. Anyway, here we are now. She started off having one side of her head shaved, then advanced to having both sides shaved off, colored a pinkish red, decided she didn't like it and I (shame again) colored it back dark brown for her. Well, now it is so fried and brittle as you can imagine. She is bold enough to want to do the "big chop" for 2012 and plans on growing a whole new head of hair. So, until then I may post a tried product or two but, otherwise I will research on how to maintain as it grows back with of course no color and no heat.

This is her natural after being washed and conditioned. If there are any suggestions to what we can do to save it without doing the chop I greatly welcome them!