New Hair, New Gig

Conleigh is trying something new this year.  Well two things really.  The dreadlocks are gone.  I  guessing it took thirty hours or so but we picked them out and saved a good amount of hair.  And she is a cheerleader for our local youth football team.  She is a great cheerleader, full of spunk and energy and she does a great job of knowing her cheers and routines.  The whole cheerleading bit makes her seem really old to me.  That and the realization that I had my first crush on a boy at her age.  Gah!

Flat Twist Mohawk with Locs

Photo bombed by the Basset...this is how she wore the back on Sunday.  I talked her into letting me braid the ponytail into piggyback braids on Monday so she now has a braid running down the center instead of the ponytail.  I think you could do several treatments of the ponytail like curling it with pipe cleaners so it was super curly or mini buns, maybe even some type of knot.

The flat twists up the sides actually look really really good.  So proud of myself.

Locs Braid Out

We had family picture this last week so I tried to do a bit more with Conleigh's hair than our usual "slap a headband on and call it good" style.  The night before, she washed her hair and I put some Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Curling Butter on as I sectioned it out into medium sized box braids.  I was pretty deliberate in how I positioned the boxes, creating a section for side swept bangs at the front by creating a part and then braiding to the right and left of that part.  The back section of her hair was braided going towards the back.  In other words, you braid the braids so that they will hang in the direction you want the hair to lay once you undo the braids.  I did pretty small sections, like maybe 6-8 braid locks in each box.  The actual box braids looked pretty decent by themselves.  Conleigh actually wore them to church on Sunday.  I should have taken a quick picture but I didn't think about it at the time.  I took the braids out on Sunday afternoon and the wavy locs were perfect.  She loved it.

Drumroll Please...Here's the New Haircut!

Doesn't he look so much older?  D took him to the barber who may have actually helped us out by telling Kenson exactly how to take care of his hair.  He said Kenson's scalp was dry which was probably true as his hair was in locs which I was trying to grow out a bit and we had been on vacation prior so in general, I wasn't taking great care of it.)  So he recommended a cream to D and told Kenson to put that on it once a day and to brush it with a boar bristle type brush every time he ate.  Perhaps having someone else tell him that will be much more persuasive than simply Mom nagging at him to take care of his hair.

Changes

Are you read for this?  (Not sure I am even though it's already done...)  Kenson has been saying for several months that he wants to cut his hair.  He really wants it shaved, specifically with some type of design shaved into it.  I told him he had to wait until summer when we could get into the barber shop and that if it was too expensive to get a design that that he would have to use his own money for part of the hair cut.  This weekend, we took the plunge and started the first part of the hair cut.  The locs are gone.  He has about 1 1/2 inches of hair left but at some point, we'll head to the barber shop to finish cutting it really short.  (Now the part where I tell myself "It's just hair.  It's just hair."  I really like him with a bit longer hair but as long as it's not a battle to take care of it and he is willing to do his part to help take care of it, then he will be able to have the freedom to do what he wants with it.

So here's the before and after.

Pipe Cleaner Curls and Conleigh's Locs

We had family pictures today and Conleigh's hair really could have used a good shaping but I didn't have time to do that.   It looks a little scraggly, like we just let it grow and have paid no attention to it.  (Which is what we did.)  Really, I think some layering in a bob style would help but that's for another day.  Not wanting the scraggly look in our photos, I needed to figure out an alternative.  So I decided we'd try pipe cleaner curls.  Really, people have been doing similar things for years.  From the old foam rollers to straw sets, people have twisted their wet or damp hair around an object to give it a corkscrew shape.  

I used the tutorial available at Naptural Journey but really, I don't know that you need a tutorial.  You fold a pipe cleaner in half and twist it, leaving an "eye" at the top.  Then you thread the ends of the hair through the eye and coil it up on the pipe cleaner until you get to the scalp.  Fold the pipe cleaner on the scalp end over to secure it and you're done.  Then repeat about 200 times.  I did it on freshly cowashed hair and used Darcy Botanicals Twisting Cream to help give the curls some staying power.  It took me about two hours to get them all in.  (I did not do every loc as a separate curl.  I did up to four locs together on on pipe cleaner.)  Conleigh slept in the pipe cleaners and the hair dried overnight.  (You do want the hair to be thoroughly dry as even slightly damp hair will not hold the curls like it ought to.)  While she was eating breakfst, I took the pipe cleaners out.  Then I separated the locs so the curls were not clumped together.  She really liked it.  I'm hoping that she will be gentle with them and they will last all week...we'll see.

