Q.O.T.W: Family members...helping or harming?

I was wondering if any of your family members have ever crossed the line when it comes to your childs hair? I have read stories of family members cutting, relaxing, painfully combing (etc) a childs hair without the parents permission...

Has any of the above ever happened to you and how did you handle it?

As for us...

I am going to try to make this very long story short. When A was 2 years old her Aunt braided her hair and added beads. Well, my Grandmother (A's Great Grandma) thought she was helping me by removing the beads. She removed all of the beads on the right side of her head by cutting the end bead off each braid. I'm not sure how she didn't realize she was cutting her hair off but A's right side is a little shorter than her left side. I honestly wanted to cry. In fact, I may have. lol I knew she didn't understand the beading process so I just explained it all to her and left it at that. She felt pretty bad and (thankfully) it never happened again.

I have a couple of other stories but nothing compares to that. Your turn!

X Cornrow and Three Strand Twists

Repost from 2009.



If you're a beginner, then this style probably looks a little more difficult than it really is. It's actually really easy! Follow these instructions to see how it's done.

Instructions:

• If you do not know how to cornrow, check out our Cornrowing for Beginners post.
• If you do not know how to do a three strand twist, check out our video tutorial.
• Part 4 "triangles" in the hair. One on top, one in the back, and one on each side. Make the top and back triangle wider than the side triangles because you will be parting hair out of those sections.

Part where you see the arrows.

• Go ahead and put your two side triangles in a ponytail and twist them up. I decided to do three strand twists instead of two strand twists.

Here is a side by side comparison shot of two strand and three strand twists.

• Part a little hair out of the top triangle from the left side, continue parting down to your back triangle from the right side. Cornrow that section all the way back.
• Repeat above step on the other side. You will have to cross this cornrow over the first cornrow you already did, just pick up where you left off.
• Put your top and back section in a ponytail and twist it up.
• I added a few beads on the ends of each twist and cornrow. That's it! All done!

Sidewinder Hair Holder Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the giveaway! Big thanks to Sidewinder Hair Holders for the giveaway.

The winners are...

Stephfm said...
I follow BBB and would love to try them in clear.

Nik-Did you have to put anything in at the end of the twists to hold the sidewinder on?

Erica said...
I follow BBB and I would like to try the Violet and Teal hair holders...Thanks! Erica W.

Amanda said...
I follow BBB and would like the blue or sky blue. I love what you did with these in your little girl's hair. Amanda B

My2gurlz said...
Hi Nikki, I follow BBB and I would like to try the violet ones. :)

Congrats to you all! Please sent me your mailing info by July 3rd, 2010 with your one color choice of Sidewinder Hair Holders. beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com

If you did not win and would like to purchase hair holders, check out their website. Also check out their hair style gallery for more styling ideas!

Diva Spotlight: Tia

Repost





Tell us a little about yourself & your daughter:

Hi - I’m Lyn! I was born and raised in the UK…I moved out to the USA 7 years ago to do my masters, met my husband, and never left! J I’m white (English, Irish, Spanish & French); hubby is black with a little Native American. We have two kids, Tia, who will be 3 in March, and Benjamin, who is 5 months old.

Tia’s hair is a mix of 3c and 4a. It has really started to grow a LOT in the last 6 months. I thought it would be fun for everyone to see a picture that was taken almost exactly a year ago today. I remember at the time wondering if her hair would ever be long enough to do anything other than teeny tiny puffs!

What is your daughter's hair care routine?

I only just started learning how to do actual styles (e.g. anything other than a puff or a ponytail!) a month ago, thanks to this blog and BBC! So her hair is still a work in progress and all the pictures you see are my first attempts at each style.

We wash her hair with shampoo on weekends and sometimes co-wash (with conditioner only) mid-week. I would like to leave styles in for a week but they usually start to get fuzzy after about 4 days. Tia has been begging me to do new styles all the time since I started doing her hair regularly, so we have been doing 2-3 styles a week right now. She wears a satin bonnet to bed, in the car and at naptime; if her hair is not in a style I put it in 4 chunky braids before bedtime.

What kind of products do you use on her hair?

After trying what seemed like every product imaginable, we found that the Curly Q line works great for Tia. We’ve been using the Curls products for nearly 2 years now and I love them. We wash her hair once a week with Curly Q shampoo, condition it with Curly Q conditioner, detangle with fingers, comb through with a wide tooth comb, then leave for 5-10 mins before rinsing. After washing we apply Curly Q moisturizer and custard, and let it air dry. We use both the moisturizer and custard daily to freshen her curls (if it’s not in a style). For styles I usually use Curly Q Princess Glaze on each section before I cornrow/braid it. Sometimes I also use ORS Lock and Twist gel. I’m planning on trying Curls Gel-es’c soon too.

