Large Section Braids and Puffs with Hairline Flat Twists

Oh, oh, oh, today. Do you ever have those days when every single thing you've planned seems to go awry?

I washed, conditioned and detangled hair late yesterday afternoon, leaving Little R's in big random braids and Little B's in big twists to keep the hair from tangling again. Somehow, this morning I slept hours past my usual waking time, so hair didn't get started until half the morning was gone.

I started with Little R because the night before, while sitting across from her at dinner it struck me that I loved her hair the way it was. I had unintentionally made a somewhat triangular sections for her braids and they were hanging nicely. This morning, I just took the braids out and parted the sections with cleaner lines. I added styling creme and put the braids back in. And then hair day went downhill.

 While working on Little B's hair, I looked over and saw that Little R had thrown a big 
blanket over her head. Why do kids do that when their hair has been freshly been styled?

Little R singing Rock a Bye Baby to the dog. He looks thrilled doesn't he?

I planned do cornrows and puffs for Little B and make a new and improved cornrowing video to post here. The decided after doing a bunch of parting that pattern wasn't going to work out. I took out the clips and made new parts and a new plan. I cornrowed and cornrowed. I even made two videos, because Little R blew her nose with tremendous noise right in the middle of the first one. But those cornrows were not  looking good to me. I don't know if it was the parts, the braiding, fatigue setting in, or all of the above, but I didn't like them one bit and just didn't find them acceptable. And they were taking forever. It felt like I was braiding for three days straight. It got to be nap time and I still had almost half of her head to go.

After lunch I sent Little B to bed for a nap, and thought up Plan B. I crept up to her room, and while she slept, I began taking the cornrows out. I got most of them out in a few minutes although she did wake up. I put a headband on her and we took a break by going to the library. When we got back, I tried my new plan. I parted her hair done the center and prepared to gather it into two puffs.  Puffs alone put too much pressure on her hairline though, so I carefully parted off some hair right along the hairline and gathered the rest with a natural bristle brush. I took the loose hair and did a flat twist following the curve of her hairline. I tucked the end up into the puff. I added some little flower clips to the twists and some flower ballies for decoration.

And now my better half is back with a pizza and I'm calling an end to this day of tiring mishaps and altered hair plans.  

Have you ever had a hair day when nothing seemed to go right? What did you do?

Saturday Spotlight!

Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, were we highlight the many talents of moms who care for curly girls and boys. Meet Mommy A and her sweet Little M.

At 13 months old, M's hair had reached a point of needing to be styled or cut. And I did not/do not want to cut his hair. So I made my first attempt at a hairstyle. Deciding on a hairstyle was a little tricky because I wasn't sure what qualified as a "boy" style. I settled on coils. The night before I styled it, I washed his hair. I use conditioner in the bath (I think this month it's Suave). After it was washed I detangled it, which doesn't take long and I rarely need to use a product on it to detangle, he has fairly loose curls when it's wet. I put a mixture of olive oil, conditioner and water in his hair and put him to bed.

The next day, I did his hair while he at lunch. I was only able to get the front half of his hair done because a) I was slow b) the highchair back is high and I could get at the back of his head and c) this was a practice run so I didn't want to stress out either one of us.

I used a spray bottle to wet his hair and ran a comb through it to get out any remaining tangles. I didn't do any parts because I wanted the "messy" look. I grabbed a small section of hair, coated it in Carol's Daughter Loc Butter and twisted the section until it started to curl into itself. When I let go, it fell into a neat little coil.

The first time I attempted it, it took me about 15 minutes for the washing and detangle at night, 5 minutes to comb before starting the style and 15-20 minutes to put in the coils on the front half of his head. I tried this style again a couple weeks later. It took me 15-20 minutes to do his whole head and I've since discovered that sitting him in the bathroom sink and letting him play with the faucet, mirror and toothbrushes allows me enough time to bead his hair!

