Veil Style in the Round

Little R hasn't been too into hair lately. Or maybe she's a little too into hair lately. She hasn't been interested in sitting for styling, but she has been shaking her long, loopy curls and falling in love with all that big hair. So maybe you've noticed the the slacking off, the styles left lacking anything approaching real style.

This week she sat still, or as still as she can sit. I decided to do a veil style all the way around her head. The veil style is very straightforward and taking it all the way around the head is pretty simple, but it is a little hard to describe, so stay with me here while I take a stab at it.

I started by taking the end of my rat tail comb and parting an outer circle on slightly damp and detangled hair. I made my part bout an inch back from the front hairline. It's important to be sure that the circle is evenly spaced around the hairline. For some reason I always part farther down on the left side, so I had to watch that.

In the parted outer ring, I made even boxes all the way around. I worked some styling creme through each box and banded the hair at the base. I divided the banded hair in two (it sounds like I'm splitting hairs, doesn't it?) and braided each little bunch. I used duck bill clips to secure the ends of each braid as I moved along the outer ring of boxes.

With all the all the boxes in the outer ring complete and braided, I made a smaller circular part to form another ring. In this ring, I made boxes in a brick pattern, so the parts aligned with the center of the boxes in the outer ring. I brought the braids from the other ring back diagonally to the boxes in the inner ring. In each inner ring box, I banded the braid ends together with the hair. I then took that banded hair and made big rope twists.

I brought all of my rope twists to the center of her head where I still had a bunch of loose hair. I gathered it all up in a messy, messy bun and banded that. I added a few clips to the front for decoration. I later decided that I liked it much better with the bun decorated with a flower or corker and the rest plain.

 If you need more information on the basic veil style in block or brick pattern, click here!

Giveaway Closed

Pretty AnntoiNet's is generously giving one Happy Girl Hair reader a beautiful silk sleep cap. These caps feature a great combination of luscious silk and and elastic and silk drawstring construction that just makes sense! They stay on and protect delicate curls. You can read my review of these great sleep caps here.

This giveaway is open to those in the US. The drawing will be held and the winner announced on October 8, 2010. All entries must be received by October 7, 2010 11:59 PM EST.

Here's how to enter:

1. You must be a Happy Girl Hair follower. If you aren't yet a follower, use the follow button on the top right of the page to join Happy Girl Hair.

2. Leave a comment on this post, please include your first name.

If you'd like an additional chance to win, write a post about this giveaway on your blog, or let your friends know about it on Facebook, or Tweet a link to this post. You must leave an additional comment for each extra entry.

Good luck!

Many thanks to Pretty AnntoiNet's for sponsoring this giveaway!

Silk Sleep Caps? Yes, Please.

Oh, the time we've had with sleep caps around here. We've had more than our share of failing elastic, poor fit, caps that rub in all the wrong spots and won't stay on. The dog has used our "good" caps as chew toys more than once. With every single cap in our house broken down and worn out, I splurged a bit and bought a silk sleep cap for each girl.

I ordered two caps from Pretty AnntoiNet's, a terrific online store selling what store creator Linda describes as silk hair lingerie. In addition to sleep caps, Pretty AnntoiNet's offers silk hair wraps, beanies, hats, loc covers, and more silk hair goodies. But it's the girls' sleep caps that I really want to tell you about.

The girls caps are made of lightweight silk, they have both elastic and a silk drawstring for a customized fit. My daughters tell me the caps are very comfortable, and I can see that find them easy to wear. The part that covers the hair is generously sized so it will work with any hair style.  Best of all, in the month of or we have been using them, they have never come off or even slipped out of place.

They were a bit of an indulgence for us at $18 per cap, but they are worth it. I've asked the girls to be a lot more careful with these caps than their others, and so far they have. I even made little felt envelopes to keep the caps in during the day so they aren't misplaced or eaten (I'm looking at you Wally). I do freshen them up before putting them on the girls by shaking the out a bit and redistributing the fabric back over the drawstrings.

The drawstring helps get the fit just right. 

Special caps deserve a special home rather than being thrown in a drawer.

The underside of the elastic/drawstring channel is nicely finished, which means less chance of breakage from rubbing along the hairline.

I recently had a chance to ask Linda about Pretty AnntoiNet's and the girls sleep caps.   

Happy Girl Hair: Where did the idea for silk hair lingerie come from?

