Shake it up for a change

If you are like me it is hard to change. AND staying in the same old rut can be easy and does not require a lot of thought. Two Heads keeps me searching for new ways to twist the tried and true but still keep it fairly easy on mommy (and daddy).

The below is my five year old sporting a spin off of the same old two pig tails style that every little girl has worn at least a million times :-).

Usually, when we do this style, we simply part her hair straight down the middle and pull each side of her hair up into two pig tails. We accent with barrettes on either side of the part and call it a day. Well, this particular day we wanted to be a little risqué and take a departure from the norm.

So this time we started with a zig zag part (which can be a little tricky). The part takes a little time because you want each zig and zag to be sharp and definitive so you may need to practice. By the way, I purposely have a little more hair on one side than the other. I love how it looks a little off set. I then zig zagged a little piece to the side at the nape of her neck to add a little interest. And finally we added two tendrils on each side to accent her little face. Instead of leaving the pig tails loose or braiding them like normal, I looped them over into puffs. I still added barrettes on either side and little tiny accessories to the tendrils. As you can see the tendrils are loosely twisted.

And there you have it…a little twist on the old school pig tails.  Shake it up!

Skirt: Target

Leggings: Target (2 seasons ago :-) can't believe they still fit)

Top: A gift from her grandmother

Sandals: Gymboree (last season)

Hair accessories: Walmart (believe it or not ;-))

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Daily moisture

 

Ethnic hair of all textures needs moisture to grow and stay healthy. I just can’t stress that enough. So here is a quick tip to help you keep your little ones hair moist.

My two year old always looks most flattering when she is good and moisturized

By adding Doo Gro, Stimulating Growth oil and extra virgin olive oil moisture can be retained. Bring out the curls even more with pink oil moisturizer.

Dress: Baby Gap

The end of WEN

It is difficult when we are unable to give a product a glowing endorsement, but when we have to deliver unfavorable news, we are more than willing to explain why. First, however, we must stressed as we do with every post, that what works for one may not work for the other. You may use a product and get wonderful results when our findings were lack luster. With that said, always try it for yourself. Our reviews are based on our personal experiences and the experiences of our faithful readers.

The verdict is in…we are discontinuing of use of WEN. The reason is simple. The product does not provide and detangling aid. Here on Two Heads, we stress the need for good detangling products for all hair types. Heres why:

1.       Hair is elastic (it stretches), but not unbreakable

2.       Hair is at its weakest when it is wet

3.       Taking into consideration the above notes, when detangling after shampooing, strand will stretch and pop (break) if the comb is not allowed to glide smoothly.

4.       Poor detangling habits can cause split ends

5.       Poor detangling habits is a main reason for African American hair breakage

Now, there are many factors that contribute to whether hair is easy to detangle:

1.       Hair texture (of course the tighter the curl, the more difficult it is to detangle)

2.       Moisture is an important factor in good detangling. If hair is moist is will detangle easier

3.       The technique one uses to shampoo hair can potential tangle hair

4.       Shampoos and conditioners can contribute to adding moisture to hair therefore making it easier to detangle (ie., if your shampoo and conditioner dries your hair out it probably will be difficult to detangle

Now, all of the above is sheer rhetoric if it can’t be applied practically.

Well here is the long and short of it all. No matter how the product boasts to be natural and full of “healthy” ingredients that health did not translate into the styling process. Don’t get me wrong I felt good about using a product that would not strip my daughters’ hair. I liked the idea of using a product that was supposedly helpful not harmful, but every time I used WEN, I would have to use it in conjunction with another product, namely a detangler or moisturizer to achieve the desired outcome. This just seemed a little backwards to me.

My final thought is that WEN is not at all a bad product, but if your primary concern is lack of moisture and breakage (as mine is with my oldest child) then WEN is not for you.

As a side bar, WEN performed satisfactorily on my youngest daughter’s hair, but it too seemed more dull and less soft at the end of the styling process when I used the WEN solely. When added with other products, WEN was fine, but if you go back to one of our first posts, WEN: Does it really work? , it is supposed to be a product that can stand alone. It is not advertised as an adjunct therapy.

