French Waterfall

A while ago I posted these instructions for the Topsy Tail Waterfall.  It had a very beautiful look but it was very loose so this is a bit of an updated version to that but this one does require the knowledge of the French Braid which the other does not. 

 I will give specific instruction for the hairstyle show here but you can use the French Waterfall as a headband, two braids or in any other form you like. 

Create an off-centered part that goes all the way back to the crown of the head.  Now create a parallel part 1/2 inch inside of the first and clip aside that new thin strip of hair. 

Create one more part parallel to the first two but make sire it's about 2-3 inches across the head.  Now you will create a French Braid out of the new section of hair (making sure to only gather hair from inside this parted section) and only add in hair until the crown of the hair.  Just finish plating a Regular 3-Strand Braid after that point.  Secure it at the end with a temporary elastic. 

 Now grab your Topsy Tail and that thins strip of air that you set aside.  Poke your Topsy Tail through the first plate of the French Braid and feed a bit of hair from your thin strip directly through it.

 Do this again with the second plate and so on until your entire thin strip has been fed through the plates of the French Braid. 

 Now brush all of the hair down to the nape of the neck and secure it with an elastic - making sure to include the braid.  Take the temporary elastic out of the braid and brush it into the ponytail.  Now braid the ponytail and secure it at the end with one final elastic.  Add some hair clips to finish it off.  

Flashback Friday: Wet-Pinned Curls

Wet-Pinned Curls can take some time to prep for but they have such a beautiful final look.  Start with the hair really wet and make sure you pull it up into any initial style before creating your curls.  Grab a box of bobby pins to have at your side before you start. 

Section out some mall pieces of hair - they can be medium or small, depending on how think you would like your curls.  Starting with the end of the hair, wrap it in a circular motion all the way up to the scalp and then pin it against the head using two bobby pins to create an "X" for maximum hold.  Your curls can be would as tightly or as loosely as you like just depending on how large or small you want your curls.  Continue wrapping and pinning sections of hair all around the head.  When you are finished your princess will resemble a 20's Flapper with all the wet tight curls against her head.  I wish I had taken a picture at this point but back in the day I never had a reason to do that!  :)  The hair will take about 3 hours to set.  (You can speed up that time by using a warm dryer to dry the hair.) 

When you're ready, take the pins out of the hair and let the curls fall loosely.  Spray the hair with a bit of hairspray to help hold the curls and you're all finished!

Do The Twist

Corkscrews have such a pretty look to them and they hold so nicely that I find myself using them quite a bit.

  Your first step with this style is to create a part from ear to ear so that you have a top section to work with.  Now separate a middle section from that top section and clip it aside for a moment.

 

 You should have two remaining sections from the top that you will want to create Corkscrews out of.  Have your princess hold these two Corkscrews while you move back up to that middle section.

 

 Divide the section into two equal parts and secure each part with an elastic. 

Using your Topsy Tail, create a Pull-Through out of each small section and then twist them both together to create another Corkscrew. 

Combine the three Corkscrews together at the back of the head with an elastic. 

Take the hair from that combination and create another, slightly larger, Corkscrew.  Add that Corkscrew in with all of the remaining hair at the nape of the neck and secure it with an elastic. 

 Now separate that new ponytail into two even pieces and create a Corkscrew out of each piece.  Twist those two Corkscrews together creating a Hawser Braid.  Add any hair clips you like and you're all finished. 

Low Frenchies

This is another post that is nothing new but it's more of a different way of looking at things.  So often I am caught in my habit of placing everything in it's usual spot when a common hairstyle can look so cool just by changing the placement of a few things.  This hairstyle is an example of that.

 

 It's your basic Side By Side French Braids but we've changed a few things around. 

 First we moved the part a bit.  Instead of having it directly in the middle of the head we have off-centered it a bit.  (It starts off centered but will end up in the center of the neck at the bottom.) 

It's usually easiest to begin with the larger section of hair.  You will be doing a regular French Braid but instead of placing it directly in the middle of it's section, move it a bit lower and closer to the ear. 

You will probably need to keep a comb handy to smooth out each piece as you add it into your French Braid so you avoid any "sharks".  (Hairs that bubble up like a shark fin.)  When you've added all the hair in from that side of the head, finish braiding to the bottom of the hair and secure it with an elastic.   

 Repeat the same steps for the other half of the head - pulling the braid lower by the ear. 

When you finish you will have two loose braids that you can connect with some bobby pins so that they are attached side-by-side.  Combine them at the bottom with a final elastic and add some hair clips where you would like. 

 It's a fun new look on an old favorite!

Flashback Friday: Ring of Flowers

This hairstyle was from Easter 2008 when my princess was finally starting to get excited about her hair.  (Yes, there was a time when she HATED getting her hair done, just like any normal little girl.  She LOVES it now though.) 

 

Her little Easter dress had tiny rosettes all over it so I made some little hairpins for her hair by hot gluing crafting rosettes to bobby pins. 

I created a high Angel Halo on her head first.  (Click for instructions.)  Then I placed the rosettes into the halo in a mixed pattern.  

All the bobby pins helped to hold the halo tightly and it looked beautiful all day long.  

It even held together as she ran around like a wild child finding all the Easter eggs hidden around her playhouse!  :)  

Nifty Napkin Rings

Here is something that I know you've never seen before!

So I found these nifty little wooden napkin rings in a set at our local dollar store and I knew I could put them to use in my princess's hair.  (My mind works strangely like that!)  You will see these again in the future because they were really fun to work with. 

I started this hairstyle by sectioning out a little square of hair right in the front that I braided with a Regular 3-Strand Braid.  I had my princess hold onto that while I parted the remaining hair directly down the middle so that I now had two sections. 

