Sorry I have been MIA

I wanted to apologize for being MIA lately. My little brother has been in the hospital so it has been rough. I know I posted this several days ago on my Facebook page, but just in case you missed it I wanted to let you know. There should be new posts next week. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They are very much appreciated. <3

Tiny Twirls Two Strand Twist Out Update

Remember our Tiny Twirls by Kinky Curly review? Well, I wanted to do a quick update on how her two strand twist out is holding up from using Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler. Her hair still feels amazingly soft and her twist out is holding up well. Her satin bonnet is missing in action so she has not been sleeping with it on. I just put a her hair in a high ponytail using a Goody Ouchless ponytail holder, I didn't even have to wrap it. I just put it over the ponytail and it stayed put. This way she is not sleeping on her twists, which will cause them to become flat and frizzy.

Here is her hair on Day 2.

 I used Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler to smooth down her pigtails.

And here is her hair on Day 4.

 Once again, I used Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler to smooth down the ponytail.

Today was day 5, she could have gotten a couple more days out of the twist out but I decided to detangle her hair and put it in one big braid. It was extremely easy to detangle her hair, I'm sure the Tiny Twirls Styler had something to do with it. I used a little water and virgin coconut oil and in about 10 minutes her hair was completely detangled. :)

Littleman's Lounge: Jay'son

Tell us a little about yourself and your son:

My Name is Tasha, 22 and I am also Bi-Racial (1/2 Black 1/2 Chamorro [Pacific Islander from Guam]) and Jay'son is 2 and he is 3/4 Black 1/4 Chamorro. I have been interested and researching Bi-Racial Hair Care for about 2yrs after I have been trying to restore MY own curls back to a healthy state, my mom tried to maintain my hair, but she was often times clueless and when I started taking over the care of my hair, I caused a lot of damage to it, so I have vowed to learn how to care for my children's B-Racial hair.

What is your son's hair care routine?

I wash Jay'son's hair about every other day when its shorter and when we grow it out, and his curls come in, I wash about once to twice a week. I make sure I condition/Cowash it in between washings. To refresh his curls, I have a conditioner/water mix in a spray bottle that I spray on and comb through, then I add coconut oil. At nights, his dad will put a DuRag on his hair and he sleeps on satin pillow cases to retain the moisture in his hair (cotton pillow cases will deplete the natural oils in the hair).

What kind of products do you use on his hair?

Shampoo: Garnier Fructis Moisturizing for Dry or Damaged Hair Fortifying Shampoos or Dove's Moisture Therapy Shampoo

Conditioner: Herbal Essences' Hello Hydration or Cabellina del caballos (Which I LOVE LOVE LOVE... )

Styling Products: Coconut Oil and/or ORS' Olive Oil Moisturizing Lotion

Can we see some hair pictures?

(mid length while growing back out his curls)



(mid-length)



(after we started growing his curls back out)



How does your son feel about his hair?

Jay'son LOVES his hair, whether its short with a fade, Mid with Waves or long with Curls, He also asks me or his dad to brush/comb his hair, he loves to "help" wash and condition his hair. Lol.

If you had to share one hair care tip, what would it be?

Since we live in Vegas, during the summer months, we keep Jay'son's hair fairly low and one tip to those who cut their Lil' Man's curls, make sure NOT to cut his natural hair line, no matter how cute it is to cut or taper his hairline, if he is 5 or younger, it will mess up his hairline and that's not cute! Also, if you keep his hair low, make sure not to cut his hair too low, that will mess up his curls and they may not grow back how they were growing naturally. If your Lil Man is rockin' his curls, moisture is a PLUS, I can not stress what a big difference a proper moisturizer can do for his curls.

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Jay'son is way too cute!!! That first pictures is priceless! His parents are doing a great job with his hair. His curls look healthy and well moisturized. Keep up the good work!!

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Please email me if you have any suggestions for Littleman's Lounge. Do you think I should add more questions, if so, what would you like to ask? I'm all ears! Also email me if you would like to be a part of Littleman's Lounge. beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com

Q.O.T.W: Should mommy be natural too?