Linda of Pretty AnntoiNet's: In a nutshell, the idea came from wanting something that I couldn't find. I was looking for a hair-healthy, real silk cover that would feel good and be attractive and functional. I started making my own. I often thought of an interview I had seen years before when Adrian Arpel said, “If you’re looking for something and you can't find it, you’re not the only one with a need for that special something.” I pondered that thought for quite some time and finally proceeded to research and find a way to start selling. As for the name, "Silk Hair Lingerie," it kind of popped out of my mouth when describing what I was making and I liked how it sounded!

HGH: The girls sleep caps are so well designed with the combination of elastic and silk. They stay on better than any sleep cap we've ever used. What was the design process like?

L of PA: I'm so glad they like them. A lot of thought went Into the process. I wanted the girls sleep caps to be adjustable to fit younger and older girls. I liked the combination with the elastic because it has some give and once it’s tied to fit, you don't have to keep untying It. I didn't want it to feel tight and I didn't want the tie to be annoying, so I made it with a wide strip of soft silk.

HGH: You've just added some gorgeous baby hats to the product offerings. Do you plan to add more for babies and small children?

L of PA: Aren't they gorgeous? My niece loves hers. (She’s the model) There were so many compliments I just had to start selling them. I have a few thoughts bubbling for children, but for now there are no definite plans. However, there are plans to have a new color sleep cap before the December holidays.

Update, January 2011: I know that people like to know how products work over a longer time period and I'm happy to report that we have been using these every day for just about five months. They work as well and look as good as they did when we got them. I did have an issue with drawstring distribution in the channel that covers it, but I figured out that Little B was playing with hers as she fell asleep. She stopped playing with it and the issue resolved. I now put the caps on with the bow in back so playing with it isn't a temptation for the girls.

Winner! Winner! Give All For Love Giveaway

Happy Monday! I am very pleased to announce a winner for our Give All For Love giveaway!

Congratulations Pretteenyce23!  Please email me at joyfulmom@happygirlhair.com by this Friday, October 1st, and let me know which Give All For Love product you would like. Happy Girl Hair and Give All for Love will also donate $50 to Ethiopia Reads in your honor.

Many thanks to Give All For Love for generously sponsoring this giveaway, for their donation to Ethiopia Reads in our winner's honor, and for their ongoing support of several wonderful Ethiopian charities. 

Box Braids

Mama is suffering. I have a cold that I swear is the size of a mountain. My head is as rocky and jagged as mountain top too. But the show, or the hair, must go on. While Joyful Dad did tons of grocery shopping for me, I muscled through hair time. Prepare to be underwhelmed by my efforts.

I started by washing, conditioning, and detangling Little B. We are turning a little corner in hair care; it's time for the girls to start participating in earnest. I gave Little B a section of hair in front to detangle. She finger detangled her hair and then used the detangling comb. She did a very good job, so I gave her another section to do. That didn't go as well. I think she got engrossed in what she was watching on TV and didn't give it enough effort. Next time, I may set a big mirror in front of her so she can really see what she is doing. I'm pretty excited by the thought that we could both work on detangling. If I could get each girl to lend a hand with her sister's hair, we would be done in record time.

I chose box braids today, which was great because they stayed in place when I had to stop to cough or blow my nose. To make Little B's box braids, I sectioned off a row from ear to ear and then made diagonal parts to make little boxes. I braided each box using my favorite styling creme. I can't believe how little I have on hand, but that this was more than enough for both girls.

I meant to braid overhand, but I think I did some underhand, some overhand, and some, sadly, both ways. With one row done, I parted off another row and followed the same diagonal part lines to make the sections. I made the sections bigger as I moved toward the back of her head. In the very back, I reversed the diagonal of the part lines - just because I can. I didn't use any bands at all, but when I finished, it didn't look finished to me. I decided to add some small daisy barrettes to the end of each braid. Check out the gravity-defying braid with the blue daisy in back. I can't figure out how it's doing that.

The Give All For Love giveaway is tomorrow and there are still a few hours to enter. So get to it! I'll be sitting here counting the hours until the kids are asleep I can take more of those generic NyQuil gel caps things.

Saturday Spotlight: Where is that Thing?!

I'm taking a little detour from our regular Saturday Spotlight to let Mommy J tell you the story.

I have 2 sons (ages 5 and 4) and they have Nintendo DS’s that have these little black pens that you play them with. One of my sons lost his pen, and my husband was making him look all over the place for it in a panic. It was no where to be found! Later, to our surprise, we found the pen hiding in Little Ks big, beautiful, well-moisturized hair! I had never thought to look there!

I can't say I've ever found a lost object in either of my girls' hair, but we surely have had our share of hair mishaps. How about you?

The Very Best Conditioner (and the next best, and the one after that)

9/24 Update: The votes are so close! This is very exciting. If you haven't voted yet, please do!

