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!

Little Girl's Hairstyles -Twisted laces 10-15 min

This was a first time attempt at an idea I had, and it turned out pretty alright I thought. Here's the back view. *NOTE* On this style, if your daughter does not have really long hair, don't twist the ponys when you bring them across. This will help keep the hair in better.

Of course, I began with wet hair. You can use hair gel on this one, just rinse your hands after, since sticky hands make putting in elastics harder. Just FYI. You'll need a handful of elastics for this.

Make a center part all the way down, and comb away from the part. You'll want to spray the hair frequently throughout this to keep it easier to handle.

Part off front section just before her ears, and then make two centered ponys.

Part off another equal sized pony below the first set. This pic shows me getting it ready for an elastic, and then bringing the cross pony over and twisting it. Do this in steps: First, spray down your cross ponytail, this helps it twist with one hand easier. Second, comb your new section and get it ready to put in an elastic. Third, grab the wet pony and twist it with the other hand, bringing it over to the new section.

Lay the twist on top and put in your elastic.

After the first set of twists is done, continue down her head. When you are combing off a new section, flip the ponytail above it over, to keep it out of the way. Make sure to spray each new pony, so you can twist it easily with one hand.  She's holding the piece out of the way here for me. Use those little extra hands if you need to! This one was tricky!

Do however many ponys look good, depending on your size of sections. I did four total on each side here.

I did twist braids on her bottom ponys. Spray again thoroughly with water, and divide pony into two.

Begin twisting both sides in same direction,

and then twist around each other in opposite direction.

Front view

And here's a different option for the back. I did this on my other daughter, but I only put in 3 ponys going down her head (time saver), and instead of twists, I put in another elastic down her pony. I tried spacing it down about the same as the ponys on her head. You can put in more, continuing down the hair, to what you judge to look right. Her hair is more curly, so I just twist the bottoms around my finger when it's wet, and spray with hairspray all over.

Little Girl's Hairstyles - Combs

I'd thought I post what 'tools' I like to use on just about every hair do I do on  here. These are what we cannot live without. They are inexpensive and pretty much indestructible ( I say that because my kids, for some weird reason, can be found chewing on them from time to time...and that doesn't make them super hair tools anymore). But....when they are not being chew toys, here's what I use. A regular double tooth comb, and a rattail comb. I do use a brush as well to comb out my girls' hair, because it's thicker, but the wide teeth on the double tooth comb works almost as well. So there ya go.

Little Girl's Hairstyles -Stuffed Buns 3-5 min

I just made this name up--and realized it sounds like something to eat. Funny. Probably because this is my most favorite thing to do on my girls' hair. It's really fast and easy, it stays in well, and I think it's super cute. My good friend showed me this, and I think it's such a handy trick.

Top view

I like to do an angle part to start with, but a side or center part works great too. Again, damp hair (and gel if you prefer) is what I start with.

After parting the top, I part down the middle in the back, using my thumb to get it in the middle (like in my older posts). I also spray the part and comb it away from the center here to keep stray hairs from the other side from getting in when I'm putting it up.

Here's where I get a little picky about combing the hair. I don't know if you can see the difference between how the hair looks in this picture and the one below, but I like it combed really smooth. I use the big teeth on the comb to comb the hair up from the base of the neck, so it doesn't pull on that sensitive area, but after it's combed up, I flip the comb around and use the small teeth to get it really even.

Put in your elastic and pull the last time through only halfway, leaving a long tail. This will only work well on longer hair. If you don't have enough of a tail to make another loop the same size as the first, it won't look right. See where I have my finger under the elastic here? This is where you lift it and stuff the hair back in.

After stuffing in ends.

After getting it stuffed in, you can pull and adjust the hair to make it not look like just two double loops (unless that's what you prefer).

Back

Side-spray well with hairspray, and put in snap barrettes in the back if you have shorter hair back there to hold in place.

This is really cute with bows placed right in front of the buns. This one was going outside to play in the sandbox so we opted no on the bows. This is how I do my girls' hair most days when they are just running around outside or playing. Thanks M.T. for this super trick!

Little Girl's Hairstyles -Criss cross braid with fish tail braid 20-30 min

This is the top view of what we did today.

I started with damp hair. I always say to use just wet hair, because I don't love putting a lot of product on my girls' hair, BUT, I neglected to mention that using a small amount of lightweight gel at this stage, when the hair will all be braided, or done tightly, can be handy in keeping the hair smooth, especially in little braids. I didn't use gel on this style, but it might have held the fish tails in better for longer.  You'll need 6 elastics, and maybe a clip.

First I made a center part; you'll only need to go as far back as her ears.

This shows the part farther back than you'll need to go.

Here you can see I only went to the ears, and then combed the rest of the hair back. Part off each side in equal sections, leaving room for four braids in the front.

To begin braid, comb hair forward toward face, and begin braid close to front. Since this only reaches to pony, I wanted to have more braid showing, rather than starting at the back or middle of section.

I like braiding backwards, or inside out--just my preference. You only need to braid just past where your back pony will be. Do 3 more braids in even sections in the front.

Next step is to part the back evenly into ponys. This is how I do it to get it even each time. Position comb in middle of her head on top (that's my daughter's hand holding the comb for me, my right one didn't shrink-- I had to hold the camera),

and with my left hand (or whichever) I place my thumb in the little dent in her neck, which is the middle of her head, (I lifted her hair to show you),

then bring the comb straight down to your thumb. Now here's where I ended up with missing pictures. They only showed how after this point, I comb the two sides away from each other, and spray with water, to keep them separate. You can clip off the other section, but that's just one more step to me, since I want it wet anyway. This way you can make sure your part is straight before you put it in ponys.

Next, after you part, comb hair up to high pony on one side, and take the bottom front braid on that side, and skip one, and take the next, so it looks like this. Lay braids flat and put in elastic. After you get the loose hair and braids secure, take out the small braids.

To start fish tail, comb hair and spray well. Divide into two equal sections.

Begin by taking small section of hair from right side, and bringing it across.

Repeat on other side. Each time you pick up a new piece, just incorporate into the new side--you don't have to keep the sections apart like in a reg. braid. Just make sure to try and get your new small pieces equal in size.

The trick with fish tails is to keep them tight, and the pieces even . I use my thumb in the middle to keep it pinched tightly.

Make sure to draw your pieces from the top of the underside hair, as I'm trying to show here.

This does take some time, so you can end the braid wherever you think it will look alright. I left her 3 or 4 inches on the end.

Back view. Spray tops and bottoms of braids with hairspray.

Front view. She's looking over at the TV, because Max and Ruby came on.  In case you couldn't tell, I park my girls in front of the tv to do their hair, and they are infinitely more cooperative and happy. Having a snack doesn't hurt either.