Thanks for sharing coils and Little M with use today! He sure is a cutie!

If you would like to share a style you have recently completed, we would love to see it! Please email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com with a few pictures, the first initial of your little one's name, 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 Boy Hair

Welcome to part four of our Happy Boy Hair series with Mommy K. Today, we learn about her experiences with tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm. Ringworm is a very common fungal infection. It is contagious and when many kids spend a lot of time together in close quarters, it can spread quickly. Many, many internationally adopted children come home with tinea. Ringworm on the scalp is much harder to get rid of than ringworm on the body.

Our son came home with a fungal infection (ringworm) on his shaved scalp.  That's common in many orphanages and is an infection that is more prevalent in black children than in white, even in the States. It looks like dry circular patches on the scalp, which is what we thought we were dealing with. Until I ended up with ringworm on my arm and the dry patches on the scalp kept increasing in size. A skin scraping will determine if your child has a fungal infection.  It is recommended to treat it with an oral medication. And a lot of people recommend shaving the hair. I was determined not to do that. So we took the oral medicine and I started using tea tree oil as a natural fungal fighting agent. Plus, the ringworm itches and my poor kiddo was itching his head to death, especially at night.  I tried to find something that would soothe the itch, fight the fungus, and not dry out his already dry scalp.

We used three products: Jason Tea Tree Soothing Gel, Organix Tea Tree Oil and Mint Conditioner, and a homemade spray of Jason Tea Tree Oil, water, and olive oil. The gel is a great natural anti-itch gel that soothes all sorts of skin irritations. I didn't want to put a cream on his hair so the lighter gel worked great to spread on his ringworm patches at night, to help with the itch. We also occasionally used the Organix conditioner as a no poo/conditioning wash. And I used my homemade spray as a moisturizer for his scalp/hair.

We never had to shave his head, his hair stayed healthy, and the ringworm went away. I used the conditioner occasionally even after the ringworm disappeared because ringworm likes to resurface, that once you think it's gone, it can show back up. So I was hoping the anti-fungal properties of the tea tree oil in the conditioner would help keep it away. Some people have said tea tree oil can be a catalyst for early puberty so you may want to be careful in how often you use it.

If you suspect your child has ringworm, it's a good idea to take her to a dermatologist. Often, pediatricians are not accustomed to seeing and treating very persistent ringworm like that found in the developing world. A dermatologist should also be able point out any other fungus that might be lurking around too.

Mommy K, thank you for sharing your experience and stories with us this month. Your Little K is adorable and what you've shared here is such useful and helpful information.

Style Update 4 Days of Loose Hair

We are enjoying a week of loose hair! Recently, many of you have asked about caring for loose hair during the week. There is often some confusion on when to add product, when to detangle and how to style loose hair. How you care for loose hair can greatly depend on the hair's needs and texture.

Little R's hair has a little more flexibility when it comes to detangling and styling, but Little B's hair holds up well and looks great with a minimum of fussing. I have detailed our morning routine for both girls over the last four days. I am pretty much able to get hair done while they brush their teeth and wash their faces.

Products and tools used:
Qhemet Amla and Olive Heavy Cream
AOHSR semi-homemade leave-in
Qhemet Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee (used once)
Darcy's Botanicals Curling Jelly
comb for parting
headbands, cloth elastic bands, barrettes

Day 1:
Little B
Her hair had a nice rounded shape from her sleep cap, so I just spritzed with water, used a little leave-in, changed her barrettes and she was ready to go!

Little R
She wanted to go from two days of a loose ponytail (hair just gathered without being brushed smooth) to wearing it down. I spritzed it well with plain water and added a little semi-homemade leave-in to help moisturize and move the hair so it hung down her back. I then added a little Detangling Ghee and gently finger-detangled the ends. I put on a home-made cloth headband, and scrunched her curls with the just a little bit of Curling Jelly.

