Little Girl's Hairstyles -Using soft curlers with small twists 7-10 min

This is a two part process, each part taking about 7-10 min. I do this alot the night before church, and it really saves me on time, but they look fancy for church!

These are the curlers I used, about 1 inch curlers. They have all sizes, so you can use what you think will work best for the length you'll use them on. I like the foam because they are more comfortable to sleep in. I used about 10 curlers for her hair, but normally I use 12 (but somehow two were MIA until I was all done).

Start with dry hair--since I do this at night, and right after bath time, I have to dry their hair beforehand. When parting off sections for the curlers, part and roll in the direction the hair will lay after you take them out. Since I part her hair on the side usually, this is where I first part it, then work out from there. I only finger comb out the curls, so if I have the hair rolled in an odd direction, I can't do much to make it lay otherwise the next day. Hopefully you'll see what I mean as I go on.  

First section: This curler will be rolled under, and it will lay to the left, since that's how her part is.

I prefer rolling under, since any stray hairs will lay under, rather than up. The hair on the top of the head I first comb straight up, then place the curler where the first ends start showing up.

I then wrap the ends around the curler, and hold the very tips down with my thumb. This is when I start rolling, tucking those little ends under as I roll.

Smooth the ends in as you go, starting to angle the curler and wrap the hair like the pictures show. You continue from side to side, roll down to one side, then tilt to the other and roll in that direction. This helps the wrapped hair stay in tighter and more evenly.

And this is about where I finish on the piece. I like to leave a few inches of 'wiggle room', instead of rolled up next to her head. Since she'll be sleeping in the curlers, having it away from the head makes it more comfortable...and then she'll let me do it again.

I do two curlers down that side (her left) of the head, both laying this direction (north/south?). Also, see how the hair is combed down instead of up on this bottom piece? This will let you roll in the underneath pieces of her hair easily.

Wrapping around, holding hair directing down.

Starting back section--notice the direction I am now rolling the hair (east/west?). And the hair is not combed up or down, but straight out from the head.

Put as much hair in the curler as needed. The more curlers you have (and the smaller they are) the tighter the curls. It all depends on the length and thickness. Her hair is not super thick, but it's longer, so  these section sizes seem to work well. Also, if their hair has more body, the curls will grab more and hold throughout the day. If the hair is very straight, you might want more curlers. It all depends on what you want the finished look to be.

All rolled. Notice how the first curler on top in the back is not parted on one half, but centered. This will make the hair lay nice when taken out and not part to two sides. I followed that pattern straight down her head. (The curler just to the right of the top section is rolled the east/west direction, but just laying to the side.)

The next morning, right after I took out the rollers. Just unroll the curlers, avoiding pulling on the hair. 

After I finger comb through the curls. This gives you an idea of how curly it is from what I used, and how the partings from the curlers don't split her hair in the back.  Her hair is a little wavy on its own, so it comes out tight like this at first. By the end of the day, the curls are much looser and softer. This is where I spray the curls lightly with an aerosol hairspray.

Usually when I do curlers, I just pull back a small section of hair in the front, and clip in a bow to make it quick. BUT...I thought I'd do something else here, since the camera was out.  I parted the front into three sections, this one on the smaller side of her normal part. I sprayed it with hairspray and combed the first 4-5 inches up from her head, (not the curly ends-don't use a comb on those), to make it lay flat and smooth.

I began twisting, while pulling the hair toward her face, to make the base of the twist closer to her face.

Then I pulled the twist back, kind of wrapping around the base, and then securing with a bobby pin or clip.

Finished twists. 

I joined the twists into one pony.

They need to be anchored to the head at this point, so I used a flower barrette, grabbing hair from underneath the pony to secure it.

Finished back

And front view. I wish I had taken a pic when she came home from school this day. The flower was gone, the twist pony was laying to the side, and partly in her face, and her curls were much looser. That's what happens on the playground!

