I do have to say that I LOVE THEM! The girls look so amazing with them. They walk around moving their braids as they walk. They are so excited to hair longer hair.
First, I started with Rita. We began on Friday night. I didn't really know how to part and was just winging it. :) Later on Saturday, I figured I was doing the braids way to small. So I got onto "You Tube" and watched some videos (during one of our breaks). I found out I was doing to many braids and my parts were to small. I kept going to keep it looking even in the back. But, in the front, I did the parts like what I had learned from the videos. That part was much easier and faster. :)
At around 6:00 pm, I started Racheal's hair. It definitely went faster with her hair because I believe it was the way I did the parts. The parts also make her hair easier to put into pig tails if she wants to. Now, I just have to find a swimming cap to fit their head and their hair. I really don't know if their hair won't last as long if they go swimming. Yes, my kiddos have begun to swim. I didn't allow the girls to go swimming today. I am going to have to find the caps for them.
Both girls were so amazing to sit there while I did this work. It was such an awesome bonding time for us. Rita actually keeps coming up to me today and kissing me. She says, "Mommy, you are the best at braids".
I am really anxious to see how their classmates react tomorrow (if they do at all). They are so excited to go to school tomorrow to show.
For the yarn experts: I have two questions
1. - What type of yarn do you use? On one of the videos I watched before beginning, the girl said she went to Walmart and just bought the yarn. So that's what I did, but found out that the yarn seems to shrink up as time went on. I braided Racheal's hair way longer than Rita's and they both seem to look about the same length. I am thinking it's because of the yarn that it shrunk up. I don't know, but if you have any ideas to make it longer, I would love to hear them. They both want really long braids (like to the middle of their back), but I am not sure how to do that. :)
2. What can I use to spray on their hair to keep it moist?
With twins, I am going to have to space their braiding days apart. My fingers and back can't take it, so I am thinking of doing one girl one weekend and the other the other weekend.
Here are some pictures of their hair:
9 comments:
Wow!! Chalene! These look great!!!
Nice job Chalene! They look great!!! I did spray ours each day, as I mentioned on FB, with a mix of oils (Lisa's Hair Elixir) and water.
I'm sure the girls will love the attention they get tomorrow- ours sure did! Have fun putting them in all the different styles!
Fabu
GREAT job! Yea! My girls LOVE their yarn braids!
We use the Red Heart yarn from Wal-Mart. I also tried a different (softer) yarn once, but prefer the basic Red Heart.
We use a hair gel that we rub down the part lines about once a week (no daily spray). I also use Aloe Gel on each section of their hair as I am braiding in the yarn, so it is super moisturized when I do the braids.
We buy our swim caps at Big 5 Sporting Goods. We get a basic Nike swim cap for about $3.99 and they last a long time (for swimming and showers).
Let me know if you have any more questions. I've been doing yarn braids since last August. And, yes, I found out quickly that it was not good for my hands to do 2 days in a row. :)
BTW ... how many braids do each girl have. My Rachel has 144 right now, while Sarah has 88.
Laurel
mama of 13
We also use the red heart yarn from walmart. I never had problems with shrinkage. Also, we did do swimming because i found that all of thosw braids don't fit under a swim cap! I just pulled her hair up into a ponytail on top of her head and didn't let her go under the water. But, I have heard that you can let them go swimming and it doesn't hurt the braids. The most IMPORTANT thing is to rinse the hair out in the shower after they go swimming b/c the chlorine really dries the hair out. Also, you can buy "braid spray" at walmart. I sprayed the hair everyday and when I took her braids out her hair was super soft and moisturized! Hope this helps!
You did a great job, I'm so impressed! They are beautiful girls!
That's incredible!!!
I have been following your family since last year. We have two african american foster kiddos so this post about yarn braids was great. I never heard of them before, went on youtube, watched the videos and spent 6 hours (on and off) putting them into my 2 1/2 yr old. She looks so good as do your daughters! thanks for sharing
You did a great job! I have yet to attempt the yarn braids because of swimming. Let us know how it goes. I paid big bucks for corn rows last summer--with extensions--and they lasted all of 1 week with the swimming. Ugh!
I am glad to find your blog...
They look wonderful, and it warms my heart to see the effort you put forth.
I'm a mixed race woman with 3c, afro-textured hair whose mother did very little different with her hair than wash/condition/brush/braid. It was the healthiest my hair ever was. I appreciate that, rather than chemically straighten or talk down about the difficulties of doing hair to which you weren't previously accustomed, you took the initiative to learn to do your daughters' (maybe sons') hair.
I hope you don't mind if I interject to offer some tips that would be as useful to you as they are to me.
These braids (any individual braids, really) can and should be washed once a week. Beauty supply stores carry braid sprays you could buy, but between us, a spray bottle of conditioner and water will get the job done. If we do the gel thing, we have to make sure that the alcohol content is minimal as our hair is already less capable of retaining moisture which can cause it to break easily.
Also, with very young hair we have to make sure that braids with any type of extension are done fairly loosely (but not so loose as to affect the quality and appearance of the braids) and fairly infrequently. All extension-braided hair should get a month or so's rest between restyling. And watch out for thinning, especially around the edges. Frequent/tight braiding can induce traction alopecia which, after a time, can become irreversible.
For those between extension times when you need a quick style that's neither incredibly difficult nor costly, look into learning to cornrow or triple-strand twist. YouTube has tutorials for those methods, too. If we employ either technique in between the extensions and moisturize the hair everyday, we will see health and growth in our daughters' hair that we won't believe.
Also, you can find styling and product tips at either of these links that will really come in handy:
www.tightlycurly.com
www.curlynikki.com
www.curlmart.com
I hope I've been of some help, and I want to encourage to be encouraged in the Lord. There will be many who, either overtly or covertly, will question your motives and abilities but remember that if God be true and every man a liar we can do all things (even hair) in Christ who strengthens us.
Be blessed!
Post a Comment