 

Day 2:
Little B
I used a spritz of water, and heavy cream to moisturize. I added a little curling jelly to catch and curl the hairs that were sticking out. I changed her from barrettes to a headband.

Little R
I put her loose hair into 2 braids for sleeping, so in the morning I just took them out, spritzed, and added heavy cream. I made a rough part ear to ear and put that front section into one loose braid. I added curling jelly in the rest of her loose hair. The braid kept flopping forward to the middle of her forehead, next time I do this I will secure to the loose hair in back.

Day 3:
Oh no! I couldn't get my act together for photos, but  I can tell you what we did.

Little B
I spritzed with water, added leave-in, and a thin, red, stretchy headband that matched the hearts in her sweatshirt and why, oh, why didn't I get a photo of that cuteness?

Little R
I spritzed with water, added leave-in, a little curling jelly, and a red Alice band. She was cute as a button.

Day 4:
Little B
Her hair felt a bit dry this morning and was really compacted. I spritzed it well, and using my fingertips, worked a good amount of heavy cream along the roots of her hair. While doing that I was able to fluff her hair a lot and ensure the cream was distributed along the entire length of the hair. I put an inch long side part in front and picked up about a one inch square section of hair. I made a regular two-strand twist and brought it back towards her ear. I wrapped a flower pony around a barrette and secured the twist. She loved it and ran to show me a photo of a girl in Hair Dance! with a flower behind her ear.

Little R
I spritzed her with water and added leave-in. I gathered her hair into a loose ponytail, leaving a section of curls out for side bangs. I used just a little curling jelly on the bangs, along the hair line and on the loose curls in the ponytail.

Welcome Home Hair Guide

Yesterday, I got an email from a reader (Hi Gretchen!) asking about hair care products for adopted children just arriving home to their families. I know that quite a few families have been united with their children from Haiti just last week and many are hoping to bring their kids home in the next few days.

Among the enormity of travel, adjustment, language differences, and the hundreds of other adoption details, is the little issue of caring for tightly coiled hair much sooner than expected. Many moms have it wired, but many others are looking for help and answers. I want to offer this quick guide to help get moms started on a path to healthy hair care.

I know it might be tempting to run to the drug store and buy any hair products that look like they are for tightly coiled or dry hair. But many of those inexpensive products contain lots of mineral oil and petroleum and over time, they can lead to drier hair.

Instead, consider finding just three natural, curl-friendly products to start with:

• conditioner - to use for co-washing (washing with conditioner only), adding moisture, and detangling
• leave-in - to add moisture daily, or as needed, and for use in detangling
  
• moisturizing styling aid - for use if you plan to twist or braid

Here is a list of natural hair care companies to take a look at:

• Aubrey Organics 
• Blended Beauty
  
• Carol's Daughter
• Curls 
• Darcy's Botanicals 
• Kinky-Curly 
• Oyin Handmade 
• Qhemet Biologics

If products have to be ordered, the simplest thing to do while waiting for them to come is to use plain water, or a silicone-free drugstore brand conditioner such as Suave Naturals, to wash the hair. A little olive oil can then be added to hair to help retain the moisture. Or, a little conditioner can be added to the hair as a leave in as well, either plain or mixed with water. Later, there will be plenty of time to investigate and try shampoos, oils, products specifically for detangling, and curl-defining products.

Here are some basic hair tools that can be found at drugstores, discount stores and beauty supply stores:

• detangling comb, or wide-tooth comb (don't forget that fingers are great for detangling)
  
• rat tail or pin tail comb for parting
• natural bristle brush for styling
• small spray bottle for water
  
• soft, cloth elastics
• headbands, ballies, and other hair pretties 
• sleep cap
  

I want to wish all newly united families a future filled with love and joy. I would also like to ask all Happy Girl Hair readers to keep the families still waiting to hear about their Haitian children in your thoughts.