Have you ever used chemicals on her hair?

Nope! And I won’t be!

Can we see a few of your favorite styles?

Cornrows with 3-strand twists (this was my first attempt at 3-strand twists): (on the left)



Cornrows with a braided ponytail:



Veil style with box braids:





Full head cornrows (this was my first ever attempt at any type of style and so also my first time attempting cornrows (yes I was being ambitious…or foolish…I’m not sure which, lol!)



Braided pigtails:



Cornrows with loose curls:



Braid-out:



Chunky veil-style:



They are all so cute! How did you learn to do all of this?

Pretty much exclusively from Beads Braids Beyond and all the helpful links you posted, like the cornrow instructions. I still need more practice, but since my daughter is now constantly begging for me to do her hair, I don’t think it’ll be a problem getting lots of practice in!

How does your daughter feel about her hair? Can we see her favorite style?

She loves it! She is always telling people her hair is beautiful. The other day she told me I must wish I had hair like hers, because mine is just boring and straight! Lmao! She is right!

Her favorite style is anything with beads, but she specifically asked for me to do a heart in her hair with this style (I tried!). (on the right)



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

Satin bonnet in the car!!! I don’t know about you all, but our car seat is capable of taking a great style and turning the back of it into a hot mess by the time we have gotten to the first stop light. We have a designated bonnet that stays in the car so we don’t forget.

___________________________________

I am so impressed that Lyn just started styling her daughters hair! Wow. She is going to be a pro in no time. Tia is absolutely adorable! I love how colorful and playful her styles are. I am also honored that the blog has inspired/helped Lyn! That is my goal for B,B,B- to simply help others, because I was once the mama who only knew how to do 1 or 2 puffs. Keep up the great work Lyn! You are doing a fabulous job!

___________________________________

Click here to see how you can sign your Diva up!

Hair Share!

Big thanks to everyone who sent in pictures for Hair Share! Click here to see how you can participate in next week's Hair Share!


Holly sent in this adorable mohawk style and half cornrow style done on her cutie Alayah.





Kristen sent in these pictures of her girls Avi and Ava. Ava is rocking a mohawk and Avi has a cute braid out, and a new box braid style.





Nicole sent in these pictures of her adorable 1 year old, Asia. Cornrows in, and cornrows out. How cute!



Renee shared this beautiful style done on her daughter Amirah.



Crystal sent in these cute styles done on her gorgeous daughter Cadance. The first style is her remix of our Side cornrows into sister twists style. I love how she did this! The next one she did a Minnie Mouse inspired style. "I flat twisted Cadance’s hair and then I put it in two pony tails but instead of pulling the hair all the way through I left the last bit tucked under on each one and then she had “mouse ears”"





Last but certainly not least, Aisha sent in these pictures of her beautiful daughter Anisa.

She sent me these pictures as soon as they got their Bee Mine Products! Can you say fast shipping?


She found this beautiful dress at Macy's.


This cute hat is from Gymboree!


And check out her new protective style!

Diary of a Kinky Curly Transitioner Interview

Check out our interview with Alice here! Feel free to leave a comment and browse around! :)

Hair Share, Diva Spotlight, and the winners of the Sidewinder Hair Holders will be posted today.

Don't forget to enter the Blended Cutie Giveaway, where you could win your choice of 3 full size Blended Cutie Products.

Where I Buy Our Flexi-rods

Some of you may know that I love flexi-rods. I have used them on my hair and my daughters hair. Click *here* to see some pictures. Many of you have asked me where I buy our flexi-rods for such a low price. I wish it was a world wide store, but unfortunately it's not. I buy our flexi-rods (they are called twist rods on the packs) from a family owned "$1 Store" (yes, that's the name on the sign). They come in a variety of sizes and they are all $2.50 per pack. I bought some large (1 1/4") flexi-rods today. There are three per pack. I also picked up two pink satin pillowcases for $1 each.

I have seen different brand flexi-rods being sold at ridiculously high prices. I guess they are ridiculous to me since I can get them for so cheap but I highly suggest you all check out your family owned dollar stores. If they don't have any, ask them if they would be able to order some. It doesn't hurt to try, right?

Note: I have had our orange flexi-rods for over 1 year now and they still work great!

Edit: I googled "Response Twist Rods" and *this* website came up. They cost a little more than what I pay for them, not sure how much shipping is but I thought I would post it anyway. Another edit: They are located in London so shipping is probably a little high. Sorry!

