Diva Spotlight: Brooke

Tell us a little about yourself & your daughter:
This is my daughter Brooke, she is 8 years old, and loves to swim. I recently decided to wear my hair natural in February 2010, and decided that I would no longer put heat in Brooke's hair as well. She loves dressing up and she is a complete GIRLY GIRL!

What is your daughter's hair care routine?
I wash her hair once a week along with a deep condition. We do twist and braid outs along with french braids. Her hair is moisturized weekly, and styles usually last up to 3-4 days (I'm a stickler for seeing little girls look neat and PRETTY all the time) so no longer than 4 days.

What kind of products do you use on her hair?
I use everything! I can't tell you where I start. I switch so often. I'm a product JUNKIE! lol. Any shampoos without sulfates, and good moisturizer. Currently we are using Shea Moisture products.

Have you ever used chemicals on her hair?
No, never crossed my mind! Her hair is very manageable and even if it wasn't, I would never put chemicals in my daughters hair.

Can we see a few of your favorite styles?
SURE!















How did you learn to do all of this?
I learned how to do hair experimenting with my own hair and watching Youtube videos.

How does your daughter feel about her hair? Can we see her favorite style?
She goes to a diverse school, and around 5% of the students are African American. For a while I struggled with her asking me to wear her hair straight EVERYDAY because of her environment. I explained to her the process it took to make her hair straight and how doing it everyday would damage her hair. I told her the difference between her hair, and other nationalities, and that her hair was just as beautiful as theirs. She accepted everything I told her and she LOVES every strand of her hair. I myself had to eat those words when I decided to cut all of my straight hair off and start all over, and I LOVE IT! I ONLY straighten her hair on special occasions, (seeing that it poofs up when she breaks a sweat or humidity).



If you had to share one hair care tip, what would it be?
Rubber bands are the Devil. A clean scalp equals health hair, so don't be afraid to wash your daughters hair. Moisturize, Moisturize, and Moisturize! Thanks for letting us share! :~)

Here's a Braid Out 101 video from Brooke and her mother. Make sure you stop by their youtube and subscribe. Click here to check out more of their videos!



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

Cornrows & Pigtails

Another gorgeous style from our guest blogger Aisha and her beautiful daughter Anisa!



I cowashed Anisa's hair with Suave Almond and Shea Butter Moisturizing Conditioner the night before I did this style. I moisturized with Bee Mine Deja's Hair Milk and banded her hair in several sections.


I used unrefined shea butter while braiding her hair. In this picture I used ouchless bands to hold the finished sections together until I was completely done.


Her ponytails are secured with an ouchless band.









If you have any questions, feel free to ask in a comment.

Mini Braids

So, I decided to do mini braids for our One Month Protective Styling Facebook Challenge. Now, I know these will last 1 month but I'm hoping for 6 weeks, possibly even 8? We shall see!

Last weekend I washed and detangled A's hair. I left Blended Cutie's Tug Me Knot conditioner in for 15-20 minutes before detangling for a little deep conditioning. After I detangled and rinsed her hair I applied Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer and banded it in about 9 sections. Her hair wasn't very stretched out when I started styling it on Sunday (May 15th) but I went for it anyway. I didn't finish until Friday, May 20th. I wasn't really on a time limit, I just braided a few rows every day here and there. I think I did about 3 hours on Saturday and the other days ranges from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I didn't even touch her hair on Thursday. We were both happy to be finished on Friday. After I finished braiding I wet her hair and added some Curly Q's Custard to her ends. I think the braids at the crown of her head are bigger than the rest because I started to get tired. I parted her hair the same exact way I did her mini twists, at an angle the entire time. There are 2 small cornrows in the front on each side across her hairline. The only products I applied to each section as I braided was unrefined shea butter and virgin coconut oil. I don't have an exact time on how long this took but if I had to guess it would be between 10-15 hours over the course of 6 days (took one day off, so 5, really). Lots of DVD's, snacks, patience and silliness were involved. We both love the results and it feels nice to know we won't have to do much to her hair for a month or two.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!