Little Girl's Hairstyles -Stick a pen in it

This is how my 3 year old comes down to breakfast every day. All smiles and hair.

Here's her breakfast. (yes, it's Life cereal)

Usually I ask her to run back up the stairs to get a ponytail for her hair so she can eat her breakfast, and not her hair. But today, I thought, 'well, we'll just stick a pen in it', since she was all ready to eat. Then I thought, "I'll take pictures of this!", since we probably do this way more often than most of the stuff on here, and hey, I'm a mom. I live in the real world. My kids don't wake up with 20 braids all done and sprayed. This is what we deal with at every meal if her hair is down. If we don't tie it back, she's wearing her food in her hair instead of ribbons.

I just comb it back (with fingers) to the base of her head.

Twist it

Pull it up and keep twisting around itself ending up top.

Grab your handy dandy pen and starting with the pointy end, face it towards her head and stick it in the top of the bun, angling it down as you push it in, scooping in that end up top. Push it down through the rest of the bun. If you don't get it the first time, try try again.

If you are fortunate enough to have a lid for your pen, now's a good time to recap it. This has come in handy on many occasions, especially when we are in a restaurant and her hair is down. Anything pointy and straight (and non lethal) will work. If you are at Chinese restaurant maybe you could ask for a chopstick. :)

Happy breakfast!

Little Girl's Hairstyles - Laces to the side 7-10 min

II wanted to show a style that could work on shorter hair, so I asked my cute little neighbor to come over and let me do her hair. She showed up with her hair all wet and combed out and ready to go!  This is what we started with, to give you an idea of the length of her hair. You'll need a small handful of elastics for this.

I parted it in half, and since I made a pony on the bottom first, I clipped up the top.

I parted off two ponys here. After I did the one on the bottom, I transferred my clip to the bottom section of hair, and combed the remaining hair ontop forward, to stay out of the remaining hair.

I crisscrossed the laces, just like in the twisted laces, but this time, since her hair is shorter, I didn't twist them. You may want to use gel here, since the shorter pieces being crossed will want to escape a little faster.

Continue until you get to the final sections of hair. Don't part those off separately, but comb them all together and put up in an elastic. I did a teeny stuffed bun here, and it was a tad bit tricky, since there wasn't alot of length to work with. You can do a simple pony, or just do a half-pulled through pony too, just whatever you can manage.

Front view with a flower clipped in. She looked super cute! Thanks darlin!

Little Girl's Hairstyles - Double Braids 7-10 min

This is pretty basic, but I like how the smaller braid shows in the bigger one. (I think it shows better in real life.)

Start with wet hair. You can use hair gel here. I used 4 elastics for this style.

Part off side section, just behind ear.  Comb rest of hair back away from part.

I did a backward/inside out braid here.

Braid as far down as you can, since the longer length will make it show more in the bottom braid. I sprayed it with hairspray here, before I joined it with the second braid. I also used a clear elastic, so it wouldn't be so obvious.

After you braid both front sides, part off back. I clipped the other section over.

Comb the back section back and at an angle, so it's behind her ear.

When you have it all combed smooth, grab your front braid, and place it on top. You'll want to keep the little braid flat and on top as much as possible while braiding it into the larger braid, so it will show.

Divide hair into three sections, putting the little braid on the far section. It's important to divide the sections evenly here, to make the braid look the best. To compensate for the small braid being added in, take less hair on that section, trying to keep all three sections the same thickness.  

It can be tricky right here getting all the hair to lay smooth and flat. Be patient and work out the bumps, it's hard for me to get it right here too, but it's worth it. Pulling the hair tight and keeping it tight in the braid will help alot. When you start braiding, always push the small braid on top and keep it from getting twisted.

Braid down to the ends.

Back view. Make sure to start bottom braids in same place on both sides of her head. You say "well, of course", but I've been completely finished and realized they aren't matched up well, and that's a major bummer.

Side--make sure to spray with hairspray! I do both top and bottom of the braids.

And, my favorite...the front. She's happy to be done!