Do you think it's important for a mother to have natural hair in order for her child to fully embrace their own natural hair? Why or why not?

Product Review: Tiny Twirls by Kinky Curly

I would first like to thank Kinky Curly for allowing us to review your products.

"Stop being a slave to your hair. Step away from the blowdryer. Unplug that flat iron.
Go Natural and experience the freedom of wash and go hair.

Natural hair is beautiful hair and with the right products and styling techniques can flourish and grow to great lengths!

Kinky-Curly TM brand hair products are formulated to add moisture, give hold without drying hair out and also offer protection from the elements."

Tiny Twirls Foam Shampoo

The Claim: Kinky-Curly Tiny Twirls Foam Shampoo is an all-natural organic formula for your toddler who has outgrown baby shampoo. Easy to apply foam gently cleanses without stripping. Rinses quickly with no residue and makes bath time fun.

Ingredients: water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, calendula officinalis flower*, anthemis nobilis (chamomile) flower extract*, cucmis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract*, panthenol (vitamin B), cocoamidopropyl betaine and sodium cocoyl sarcosinate (coconut derived), vegetable glycerin*, citric acid*, tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) *certified organic

Price: $10 4.5 oz

Review: We have never used a foam shampoo before, but I loved it! Tiny Twirls Foam Shampoo was very easy to apply. It didn't just "glob" on like some other shampoos do. It washed her scalp well (she previously had some slight build up) and rinsed out very easily.

Tiny Twirls Detangling Conditioner

The Claim: Kinky-Curly Tiny Twirls Detangling Conditioner will unlock the knots and tangles in curly hair. Our exclusive formula will guarantee pain-free comb-outs. Watch tangles melt away and experience pain free comb outs. This fragrance free all-natural conditioner is a definite must have for any savvy mommy who struggles with knots and tangles.

Ingredients: mangifera indica (mango) friut extract*, ulmus fulva (slippery elm) extract*, althaea officinalis (marshmallow) root extract*, cymbopogon schoenanthus (lemongrass)*, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, ctric acid, phenoxyethanol *certified organic

Price: $12 8oz

Review: Unfortunately, Tiny Twirls Detangling Conditioner didn't work very well for us. This conditioner didn't have quite enough slip to detangle A's 4a hair. We worked through it though. I will say the conditioner was easy to rinse out and her hair felt soft afterwards.

Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler

The Claim: Kinky-Curly Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler. When wash and go is not an option for your toddler, TINY TWIRLS™ is the perfect product that will detangle, smooth and moisturize. Great for frizz-free ponytails, shiny braids, drop curls and twists. An excellent product for smoothing down frizzy hair line edges. Formulated with just a touch of hold factor to ensure that hair styles will last through nap-time.

Ingredients: water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, althaea officinalis (marshmallow) root extract, vegetable glycerin*, citric acid, potassium sorbate, natural fragrance *certified organic

Price: $13 8oz

Review: First of all, I have to say Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler smells amazing! After washing A's hair with Tiny Twirls Foam Shampoo and Tiny Twirls Detangling Conditioner I decided to use the Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler to set her hair in twists. On each small/medium section of hair, I applied a little Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler and used the Denman D3 brush to evenly distribute the product. I added two strand twists to each section, which took about 40 minutes to an hour. I didn't part the hair out, I just grabbed each section with my fingers. I know A's hair is thick enough to cover any "unfortunate" parts, plus, we were going for a twist out. Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler has a runny consistency, it was very moisturizing. I expected it to be a little sticky but it was not at all. We love this product! I took her two strand twists out after about 1 1/2 hours and let me tell you, I have done a lot of twist outs on A's hair and this is by far my favorite! She got a lot of compliments on it as well. Her hair was amazingly soft and moisturized, and her twist out was well defined!

A's two strand twists using Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler.







Taking A's twists out





Twist Out results using Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler.







While the Tiny Twirls Detangling Conditioner didn't work very well for A, I loved the Tiny Twirls Foam Shampoo and I especially love the Tiny Twirls Daily Moisturizing Styler. I think these are great products and they are very affordable. A has been wearing her twist out for 3 days now and it is still looking great, and her hair still feels soft and moisturized.