Remember when I asked you all to tell me what your favorite conditioner is? Yeah, I know it was forever ago, and what can I say, I briefly forgot about it. But you, you came back with a lot of great responses, which I eventually sorted and added up. There were two conditioners that got the most recommendations. Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose and Herbal Essences Hello Hydration are the top favorites, but which of those is the best of the best and which is our second favorite?

Let's see!






Three other conditioners all got the same number of votes. Which deserves a place in our pantheon of Great Conditioners?

Vote!







PS Don't forget to enter the Give All For Love giveaway! The drawing is Monday!

3x3 (Sort Of)

Remember when I talked about all those things I had to do on hair day? I'm still working on that To Do list three days later. At least hair was and still is easy as can be this week. Little R got her 2x2, two braids and two cornrows. Little B got a 3x3 look, sort of.

I washed, conditioned and detangled her hair. I dusted off my old tub of Qhemet Biologics Detangling Ghee and used that because I felt like her hair could use the extra moisture. Once detangling was done, I parted her hair from ear to ear, just in front of the crown of her head. With her hair split into a front section and back section, I divided the front into three sections with two diagonal parts.

I cornrowed each of those big sections, taking care to keep the short hair at the front of her hairline out of the braid. I banded the ends of each cornrow and then banded them together, leaving the ends to form a small puff.

In the back, I parted down the middle, making two sections. In each section, I cornrowed down toward her neck. I banded the end of each braid and left a loose, little puff at the end. I decorated all three puffs with corkers.

Isn't she cute?

Cutie-pie Clips

In those precious hours between the time the kids go to bed and the time I do, I love to surf Etsy and see what people are making. I'm thrilled by the idea that I can buy a lovingly-created, handmade something from another woman who might be a country away - or in the next town over.

Etsy is full of unique and interesting things, but it's a treasure trove of hair accessories, especially for kids. I recently received a few clips I wanted to share with you. I love clips because they are so versatile, and are an inexpensive treat.

I got these monogrammed clips at Lilli-Anne Designs. Aren't these adorable? These are the first monogrammed things the girls have had and they love them. I do too. They have been wearing these on puffs, or just to hold back a small section of hair.

I'm finding myself drawn to all things crocheted and knitted this Fall so I was tickled when the crocheting mom behind Baby Squares offered to make Babyfly Butterfly Accessories for Little B and Little R. These are very sweet butterflies on clips. I can attach them right to the hair, to a headband, to a pony O, or use them on a hat or jacket. Too cute. 

Do you shop through Etsy? What do you buy and which shops are your favorites? 

(If you have an Etsy shop, tell us in the comments!)

2x2 Braids

Do any of you ever get to hair time, run down your mental list of Things To Do, and groan inwardly? Yeah, I thought so. Me too. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff we all have to do and the few hours we have in which to do it.

Today, I managed to cram washing, conditioning, detangling and styling for both girls into a mere two and half hours (Joyful Dad popping in to let you know she bathed and lotioned them too). Of course the styles were simple, but that's not the point - two and a half hours and my sanity is. So I give you 2x2, two cornrows and two braids:

I made a center part, spritzed with water, and added hair lotion. I sectioned off a slightly curved section along the front for a cornrow. Little R has some damage there because I used a sleep cap that was worn out longer than I should have and it rubbed, rubbed, rubbed against her hairline as she slept. I want to protect that hair when we are styling in big sections to keep it from becoming further damaged. I curved the part to add a little interest, and so the cornrow would flow back toward the big braid in a more natural way. 

With the cornrows braided on each side, I brought the unsecured tail ends back and incorporated them into big hanging braids. I sectioned the hair for the big braids by feel. I didn't make any defined parts, I just added pomade and braided underhand, using a Goody Ouchless band at the end. 

I told you it was simple. Now, should I pay the bills, do the vacuuming, throw in some laundry, or take the sad, neglected dog for a walk?



PS Check back later in the week to see Little B's equally simple 3x3 style.

Saturday Spotlight

Happy Weekend! Today we are checking in with fellow curly kid blogger, Mommy K, who is graciously sharing her Little Q and her curls.

The picture with Winnie the Pooh was when Q was around 18 months old. The picture of longer curls (taken from the back) was taken about 4 days before Little Q turned 2 years old this summer!

We like using all natural hair products - or else just straight up Shea Butter or Coconut Oil! Water is never underestimated around here either.  We usually just co-wash Q's hair, with the occasional low-poo after a deep conditioning. (Which I LOVE the results of! It's incredible how just leaving some coconut oil on her wet hair for a bit while she plays can make her curls so soft!)