Detangling Ghee Review

I usually don't use special detangling products; they've never done much for us. We've always gotten by with some hair milk or conditioner. Then a friend mentioned Qhemet's Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee, and after reading the description I wanted to try it. It's a very solid, highly-moisturizing hair butter (ghee is clarified butter). I wondered if it would be more effective than our normal detangling helpers.

This product conatins distilled water, nettle extract, barley extract, Horestail extract, pure cocoa butter, PPG-3 benzyl ether myristate, MSM sulfur, cetyl alcohol, behentrimonium methosulfate, behenamidopropyl dimethylamin,butylene glcol, phenoxyethanol & ethylhexylglycerin. It costs $5.50 for 2ounces, or $14.00 for 5 ounces. It smells like dark, rich chocolate. Mmm.

To use this, I just scooped a little with my fingertips, and rubbed them together to melt it a bit and then added to the section I was detangling. I had to work in a bit before I could start finger-detangling. I found that it really does ease the the fingers and comb through and helps work out any tangles. It has nice slip, without any greasy feeling. Hours after using this, Little B's hair was so soft and smelled delicious. It eliminates the need for a hair milk on wash days. This provided enough conditioning for both girls, although I did use a moisturizing styling aid if I was braiding or twisting. Detangling Little B's hair does take a little bit longer with this product because of the time it takes to work it in to very wet hair, but it's well worth it.

I got a chance to use this product too. While painting my bathroom, I managed to get a great big glob of primer in my hair. Shortly after I discovered it and started pulling it out, I happened to see the Detangling Ghee sitting on the counter. I put some of it in my hair and the primer came out much easier and with less damage to my hair. How's that for a peculiar use?

The only thing I don't love about the product is the description on the jar. It reads, "Conditions & Detangles Unmanageable Hair." Unmanageable? Really? Just because curls and coils get tangled, or dry, that makes them unmanageable? I find that an unfortunate choice of words from a company whose tag line is, in part, "Embrace Your Hair - Embrace Your Heritage." It won't stop me from using the product, but it does make me sigh.

I find myself reaching for this product much more than I thought I would. I like it after rinses, even if we aren't detangling. I like it for light finger-detangling loose styles. I like it for an extra moisture boost in any areas that get particularly dry. I just like it. I give Qhemet Cocoa Tree Detangling Ghee five out of five star beads! It's good stuff!





Do you use a product specifically for detangling? What do you like about it?

Hair Lesson Learned

Today we are on our way home from a road trip, so instead of the usual hair day, I'm going to share a little hair story with you.

A few days ago, my good friend J (Hi J!) called me up with a question about apple cider vinegar (ACV) rinses. She had just sprayed a new product* on her daughter's hair and immediately realized it contained patchouli. Now, patchouli is a scent most people either love or hate, and it's one of those scents that tends to stick around when every other scent has long-dissipated. Since J is not a fan of patchouli, she was looking to get rid of the smell.

She had just done some braids on her Little G and I didn't want her to have to undo the style. I advised her to do a co-wash with the braids in and follow up with an ACV rinse (1 TBSP ACV in 1 cup warm water). Sounds reasonable, right? Wrong. It did nothing. J then shampooed Little G's hair. No joy. So she took the braids out and co-washed two more times, following up with an ACV rinse. She could still smell it. She put a little vanilla styling cream in. Still there. My friend J was smelling that patchouli for days.

Look at the cute style J had to undo shortly after completing it. Bummer!

So the lesson learned here is that you probably can't save a style if something stinky gets on the hair. I think I should have recommended taking out the style and washing with 1 tsp of baking soda dissolved in one cup of warm water, followed by conditioner, and an ACV rinse. I don't know if that would have enough to kill the patchouli, but I suspect it might have helped. We will all know better next time.

What stinky stuff have you had to get out of hair? How did you do it? Has there ever been a product you just could not stand the smell of?



