Style Update

What happens to hair and hair routines when Mama is sick? Around here, hair care is one of the very first things to go, along with clean clothes and nutritious meals. This week a lot of the planned product testing just didn't happen because mama was in bed.

But this kind of hair neglect can be instructive. It's interesting to see what hair needs after being left alone for a few days. Last night, I was feeling well enough to give the girls' hair some attention. Their hair was crying out for some moisture, so while they were in the shower, I rinsed it thoroughly. After their shower, I used Qhemet Amla and Olive Heavy Cream on Little B. I dabbed quite a bit in her parts. I'm finding it exceptionally good for keeping the scalp moisturized. I took the claw clips off her cornrows and gathered them in barrettes instead. In these photos, the product hasn't quite dried and been absorbed into her hair.

Little R's loose hair had become a bit tangled, even though I threw it into a ponytail as soon as I knew I was getting sick. After her shower, I detangled her damp hair with Qhemet Detangling Ghee and added a good amount of Amla and Olive Heavy Cream. I put her hair back up in a ponytail for the night. I love her hair pulled back into a ponytail when I don't brush it smooth. I like to see the curl pattern; it's a softer, sweeter look. It works very well when the hair is dry.

Enjoy your New Years Eve everyone! I love living on the West Coast, where I can stay up until the the ball drops in New York and still be in bed by 9:01!


PS Is there anything sweeter than kids coming in to tuck mommy in and inch the tissue box closer? Little B soothed me with, "Oh, I know. It's no fun being sick." while smoothing out my covers. Little R gave me lots of hugs and kisses. It was better than any other medicine.

Darcy's Botanicals Curling Jelly Review

I've been looking for a good curly hair gel for some time. I was excited when Darcy's Botanicals introduced their new Natural Coils Curling Jelly. I ordered some for myself and thought that maybe I'd give it a try on the girls. Maybe.

Here is is how Darcy's Botanicals describes Natural Coils Curling Jelly, "Our Natural Coils Curling Jelly works to enhance and define your natural coils and waves while also giving you hold, softness, and healthy conditioning." Sounds good, right?



The ingredients of Curling Jelly are Distilled Water, Organic Aloe Juice, Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Coconut Cream, Organic Castor Oil, Sea Moss Extract, Organic Brown Rice Extract, Hydrolyzed Oats, Potassium Sorbate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid and Fragrance.

Little R said it looks and smells like applesauce. It kind of does look like a very pale applesauce; it's a very loose gel that  looks whitish in the jar, but is pretty clear in the hand. There is a sticker on the top of the jar warning that it must be opened slowly. They aren't kidding; a full jar will spill if opened quickly. It has a very pleasant, light, apple scent.

That's Curling Jelly on the left and more traditional hair gel on the right.

When my Darcy's Botanicals package came, I decided keeping this to myself would be wrong, so I tried it on all three of us. We have curls ranging from 2b to 4b and I'm pleased to be able to tell you this is one of the best curl-defining products I've ever tried. A little goes a long way with this stuff. The first time I used it, I used way too much and my own hair felt a little heavy but even with too much in, there was no stickiness or crunchy, hard hair. The next time, I used far less and had terrific results. I used a little bit more on the girls and got well-defined, frizz-free curls that lasted all day.

When Little R wears her hair loose, she's always had a patch in the back by the end of the day where the curls have lost all definition and we just have a cloud of fuzz. That is not so with this product. Little B's hair can either clump up in sections or the coils can come apart and get frizzy. Neither was an issue with Curling Jelly. It made Little B's springy coils look full of life. The following series of photos shows what the Curling Jelly did for our hair over several days.

Little R with freshly washed hair, styled with Curling Jelly.

Her curls still look great after a full day of playing.

This is the first time I've ever seen defined curls in the back at the end of the day.

Her coils just sing!

Coils still looking good first thing Christmas morning.

Three girls, one product, lots of happy, happy curls.

We all used this over Darcy Botanicals Hydrating Milk (which was also supposed to be just for me). While the Curling Jelly does have moisturizing ingredients, it would not be enough moisture for us alone, especially in the winter. Besides the curl definition and lack of frizz, I love that I can't feel this product in the hair at all.

I'm just thrilled with this product and plan to use it on loose styles of a long time. I give Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly five out of five star beads!