You can order Tiny Twirls by Kinky Curly on their website or over at CurlMart.

Happy Shopping!



Disclosure: The product(s) were sent to me free of charge from the company or PR agency for the purpose of this review. My opinions are my own and are not influenced by any other part.

Princess Tiana Hair Share!

Repost from December 2009

If you saw our Princess Tiana bun tutorial and The Princess and the Frog post, then you know I wanted this weeks hair share to be Princess Tiana themed.

I would like to thank everyone for participating. All of the children look so cute!

Becca sent these pictures in of her adorable daughter Danasia. Look at the picture of her sitting with her baby brother. She's the princess, and he's the frog! How cute is that? With his little frog outfit....



Diana sent in pictures of her girls Leah & Nina rocking the Princess Tiana bun.

Here's Leah on her way to ballet...



And here's Nina trying on her new gymnastics outfit.



KeaShay of Little Lady & Me: A lot of Style for your Little Lady sent in these pictures of her beautiful daught, 'Lady'.

"We didn't have a tiara so we did 2 strand twists up towards crown of head in the "shape" of tiara - well at least my version of the shape."



Darlynn sent in pictures of her daughter K'Lee with a super cute bun style, and wearing her Princess Tiana outfit before heading out to see the movie.



Kristi of KJ Braids sent in these pictures of her beautiful daughter, Natale before going to her holiday dance performance.

If you are in the San Diego area email her for pricing and to schedule an appointment! KJBraids@gmail.com Check out her work here!



Cassie shared pictures of little Miss Tavia!



Jennifer sent pictures in of her little beauty, Aryna. She also "remixed" this style, which will be shared next week.



Vanessa sent in this picture of her beautiful daughter, MJ.



Send in your hair share photos for next week! beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com Thanks!

The Princess and the Frog

Repost from December 2009

What a long day! First we stopped by Chuck E. Cheese for a few hours.











Off to see The Princess and the Frog. Two tickets, please.





I was a little upset that they didn't have The Princess and the Frog poster to take a picture with.



Lets find a seat. All the way at the top!





Random video. I loved this song, actually, I loved all of the songs!



After watching The Princess and the Frog. (a kid had her attention, lol)



We LOVED this movie! It was so cute. She stayed laughing and dancing. She got up out of her seat once to dance for a second, lol. I was tapping my foot the entire time too. Great music, great message. This was A's first time going to the movies and it was well worth it. I don't want to give out too many details, so take your kiddos to see it!! They will love it! :D

Edit: A's grandma asked her how the movie was and she replied "It was GREAT!!!" and started jumping up and down. I wish I would have caught that on camera. We spent the night here looking at clips and playing games. She said we're going back to see the movie tomorrow. I asked her if she has $20. :)

I would like next weeks Hair Share to be The Princess and the Frog theme. So any pictures you have that have something to do with it, whether it's an outfit, you were at the movies, etc, send them in! beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com Thanks!! :)

Princess Tiana Bun Video Tutorial

Repost from December 2009

Ladies and gentlemen, it's THAT time!

The Princess and the Frog hits theaters TODAY! December 11th.

Make sure you take your kiddos to see the movie this weekend!

We plan on seeing the movie tomorrow so I decided to do a quick tutorial. From now on I am calling this bun The Princess Tiana Bun. :) To see the picture tutorial go here.

Princess Tiana Bun Picture Tutorial

Repost from 2009

I wanted to make a big bun in A's hair, so I used an old long sock of mine. The bigger the bun, the bigger the sock, the smaller the bun, the smaller the sock. It all depends on your personal preference.

1. Cut the end off of the sock

2. Start rolling the sock into a donut until you get to the end, & you're done!

1. Put hair into a ponytail

2. Slide the sock all the way on to the ponytail

3. Lay the hair all around the sock, and with a smaller tooth comb or boar bristle brush, smooth the hair down. *Note* You are not brushing/combing through the hair! Just smoothing it down.