Pics from yesterday:

195 Mini Braids

I posted a picture on Facebook of A's unfinished braids and asked you all to guess how many would be there when I was done. The answer is 195. Although I feel like I braided 1000, lol. We're heading out right now so I will post more pictures and info as soon as I get back! :)

Picture of the Day: Willow Smith Inspired Heart Braids

Tanaja of MainlyBraids shared this adorable Willow Smith inspired hair 'do on our Facebook fan page.

D.I.Y. Headband Holder

I heard about this adorable idea from one of the forums I'm a member of and have been dying to try it! I finally got the chance to pick up some extra supplies today so I went for it.

You will need:

• A large oatmeal container
• 3 sheets of scrapbook paper or some fabric.
• Scissors and glue (I used mod podge glue)
• Optional: candle holder, spray paint, ribbon/lace, hot glue gun

I love craft blogs and crafty people but I am so not crafty. Trust me when I say, you do not need any skills for this project.

First, I took the cheap metal candle holder I bought and spray painted it with white spray paint. I left it outside to dry. Then, I began by cutting the scrapbook paper to the size I needed, it was crooked, but it worked. I covered one side of the oatmeal container in hodge podge glue (covered the kitchen table in glue as well O_O) then placed one sheet of scrapbook paper over the glue. After that side was done, I covered the other side of the oatmeal container with glue and stuck the other sheet of scrapbook paper on. Easy peasy. I grabbed the hot glue gun and the purple lace I bought (for $2 from Hobby Lobby!) and began placing glue along the bottom of the oatmeal container. I put the lace on quickly as hot glue tends to dry very fast. I cut a circle out of the last sheet of scrapbook paper I bought and glued it to the top of the oatmeal can. I hot glued some lace around the top as well. I went outside to get the candle holder. Let me just say, I am a terrible spray painter. I put way too much paint but whatever, no big deal. It was dry so I put the oatmeal container on top of the candle holder and viola! All done!

A was with me every step of the way on this project. She was so excited to be my little helper and loved the finished result! She is now making little crafts in her room, lol.

Now I just have to figure out what to put inside. Either her sunglasses or her ouchless ponytail holders for banding.



There are headbands on the back too.


Have fun!

A's First Trim

Edited to add: Blogger was undergoing maintenance and deleted all of the previous comments made on this post. Sorry about that!




Looks like more than an inch in this picture because her hair is blending in with the chair.

Ok, not exactly her first trim. She did get a little accidental trim on the right side of her head from granny, remember? I was supposed to take A to get a trim when I made out Banding F.A.Q's post but she ended up getting her hair wet the next day so I put it off for a few more weeks. Well, today I decided I really wanted her to get a trim before the protective styling challenge. I was already banding A's hair for her school pictures tomorrow (I think we will do something simple, like a braid-out), her hair was banded for 3 nights, between 10 and 13 sections using Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer, of course. Last night I put two cornrows along her hairline (tip from HappyGirlHair) before banding so I don't continue putting stress around that area by pulling it back in ponytails. Today at the last minute, I swooped by A's school to pick her up and headed to the salon.

Our experience was great! I must admit, I was really nervous after reading all the horror stories online. I told the stylist (hey Jessie!) that we have a hair care blog for children and I would hate to come on here and tell you all that the stylist did not listen. She assured me she would only take off as much as I wanted and not to worry. After chatting with her for a bit I could tell she knew her stuff. We breifly chatted about detanglers and some other hair products I'm familiar with. We decided to take off only an inch and that's exactly what she did! She was really nice and great with A. She told me what she was doing every step of the way. A's ends feel GREAT! I haven't tried combing her hair yet but I already know it's going to be easier since she doesn't have those little fairy knots on her ends. I will keep you all posted.

By the way, I told her I was going to post some pictures on the blog so she could stop by and check them out. I also told her not to tell you all I was looking a hot mess (don't judge me). I think everyone thought I was crazy taking pictures the way I was.

The night before:




Another after:

Picture of the Day: Shampoo Commercial Auditions

The artist said he doesn't normally draw the hair off the paper but for her he would make an exception, lol. Look at what the sign says...

One Month Protective Styling Facebook Challenge!

It's that time again! Another protective styling challenge for the kiddos. If you missed last year's challenge, click here to check it out. It was lots of fun!

