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

YouTube Videos!

Introducing our two latest videos!

Ms. J's Hairstyles

Ms. J has short hair and her mom does an extraordinary job styling it.   On this video we show many cute and simple hairstyles for curlies with short hair!

Ms. Bree's Natural Curlz

These are all the pictures taken during her 4th Birthday Photo Session!  Ms. Bree had so much fun with her hair during this session! 

Don't forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel!

Royal Birthday Party Part II

This is it, the last part of our Royal Birthday Party posts!!

Ms. Bree had so much fun with all her friends!!

And here it is, the steps to accomplish the perfect curls without using a curling iron or a flat iron.

What we used?? CURLFORMERS!! (http://www.curlformers.com/)

YES, curlformers, they are so easy to apply and remove. The results are perfectly formed curls without the need of any tool that may cause heat damage.  

It took me approximately 30 minutes to do her entire head.

STEPS:

1.  I washed Ms. Bree's hair the night before the event;

2.  I parted her hair from ear to ear.  I started on the back part and worked my way to the front.

3.  Without making perfect sections, I began grabbing small sections at a time, maybe 1/2 an inch,  I applied Bee Mine Curly Butter and slowly pulled her hair through the curlformer.   Continued to do this until the entire back section was done.

4. I created a medium size heart shape pony tail on the top part, (mainly so it could hold her tiara in place) added the Curly Butter and used one Goody's ouchless band to secure the pony tail and added curlformers to the pony tail.

5.  Added Curlformers to each side of the heart shape pony tail by repeating Step #3.

And as you can see the results were amazing!!  

I removed the curlformers about 30 minutes before the event started, and that was it! 

HER HOMEMADE PRINCESS CASTLE CAKE and one super happy princess!

Ms. J, Little B, Ms. Bree and Ms. D standing in front of the scene setter.  

I call this... "GIRL POWER"..

Ms. J and Ms. Bree have known each other since they were 6 weeks old and they are inseparable!  

Have attended the same school, ballet classes and more.  

She is my other daughter and to Little B and  Ms. Bree, Ms. J is their sister and as they often say "WE LOVE HER".

Have you tried the Curlformers??  if so, share your pictures and opinion in our Facebook Page.

To see more pictures you can follow our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/CaramelCurlzNSwirls

The Best Curly Hair Charts!

Below you will see two charts that I believe will make things easier on most of us.  

Identifying the curl pattern can be overwhelming and it can be confusing.  Our dear friend from Kandy Land Kurls found this amazing and easy to read chart.

Ms. Bree has a combination of curls but most of them are 3C and doing the LOC method works for her at all times.  




I also found this Curly Hair Growth Chart on @Naturallycurly.com.



Some of the  most asked questions in the curly hair world are about hair growth and curl pattern.  

These two charts will give  you a better idea on how fast/how long curly hair should grow and instead of obsessing about the "curl pattern", what you really need to know about curly hair. 

I think both charts are extremely helpful and I'm sure you will too!