*The product was Darcy's Botanicals Herbal Tea Leave-in Spritz. Patchouli is ingredient 19 of 22, so who would think the scent would be that strong? It's not in the description and who looks that far down the ingredient list? It would be nice if Darcy's Botanicals would offer that product without patchouli because the other ingredients sound great.


PS Don't forget to enter the drawing for a first edition, hardcover copy of Happy to Be Nappy. It's a fantastic book that is no longer in print, so this is a great chance to own this classic by bell hooks. Did I mention it even has a dust jacket and is in excellent condition? It does. It is. Enter the giveaway here.

Saturday Spotlight!

Today, Mommy K, of KJ Braids, shares some fantastic styles she recently created for her daughter Little N. Mommy K says, "I love doing hair, it is a passion of mine." It's a beautiful thing when talent and passion go hand-in-hand. These are lovely, creative styles, Mommy K! Thank you for sharing them, and your Little N, with us!

© KJBraids

© KJBraids

© KJBraids

 

© KJBraids

 If you would like to share a style you have recently completed, we would love to see it! Please email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com with a few pictures, the first initial of your little one's name, 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 Boy Hair

Today, in the third part of our series with Mommy K, we learn about her experiences with the sometimes bewildering world of hair styling products. Read part one, about moisturizers, and part two, about shampoos and conditioners by following the links. Mommy K's son Little K has locs now, but before that hair styling was about curl definition and hold for twists and braids.

As far as styling products go, this is one area I found most confusing in the ethnic hair care world. I was never exactly sure what products did what. When my son's hair was about 2 inches or so, I so craved for his curls to have more definition. He does have 4b hair so they're pretty tight little things. Perhaps I was expecting too much and was envisioning a different hair texture, with looser curls. Anyway, I did try several things hoping for curl definition. I applied them all when his hair was wet, hoping to bring out the spirals. I had received a container of Sportin' Waves by Soft Sheen Carlson as a shower gift so I thought I might try it a few times. Again, a petroleum based product, but something that was free. It really didn't seem to do anything for the curls. I was not impressed...at all. I also purchased Locks of Curls Pomade and Gel by Treasured Locks. It's a natural product with aloe juice and shea butter. It didn't seem to do anything for the curls. And it has a rather strong lemongrass smell that bothered my nose. Strong perfumey smells make me sneeze and make my nose itch.  I still have it and will probably try it on my daughter's hair once she gets home and see if it does any better with longer hair. With both products, the free hair always ended up looking like a slightly picked out afro. Not tightly curled individual curls like I was hoping.

The other type of products I tried were products for holding styles like twists, flat twists, or cornrows. I was given a jar of Let's Jam gel and started my styling adventures (two stranded twists) using that product. It has great hold and I never had any problems with flaking. It does contain alcohol and I know some people feel strongly about using alcohol because of it's drying tendencies. We weren't "doing hair" every day so I wasn't too worried about using occasionally. The Treasured Locks Curl Defining Pomade and Gel also said that it could be used to hold styles including twists, cornrows, and locks.  I tried it on twists and wouldn't count on it to hold much of anything. Maybe on longer hair it would work but on my son's 2-3 inch twists, it just didn't hold. 

When we decided to do locs, I decided to use a gel designed for helping locs start out.  It is not necessary to do so on 4b hair but since my son's hair was only about 3 inches, I wanted something to help hold the twists in. I opted for Jamaican Mango and Lime Resistant Formula Locking Gel It was available at Sally's and I had heard good things about their products. I love this gel. It holds great and does not have alcohol in it. It doesn't flake and doesn't seem to cause build up. I have been using it exclusively for the last 4 months and see no signs of build up on the scalp or locks. It's based in natural ingredients but does have a by product of petroleum as the fourth ingredient. It also has other natural occurring chemicals. So if you're looking for something totally natural, this might not be for you. 

Next week, we'll conclude Mommy K's series on Little K's hair care with a post about tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm, which many international adoptive families work to heal soon after arriving home.

HGH readers, what are your favorite styling products? What do you use to define curls? What do you use for twists and braids?