V Pattern Halfros

This is a school-free week so we'll just be relaxing at home, hanging out with friends, trying not to fall off the mini trampoline Santa brought for the girls, and testing out some new hair products. I have some Qhemet detangler, gel and cream leave-in and well as some Darcy's Botanicals products to play with. I want to reassure you that although we do slap new products on the second they arrive, we also spend days, and sometimes weeks, trying out new products properly before reviewing them for you. I always like to test things out on loose hair so I can really get a feel for how they are working.

I stated with a regular wash and condition for both girls this morning. I used Qhemet Detangling Ghee as well as a new detangling comb to get all those snarls and shed hair out. I found a fairy knot in Little B's hair and this time we were able to get a clear photo of it which you can see here.

Detangling over a game of Gobblers

Once Little R's  hair was detangled, I spritzed it with water and added a little Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly along with a couple of barrettes. Isn't the difference between the before and after the Jelly dramatic? Look for a full review of Curling Jelly this week.

Little R with just Qhemet detangling Ghee in her detangled hair

One minute later, after a spritz of water and Darcy's Botanicals Curling Jelly

 Before Curling Jelly

After Curling Jelly

Barrettes and lots of shrinkage when fully dry.

I parted Little B's hair just behind her ears and clipped the back out of the way. I then made lots of diagonal parts for cornrows in the front. I would love to do some fancy parts for cornrows, but I'm still figuring that out, so diagonal is about as fancy as I can get for now. I used Darcy's Botanicals Avocado and Honey Twisting Cream for the cornrows and clipped them back with mini claw clips. I'll have more to say about the Twisting Cream soon. When cornrows only go a little way back and end in an afro, we call them halfros.

I clipped each section and then braided.

Washing, Conditioning and Detangling Time: 15 minutes for Little R, 40 minutes for Little B

Styling time: 5 minutes for Little R, 40 minutes for Little B

This week's entertainment: Gobblet Gobblers and Checkers
This week's snack: Oops! I forgot to give them one! No wonder everyone was getting a bit cranky.

Saturday Spotlight!

Welcome to Saturday Spotlight! This is the feature where get to see the skills of many talented moms. Today, Mommy D is sharing the cornrows she recently did on her Little T. I love how the cornrows in back end in little center puffs. It's so cute!

Mommy D has this to say about accomplishing this style,

On her hair: Aveda Damage Remedy shampoo (our new favorite for my hair too), Aubrey Organics GPB left on for about an hour while we ate dinner, coconut and jojoba oil in her hair for detangle, and a bit of Aveda Control Paste at the hairline or or at the beginning of each braid to keep the fuzzies away.  I keep going back to the Aveda Control Paste since it's not too sticky or oily, only a tiny bit is needed, and it seems very gentle on her hair.

Time: maybe 5-7 minutes for detangle (the new wash/condition method makes it very easy to comb out), 35-40 minutes to do the front braids, and maybe an hour or so this morning to finish up the back. To do the back braids that started at the nape of her neck, I had her put her head down on her pillow on the couch, then on the table.

While getting her hair done, little T drew pictures with colored pencils, she colored pictures, practiced her spelling words, and at one point got into a hand wrestling session with here brother.

Great job, Mommy D! Your method for getting the back cornrows done sounds great. Thank you for sharing your talents, the details of your process and your cute Little T with us today!


Do you like the Saturday Spotlight? Me too, but I need YOU to keep this feature going! Here's how to become a Saturday Spotlight mom:


Just email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com with a few pictures, your little one's first initial, how long the style took to complete, products/tools used, and anything else you want to share. Let's learn, share and grow together! I look forward to hearing from you.

Happy Holidays!

Little B, Little R and I wish you a very Happy Holiday! May it be filled with laughter, joy, and many, many, delicious treats!

Here is a little video from last year of Little B and Little R sharing a bit of Holiday spirit. Enjoy!

Style Update

This week, Little B has a continuous spiral cornrow and Little R is wearing one cornrow with a side ponytail. I have all of this new product to try, and I've been trying to test it out but with these styles, I've had to get creative.

