Hair Carnival - Breast Cancer Awareness

In 2010, nearly 1.5 million people were told "you have breast cancer". (Breast Cancer Statistics Worldwide). 

This is a sobering statistic. 

Many (too many) of my own friends and family members have been affected by breast cancer.  I'd like to dedicate this post especially to my friend K who passed away a little over two years ago, and to my amazing friend J who continues to beat the odds. And to my grandma, who survived 40 years post mastectomy and had a wonderful life after breast cancer.

Last year, around this time, big brother J and I did our first 5K together (Run for the Cure) to raise money for breast cancer. Here he is, at the finish line:

J finishes his first 5K!
Our team dressed as cats in support of our friend C, a cat lover

As you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. For this hair carnival, the challenge has been to incorporate the breast cancer awareness logo - the pink ribbon - into our hair styles.

I started by parting JJ's hair ear to ear and put the front in large twists to keep it out of the way.

Moving to the back section, I parted out the "middle" of the ribbon, and clipped JJ's hair away so I could figure out what to do next.

I then did piggyback ponytails around in a circle, criss-crossing at the bottom. I used pink ouchless bands, of course!

It's a bit hard to see, but I flat-twisted the middle section of her hair. I started at the bottom and made my way around counter-clockwise. I twisted the remaining ends and secured them in a twisted bantu knot.

I then did a large flat twist (into braid) at the front and secured the ends with a pink ribbon barrette (oops it flipped over in this picture).

I think she's watching TV here - thus the zoned-out face

JJ adored this style, and a few people even recognized it as being the breast cancer pink ribbon!

Later in the week, for a simple change, I did smaller two-strand twists in the front section, gathered these in a ponytail, and added a (homemade) breast cancer awareness ribbon to the ponytail.

I also took out the then-fuzzy piggyback ponytails, and flat-twisted the hair, again in the ribbon "shape". I added two small ribbons to the ends of the twists.

This hair carnival was a fun challenge. It has also meant a lot to me personally, to participate in a carnival that helps raise awareness for a cause that is very important to me. 

There are so many other brilliant and creative styles in this carnival - be sure to check them all out by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post! 

Also, this month, please consider making a donation to help fund education, screening and/or research programs for breast cancer. These programs have the potential to dramatically increase survival rates! 

A special shout-out to my blogger friend Mikimu, who is raising funds in the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure this year. Good luck Mikimu!

Finally, I'd like to share link - this is an amazing, very moving film my friend J's young son made about her - called Mommy has Breast Cancer.

J- keep fighting -xoxo !!!!!

K - I miss your laugh and your crazy handwriting ):
Grandma - I wouldn't have met you had you not beat that cancer! I'm so glad we had all those years together!