Chocolate Hair / Vanilla Care : Natural hair care for kids, adoption, and family life.

January 31, 2011

Why Braids (and Twists) Get Fuzzy

We're heading into week 3 of Boo's yarn twist extensions and they are doing fabulously well. After sporting pink beads for week one, and green for last week, this week I will probably be taking all the beads out, just to give it another look. As for maintaining the twists, I will cover that in another post. But looking at the fuzzies that have formed along some of the twists I thought it was about time to talk about where they come from and what to do about them.

Mama Hair Day!

I can't believe that I'm turning 40 next month. Yes, that's right, 4-0! I don't feel 40, and anyone who knows me knows that I certainly don't act much like it either. So after 3 years of investing much time on (and even more money on products for) Boo's hair, I finally coughed up the dough to get my own hair done.

How To Cornrow

Well, here it is! At long last, the braid post covering cornrows. I've already covered How to Dutch Braid, How to French Braid, The Difference Between French Braids, Dutch Braids, and Cornrows, as well as how to make one of these nifty braiding practice boards. If you've been learning about braids through the previous posts, this explanation of how to do cornrows should seem really easy as it builds on the concepts learned in the previous posts. However, this article does stand on it's own, so it's not necessary to have mastered the other braids before learning how to cornrow.

Hair Journey Documentary

I just stumbled upon this movie while doing research and had to share. Pretty interesting stuff!

Changing Beads (and Other Things We Do For Our Princesses)

When installing Boo's yarn twist extensions last week I was so looking forward to skipping hair day, minus a little maintenance, for the next month. But wouldn't you know it, not only did I end up spending more time than I thought I would have on hair this weekend, I also attended princess tea party at The Disney Store. Yes, me. The biggest tomboy on the planet.

Free Photography For Adoptive Parents

I love, love, love ~~stalking some of our readers' blogs~~ when readers share awesome tips and information (thanks Kylie!). This little tidbit is no exception. If you've adopted within the last year, you may qualify to receive a free photo session! How cool is that!?!

How to Dutch Braid

Yay, on to the next set of braiding instructions! I've already covered How to French Braid, The Difference Between French Braids, Dutch Braids, and Cornrows, as well as how to make one of these nifty braiding practice boards. Next up are the Dutch braids. If you know how to French braid (or learned from my previous post) you will be amazingly surprised at how easy Dutch braids are to do.

MLK Jr. Reflections

"Life's most urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King Jr.

Yarn Twist Extensions: An Exercise in Patience

It's been a while since I've done box twists, and even longer since I've done yarn braids. I've really been wanting to try out some yarn twists and am grateful to have found that all conditions worked in our favour to give them a go this weekend. And after investing several hours putting these in I am reminded as to why I don't do extensions that often. In fact, I didn't actually finish this style until 6pm this evening, if that's any indication as to how long our day went.

How to French Braid

This will be the first of the step-by-step braiding instructions in my braiding series. I've already covered The Difference Between French Braids, Dutch Braids, and Cornrows, as well as how to make one of these nifty braiding practice boards. Now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

Hot Topic: "I Hate Your Hair"

Little did I know when starting Boo in preschool this year, how much of an educational experience it really would be. Not so much for her, however, but for me. There are many adjustments that need to made when adopting a child, especially transracially. And we've dealt with more than our fair share of family drama on the subject. So it seems plain strange to me that I would have been so unprepared for similar issues arising from her first venture out into "the world" without me, not the least of which was the topic of her hair.

Bantu Knots (or Zulu Knots)

Although we're a day late with styling, I'm happy to report that our Bantu knots that were removed from last week's style have been resurrected this week. Boo is very happy with the results. It's been well over a year since she's worn them and I was pleased with how much easier they were to do now that her hair has filled in more.

The Difference Between French Braids, Dutch Braids, and Cornrows

This is my official introduction to my braiding series. I thought about just launching into instructions on how to do each of the braids, but when planning their instructions I found it increasingly necessary to give an overview of each type of braid, how they work, and why we do them, especially for those who are completely knew to the idea of doing these types of braids.

Share the Hair: Two Puffs and Two Cornrows

We are so excited to offer another installment in our "Share the Hair" series. This time we will be doing Two Puffs and Two Cornrows. It probably seems a little odd to be doing "sharing" anything with the word "puff" in it, but yes, a "puff" can be done with thin, fine hair. It just has to be done a little differently.

Creating a Practice Board for Braiding

Oh, I'm so excited to get started on this new series of braiding posts! I wanted to clue everyone in to what I'm working on in case anyone wants to try to make one of these nifty gadgets. I've put this practice board together so that I can give clear instructions on how to do all types of braids, but I really want to share a little bit about the practice board first before I jump into the braiding.

Two Puffs and Two Cornrows

Boo's sick. Mama's sick. Daddy's sick of us being sick. There's a whole lot of sick going around this household right now. Not the best way to start the new year, but we're looking at it as the only cold we'll be getting this year. Trying to keep a positive outlook. That being said, this isn't the most complicated style ever, but it will do for the coming week.