Simple Styles: Braid Out

I'm going to try to make this as short as possible... I will not get upset if you need to stop and come back later to finish reading it!  This post its all about "Braids Out".  Below you will see pictures of Braids Out from two different styles.  

On our last post, Short Cornrows and Beads, Ms Bree had a few cornrows on top and a few on the back.  

This is what her curlz looked like when I took the braids out.

Product Used:  Bee Mine Bee Lovely Daily Moisturizer;

Hello Kitty Headband from Target.

DAY 2-Half Up Pony Tail

The picture below was taken after school.  As you all can see, her hair gained a little bit of "volume".. Ha ha! Her curlz still looked amazing and was soft!  

Product Used:  Bee Mine Bee Lovely Daily Moisturizing

1 Ouchless Band

1 Bow Hair Clip to match her shirt.

DAY 3- Messy Bun

The messy bun was easy to do, by now her hair was "big" so I just spritz some water and applied a bit more of Bee Mine Bee Lovely Daily Moisturizer and gathered all the hair in one loose pony tail.

Then I grabbed the end of the pony tail and pined (hair pins) all ends close to the band securing the pony tail.  

As you can probably see from the pictures above, it was time to co-wash and style her hair, which I did.  

I washed her hair with Bee Mine Botanical Moisturizing Shampoo;

Conditioner her hair with Bee Mine Avocado Conditioner;

And because she enjoyed wearing her hair out so much, I decided to give her another week of wearing her hair down and I did 10 braids in order to do a Braid Out.

After rinsing her hair out:

I applied our mix of 100% Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and Castor Oil;

then I applied Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer with a little Bee Mine Curly Butter;

and did the braids.   

I sent her to school wearing the braids;

Once I've picked Ms. Bree up from school, I got her ready for her little friend's birthday party at Chuckee Cheese and unraveled all her braids.

This is what her hair looked like:

DAY 1

As you can see, her hair was shiny and soft.

DAY 2- Just with a Headband

I damped her hair a little bit and applied Bee Mine Deja Hair Milk;
and just a simple black Headband to accessorize

DAY 3

For Day 3, I again damped her hair a little bit and applied Bee Mine Deja Hair Milk... 

Short Cornrows & Beads

It's been a while since we used beads and Ms. Bree has kindly requested I added beads to her braids and I thought "why not".    

The first time we added beads to her braids Ms. Bree decided to let her friends from school touch them and some beads were lost. And by some I mean half of the beads and snaps were lost! 

For this style I did very simple short cornrows and used medium size beads.  Last time we used small beads and I really didn't like the look at the end.

After washing her hair I applied our oil mix (equal parts of Castor Oil and 100% Coconut Oil) then applied Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer and banded her hair.  For more details on banding please see our post What is Banding?

Ms Bree's hair was banded for one day before I braided her hair.

Day 2

Products used:

First, I divided each section to start braiding,

Then I damped the hair with a little bit of water;

Then applied Bee Mine Curly Butter with a little bit of Eco Styler Gel with Argan Oil and started to braid;

I secured each braid with a rubber band;

Once all her hair was braided I began to add the beads.

Each braid has 7 beads in total.

Day 3

Day 5

Day 7

Maintenance:

I moisturize her scalp with Bee Loved Hair & Scalp Moisturizer at least once a day;

For the braids, I spritz Bee Mine Juicy Moisturizing Daily Spritz. 

When her ends are exposed, I use either Bee Mine Curly Butter or Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer to at least once a day (usually before bedtime).

How do you maintain the styles looking fresh?? 

Book Review: Princess Truly and THe Hungry Bunny Problem

Princess Truly and the 

Hungry Bunny Problem

Author Kelly Greenawalt's Biograpphy: (from the Amazon.com website)

Kelly Greenawalt grew up in New York City. She moved to Houston, with her family, when she was a teenager. She married her husband Chuck in 1997. Together they have adopted four children and have fostered many more. They reside just outside of Houston, Texas with their quirky dog, Pippin, and overly affectionate kitty, Mickey.

As an adoptive mother, Kelly is incredibly passionate about adoption issues. She believes that "rainbow" families like her own make the world a better place, especially when adoptive parents are committed to helping their children form a healthy racial identity.

Kelly has always been freckle-faced handful with a vivid imagination and a passion for storytelling. Her first book, Princess Truly and The Hungry Bunny Problem, was written for her daughters when she noticed a critical shortage of books featuring smart and capable princesses, especially black princesses with gorgeous natural puffy curls. 

Princess Truly and The Hungry Bunny Problem. is a picture book for children ages 4-8. It's an enchanting tale about a clever, problem-solving princess with magical curly hair featuring the delightful illustrations of Amariah Rauscher.

As we all know, there are not that many books that our brown babies can identify with.  But the first thing Ms. Bree noticed about Princess Truly was her black curly hair and how it was full of magic!  She touched her hair and placed her little hand on the page and said... "just like me mami".. and I felt her joy! 

She continued to smile as we read the first sentence "She lives at the tippy top of a tall tower"!  

As you can see from the pictures, she was eager to turn the page as she wanted to know what else the magical curls could do.

WE loved the book, the words used are easy for my son to read to Ms Bree and easy enough for her to repeat as well (Ms Bree is learning how to read!)

The book was not about "love" like most of the other princesses books are about, this book is about friendship, helping each other which is a great subject for children.

The illustrations are captivating and very well done! I truly believe this book gave my daughter that last push she need it to embrace her curls and her brown skin!! 

This is a book every little girl should have!! 

You can find this book here: Princess Truly and the Hungry Bunny Problem