Hair Care Ebook...Hot off the Presses!

Just in case you missed it...

I've been hard at work trying to come with ways to add some income to our budget, especially as we have fees looming for Zeke's adoption.  What I decided was to create a one of a kind ebook that would help people sift through the vast amount of hair care information that was available on the Internet.

And so I created Things a Little Birdie Told Me:  A Compilation of Practical Advice for Curly Hair.

It is a 23 page ebook that features links, tricks that make hair time easier, the basic steps for braiding/detangling/establishing a hair care routine, etc..  I tried to take the best information I knew and combine it with the best tutorials online so the information would be in one place, where all you had to do was click to access the information.  The book is downloadable and printable as well.

I am teaming the ebook up with samples of my favorite hair products and handmade hair accessories to create my Curly Girlies kits.  These Curly Girlies kits would be a great way to sample products and dip your toes into the world of ethnic hair care.  Or they would make a great adoption gift for someone welcoming home a curly haired brown or black baby.  I'm always happy to customize kits so the sky is really the limit in terms of adding more hair accessories like sleep caps or headbands, making a kit for a boy, or buying a kit for an infant with infant themed products.

Both the book and the kits are available for purchase via my etsy store:  Mustard Seed Creations.

Tags:  how to do black hair, how to do African American hair, how to do ethnic hair, caring for black baby hair, caring for black child's hair, tutorials for ethnic hair, tutorials for black hair, black children's hair, caring for biracial hair, how to do biracial hair

Locs Style-Full Head Flat Twists

I always have a terrible time finding any inspiration for things to do to jazz up Conleigh's locs so I thought I'd share our latest style online for others to view.  I parted her hair in half and then parted each half into 4 sections.  From there, I did flat twists starting at the front and going all the way to the nape of her neck.  I find myself using flat twists over cornrows because they are faster and because Conleigh doesn't have  lot of hair in some places so I run out of hair if I try to do cornrows.  Since cornrows are a braid, if you miss stitches it starts getting very noticeable.  With flat twists, you can miss stitches and no one is any wiser.  At the neckline, I used a rubber band to hold each twist which left me with some straggly looking ponytails.  So I twisted and rolled each of those ponytails into messy buns which I secured with a soft, colored ponytail holder.  (Early morning pics, after about 2 days of wear so we're a little messy looking yet.  She does have some new growth which I just started braiding/locking so I didn't want to stress it by putting it back in the twists.)

Check out my new Flicker photostream

As quite a few of the people who read this blog know, I occasionally channel my inner sewing goddess to make things for myself, my kids, and other people.  One of the niche items that I make for others are satin lined, fleece hats.  For curly haired folks, winter hats are nightmarish.  They breed frizziness like rabbits breed more rabbits.  And for people who have curly hair that has the texture I like to call "velcro", winter hats often mean lint that gets stuck in your hair as the interior of the hat deposits fuzzies into your hair.  So, knowing how many people have said they wished they could find a satin lined winter hat, I decided I could come up with something that would meet that need, at a reasonable price.  The thought was 1.  satin reduces the friction between the hair and the hat therefore reducing breakage of hair 2.  satin reduces friction between the hair and the hat therefore reducing the frizzies that can easily make a braided style that may have taken hours look messy  3.  satin has no fuzzies that remain in the hair after the hat is removed.  I've sold an assortment of hats through my Etsy store but have never really gotten around to creating a display of the hats I've made.  Until today when I decided the quickest and easiest way to make such a display was to put the photos on a Flicker photostream.  Since many of them are custom orders with a customer specifying colors or the overall effect of the hat, there are lots of different looks.  Go ahead and browse.  (See the photos below for a small sampling of the hats.)  And pass the info on if you know someone who is looking for such a hat.  Or head on over to my Etsy shop and contact me so you can order on for yourself or curly haired kiddo.

Braid Locs in Box Braids

A few weeks ago in Walmart, Conleigh saw a girl who was probably ten or so with box braids that kind of stuck up in a funky sort of way.  (Those of you who know box braids know just what I mean.)  She instantly said, "I like that hair!"  I asked her if it looked like Haiti hair since a lot of the time the kids have their hair in some form of box braids there.   She said "yes" but who knows if that's really what she thinks or not?  Anyway, it's now been dubbed Haiti hair so this week I set out to put her braid locs in box braids.  It's all pretty much pre parted due to the way the braid locs are put in.  So it didn't take too terrible long to put them in.  (Probably less than an hour and we've had them in for four days now and should be able to get probably two to three more days before I try a braid out with them.)  Since the box braids are actually braided braids, they have a different look to them than regular box braids.  All sealed off with a lot of white daisy snaps/barrettes which she loves hearing as they click clack when she shakes her head or tips her head backwards.