The overall purpose of this challenge is hair health. I don't think parents realize how much damage they can do to their children's hair by over-styling or adding too many rubberbands, beads and other accessories. Don't get me wrong, I love accessories just as much as the next parent but I try to do a mix of protective styles and accessorized styles. Your overall goal is completely up to you. If you just want a break from styling hair, that's fine. If you'd like to see your child retain length, that's fine, just remember that you won't see a huge difference with only a month of protective styling.

So let's go ahead and get to the rules:

• Protective styles count as: Box braids, twists (two strand, three strand, sister twists, flat twists), cornrows, bantu knots, french braids. If there's a style you're not sure of, just ask and I'll let you know if it counts! Please make sure the style is not tight!
• Absolutely NO: rubberbands/elastics, beads, barrettes, snaps or ballies
• Absolutely NO heat! No blowdrying, no flat ironing, no hot combs, zero heat!
• You MAY use: headbands, bows, ouchless ponytail holders (with no metal) to simply switch up the style or band the hair before styling. Example: Your child has box braids, you may use an ouchless ponytail holders to put the braids in a ponytail or pigtails.
• I am also going to allow curlers this time around but I do not encourage you to use them often. Instead, try braiding the box braids or twists for a crinkly look, do bantu knots on box braids/twists for a knot out, etc.

Note: You do not have to leave the same style in for the entire month. You can switch it up weekly/bi-weekly if you'd like.

This challenge will be held on our new Facebook fan page (make sure you go "like" it!). You MUST do our weekly check-in's to be eligible for the prizes! You can check-in every Sunday (May 15th, 22nd & 29th, June 5th & 12th). When you check-in please include a photo of the style and what products you used. After the first week please include an updated picture of the style and if you plan on leaving it in or restyling. I encourage you to update often and leave as much information as possible. Please include if you are deep conditioning, having your child sleep with a satin bonnet, washing the hair with the style in, etc.

You can go ahead and introduce yourself and your child on our Facebook page. Connect with the other parents and have fun!

Our guest blogger (and guest judge, and also last years winner of the protective styling challenge!) Aisha and I will choose one winner weekly based on how well you follow the rules, how your routine/plan sounds and of course, being creative doesn't hurt! ;)

The overall winner will be chosen by the regular participants of the challenge. You will not be able to vote for yourself.

Big thanks to Bee Mine Products for sponsoring the challenge!

Flat Twist/Bantu Knot Out Inspired By Naptural85

I've had Naptural85's How To Bantu Knot Out video favorited on Youtube for quite some time now. I decided to try the style last night at the last minute. I styled on wet hair and only used Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer (by the way, they are having a Mother's Day Sale tomorrow! Use code: BBBMOM for 15% off your purchase). I parted in random sections and detangled with my fingers and a comb. The entire process took maybe 30-40 minutes. The next morning I removed her satin bonnet and took the bantu knots out. Her hair, especially the back, was still quite damp but I went ahead and took the twists out anyway. Next time I will work on slightly damp hair because bantu knots take entirely too long to try. If I had waited for her hair to completely dry I think it would be less frizzy in the back. I still loved the results though, she loves it, too!

Check out the video from Naptural85. Her hair is gorgeous!

Pictures & Video From The World Natural Hair Show

Remember when I posted about the World Natural Hair Show looking for models? Well, our fabulous reader Andrea took her beautiful daughter Ivy for an audition and she was chosen to rock the stage! Andrea was kind enough to share some pictures, see below. She said they had a blast!

Ivy with the World's Top Natural Hair Model!

Here's a video from AfrikanHairGod, Ivy starts at 5:56 if you want to fast forward.



I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again to Andrea for sharing. Ivy did a great job! She's a natural.

Picture of the Day: Ming Lee Simmons Rockin' A Braid-out

I saw these pictures over at Naturally Beautiful Hair and wanted to share them here! Ming Lee appears to be rockin' a cute braid-out in pigtails when she met President Barack Obama. Beautiful family. I wonder if they read Beads, Braids & Beyond? I doubt it but that sure would be cool! I would love to hear about their routine and what products Kimora's girls use.

Braids in:

Braids out:

You can view more photos here!