The next two pics are from a day when we were putting in some box braids. We braided in stages so that she didn't have to sit in one place for so long ... and during one of our breaks I was almost tempted to leave the "style" as it was! I had clipped her hair up so that I wouldn't have to re-de-tangle when we got back to braiding ... and I thought the outcome was adorable! However, since that was the main area of her hair that needed the rest and extra moisture, we braided it up before nap time.

And here's a pic of the final product! This was the first time we had added beads to all of the braids. She had so much fun figuring out how to clink them together!

Isn't it so fun to watch a toddler figure out how to click her hair beads together? It makes them so happy. Thank you for sharing Mommy K! To see more of Mommy K's styles, head over to Curly Hair Do Ideas.

Hair Her Way

When was the last time someone climbed on your shoulders to have some fun with your hair?

The A.R.T. of Hair Advice

Raise your hand if you've gotten hair advice.

I'm assuming everyone has their hand raised, after all this is a place full of hair advice. If there is a universal truth about the world of curls and and coils, it is that everyone has an opinion on what to do with them.

Some advice is great. Some, not so much. I've encouraged you all to check out advice before taking it, but I know how tempting it can be to grasp at anything when we feel out of our depth. Some bad advice is easy to spot. When advice is given in absolutes like you must use this product line, or you must only use this type of tool, or you must stick to this routine, it's obvious. A one size fits all approach isn't very practical or useful.

It's the more subtle stuff that can get us in trouble. We all want to trust that the person at the beauty supply is making a good recommendation, or the writer giving advice on a web site knows her stuff, or our well-meaning neighbor truly does have a grasp on best practices. But how can we tell? I've come up with an easy process I'd like to offer as a way to separate the helpful from the potentially harmful. It's A.R.T.

Ask - Question the advice giver. A simple "Where did you learn that?" or "Why is that?" may reveal a wealth of information. It may also reveal that there is no basis other than tradition for that particular advice. Traditions can be great, but when talking about hair care, they shouldn't remain unexamined. Ask yourself some questions too. Ask "Is this logical?" and "Does this make sense?" If the answer is a resounding no, dismiss the advice. If it's plausible, dig deeper.

Research - You've gotten some advice and you've asked some questions. The advice seems to make sense, but that doesn't mean it's great advice. The next step is to try to confirm it. We are a chatty bunch in the curly and coily community. Seek out blogs, forums and curly hair sites. Is anyone talking about the advice you got? Can you confirm that it really is something worth pursuing?

When the advice comes from an online source, do more research. Look at other sites and see if you can find consensus. However, if blog X passes some helpful advice along from blog Y, seek out the original information on blog Y. Sometimes, the passing along of techniques can become a little like a game of telephone, becoming so garbled the original is unrecognizable.

Trust Yourself - You are the parent. You've asked the questions and done the research. Now, it's up to you to make the decisions that feel right for your family.

I think we are all better off taking the time to investigate a bit on our own. I know I'd rather make a hundred small mistakes as I experiment and figure things out than make one big mistake because I followed some advice without questioning it.

What are your thoughts on the giving and receiving of advice?

No Style. No Problem.

I wasn't even sure I was going to show you Little R's hair photos this week. After all, we did next to nothing. But, you know what? It doesn't always have to be about elaborate or creative styles. Sometimes we all like to keep it casual and simple, and there is nothing wrong with that.

That made lots of sense for us because she is also getting a trim this week. We'll need to take out any style and do a quick co-wash when she gets home from school on the day of her appointment so her curls air dry in their natural curl pattern before we head out.

I added coconut oil to Little R's hair the night before her wash. The next morning I washed, conditioned and detangled. I forgot to add some leave-in though; it just slipped my mind. While I was styling Little B, I glanced over at Little R and she had her hands up in her hair and that, combined with the lack of leave-in, made it huge. Oh Little R.

I spritzed her hair down with water and added a generous amount of leave-in. I made a couple of little sections in front and made some small 5 strand braids. I found 5 strands much easier to do in smaller sections and on hair that's pretty wet. I pulled the rest of her hair into a high ponytail, but on the last pass through the ouchless band, I didn't pull the hair through all the way, leaving a high cheater bun with a small bunch of curls at the base. It was certainly nothing fancy or inspired, but it was perfectly serviceable. It's a no-style, or low-style, style.

Since hair day, we've bunned the back section or left it loose. I like styles that have that flexibility to switch things up as the week progresses.

Big, fluffy hair after a long day at school!

What's your easiest, no-style/ low-style?