Microbraid Locs, Double French Braids

Usually with Conleigh's hair, it's just wash and go.  We either sweep the bangs off to one side with a barrette or put a headband on.  (Those are her two favorites.)  Every once in a while, I will do a "style" with it.  (It's actually a bit short and thin for a lot of styles.)  This time around, she picked double French braids.  We're still dealing with the thin section of hair above her left ear.  When I first put her microbraids in, I left out that section because it had a lot of breakage and was very thin.  Then 2-3 months ago, I decided it was looking better and started braiding it.  That was a mistake.  Conleigh still twists that section of her hair while sleeping or upset.  And trying to tighten it with a latch hook didn't work very well.  So I ended up cutting those braids off when I put in the French braids.  I wasn't sure how the French braids would work in the section where Conleigh cut her own hair but it ended up being alright.  We've got 4-5 braids that are too short to fit into the French braids but it is what it is.  ((Perhaps the best lesson to be learned about hair...don't stress because it's just hair.  Even if it doesn't look perfect.)  And interestingly enough, I actually had a tough time getting started on a French braid.  My fingers are apparently more used to cornrowing and palm/thumbs up braiding than I thought!  We're actually going on day 3 with the double French braids.  Still looks pretty good!

Braidlocs Update

If Kenson's hair represents the problem of being too long, then Conleigh's hair tends toward the opposite end of the spectrum.  To start with, 2 days after Kenson experimented with the scissors on his hair, Conleigh did the same with hers.  She was more successful than he was and managed to cut off probably 4 or 5 braids before someone noticed.   Of course, she managed to do so in a spot that was already a trouble spot:  right above her ears.  On her, the area above both ears is problematic, full of thin, uneven hair.  (And now some braided stubble.)  Some of that is due to the fact that her hair just hasn't matured yet and she is still dealing with baby hair issues.  Some of that is due to that hair being pulled back often while in orphanage care.  And some of that is due to a mama who was too aggressive when taking out braids and one time managed to break off a large section of the fragile hair that was there.  My vision of ponytails, pigtails, and braided braids just keeps stalling out.  I was really hoping to see amazing growth while her hair was in braidlocs.  And it is growing.  It's just slow going.  The other interesting thing is that since so many of her braids are very thin and don't have much bulk, the curls within the braids have a tendancy to do their magic on the braids themselves resulting in shorter braids that corkscrew in places. 

Some things I think I've learned so far about braidlocs:

-I mentioned the thin, damaged areas.  When I first put the braids in, I was very concerned about these areas.  I tried my best to just braid around them, leaving the damaged hair out of the braids.  I did start braiding these sections about a month ago as I thought they were maybe long enough and strong enough to handle the braids.
-I braided microbraids and some of the braids are very thin due to Conleigh's hair not having a uniform texture or thickness.  I was very worried that some braids would be too thin and break. So far, we have not had any break.  But some of the thin braids have been a bit of a problem when I've tightened them with a latchhook.  It's almost as if the braids are creating knots as you latchook and then the knots make it impossible for you to continue latchooking.
-When I started Conleigh's locs, her hair was very uneven.  I had evened it out to some degree a few months prior but there was still a lot of difference in lengths.  I think if I had to do it again I would wait a bit longer and then try to even it out yet again.  Or maybe just do a complete chop session and get her hair all evened out at like 2 inches long, rather than trying to hang onto the precious length I was trying to save.  It isn't that big of a deal but now the shorter hairs have a tendancy to pop out from the braids and create frizzines.  Also, when I ended each braid, some of the braids could be braided all the way to the end.  On other braids, I ended up with differing lengths of hair so I had to twist the ends instead of braiding.  Now, those ends are frizzing.  (Frizziness is a part of the process but in this case, I think the uneven hair isn't helping.)

A Guessing Game...

Any guesses?  I know it looks a bit gross.  I tried to pretty it up by putting it next to something lovely aka an old silver bowl with flowers in it.

It's actually one of Kenson's locs.  He decided to cut one of them this week.  It actually fits well with this post so hopefully that explains the need for me to share such a random, odd picture.

