[jandn]

I'm always looking for new hairstyles for the girls, they have very different hair textures. I'm never sure what is age appropriate either. I usually won't try a style until I've seen another little one in public about the same age. (I live in a very diverse area and get lots of advice & encouragement from others) I thought it might be a good idea if we could post styles for each other here. Would anyone be interested?


Here is a pic of J's triangle puffs at 6 months old. I miss this style she looked so cute. Her hair is soooo long now.

[vegangoddess]

keep the ideas coming........ i have not quite figured out how to post pics...... so i will just observe.....

[sneezyone]

I'd also encourage you to subcribe to an aa hair magazine or something like Ebony. You can ask a local stylist for suggestions, too. As a kid I use to save my magz and take them into my hairdresser to show her pics of the styles I liked/wanted. Every time I came out of the shop with a new do my dad just grunted and sighed. LOL!

[joskimo]

jandn --

can you tell me what you used to hold the puffs? Hannah is nearly 6 mo. and her hair is 3-4 inches uncoiled and her little afro is starting to look uneven so I need to find a gentle style.

thanks - Jo

[leaabc123]

I use small bands to hold our 17 month old's hair in a similar style. Not rubber bands but ouchless ponytail holders.

[Linny]

My tow daughters....18months apart...have totally different hair textures. One is very tightly coiled, very thick and plush; the other much more relaxed and 'skimpy'.
We have done (what we used to call) pigtails for a long time; or a 'top knot' (what we used to sometimes call a bun). I have used the black, plastic type bands...not the rubber bands. I spritz and oil their hair daily.....so most of the time, the bands will slide out easily.

I also got a neat idea from a forum (I think it was this one? ).......of parting the hair in the middle, and parting each side in sections. Starting with the first, side and the front, I've banded with tiny colored rubber bands (keep in mind, I don't do this tightly....)...but, beads would look pretty good with this too, I think?
As I hold onto the end of the first part, I 'weave' it into the next section and on down the side of their head. It looks very nice and I can keep in in this way for a couple of days (sometimes, three days...).

That's just my suggestion; and I can't post a picture....so I hope it's not too complicated in my writing.

Sincerely,

Linny

[jandn]

Jo,


I use the little black "ouchless" bands from the AA hair care section. I get them for about a dollar for 500. I don't think I'll ever use them all.

here's another pic, J was about 9 months old and I started connecting her puffs.

[joskimo]

jandn - I like that 2nd picture, will give me something to aim for. I did my first attempt at "doing" H's hair this weekend, it was a flop. I talked to a girlfriend at work who's sons are AA/Filipino about how to comb thru, so I think I'm ready to try puffs again this weekend. Last weekend was just a fiasco and H wasn't happy w/ me at all! My older daughter didn't get hair until she was much older so doing her hair wasn't an issue.

J

[leaabc123]

Josk,
Not sure how you tried doing her hair. But, next time (if you didn't) try it with her in her high chair with a snack. It usually worked with little d (17 months now).

Now, she will sit in my lap for a few minutes while I do it but that is new.

I will also do the puffs with zig-zag parts which makes them a little more interesting sometimes. I will also take the puffs and do twists (sometimes 1, sometimes 3 in each puff), as her hair is really long on top but still growing in back).

Big D will get puffs as well, if I don't have a lot of time. If I have time, I will give her small box braids all over her head.

Wish I could cornrow but I can not yet. I understand the mechanics of it but I braid the opposite way and they get messed up. I can do great french braids though and when their hair is a litte longer, that will be an option.

For those of you that don't have it, the book "It's all good hair" is a great tool. It has simple instructions and pictures of different styles.

[joskimo]

okay, week two, I was better prepared but she still didn't go for it. At 6 months I'm thinking I just need to wait until she's old enough to be interested in (a) watching a tv show or (b) eating a snack, self-feeding like cheerios or something. I am wondering what kind of spritz Linny was using though.

[leaabc123]

When I am styling their hair, I spritz it with a mixture of 2/3 water and 1/3 oil (shake to mix together). The oil is either jojoba oil or grapeseed oil.

I also have an oil sprayer (called a misto) that is the kind you use to spray olive oil instead of cooking spray when cooking. I fill it with a little olive oil and again either grapeseed or jojoba oil.

I use this to mist their hair after styling or in the morning before going out.

[jandn]

Lea,

That's such a good idea about the mist sprayer! I often apply some oil before we go out and that would make it much easier (and cleaner).

Joskimo
When she's that young you may want to try and do "sections" do a little in the morning, an hour later, etc. My second FD had very short hair and attention span I had to do her hair that way.

[leaabc123]

Yep, I tried using a water spray bottle but it sprayed too much. The misto sprays just enough (as long as it is pumped enough) to make it look nice without being greasy.

[joskimo]

Can you tell me where you'd pick up the jojaba oil or grapeseed?

[leaabc123]

I found them both in the natural foods section of our local grocery store. I think others have found them at whole foods stores as well.
Some other people have also reccomended using Burt's Bees apricot baby oil.