Twisted FroHawk on MadiMel's Natural Hair (Mohawk/Fauxhawk)

I had posted a photo of my daughter, MadiMel's hair on Instagram, Facebook and other sites and it has become popular.  I saw the same or similar hair style on so many different sites, many different times, etc. And I know that so many people have done it themselves. I came across a few people whho stopped me and asked about her hair style.  I gave them my Youtube channel information and told them a video will be posted soon.

It was one morning, I did not feel like doing much with her hair after being styled in a bun.  It seemed too much to deal with and I woke up tired.  I decided to try out the style on her hair since she was in between hair styles anyway. And the results were good.  MadiMel is at that age where she is becoming picky, so when she saw this style, she fell in love and couldn't stop staring at her hair.

After posting the photo, I received so many requests to do a tutorial.  I finally posted it today and hope you like it!  Take care and God bless!

That Time of Year Again! Recitals, Weddings, Formals, Proms....(With Bun Video Tutorial)

It is about that time again for this season and school-end events (recitals, weddings, proms, formals) for many of our children.  For me, it is my daughter's dance recital.  She has been dancing for 4 years now and absolutely loves it.  This year, she will be in four different dance routines during the recital in June.  This week, was their professional photo shoot and that meant her hair had to be styled into a mandatory bun.

Each year, the requirement is to have the child's hair in a bun (for girls).   For some parents, it may be a challenge to do this depending on the hair the child has. There are many tools that cater to buns.  Such as the donut foam, sock bun, and other hair bun making tools.  Not everything works for every one and here are some reasons why:  short hair, fine hair, thin hair, thick hair, long hair.  Depending on the hair, you need to have something to accommodate what needs to be achieved.  From talking to several parents of all races that bring their to the same dance schools, many face various challenges: coarse hair, short/thick hair, long/thick hair, layered hair, long/thin hair, short/thin hair, curly hair....so many!

MadiMel has thick, coarse and dense hair.  Her hair is mostly coily and a small area where it is a little loose with small waves.  Straightening her hair could have been an option, but I choose and chose not to do that.  From the years since she has been dancing and received the hair style requirement, I have never used heat but opted for another option.  Going heatless.

If she already had a style on her hair such as cornrows and/or twists, I simply take her hair down (after each twist and cornrow), finger detangle and then use a Denman brush to make the hair more manageable.  Considering that her hair was previously styled, her hair would be more likely be stretched out.  Less work but just detangling that would consume my time.

If I shampooed or cowashed, towel dry as much as I can, put her hair into 4 jumbo twists/plaits or loose french braids to let it airdry after moisturizing it.  That also helps to stretch the hair (other ways: conrows, twists, banding, african threading).

Once her hair is dried, I take her hair down.  Her hair is a bit more stretched where it becomes manageable and takes so much less time to style.  And again, I also make sure her ends are well moisturized since that part of the hair, the ends, are the oldest and vulnerable to dryness.

If heat is a plan for you to straighten the hair:

*Be sure that you use a heat protector
*Do not flat iron the hair while wet
*Using too much product(s) and flat ironing may burn the hair and cause damage
*Use the lowest heat setting possible that will just do the job for your child's hair
*To avoid going over the hair several times with the flat iron, use a comb with it to help keep the hair aligned
*Moisturize the hair well - this will restore the dryness the heat caused

Here is a video on the bun I do on her hair for her recital (and other times).
The video was recorded back in Spring 2012.  Since it is the time for various events, several people had asked me for a video like this.  I thank you!



We'll chat soon and have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

-Sdestra

Weekend Trip and Hair (Keeping It Simple)

Wedding at The Grove in NJ (Dress Made by Me)

I took a trip to New Jersey recently to celebrate my sister's birthday and to attend my cousin's wedding all in one weekend. 

My mother and brother flew in from Tampa, FL around the time my flight arrived into New Jersey.   My sister still lives there and my dad was already in town.

Of course I wanted to pig out and eat everything I missed...lol.  So I did...not everything I wanted, but I did.  It was bad of me, but I am back on track again!

I enjoyed my time with my sister and other relatives during her birthday celebration. And my cousin's wedding...all I can say is wow! Just beautiful, classy and it matched who she is, elegant.  I have a few photos from the wedding on my Instagram which you can view by (clicking here).

Now let me tell you before I even prepared for my trip, one of my concerns included my hair.  I just did not know what to do with it AT ALL.  I was not sure if I wanted to wear it up, straight, curled or anything...I just wanted to do everything to it.  So this was the original plan I came up with:

Day 1:
Wash & condition
Blow dry
Put it in a neat low bun using a sock bun
Before bed, dampen my hair, apply conditioner and do plaits

Day 2:
Wear a braid out
Wear it in a high bun for my sister's event later

Day 3 (morning of wedding):
Wash & condition
Blow dry
Flat iron to curl my hair

That was my hair plan for the weekend and I was gunho about doing this.  Then as the day of my departure started to approach...those plans with my hair were totally ridiculous...it really sounded ridiculous and was too much to do.  Let us add that I had to prepare some things for the husband, kids, do their hairs (remember, I am also growing my son's hair out), to make sure they were going to be comfortable while I am gone.  So my hair plans changed to this:

Day 1:
Wash & condition
Airdry
Pull my hair into a high loose bun (no braid out, no sock bun)
Used a a minimal amount of moisturizer for my edges and hair ends

Day 2:
A loose french braid
Later, flat ironed it straight on low heat (it was perfect for the evening look for my sister's event)
Before bed, moisturized my hair with Elasta QP Mango Butter
Rolled my hair with 6 flexi rods

Day 3 (day of wedding):
Finger combed my hair and did a side part

So much easier, low manipulation, did not use a lot of heat but just to flat iron.  I also did hair styles that would not leave too many creases in my hair in order for me to flat iron it easily.  As a result, I was able to wear 3 different hair styles for the weekend and use heat just one time! 

I was so glad I did it that way, otherwise I would have been a mess and would not have time to enjoy myself.  I was out late at my sisters event until an undisclosed time and then had to be at the wedding location at 9 am the next morning to assist my cousin (the bride) and the wedding party.  I went to the location with the flexi rods and a scarf.   I got dressed and took my hair down, finger combed and kept it moving during the time I assisted the bridal party.

This is reminder as to why keeping it simple is key.  I think when we do go on a trips, or any event we tend to make things so complicated.  We also tend to think of doing things that are over the top that will require a lot more "work" to achieve a certain look.  I think our goal is to look our best, impeccable and "fly" (yes, it is an old idiom).  We can still do that without putting our hair through the ringer or come up with creative ways to come up with that certain "look".

How have you tried to keep it simple for an event, during a vacations and/or trip?  Did your hair plans change before or during?  Or did you make things complicated for yourself and regretted it after the fact?

I am curious to know and please share your suggestions!