The February Protective Style - Cornrows and Box Braids

Slowly but surely...I'm catching up!

February's protective style was cornrows and box braids. This lasted the whole month.

Although I neglected to take step-by step photos, I'll go through the steps. 

1) I made a headband of three cornrows across the front, alternating which side I started on. 

3 cornrows in the front

last headband cornrow started further back, for variety

2) I then braided 8 cornrows heading straight back, ending in single braids, as you can see in the photo above.

3) I put the back of JJ's hair into single box braids.   

box braids at the back

better idea of braid length

The parting pattern of the box braids was staggered to make part lines less visible. I did have to make two boxes much bigger than the others, as you can see in the photo below. This is because I was still trying to hide the chunk of hair that JJ cut off the month before. Luckily, the four braids that I am holding up in the photo below covered the two larger parted areas so it didn't look too "off". 

These are the two larger braids. The circles indicate the length of the hair that she cut off.

As you can see, the larger boxes (and the cut-off hair!) were well-camouflaged by the braids that laid on top of them.

We tried to remember to cover up at night as much as possible.

For school, JJ usually started the day with her hair tied back, but she loves her hair down in braids so mostly it was down.

We gently washed her scalp and braids once a week, with a few co-washes thrown in the mix too. We refreshed/moisturized with diluted Taliah Waajid Protective Mist Bodifer or a home-made cocoa butter, coconut oil and almond oil mixture.

This ended up being a great long term protective style that was visually interesting and lasted well. JJ's cut-off chunk of hair is really growing and she even wore her hair OUT for the first time in months (next post!).

Cornrows into Ponytails - New Look with Pipe Cleaners!

At our house we try to get as much mileage out of a style as humanly possible, so I thought I'd follow up on my last post to show you how we stretched out JJ's last style; namely cornrows into pigtails, inspired by Rachelle Yakubu:

For those of you who wondered, JJ's t-shirt is Norwegian
(gifted from my Norwegian parents) 

After a few days of straight-ish bangs and ponytails, we decided to try the pipe cleaner method to curl up those braids. This was partly inspired by my recent adventures with Barbie boil perms and also inspired by Baby Big Hair posts on using pipe cleaners (this link is for Part III but be sure to also check out Part I and Part II).

So - we rolled those braids up before bed. It took about 7 minutes.

I rolled the "bang" braids by themselves, and rolled 2-4 braids together into one pipe cleaner for the ponytails.

The next morning we unrolled the pipecleaners (this took about 3 minutes).

Same style, new look!

I just **had** to throw this picture in the mix.

What do you think of the curly braids? JJ loved them, and they were really a quick and easy way to change up a protective style. And cheap as chips!! Just a dollar for a package of pipe cleaners. I've already styled 2 barbies plus JJ, and have lots left over!!

Cornrows into Pigtails - Inspired by Rachelle Yakubu

Over the weekend, JJ and I were looking through hairstyle photos on the Rachelle Yakubu Photography website. This amazingly talented photographer has a feature that we both adore - called Hairstyle Thursdays.

JJ put in a request for this hairstyle by Rachelle Yakubu, and I tried my best! (side note: we left out the beads - for now anyway)

We started with clean hair that has been loose and free in a 'fro for the day.

Her hair was well-hydrated thanks to a home-made shea butter/coconut oil/shea oil mix.

Just another reminder of JJ's non-shrunken length:

I started with some corn-rows into single braids, 'cuz JJ loves "bangs".

 

Then - it was bedtime! The next day, JJ wore her hair free in the back with the braided bangs.

At bed time, I banded the back of her hair for the night, to stretch it out. I typically use JJ's old tights (cut into strips)  to band JJ's hair as they are really gentle and are very quick to put in.

I wanted to make a curved part for the ponytails, because I loved the "freestyle" look of Rachelle's original style.

curved part for ponytails

I also decided not to put the lower back hair into the ponytails. Instead I chose to braid these downwards. JJ likes to keep some length in the back. I've also found in the past that the skin at the nape of her neck is sensitive. Downward braids do not seem to irritate her skin like upward braids have in the past.  

ready for bed!

The next day I cornrowed both sides into two side ponytails.

In the back I did one layer of cornrows into single braids, and added some single braids at the nape of her neck.

Yes, the phone again - favorite hair time distraction!

I pulled the back braids into a ponytail.

See, phone is put away - she's reading a book! Yay!

JJ loves her hair!!

Be sure to check out Rachelle Yakubu's Hairstyle Thursdays for some other beautiful styles and breathtaking photos!

Bye Bye Braids!

The Braid Komb

A while back I picked up this Braid Komb at a local Beauty Supply Store. I had gone in looking for Queen Helene Royal Curl Shaping Creme. Unfortunately, the QH doesn't seem to be anywhere in Canada, but I left with a package of 100 large-barreled black beads, the Braid Komb ($1.99), and change from my $5 bill.

I braided JJ's hair recently with 53 small braids and lots of beads.  I took out the beads using a seam ripper after 6 days, and left the braids in for a few more days. The braids probably could have stayed longer, but I was itching to try out the comb.

I decided to pace myself, because I am not a huge fan of braid removal. I decided to take out only the braids in the back section of JJ's hair while she watched Shrek for the billionth time. She watched, I took out braids, and before we new it, ALL the braids were out (except the cornrows on the side, which I left in). I wasn't keeping a super close eye on the clock, but Shrek is 90 minutes long, so I was pretty happy with that compared to the five or so hours that it took last time I did small braids.