4. After smoothing the hair down a bit, add another ponytail holder around the bun. *Note* You should not have to wrap this ponytail holder around, simply put it on top and leave it alone.

5. Gather up the left over hair, and pull it to the back of the bun.

6. Start twisting the gathered section around, then start twisting it around/under the bun. *Note* You may also be able to just push the left over hair under the bun, but this is what works for us. You can also leave the leftover hair out and curl it by doing coils or use flexi-rods, or whatever else you want!

7. You're done! Add a bow or headband!

  If you want to leave a little hair out on the side, part it out before you make you bun, take the section of hair and just start twisting & twisting & twisting, let it go and it should make a cute little clumped curl. I think it is technically called a coil.

 Usually when I do a bun in A's hair, I just put it up into a ponytail, then start twisting all of the hair around, then wrap it all around the ponytail holder, and add another ponytail holder ontop. I think it comes out just as cute, not quite as big though.

   
 

Diva Duo Spotlight: Leah & Nina

Tell us a little about yourself & your daughters:

My name is Diana- I have two biracial beauties- Leah - 5 and Nina-2 (almost3). Their daddy, my husband is black and I am white (1/2 italian). Leah's hair is currently transitioning from a much tighter curl, to now a more wavy pattern. Nina's hair is corkscrew curls, fine but dense per inch! She hates the comb but loves to have her hair in ponytails- go figure.
What is your daughter's hair care routine?

I alternate washing their hair and co-washing their hair during the week. But usually on Sat or Sunday nights both get their hair washed and then conditioned and detangled, then I put in a leave-in and moisturizer. I can't leave their styles in for more than two days- niether of them have the hair for it! When I do a style I style it wet at night and they both wear Stay On Satin head scarves.
What kind of products do you use on her hair?

A bunch! Currently for shampoo I am alternating between BioInfusion Organics Curls and waves shampoo and Giovanni 50/50 (the 50/50 is claryfying so can't use it more than once a month). For conditioners I use the Curly Q Coconut Sublime most often and then then Curls Ecstasy Conditioner for the deep conditioner on the weekends after shampoo. I also use Gio Xtreme Conditioner and Gio Magnetix (but don't love that one too much.) On their wet hair I alternate between Curls Spiral Curl Creme (discontinued) Curly Q Milkshake mixed with Curly Q Geles See, and Gio Direct Leave-In! At the moment....
Have you ever used chemicals on her hair?

Hell no- and never will- not on my watch!
Can we see a few of your favorite styles?
Headband Braid:



Criss-cross Ponies:



Very cute! How did you learn to style and properly take care of their hair?

Internet, BBC, i also have a very patient and loving dear step daughter who allowed me to style her hair and learn from age 3...I didn't have the product knowledge I have now, but I learned how to cornrow, twist, plait and part on her head-- I love that girl to death!
How do your daughter's feel about their hair? Can we see their favorite style?

Leah is learning to really love it! Her favorite style is actually a fancy bun-- let me see if I have a pic! For Nina she loves her two puffs!



If you had to share one hair care tip, what would it be?

Not only do you have to learn how to take care of your children's hair, your children must learn as well. You loving their hair is not enough- they must learn to love it too- if you expect them to care for it as you do, as they get older! So as you learn, teach them, the beautiful thing about haircare is that most of its past down and improved upon thru generations, keep it going! For us, I use kind of a food analogy for Leah's hair- the shampoo is drink, the conditioner the main meal and the moisturizer desert- she always asks me- what is this for the hair mommy? It makes it fun and she learns that her hair needs to be taken care of! So enjoy the hair journey- I sure have!
here they are natural--



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Diana is a great woman and great mother. Her daughter's are absoloutley stunning. She is doing an amazing job with their hair, and I know she will keep it up. I, myself have learned a thing or two from D. I love the tip about teaching your child to love and care for their hair as much as you do, and I totally agree. I hope you enjoyed her interview and her beautiful styles.

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Please email me if you have any suggestions for Diva Spotlight. Do you think I should add more questions, if so, what would you like to ask? I'm all ears! Also email me if you would like to be a part of Diva Spotlight! beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com