Kenson's locs have been in for over 18 months.  They were started with single strand twists.  In the last few months, I have switched to latchooking as a tightening method rather than palmrolling and twisting.  I tighten the new growth maybe every 6 weeks.  He has a lot of hair and it takes a long time to get them tightened.  Especially if I only can work on it for 45 minutes at a time due to our schedule or my child's tolerance for the sitting.  Sometimes it feels like it takes us two weeks to get everything tightened up.

It has really grown and that now leaves D and I with the question of what we should do with the length. 

It is starting to hang in Kenson's eyes.  Many people with longer locs wear headbands or ponytails to keep the hair out of their eyes.  However, most of those people are not a 4 1/2 year old little boy.  I have two concerns about the length:  that wearing headbands/ponytails will elicit many comments about him being a girl (which we already get) and that it may not be age appropriate for him to have such long hair.  I know a lot of that centers around cultural norms and expectations of others.  (And trust me, if you knew me in person, you would probably realize that I am not the type who spends much time on what others think.)  But for us, it raises the question of what will make Kenson feel best as a preschool boy. 

We're not thinking cutting the locs off, just trimming them.  Generally speaking, you are supposed to be able to trim locs just like regular hair.  That said, the thought of actually cutting them makes me nervous.  It's probably just one of those things that I just need to take the plunge and do.  

Hopefully now the beginning of this post will make perfect sense.  Although I'm less than thrilled that he cut his hair, at least now I know that the locs aren't going to do anything too weird if I cut them. 

So perhaps I should thank him for taking the plunge for me.  Or maybe I'll just keep that part a secret.

Dr. Bonner, Pampered Chef, and the hair that loves them

It's been awhile since I've said anything about hair.  That's probably because with both kids have locs in their hair, I honestly don't think too much about it.  Locs fit my own style well simply because they don't require lots of daily upkeep once they are established.

With both kids, I have definitely starting using a lot less product.  I think that is a result of concerns about product build up making their locs look dirty.  I'm less concerned about the hair and scalp drying out than I used to be too so I'm less likely to obsessively dump some conditioning product on their heads.  With Conleigh, I probably use coconut oil on it 2 or 3 times a week, unless it starts looking dry.  With Kenson, I maybe use coconut oil on it once a week.  If the coconut oil is not within reach, I sometimes will grab Taliah Waajid's Protective Bodifying Mist.  I also received a trial size of Darcy Botanicals Cherry Kernel Oil which I have been using lately.

I have switched over to a clear conditioning shampoo.  (What I have heard is that, for locs, clear products are better in terms of build up, when compared to opaque products.)  I was using Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose conditioner as a cowash.  I absolutely love the product.  But it's bit too "rich" to use often on locs.  On rare occasions, I pull that out.  Generally speaking, we shampoo about once every 2 or 3 weeks.  The shampoo I use is actually a homemade one.  It's a mixture of about 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup Castille Soap (I'm using Dr. Bonner's peppermint), and 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  I really, really like it especially when paired with this fantastic tip: use a suds pump to turn it into foam.

The tip is actually from a high school friend.  She uses the Pampered Chef Suds Pump for store bought shampoo so her kids don't waste so much in the shower.  I thought this would also work well for my homemade shampoo as it's a bit thin and can be hard to keep in your hand as you're trying to lather up a kid's head.  It completely fixes the problems as it squirts the liquid soap out in the form of suds.  It makes it so easy to get the shampoo evenly dispersed and keeps it nice and full so it doesn't roll out of your hand or down a kiddo's face quite so easily.

 

So there you have it, my ode to Dr. Bonner and Pampered Chef...

The Newest Hair Styling Tools

My children have both recently started complaining about having their hair done.  I'm not sure how much is real and how much is imagined.  Regardless, today I got to witness Conleigh's version of doing hair. 

The tools:  a wooden spoon, a tea kettle full of pretend water, an oversized toy toothbrush, and an empty box of Ritz crackers which I believe was coconut oil.  True to form, as soon as she started touching Kenson's head, he started yelling, "Ow!"  And true to Mommy form she reassured him that "We're almost done."  I personally think they both ought to be very thankful that I don't do hair using the tools Conleigh managed to find.

Our Version of Punk Rock-Locs Faux Hawk

I'm guessing this is as close as we will get to a punk rock look anytime in the near future.  (Who knows what the teen years will hold, though?) 

