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

March 30, 2011

Finishing the Bottom of Yarn Extensions

As I've been receiving so many questions about yarn braids, I've decided to cover this topic a little more in depth this week, trying to touch on some of the queries in more detail. The one question that I get asked most frequently is about how I finish the bottom of yarn extensions. There are a few ways, and we have done pretty much all of them at one point or another. The choices come down to your preference, what you have on hand, what you want from the extensions, and what you're willing to do.

Doing Yarn Extensions Over More than One Day

As much as I'd like to pride myself on my quick hands and keen styling abilities (don't choke on any beverages while reading this), very often it takes me more than one day to finish all of Boo's yarn extensions. (For instructions on doing yarn extensions, see this post.) The cool thing about that, however, is that if you have a little one who might not be willing to sit for you for extended periods of time, there are options if you want to try doing them without a one-day marathon commitment.

Diamond Yarn Twist Extensions

A few weeks ago I got inspired by a post by Dierdre over at Keep It Kinky and the fabulous job that her stylist did on her Kanekalon Twists. What I liked most about the style were the parts. I mean don't get me wrong, the twists looked awesome, but looking at that photo when she lifted up the twists to see the parts I about fell out of my chair. I would love to be able to do something like that someday! In the meantime, I have to settle for what I can do, and that's what I did this week with some diamond-shaped yarn twist extensions.

Ghana Plaits (African Threading) Update

So. Guess who decided to "wash" her own hair the other night? Yeah, that's right. Little Miss Boo. While Daddy was preoccupied with his iPhone, Boo decided to take a dip in the tub to get her hair wet so she could "wash" it. Although I appreciate her proactive effort in wanting to care for her own hair, her lovely little Ghana plaits.....well, not so much.

The Power of Positive Affirmation

I laugh to myself every time I think about this. I recently saw an episode of Modern Family that hit really close to home. I mean really close to home. It was called "Two Monkeys and a Panda," with one of the story lines focusing on the adoptive parents of two-year-old Lily as they created a book of her adoption story. I'm still giggling when thinking about the episode, but probably not for the reasons that the writers originally intended.

African Hair Threading (Ghana Plaits)

I first heard about these last November after watching GirlsLoveYourCurls on YouTube, having stumbled across her channel via Afro Puffs and Ponytails. I ran right out and purchased some weaving thread (at $.99 it wasn't a big break to the bank) with the intention of trying out the Ghana plaits right away. And then life got in the way, and I ended up using the thread for something entirely different (although equally useful), about which I will write more later.

Tangle Teezer versus Wide Tooth Comb

As promised after last week's Tangle Teezer review, I wanted to give it another chance to prove itself without having the benefits of working on hair that was already extremely well conditioned and detangled. So this week, after having Boo's hair in two free-hair puffs, I detangled one side using my traditional method of the wide tooth comb (pictured above in pink on the left) and the other side with the Tangle Teezer (pictured above on the right). After all was said and done, I'm sticking with my original conclusions.

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2011

This year, St. Paddy's Day is all about the bows in our house, and as such, the hairstyle needed to be something with which Boo could wear her St. Paddy's Day bows. So out went the cool shamrock hairstyle from last year, and enter a simple style with two puffs for this year.

Product Review: Tangle Teezer

Yes, this is yet another product review of the Tangle Teezer. Perhaps there are still some people out there who have not yet heard of it. I first heard about it a few years ago on a Yahoo Adoption Hair and Skin Care Group to which I belong, but at the time I had no real need for it, so I passed. Lately I've been putting off buying one, despite great reviews from a lot of different sources, because, well, it looks sort of reminded me of a dog brush and I couldn't imagine that working on my child.

Book Review: Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair

Ella Kazoo has some of the kinkiest hair I think I've ever seen drawn in a book. Formed of some of the squiggliest lines known to toddler, the drawings illustrate just how wild and crazy hair can get if not properly cared for. Her story is a cautionary tale of what happens to a little girl's hair if she throws caution to the wind and ignores the needs of her full head of curly locks.

St. Patricks's Day Hair (from 2010)

I'm not doing a specific St. Paddy's Day hairstyle this year because, well, Boo was gifted with an awesome dress from one friend and a fabulous set of custom bows to go with it from another friend. I figured throwing in a complicated hairstyle on top of all of that would be too much. However, seeing as how I hadn't publicly written about Boo's St. Patrick's Day style from last year (I wrote about it on our private family blog) I figured now would be the perfect time to do so if anyone is looking for inspiration.

Finding the Right Hair Products from Baby Hair to Child Hair

It's times like these that make me happy that I don't do sponsored posts, because what I have to say isn't always what companies want to hear. But the truth is, if you want to do the best service to your child's hair you have to be willing to change products if or when the time comes. And for me, when I really love something, that can be really hard to do.

When NOT To Use a Sleep Cap

What? NOT wear a sleep cap!?! I know, bite my tongue! But yes, there is one really big circumstance where you need to make the decision whether or not to send your child to bed with a sleep cap on, even for naps. And that's when your child is running a fever.

Six Month Anniversary "Giveaway That Gives Back"

Photo by Timothy K Hamilton

I'm so excited that Chocolate Hair / Vanilla Care is celebrating our six month anniversary today! I just can't thank all of you readers enough for the support that you have offered over this past half-year. And our Facebook community is growing by leaps and bounds, having reached over 400 fans this past weekend. Whew! Seriously, when I first started writing I was hoping that maybe a handful of people might find some useful information here and there. This is truly a blessing. Okay, after gushing about all of you, on to the giveaway information....

Style Update on the Flat Rope Twists

Much to my surprise, Boo's Flat Rope Twists are hanging in there and will probably do just fine lasting another week. Seriously, I expected the twists to come undone by now, especially since they were so loose when I originally put them in. But nope, they're doing great. The back of her hair, however, that's a different story.

Share the Hair: Guest Edition with CH/VC Reader, Amber

Today I can't wait to introduce everyone to Amber, mother of 10-year-old A, and one of our awesome readers (hi Amber *big wave*). If you walk away with just one thing from this post hopefully it will be with encouragement. See, Amber is a vanilla mama who, although has curly hair herself, had never cornrowed or otherwise cared for textured naturally curly hair prior to the arrival of her lovely daughter 10 years ago. And look what she can do now! Not only can she do awesome hairstyles for her daughter, she can even "share the hair" with her vanilla niece, D, who is also 10 years old. In fact, all the neighbourhood teens and tweens come to her to get their hair done these days! And to think that she started off in the beginning with no experience, just like the rest of us....

Our Styling Routine: Age 3

If you've already read Our Styling Routine: Age 2, then much of this will seem repetitive, but you will get a chance to see the minor adjustments that have occurred to our routine over the last year. The best way that I can serve my daughter's hair needs is to make sure that I adjust our routine to suit her hair, not myself. The process is a journey, and as her hair (and my talents) have grown and changed, so has our styling routine.