Style Update

Yesterday, the girls asked to play with their dress up box late in the dull, gray afternoon. I created the dress-up box, but have to say I'm not a big fan. The thought of picking little sequins, glitter, and tiny synthetic feathers out of their hair, off the pets, and from the carpet doesn't thrill me. But they asked so politely, so I put sleep caps on them and let them have at it. This is what they came up with:

They are "getting married" which seems to involve dressing up and slow dancing.

They were happy. I was hugely entertained, and I didn't remove a single bit of dress-up debris from their hair. That is excellent because Little R's twists have not been quite the no-fuss solution I hoped for this week. I have redone them several times. They are fine all day, but sleeping on them just makes them so fuzzy, even with a sleep cap. Happily, the re-twisting takes less than ten minutes and I can do it while she brushes her teeth and washes her face in the morning. I have been using a little more Darcy's Botanicals Twisting Cream each time I twist and gently rubbing in Amla and Olive Heavy Cream along her hairline. I have gotten a lot of compliments on the twists this week and they do look pretty cute, so I think they are worth the effort.

Morning fuzzies

Re-twisted

Little B's twists are holding up well. I recently discovered that having them hang straight down below her sleep cap makes for much straighter twists in the morning. Some do bend, so I just wet them and add clip them straight with hair clips. They are fine after a few minutes. I have been adding Qhemet Amla and Heavy Cream to her ends and parts every other day or so.

This is the fuzziest twist I found, and I can live with that amount of fuzzines.

What style did you do this week? How long do you expect the style to last and how is it holding up?

Darcy’s Botanicals Avocado & Honey Twisting Cream Review

Avocado & Honey twisting cream is a new product from Darcy's Botanicals. I love rich, moisturizing styling aids, so I was eager to try this out. I've used it on twists, cornrows, and box braids on both girls and am ready to report.

Avocado & Honey Twisting Cream contains Organic Aloe Vera Juice, Distilled Water, Avocado Oil, Organic Sustainable Palm Oil, Vegetable Emulsifying Wax, Vegetable Glycerin, Panthenol, Botanical Oil Complex, Wildflower Honey, phenoxyethanol and caprylyl glycol, Ylang Ylang, and Lemon Essential Oils. It is $12.00 for an 8oz jar. It is recommended for hair types 3 to 4 and can be used as a hair moisturizer and/or as a styling butter for twists, braids, afros, and locs.

It's a thick cream that has a light scent of ylang ylang and lemon. Ylang Ylang smells very sweet; it's a little flowery with a bit of citrus. It's a complex and pleasant scent, but it's not overpowering. The twisting cream kind of smells like natural baby products- fresh and sweet. I could barely smell it in the hair though.

This is a good moisturizing product for braiding and twisting. It reduces the fuzziness of braids and cornrows and helps to extend their life. As I used it, I couldn't help but compare it to my favorite Darcy's product, Madagascar Vanilla Styling Creme. I found that the Twisting Cream is not quite as heavy and moisturizing as the Styling Creme. Usually, when I take Little B's cornrows out, her hair is deliciously soft and beautifully conditioned from the oils in the Styling Creme. When we used Twisting Cream as our cornrowing aid, I had to add a little more moisturizing product to help take the cornrows out gently. In Little R's hair, braids stayed pretty well moisturized. I love it as an aid for styles that include gathering the hair with a brush, styles like ponytails, puffs, and Bantu knots.

It's so thick that when I held the jar upside down and not a drop came out.

Darcy's Botanicals also offers a glycerin-free version of this product called Avocado & Wild Plum Twisting Cream. That version does not contain the humectants that the Avocado & Honey Cream contains. It would be a good choice for those in dry climates, or as a winter alternative to the Avocado & Honey Cream for those in cold climates.

I don't think I'll be replacing my beloved Madagascar Vanilla Styling Cream with Avocado and Honey Twisting Cream, but it is a good, moisturizing product. I'm giving it four out of five star beads.

