Mixing the Old with the New - Intricate Cornrows into Side Puff

Guest post from Aisha of Braid With Me

We're back!!! I'm sure all of you can understand how easy it is to get busy with everyday life. The above pic shows one of the things that we've been working on. Check it out!!! Anisa is wearing her very own Braid with Me shirt!! The shirt was completely created by my baby! She was so excited to see her picture printed on a shirt!! So what do you think??

Now let's talk about the style! Anisa has been wearing simple styles such as ponytails since her The Heart of Breast Cancer style. I've also been working on her new routine which I will touch on in this post.

The night before starting this style, I massaged her scalp with coconut oil and detangled her hair with my fingers. The detangling session took awhile but it was worth it the next day when I washed her hair. I put her hair in 4 twisted ponytails for bedtime and covered them with her satin bonnet. The next day, I cleansed her hair using Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra-Smoothing Conditioner. Once all of the conditioner was rinsed from her hair, I followed up by using Aubrey Organics 100% Pure Aloe Vera Gel on her soaking wet hair. I got these tips from the wonderful Fran of HeyFranHey.com. If you've never visited her blog, you definitely need to check it out! She offers lots of tips about healthy living from hair to nutrition. I will also incorporate her conditioner routine into our new routine. While using this method, we will use a different conditioner each week for 4 weeks to cleanse her hair. We will rotate among the following conditioners every week for 4 weeks:

(1) Aubrey Organics White Camellia Ultra-Smoothing Conditioner
(2) Shea Moisture Organic Yucca and Baobab Volumizing Conditioner
(3) Shea Moisture Organic Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner
(4) Curl Junkie Beauticurls Argan and Olive Daily Hair Condtioner

Obviously I am on week 1 of this routine. Please check back for updates about the other conditioners.

I place her hair in 4 twisted ponytails once again after it was washed to prevent tangles. Once I was ready to band her hair, I used a little bit of grapeseed oil and Oyin Handmade Hair Dew. Her hair was banded over night and styled the next day.

The next day, her hair was not completely dry when I removed the bands, and as a result, it was not completely stretched. This was not a problem, but if it is for you, you can always reband the hair and style it later.

Products used while braiding:
Oyin Handmade Sugar Berry Pomade
Oyin Handmade Shine and Define
100% Pure Grapeseed Oil
I began braiding the nape area first and worked my way to the front. This is how I began braiding:

I continued braiding in this manner until I was completely done. I secured the braids with three ouchless bands and formed her puff. If this style looks familiar, it's because it is very similar to the style showcased in our Then and Now: Braids to the Side with a Puff post.

I sprayed her puff with water that night and applied a little bit of the Oyin Handmade Hair Dew and created 5 twists. I rolled the twists with foam rollers in order to give her puff a new look for the following day.

What do you think? Anisa loves this look and I do as well! Before we go, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the little member of our family, our little King! Check him out with his new braids!!! Cutie Pie!!!

As always, if you like what you see here, please join the site and "Like" our Facebook page!!!
**Edited to add the foam rollers I used are flexi-rods.