Conleigh told me a few weeks back that she wanted her hair with the sides all up so a fauxhawk is what we tried.  A fauxhawk with microbraids and cornrows to be more exact.  I divided the sides into three sections and then cornrowed each of those sections up the sides.  Then I sectioned off the hair in the middle into 5 separate ponytails and included the hair that I cornrowed in those ponytails.  Then I cut hot pink and black tulle into strip and tied it around the base of the ponytails.  After fluffing out the ponytails a bit, the last step was finding some really cool punk clothes.  (I'm pretty sure we will not win any awards in that department.)  The black tights with silver hearts did seem to sort of fit the bill so we built our outfit around that.   I wasn't sure how much I liked it but we've gotten lots of compliments.  (Maybe just because it's different?)

Microbraid/braidlocs in!

They've actually been in for about a week now.  I won't even venture a guess as to how many there are or how long it took.   But now they're in and I can relax for a bit.  I'm taking the no washing and no soaking route for a few weeks to try to help keep down the fuzzies.   So our routine is coconut oil mixed with olive oil twice a day and a little spray of water if they are looking too funky from sleeping.  They're not quite long enough to do two pigtails.  Almost though...I'm guessing that in a month, they will be.  I was a bit worried about the diameter, that they would be too small and prone to breaking, but they seem to be okay.  Conleigh does have some "trouble spots" where her hair was damaged and too short to braid so I just left that section alone since it's too fragile to really braid yet.  Her hairline is still growing in too so I kind of have left it a little frizzier so that I didn't have to braid in those fragile spots too.  It's in on cornrow in the middle and two braids on the sides right now.  Love it!

My New Favorite Hair Tool

Got any guesses as to what it actually is?  It is...drumroll, please...a latch hook.  As in what you use to do handicrafts.  As in what some little old lady used to do a massive picture of the Last Supper that hangs in the back of my parent's church.

I just used it for the first time on Kenson's locs.  His locs were in sad shape.  (Not really sad, just neglected.)  I had been tightening the new growth by twisting and palm rolling but his locs are so long, I felt like I wasn't having much success in keeping them tight.  And then I got behind in retightening.  So he had like 2 inches of unlocked hair in some spots.  It took me FOREVER to get through.  But I wish I had done the latch hook business earlier.  Basically you insert the hook end through the loc, wrap the loc around the loop end of the tool, then pull it back through the loc.  You repeat this process multiple times on each loc until the roots of the loc are tight against the scalp.  The roots of his locs look great.  The actual locs could use a little freshening up, either palm rolling or trimming the ends where you get little ballies of hair or the occasional stray hairs that managed to escape getting locked.  But all in all, they look great.

Summary of my day...

Okay I didn't spend my whole day doing this but a good chunk of it. 

These microbraids are the start of Conleigh's dreadlocks.  They look complicated but really they are just basic box braids, done with very small boxes.  Keeping in mind that I would want to put in barrettes and pigtails, I made sure to put in parts that go down the middle and parts that go from ear to ear, then I just started dividing those sections out into the smaller boxes.  Most of the boxes have a base that is a bit smaller than the eraser of a pencil.  I tried go as small as a could without risking breakage.

I've been contemplating it since she came home and have finally decided to take the plunge.  Yes, I'll be sad to see free hair go but I will be very thankful to let go of maintaining her hair in some type of style.  I also will be very thankful to have hair that can easily be pulled up, put in barrettes, etc..  

I'm probably not quite 1/2 done.  I don't know how many braids, probably over a hundred.  And when I say micro, I mean micro.  They are teeny tiny.  Even though it's a lot of work to put them in, I'm actually excited to finish and hope I can get it all done on Saturday.  Then onto ponytails, pigtails, French braids, and cornrows...all while her hair is in these itty bitty braids!



Small Victories

Oh, Mylanta!  My daughter has hair!

Okay she's always had hair.  But it's been at this kind of icky, in between stage where no protective styles like box braids, hanging twists, or cornrows looked very good.  She just didn't seem to have enough hair to have little braids or twists that looked right.  They always looked sickly.  And it was so uneven that on almost every style, little hairs would start popping out almost as soon as I said I was done.  Which means it starts looking ratty after a day or two.

So it's been lots of yarn braids and trying to encourage healthy hair by keeping it moisturized.  I also did a pretty good trim a few months back trying to even things out a bit.  It was sad because I knew it would mean that any additional length she had gained would probably be coming off.

But it's finally starting to pay off.  This Wednesday I did her first "normal' hair style:  hanging twists with flat twists across the front.  Hanging twists are such an easy style but we've never been able to do it.  You can still see that the hair around the base of her neck is a bit thin; the twists there are a little tiny and I had to wrap the elastics a lot to get them to stay on.  But look at the ones on the top!  Fat and chunky, just like they're supposed to be.  We're now on day 3 and they're still looking good. 

It's a small victory but it's a good one!