Back to the 80's...again...

Janet

Grown girls I have a look for YOU! You can even share it with your little girl if you like. It’s the 80’s side swiped pony. In the 80’s it was worn by Janet Jackson on the cover of her breakout hit album, Control and Jada Pinkett-Smith just dawned a side shaven version of the look for the 2012 Kid’s Choice Awards. I can honestly say I have worn this style since I was a kid…in the 80’s.

Me, Rocking a much more toned down, everyday version of the 1980's look

I was in third grade in 1987 and I wore this hair style then (I probably should not admit that). I loved it then and I love it still. It can be worn simple or chic, for church or for prom or even for everyday. I love the versatility and simplicity of this look and I recommend it if you want to break out of the normal pony tail and do something funky. Every time I do this style, my older daughter says, “Mommy you look so pretty”, so I take her word for it (probably shouldn’t admit that either; taking fashion advice from a five year old may not be wise). Confirmation comes, however, when my husband, friends and total strangers stop me to tell me how totally cute and totally 80’s I look. The 80’s part is the coolest part. I am actually one of those people who truly think the 80’s was a good decade (at least some of it). After all, the 80’s gave us He-Man and She-ra and Janet, “Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty”. During the 80’s we got some really cool movies like The Terminator and great Directors like Spike Lee (remember School Daze). Let’s not forget great songs like We Are the World and fashion trends like ripped jeans (which I still rock to this day). In the 80’s Princess Diana married Prince Charles and Prince released Purple Rain. Unfortunately, I can think of some not so cool 80’s moments, even sad ones that occurred, but let’s face it, the 80’s have resurfaced, rehashed, and revived more times than Elizabeth Taylor said “I do” (an event that happen at least once in the 80’s I’m sure).  They are really not going to ever totally go away (at least not as long as I am around). So I thought it only fitting to spread my love of the 1980’s and share a style that can work for you or your little lady. Work it!

Jada at the 2012 Kid's Choice Awards

P.S. Just in case you are too young to remember my 80's references, just click on the highlighted, underlined words and catch up on your 80's trivia. You're welcome!

Need a style for a special occasion...here you go!

She was not expecting me to take this pic so early in the morning :-)

With Easter right around the corner. Mommas and Daddies may be looking for a cute easy look that will work perfectly with your precious one’s Easter ensemble. Well, I’ve got one for you, but…

I cannot take credit for this super cute special occasion hair style…although I would love to. This look was created by my mother.

A WORD ABOUT MY MOTHER: Mimi, as the kids affectionately call her, is a perfectionist. She expects her grannies to be on point at all times and will accept nothing less. Nothing but the best for her babies. Needless to say, when the girls step out with Mimi…they step out correct. Grandmothers, I must add, have this luxury, for they are, after all grandmothers and their responsibilities have decreased with time. Mine, however, have increased. Therefore I cannot profess that they always look GQ when they are with me…but I digress…

At any rate, the special occasion that this look was created for was church. A style this fancy should be reserved for a special occasion at church or Easter or Christmas as it requires heat to create and I am not a huge proponent of adding heat. I do believe, however, if done in moderation and with a conservative caution it is ok from time to time. Note: if you are totally against heat all together, you can create this style by braiding your child’s hair and leaving it over night. Even if her hair is naturally curly, braiding her hair with a pomade and leaving it for several hours or overnight will lock in a wave pattern or a "crimped" look that may be a unique departure from her usual "curly" look.

Mimi would say start by making sure your parts are straight! For the top section be careful to ensure that the two parts on either side do not extend farther down than the outer tip of the brow (only because it looks a little funny). In other words, make sure each part lines up with about the middle of her eyebrow. It looks more balanced that way. Then make a horizontal part to complete a “box” for the top pony tail. From the middle of that top box (from the back) make a middle part to divide the rest of the hair into two pony tails.

Now that the hard part is out of the way, crimp each section of hair and separate to fluff it. Don’t forget to add some oil sheen for extra shine and you’re done. This is the "special occasion" version the style, but the original style was done with twist. Part hair the same way, but instead of crimping, just create three fluffy twists and add hair accessories if you like.