Little B's cornrow is looking acceptable. I wish I could say fantastic or least really good, but acceptable it about all I can say. It has lost a lot of definition and is a little fuzzy, but I think it could easily last another week if I wanted it to. I don't know if the lack of definition is due to my cornrow ability (or lack of) or the new product I tried while braiding. Her little scalp isn't feeling an adverse effect from the cornrow. Instead of oiling her parts, I've tried a bit of Qhemet Amla and Olive Heavy Cream. It says right on the label that it can be used as a scalp butter, so this isn't as odd as it might sound. So far, it's working well. Her scalp looks very good and her usual trouble areas are fine.

I wish I had been a little more careful with those parts.

I'll do a few things differently next time.

Little R's ponytail needs to be redone every morning. I've been giving it a quick spritz with water and adding a little moisturizing product. Which product I use depends on the day and what I feel like trying. I've used a few Darcy's Botanicals products and a few from Qhemet in the last few days. I'm embarrassed to say that I tried a different product on the three different sections of her hair today. I used Twisting Cream for the cornrow, Amla and Olive Heavy Cream for the hair that I brushed back and Detangling Ghee on the curls in the ponytail. Ridiculous, isn't it? I needed to rebraid her cornrow this morning because one little chunk of hair popped out. I was glad to have the excuse though, it needed a little freshening up.

Can you see the bit that escaped the braid?

What do you do when you have new product in the house? Do save it for the appropriate time to use it? Do you open it immediately and take a look? Do you create a reason you have to use it soon? Here we slather it on immediately, no matter how inappropriate. How about you?

Fairy Knots

It's a month of fairies around here. The tooth fairy was very kind to Little R and both girls have decided that the jolly guy is the red suit must be a fairy because he can appear and disappear magically in houses that don't have chimneys. We must have had another kind of fairy visit us too because I've seen a few fairy knots lately. What are fairy knots, you ask?

Fairy knots are single strand knots in the hair. You read that right. They appear where a single strand of hair has gotten tangled into itself- unless you believe that tiny fairies really are responsible for tying these impossibly small knots. Fairy knots seem to come with natural, curly hair. Some people experience them more often with loose hair, but some people get them no matter what. There doesn't seem to be any way to totally prevent them.

Often, they are more easily felt than seen. I tried to photograph one for you, but like fairies, they can be hard to capture with a camera. They can be right near the end of the strand of hair or quite far up. I've read about people detangling them carefully with Denman brushes, but I cannot imagine ever getting one out myself. Those we get are too small to even pick out with a pin tail comb. When I see them and they are close to the end of the hair, I snip them out. Otherwise I leave them alone.

Have you seen fairy knots? How do you deal with them?

Update 12/27/09:
With a little help I was able to capture a fairy knot! Can you see it? It's right at the end of the of the pin tail comb.

Spiral Cornrow and Modified Queen Style

I'm sitting at the dining room room table while Little B quietly works in her writing book and Little R entertains the dog. I have a cup of Italian roast coffee with a splash of eggnog steaming next to me and the cat sharing my chair. I'm glad to have a soothing, late afternoon moment to write about our hair day adventures.

I've been excited to try the cool spiral cornrow Mommy C did a for a Saturday Spotlight a couple of weeks back.  I got an early start this morning, shampooing and conditioning the girls. I was a little worried about detangling Little B this morning since she has had a wash and go for almost a week and she has a bit of a cold, which usually gives her little tolerance for having her hair done.

After Little B's wash, I added some Darcy's Botanical Hydrating Milk (which I ordered for myself) and gently use my fingers to detangle. After lugging our hair stuff downstairs and settling her in front of a video, I got out my detangling comb and got to work. It went a lot easier than expected. I detangled in small sections starting in the back, adding a little more hair milk to each section as I went. I used my pin tail comb to gently untangle any heavy snarls at the ends of her hair. Once I got through a smoothly with the detangling comb, I followed up with a few passes with my Kakakiki brush. As I moved into thicker areas of her hair, I found that adding a spritz of water and working in drop of conditioner made it easier. I clipped each section as I detangled to keep it from tangling up and to stretch the hair a bit. When she was detangled, I moved on the Little R.

Little R has a very simple style this week.  When we do a big cornrow or flat twist along the hairline, we call it a queen style because it can look so regal. Our queen style is usually worn with loose hair in back, but this one is modified in two way, the part is diagonal and the hair is gathered in back.