Bantu Knots and Box Braids

Let me start by saying A is not a fan of bantu knots all over. When I first did bantu knots all over her head last Summer she wanted me to take them out because she thought she looked like a "dinosaur with horns" and kept calling the bantu knots horns all day (kids...). That's unfortunate because I think bantu knots look adorable on little girls.

I decided to switch up her Slanted Cornrows and Natural Box Braids style a couple of days later. First I added some Bee Mine Beeloved Hair & Scalp Moisturizer to her hair then all I did was make bantu knots out of the braids hanging down from her cornrows. With the 7 braids I made three bantu knots and tied them off with some cute Tinkerbell ponytail holders, I put her box braids in one ponytail. She had the whole Tinkerbell get up (dress, sandals, jewlery, purse) so it looked really cute! She LOVED it! I'm happy to know now that I can do a few bantu knots here and there in her styles without her thinking she looks like a dinosaur, lol. Making a bantu knot is really simple, you just take the desired amount of hair (or braids/twists) and start twisting the entire section around placing it near the scalp, the ends will wrap around/under the bantu knot. A ponytail holder is not necessary but it will provide better hold.





Today is the LAST day to enter the Sidewinder Hair Holders Giveaway! There will be our winners.

You have another week to enter the Blended Cutie Giveaway! One follower will win their choice of 3 full size Blended Cutie products.

Slanted Cornrows and Natural Box Braids

Instructions:

• A's hair was washed with Bee Mine Products and moisturized with their luscious moisturizer. I banded her hair in 4 sections for about 2 hours so it was slightly stretched out when I started.
• I took the top two banded ponytails out to begin parting where I wanted the cornrows. In the photo below you can see exactly how I parted the hair, just follow the arrows.

• After parting the section of hair I wanted out, I tied off the rest of the hair to get it out of my way. I added more luscious moisturizer to that section, focusing on the ends, and removed any knots or tangles I felt with my fingers.
• I began parting hair for cornrowing. I started on the left side of her head, parted my first slanted cornrow. I added Bee Mine Curly Butter to the section, gently brushed with the Denman brush, then started cornrowing.
• I continued parting the slanted cornrows, adding curly butter to each section, and cornrowing.
• After I was done cornrowing I started making large box braids. People use different methods when parting box braids. I use several different methods. Most of the time I just go with the flow, however I feel like parting, that's how I part. This time I started in the back. I parted straight across by the nape area. I split that section into three and braided three box braids.
• After that I went to the left side of her head. I just started parting straight down all the way around her head. So she had one box braid infront of her left ear, then two box braids right by her left ear. I continued parting straight down so as I went around her head the sections for larger so she had three box braids in the next section, etc. You can use your own method when parting box braids. Just start parting out the boxes where ever you want them and it will all come into place.
• I added some adorable tiny flower jaw clips to her cornrows (review soon!) and that was it.

Maintenance:

• Remove accessories before bed.
• Moisturize as needed (probably every night or every other night), focus on the ends.
• Spray braids with Bee Mine Juicy Spirtz every other day.
• Sleep with satin bonnet.

How is your child wearing their hair this week?

Lil Man's Finger Twirls

I have been using Curly Q's Milkshake for some time now in Lil Man's hair and while I love the smell it doesn't seem to have a lot of hold. I am going to be experimenting with a few products to see how they work on his little curls. :)

I recently tried Bee Mine Curly Butter in his hair for the second time. The first time I just applied a little Curly Butter on wet hair and let it dry, his curls looked great! This time applied about a quarter size amount of Curly Butter to his damp hair and twirled some of his curls around my index finger.

These photos show what his hair looked like about 3 hours after applying the product. Mind you he is a very active little guy. He's a super ninja crawler and loves rubbing his head on the back of his high chair. I'm loving the results.

Throwback Thursday

A when she was around 10 months old. One ponytail on top with the infamous "baby lotion swoop". lol Note: I do NOT recommend using baby lotion on your child's hair! This is back when I didn't know a thing about products.

Q.O.T.W: How do you wear your hair?

We always talk about our kiddos hair, so I thought I would ask you all how you wear your own hair. Straight? Curly? Up? Down? Do you have a staple style? etc.

How do you wear your hair?

My hair is almost always in a tucked under bun. Kind of boring but I guess that's my mom 'do. Last night I was experimenting with different buns. I tried a figure 8 bun and a Chinese braided bun after watching some videos on youtube. They were very crooked but I'll just keep practicing! I guess I'm a little style challenged when it comes to my own hair.