In fairness, I made the braids a bit larger than last time. But the Braid Komb made huge difference. I used the first tooth to insert into the braid and pulled out 2-3 stitches at a time. The angle of the tooth is perfect for this. You can see some action shots of the Braid Komb on the website.  It was super gentle on JJ's hair.

Once the braids were out I spritzed her hair lightly with water and - ta-da! It shrunk right back up into a 'fro.

She rocked the 'fro for a short time, and then (while watching Shrek 2) I put in some flat twists for the week. 

JJ - second week of Kindergarten!

According to the Braid Komb website, online ordering is coming soon.... Meanwhile, I'm **very** pleased with this find (but still desperately seeking the QH creme....).

UPDATE: I stopped into the Braid Komb creator's salon today and met Sharon in person!! I told her that I loved the comb, and she promises to get those online orders going soon....!

Bye bye beads!

JJ's beads from this style with small braids came out last weekend.

They'd been in for 6 days, which is by far the longest we've ever left beads. I try not to leave beads or rubber bands in for long because I want to take good care of those precious ends! But JJ LOVES to swing her beads and adores their clickity-clack sounds. She convinced me to leave the beads in for a birthday party on Saturday, and spent almost the entire party in the bouncy castle, clickity-clacking away.

My last post went into some detail in terms of putting the beads in, so I thought I'd also detail taking the beads out.

SIDE NOTE: My strategy for getting those beads in and keeping them in really worked because over 6 days of JJ's usual high activity level general not a single bead fell out!!

Over time I've tried lots of methods to remove beads, this is what works best for us. 

I use a seam ripper to cut the rubber bands. 

When I put a rubber band in, I try to wind it so the last that bit of rubber band is directly on top of the rest of the band, versus being directly on top of hair. (Hard to describe, will take a pic next time!!) That way I can easily cut the rubber band without worrying about accidentally cutting hair. 

The bands I used this past time also had the advantage that they were pink and purple, and very easy to see against JJ's hair. In the past I have often used black rubber bands which are more easily camouflaged in JJ's hair, but are harder to distinguish between hair and bands when taking the bands out.

I used Proclaim rubber bands from Sally's. They claim to be soft and flexible and do not cause breakage. I had pre-soaked them in coconut oil, which can sometimes make rubber bands weaker, but these did not weaken much (did I mention, NO beads fell out over 6 days!!). So once the band was cut once with the seam ripper it unravelled easily and the beads slid right off. In the picture below you can see my pile of cut rubber bands. What struck me was that I saw almost no broken hair, JJ's ends had not become tangled at all. 

almost no broken hair!!

In fact, her ends looked quite good! I tried to get a picture but my camera's close-up focus function refused to cooperate.  

Here are (some of) her braids, pulled into a side pony. The rest were in a pony at the back, but JJ (as you can see) was in no mood for photos! 

Very soon - as soon as I get time - I will update you on how much I LOVE my special new braid removal comb...  

Small Braids and Many Beads

Not long ago, we had an Unhappy Hair Day. JJ had worn her hair in small box braids for a few weeks, and the lengthy take-down time made us both grumpy. I swore I'd never do small braids again.

But - a couple of months have gone by, and I wanted to take the time to give JJ a style that would hold for a couple of weeks. Braids tend to last longer than twists for JJ, and I found a couple of ways to cut down on the total number of braids for easier take-down of the style. First of all, I made the braids a little bigger than last time. Secondly, instead of putting box braids over her whole head, I added some cornrows on one side. In total, there were 53 small braids, which seems like a much more manageable number.

JJ and I were browsing facebook photos and saw a picture of the beautiful Baby O from Intermittent Babbling - she had braids with lovely pink and purple beads and we totally copied the colour scheme. Our end result:

 

I am **hoping** that neither one of us has a temper tantrum when these braids come out. Besides the fact that there are fewer braids,  I recently picked up a comb that promised to cut braid take-down time in HALF. 

That is a big promise, and I am a skeptic, but the comb was only $1.99 so I took a risk. I'll let you know.....!

**DETAILS ABOUT ADDING THE BEADS***

Often I add snaps at the ends of JJ's braids to secure beads. But I find that snaps and daycare do not mix well. There's always a little pile of snaps and beads waiting for me at the end of the day when I pick her up. I've decided snaps are for weekends only. This time around I used the tried and true method of wrapping hair around the bottom bead and securing with an elastic.

See how the black bead has a slightly larger diameter hole than the purple bead? I used this to my advantage to camouflage the elastics I used to secure the beads.

I used 3-4 beads per braid, making sure to use a smaller purple (or pink) bead at the bottom, and a black bead next in line.

After stringing the beads onto the braid, I wrapped JJ's hair around the bottom bead, and secured with a matching pink or purple elastic (pre-soaked in coconut oil). I then pulled the wider black bead over top of the elastic. The elastic is just barely visible, and it looks relatively neat.

I am happy with way the beads look, and NOT A SINGLE ONE has fallen out in 4 very active days at kindergarten, daycare, home, and  sleep. JJ has been wearing a satin scarf at night:

JJ just started Kindergarten and loves to "read" while swinging her braids around!