I know your next question. What kind of iron did I use? I have found that women are very, very particular and picky about their irons and what one likes is as individual as a finger print. It can be a personal experience, even intimate, like buying those "special delicates" that go under our clothes. Some women favor certain name brands. Others value certain qualities like ceramic or ionic. Some irons can be very expensive as well. I have my preferences, but I feel in this case moms (or dads) and their daughters should go on a very vigilant quest to find the healthiest and safest iron that fits their lifestyle and budget.

With that said, your little princess now has another special occasion style to add to the arsenal that you can pull out the next time she gets snazzy.

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TADA!! It worked...the second time.

I nearly forgot to post this wonderful entry about my new experience with a product that I had once written off. It seems that what works for one child does not work for the other. I will not leave you in suspense. The product is none other than Shea Moisture.

This is not a little known product to our house hold. As a matter of fact I have been using Shea Moisture, Curl and Style Milk for several months on my two year old. I mainly use it to add moisture and shine when I braid it from time to time. The performance was satisfactory so I decided to try some other products in the line.

A little background on Shea Moisture: Sofi Tucker started selling shea Nuts at the village market in Bonthe, Sierra Leon in 1912. This Sofi Tucker was the grandmother of the founders of Shea Moisture. Inspired by her tenacity and self sufficiency as a single young mother of four children (widowed at age 19), the Shea Moisture line was born. The product is accompanied by a mission to empower disadvantaged women.

Why I chose to give it one more try?: It was not just the satisfactory performance of the product after I tried it (for the second time) on my two year old that made me stay with it, but also the legacy and the mission of the company. I read the back of the bottle and decided it was worth giving it one more chance.

A brief overview of what we did to achieve success: What we did was simple but effective. The products used were Moisture Retention Shampoo and Deep Treatment Masque. We followed that up with the usual Curl and Style Milk. And of course we did our customary pre-shampoo treatment with coconut oil for 30 minutes prior to shampooing.

We shampooed twice and left the Deep Treatment on for approximately 15minutes. When I rinsed her hair it was soft and shiny and easy to detangle. I was pleased.

Note: I tried this on my older daughter over a year ago and we did not have good success. Her hair was dry and brittle afterward and hard to detangle. I tried it again on her since it worked so well on the baby with no luck. It just goes to show that what works for one does not always work for the other AND you may have try something twice before it works at all.

Below soft manageable hair and a happy two year old:

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Hair accessories found at your local neighborhood beauty suppy store

She is wearing her favorite Dora dress (Target)

Readers weigh in on Motions Weightless Hairdressing

Two Heads is so lucky and blessed to have faithful readers who glean helpful hints from our page and are also willing to add relateability and value to the information we provide with tips of their own.

One such reader shot me a message about a week ago about a product that she discovered and happens to love for her daughter's cornrow styles. It’s called Weightless Clear Hairdressing by Motions. I have not yet tried the product, however, an in depth review is forth coming from Two Heads. BUT our reader tells us that this stuff is awesome!

She states the pros for weightless clear hairdressing are:

-no flaking

-no grease

-easy application

-it leaves the hair soft

-there is very little build-up and residue

I am sold!

The product retails for approximately $4.50 for a 6 once container.

Here is what one site had to say about the product:

·       Give hair an extra styling boost with Motions Weightless Clear Hairdressing. Its feather-light formula adds volume while restoring hair's strength and shine. It will not build up on hair. Oil-free conditioners add suppleness and shine while reducing frizz. And a Mango Tango fragrance evokes an enticing tropical sensation. It's ideal for pumping up fine-to-medium textured or fragile hair. It gives lift to hair that normally gets weighed down by ordinary hair dressing.

I am super excited about trying this product out on my girls to let you know how I like it. In the meantime, check out the super cute pics sent in by our reader of her sweet baby girl in cornrows created using Motions, Weightless Clear Hairdressing.

SUPER cute! Thank you guys for sharing!!

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