I took damp, detangled hair and made a diagonal part from behind one ear, across her head, and to the front of her other ear. I ended up with a wedge shape. I applied a little Avocado and Honey Twisting Cream and cornrowed that section, being careful to keep the cornrow in the center. I finished it with a cloth band and a ballie, leaving a few curls hanging down. I took the rest of her hair, applied a little twisting cream because it was close by and open, and brushed it back into a side pony tail. I used some Curling Jelly on the pony tail and on the little curls at the end of the cornrow.

 

I then moved back to Little B, whose hair was still just a little damp. I started by making a part right above one ear and circling around along her hairline to her other ear. I added Twisting Cream, brushed with the Kakakiki and began to cornrow. As I came the end of each section, I clipped the braid and parted some more. In this way, I made it all around her head. When I came to the center, I took the end of the braid and a little tuft of reaming loose hair, combined them and wound them down into a Bantu knot.

The cornrow spiral was a challenge. It wasn't easy to keep cornrowing in all directions without a real break between rows. My parts are not precisely even and I wasn't able to keep the cornrow in the center of the section as I planned. But the good news is that it's a nice protective style that should last. The very good news is that when I finished I found it was an entire hour earlier than I thought it was. Although it felt like this took a long time, it really didn't. I'm pleased with my fist attempt. This is a style I'll be trying again and again.

Washing, Conditioning and Detangling Time: 15 minutes for Little R, 35 minutes for Little B
Styling time: 15 minutes for Little R, 1 hour for Little B
This week's entertainment: Elmo's World: Opposites (My girls are pretty old for this, but what can I say, they still love it.)

Saturday Spotlight

Today our spotlight falls on Mommy D and her cutie-pie Little G. D has styled Little G's hair in wonderful little Bantu knots. Whether they are called Bantu knots, Nubian knots, or Zulu knots, they are a favorite among moms. Mommy D had this to say,

These little Bantu knots only took about 10 min to put in. I used Butter Me Up and Jelly Cream by Blended Beauty. I just used a normal wide toothed comb and silicone rubber bands to hold the knots in place. I also used fruit snacks to keep her entertained. She does not sit well for hair styling. The knots were able to stay in for 3 days before needing to be taken out.  

How cute! Thank you Mommy D. We are so glad you shared Little G's and her Bantu knots today!


Would you like to be in the Saturday Spotlight?

 Just email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com and tell me you want to a Saturday Spotlight  mom! Send a few pictures, your little one's first initial, how long the style took to complete, products/tools used, and anything else you want to share. Let's learn, share and grow together! I look forward to hearing from you.

Talking about Kids Cutting Hair

I had a talk with my girls the other day, not THE TALK, but another important one. After the Congress Elementary situation, a wise member of a curly hair forum reminded everyone to speak to their children about what to do if someone tries to cut their hair.

I thought that was an excellent idea. I'm not worried that one of their experienced, loving, wonderful teachers would ever harm them, but my girls are in kindergarten and their room is well-stocked with both safety scissors and five year olds.

During lunch the other day, Little B, Little R, and I practiced what to do and say if a child comes near their heads with scissors. I taught them say "NO!" with some force and to run to the teacher, tell her what happened and stay with her until until she sorts it out. It's a little stickier with an authority figure, but I had them practice "NO!" and "DON'T CUT MY HAIR!" and told them to do their best to run to another adult.

It's a good thing we practiced because they needed the information the very next day. Little B was minding her own business, cutting out shapes at her little table, when a usually good-natured, quiet girl waved the scissors near Little B's head and threatened to cut her hair. Little B did exactly what we talked about. The teacher dealt with it well and found out the other girl was just teasing and had no plans to actually cut Little B's hair.

I have to wonder what would have happened if we hadn't had that talk. Would Little B have sat there, sad and afraid, while her friend threatened and teased her? Would she have thought, "Great idea!" and encouraged her friend to give it a whirl? I don't know, but I'm sure glad I didn't have to find out.

Have you had this talk with your kids? Do you plan to?  I'd love to hear how did, or will, approach it.


PS If you'd like to read the Essence interview with Helen Cunningham, Lamya Cammon's mother, click here. Feel free to discuss that here too.