 I pull each section into a tight piggie - adding my braid in with one of them.  Brush out any remaining plates of the braid that are underneath the elastic. 

Now add another elastic on each ponytail about 2 inches below the first.  Slip your napkin rings over the second elastic and grab your Topsy Tail.  Poke your Topsy Tail through the top of the napkin ring and right through the center of that second elastic but don't pull it all the way through yet. 

Grab a small section of the ponytail under the elastic and wrap it up over the napkin ring and through the loop of your Topsy Tail.  Now Pull the Topsy Tail down through the elastic o secure that hair around the napkin ring.  Keep dividing the hair under the elastic into sections and feeding them up around the napkin ring until it is completely covered.  I was fortunate to find napkin rings that were really close to the color of my princess's hair which helped conceal them better. 

Once all of the ponytail had been wrapped around the ring and fed through the elastic with the Topsy Tail, I braided the excess hair.  I secured the braids with elastics and it was complete. 

Look how cute these little piggies look! 

Boa Constrictor

*I had a really great comment yesterday inquiring about the clear elastics that we use.  The reader pointed out that many clear elastics are just as harmful as the regular elastics and will tear out the hair.  This is true and you need to be cautious when using any elastic to secure the hair.  My preference is the "Goody" brand because they are really strong and I have very little problem with the hair being pulled.  I also buy the cheaper clear elastics that come in bulk from Sally's Beauty Supply but I never reuse them.  I clip each one out of the hair using a seam ripper from my sewing kit.  This way I'm not pulling out or breaking the hair and getting everything snarled up.  Hopefully these tips will help some of you out there.*

This hairstyle is just a different take on many elements that we've used before.  We call it the "Boa Constrictor" because the smaller braids are wrapping themselves around the large braid.

 

Begin with the hair wet and section out the top of the hair by creating a part from ear to ear. 

Now divide that top section into two pieces and create a 3-Strand Braid out of each.  Secure the bottom of each braid with an elastic. 

 Pull the rest of the hair back into a tight ponytail.  Wrap your smaller braids around the ponytail (have them go over the elastic holding the ponytail to conceal it) just to see where your ends are going to land and then unwrap the braids. 

 Braid your ponytail down to the point that your ends hit and then wrap the smaller braids around the large braid once more. 

 Try to have your ends in the back of the braid and you will actually add them right in with the hair of the large braid.  Finish braiding the ponytail and secure it at the bottom with an elastic. 

1-Year Anniversary & Flashback Friday: The Long Bang

It's official we have been posting hairstyles on this blog for one year now!  There are 250 posts on our site which should give you a large variety to choose from.  It's been so much fun to have this special little something to do with my princess but it's also been fun to hear from all of you readers out there.  I get several emails but I rarely get comments and I do LOVE COMMENTS.  :) 

 For today we have a flashback from when my princess was 5 years old.  We had been growing out her bangs for a little while and decided to put their length to use. 

We pulled her hair half up and then grabbed out two small sections of her bangs.  Using a fat curling iron we curled the ends of the sections.  Pretty simple but she looked very grown up that day.  :) 

Link-o Cinco De Mayo Hair

This post is a little bit late but I wanted to share the hairstyle we used for Cinco De Mayo.  My princess had a fiesta at her school that day and she wanted to be festive.  I could not for the like of me think of a hairstyle that would go along with the holiday so this was our best attempt.

 I started by created a short off-centered part at the top of the head.  Then I pulled out two thin sections of hair from the part (on the larger half) to use for my links.

 

Have your princess hold those while you pull the rest of the hair into a low side ponytail. 

 I then made 5 links which is my princess named the "cinco link-o chain".   Make your links by wrapping the two small section of hair around each other just like you would in the first step of tying your shoes. 

 Continue doing this until you have 5 links and then add them into your ponytail with another elastic. 

 Take your ponytail and create a Messy Bun and then top it off with a festive flower. 

This was our first time ever doing anything fun for Cinco De Mayo but we hope that yours was great as well!

Mother's Day Do

I was so lucky to have such a wonderful Mother's Day.  My husband and kids totally spoiled me and I had a free morning to think up a fun hairstyle for the special day. 

 My princess suggested that we have the word "MOM" in her hair so we went to work making it happen.

Begin by making 3 parallel sections in the hair by creating two vertical parts.  Your middle section should be a bit thinner than the two outside sections.  Clip each of the outside sections out of the way and pull the middle section into a ponytail.  Now create a bun with that middle section.  We have used a bun mold here and twisted the excess hair around the base but if you don't have a mold you can create any type of bun. 

Move over to one of your side sections and create a horizontal part from the ear up to vertical part.  This will give you a section of hair that you will divide into two equal pieces.  Secure each piece with an elastic.  Those two elastics are the top of your "M".  Now divide the rest of the hair on that side into 3 parallel sections.   

Separate the hair from the two elastics into two equal pieces each and twist those pieces.  Have the left twist from the left elastic be included with the bottom-left section of hair that you created.  Secure it all together with an elastic.  Now combine the remaining twist from the left elastic and the inside twist from the right elastic in with the bottom-middle section of hair.  Secure that with an elastic as well.  Secure your final twist with the bottom-right section of hair and you have finish your "M". 

Move over to the opposite side of the head and repeat the same steps for your final "M". 

You now have 6 small ponytails - 3 on each side.  Weave those ponytails through each other so that the 6 ponytails end up on the opposite side of the head than where they started. 

Braid the 3 strands on each side into it's own braid and secure the braids with elastics at the bottom.  You can tie some ribbons at the bottom of your braids and add a flower to your bun if you like.

  Now you have "MOM" in the hair and it's perfect for celebrating Mother's Day!

I hope that all of you wonderful moms out there had a great day!