Giveaway Closed

This giveaway ended February 5, 2010. Thank you to all who participated.

I have a very special giveaway for you this month. Product giveaways are great, but once you use up the product, it's gone. This is something your child can enjoy for years. Take good care of it and their children can enjoy it too!

On February 5th, I will be giving away a first edition, hardcover copy of:

Happy to Be Nappy

 written by bell hooks

 illustrated by Chris Raschka

This is a very special book that any curly girl would enjoy. I've never reviewed the book here on HGH because it's out of print. But I managed to get my hands on one- just for you. I love this book because every page just sings with words like, "Happy with hair all short and strong. Happy with locks that twist and curl. Just all girl happy!" I love that this book reclaims the word nappy and helps rob it of it's power to wound. Chris Raschka's illustrations are beautiful and full of fun. Happy to Be Nappy is a delightful, joyful, hair-positive celebration on every page!

To win this first edition copy of Happy to Be Nappy all you have to do is follow Happy Girl Hair and enter the giveaway!

Want an extra chance to win?
Write a post about the giveaway on your own blog and provide a link to this Happy Girl Hair post. Or tweet about the giveaway, adding a link to this post and #hghfun to your tweet. Do both, and you get two extra entries!

To enter, comment below and tell me you follow. Let me know if you have posted about the giveaway on your blog, if you have tweeted about it, or both.

All entries must be in by 11:59 PM EST, February 4th. Little B and Little R will be selecting a winner at random on February 5th. The giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada. Good luck!

Two Strand Twists and Rope Twists for 3b Hair

In a effort to make things easier for the coming week, today was twist day. Last night, I co-washed Little B's hair with her twists in and gave each of them a bit of Alaffia Hair Lotion. I had been hoping to use Little R's parts two weeks in a row, but as I redid the Bantu knots every day, I could see her ends were not what they should be. I don't I trimmed them quite enough last time. I took her knots out and trimmed her ends, and then gave her hair a good wash and condition. I followed up with some Qhemet Detangling Ghee, a finger and comb detangling, and Darcy's Bonaticals Hydrating Milk. I finished by putting the hair in two big, chunky braids before bed.

This morning I worked with dry hair. I usually style wet or damp hair, but thought I'd try this for a change. I took one of Little B's twists out a time, worked Dentagling Ghee through the section and brushed it smooth. I then worked some Darcy's Botanicals Vanilla Styling Creme through the section and made a rope twist. After securing the end, I moved to the next. This method allowed me to neaten up the parts easily. I worked Qhemet Amla and Heavy Cream in all of her parts to keep her scalp happy.

 On the left is a twist done last week, on the right, a fresh rope twist.

I took out Little R's big braids and used Detangling Ghee all through her dry hair. While twisting Little B's hair wet or damp works well, it doesn't work well on Little R. I discovered that with looser curls, twisting dry makes more sense. Using my fingers, I gently made sure it still detangled. I then parted her hair in quarters using rat tail and pin tail combs.

I divided the quarters into subsections and worked Darcy's Botanicals Twisting Cream into each subsection. I made rope twists that were banded at the base and end, like Little B's, and then used Amla and Heavy Cream into the parts and along the hairline.

The larger the band at the base, the further the twist will stick out from the scalp.

Both girls have a very busy week, so I'm hoping these protective twists last, with minimal maintenance and little fuss. I'm pretty sure I used a record number of products over the last two days. I put the count at 8 different products- but they all had very specific uses! I swear!

We made a video on twisting loosely curled hair. The video will show the difference between two strand twists and rope twists, and how to do both. My husband brought home a new, super-fancy camcorder from work that he had to learn to use this weekend. The only snag is that my computer is not up to the task of processing it quickly. It's trying (Go little computer, go!), but it will be be some time. Once it's ready, I'll add it to this post and YouTube.