French Braided Ponytail

Remember last weekend when I said in this post that I would band Syd's hair at night and then throw it up into a quick style every morning? It was a great idea. Unfortunately, I didn't follow through. Instead, I did a different kind of ponytail that she wore for a few days.

The very front of Syd's hairline was still in a single cornrow, as seen back in the post mentioned above. I just left that alone, since it still looked good. I divided the rest of her hair into 4 sections, with one part going from front to back and another one going from ear to ear.

I french braided each section toward the center where the parts intersected.

When all 4 sections had been french braided, I joined them into a ponytail. The ponytail consisted of 3 tendrils of hair from each of the 4 french braids. I braided each tendril, resulting in a ponytail made of 12 individual braids.

After 2 days of that style, we removed the individual braids but kept the french braids and she had a great looking braid out ponytail.

I've done countless cornrow ponytails through the years, but this was the first time I had ever even thought of using french braids instead. I think I'll have to explore this more...I love the way it looks!

Healthy Hair Becomes Longer Hair

The question I get asked most often is some variation of:
"How can I get my (or my daughter's) hair as long as Syd's?"

Unfortunatley, there is no magic formula, cream, or pill. The best advice I can give is to make sure your hair is moisturized and stop being so rough with it.

Dried out hair is more fragile and more likely to break off. Make sure you are keeping those strands nice and moisturized. At this point, I'm sure several of you are thinking, "What products should I use?"

That's actually the second most frequently asked question I receive. I could tell you what products we use most often on Syd's hair, but that might not help. Every head of hair is different. It's a process of trial and error until you find the products you like best for your own hair. Does something make your hair feel dry by the end of the day? If so, I'd suggest moving on and trying something new. If your hair seems too weighed down, go for something a little lighter. It can be frustrating as you search for the "perfect" product or combination of products, but once you discover what works for you, it's smooth sailing and happy hair. (For the record, we use Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer and Aussie Moist conditioner more often than any others for moisture.)

The number one reason that hair seems to stop getting any longer is because it is breaking off just as fast (and sometimes faster!) than it is growing. Ripping a brush or comb through your hair is a great way to ensure that it breaks off and negates the length retention you're striving for.

Be gentle. Take your time. Use your fingers to separate your tangled hair as much as possible. Be mindful of how often you are putting beads, barrettes, and rubber bands on the ends of the hair. You don't have to completely eliminate those things, but consistently using them  on a daily basis will contribute to breakage (read: lack of length).

And of course, genetics also play a part in the length of your hair. Some heads of hair grow much faster than others. There is also something called terminal length. This is the length that is reached when each strand ends the growing stage in the growth cycle (called the anagen phase). When a strand reaches the end of that stage, it remains dormant for a while before shedding on its own. Someone whose hair grows slower than average and has a fairly short-lived anagen stage won't be able to grow their hair as long as someone who has a faster growth rate and longer growth cycle.

I think the most important part of growing your hair is to make sure your hair remains healthy by staying moisturized and as undamaged as possible. Learn to embrace your healthy strands, no matter what their length. And in time, healthy hair will become longer hair.

The "I Don't Wanna" French Braid

So here's what happened...

It was about 7:00 in the evening when I sat down to style Syd's hair. I started out with one cornrow across the front of her hairline.

After that cornrow, I decided I just wasn't in the mood to do hair. You know the feeling, right? The one where you want to stomp your foot and whine like a 3 year old because you just don't want to do it?

Well I'm proud to announce that I did not, in fact, throw a temper tantrum. I did, however, stop styling Syd's hair. I banded the back of her hair and decided that I would just wake up 15 minutes earlier and do a quick style in the morning.

You'll notice that I did take the time to make fairly straight parts before I banded her hair. This is so these banded ponytails can be pulled back into one or two low ponytails if we needed to go somewhere before her hair was styles. I learned the hard way that sometimes things come up and you have to leave the house unexpectedly. Having a preteen with her hair banded without so much as a straight part is NOT a fun situation to be in for mom or child. Trust me on this.

Fast forward to the next morning. I had a head full of hair to style in under 20 minutes. I was going to throw it up in a bun, but I took a good look at her hair. It was stretched and well moisturized, which means it was really shiny. I decided to leave the one cornrow in front and show off how silky and shiny the rest of her hair was by putting it into one big french braid.

I think I'll reband her hair every evening this week so we can do quick styles before school every morning. I'll show you at the end of the week what styles we decide on.

Sharing the Spotlight: Not Your Average Braids by Goldilocks*n*Me

Thank you to 6 year old Goldilocks and mommy Tav from Goldilocks*n*Me for jumping in to take their turn in the spotlight! They have sent in pictures of two amazing braid styles. Despite the complex look of the braids, Tav explains how to do them on her blog and says they were both done before school in about 5 or 10 minutes. That makes them even better!

This first style is an uneven braid with 2 tiny strands braided normally and then braided with the remaining hair to form a large uneven braid. A pretty lace ribbon was added, too.

The second style is a 4 strand flat woven braid using 3 strands of hair and 1 strand of grosgrain ribbon.

I love both of these looks! To get more detailed instructions and to find other very creative styles, head on over to Goldilocks*n*Me to see what you can find. Thanks again for sharing!

If you want to share your styles, click on Contribute at the top of the page to find out how!

Sharing the Spotlight

It's Friday, which means it's time for another Sharing the Spotlight! Unfortunately, I have shared all submissions that have been sent in to me.

This means I need your help. I need someone to shine the spotlight on! If you have a picture of a style that you would like to share, please send it to me at tweenyhair@gmail.com.

Happy Friday!

Back to School Twist Out

Today was Syd's first day of middle school! She liked her last twist out so much that she decided she wanted another one for the all-important first day hairstyle.

I decided to give her a simple braided headband in addition to the twist out. I made it very basic, with a part in the middle of her head and one cornrow down each side of her face toward her ear. The back of the hair was put into three strand twists. I used Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade for both the cornrows and the twists.

She wore her hair in the twists all day Sunday. The twists were removed Monday morning, but the cornrows along the edges were left in.

The result was a gorgeous twist out, a protected hairline, and one happy middle schooler!

Sharing the Spotlight: Kandy Land Kurls

Today's spotlight is shining on Kandy Land Kurls, a wonderful blog full of natural hair care information, styles, and so much more. Check out these pictures to see examples of styles you can find over at KandyLand.

Be sure to head over to KandyLand right now to check out all they have to offer!

Sharing the Spotlight isn't just for bloggers. Anyone who has a style to share is encouraged to click on Contribute at the top of the page to find out how the spotlight can shine on you!