Donate to Locks of Love

 Belle is beginning to get tired of her long hair, and she says it bugs her.  She's ready for a cut.  I did a search to find out what the minimum requirement is for Locks of Love.  They say 10 inches.  Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical treatment.  Belle said she'd like to do that another year and not cut that much off yet.  But if you are interested, you have to cut the hair after you put in a hairband (so it isn't all loose), stick it in a bag and a padded envelope, and mail it to
234 Southern Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33405-2701
See locksoflove.org for more details.

Lesson 78: Worm Bun/ The Brain

This style is fun to do.  I gave it a gross name for Halloween, but it would actually be cute for a flower girl or other special occasion with little flowers or ribbons stuck in it.
Begin with a ponytail.  Divide the tail into a few sections.  I used four, but if you use more the twists will be thinner and give it a more detailed brain/worm effect.  Twist each section all the way to the end, and then keep twisting it tighter and tighter until it starts to curve and make loops.  Tuck the end into the hair band. 

Repeat until you have used up all the hair.  Pull the ends that are sticking out underneath the twisties, and pin them in place with bobby pins.  Arrange the loops however they look nice, and then pin them down nice and neat.

Halloween Requests?

With Halloween approaching, I am wondering if there is anybody out there that needs specific help on a costume hairdo.  I can't promise anything, but just leave a comment and I'll see what I can do.

Lesson 77: French Hawser Twist

I don't actually know what this is called...  It is a hawser twist, but you add hair with each cross like a french braid, but a french twist is a completely different style, so I'll just call it a french hawser twist.  Before you try this one, make sure you know how to do a simple hawser rope twist.

There are lots of things you can do with this technique, but for today, just start by parting the hair down the middle like pigtails.  Keep one side out of the way with a clip or hairband while you work with the other side.  Pull up a section at the top of the head and split it into two with the division perpendicular to the center head part so that both pieces have a space touching the forehead.  Twist them both toward the face, and then cross the higher one over the other toward the back of the head.

Cross the lower over the first one toward the back of the head.

Add some hair to the strand that is now lower.  You will be taking hair that is both below the twist and above, but the hair that is above will be hanging down behind the twist.  When you french braid, you gather one side then the other, but here you are taking hair from both sides at the same time.  After you add the hair in, twist it in with the rest (toward the face), and then cross it over the top.

Continue in this pattern, adding hair to the lower strand, twisting it in, and crossing it over until you get to the bottom and have no hair left to add in.

Finish off with a simple hawser rope, and then fasten it with a hairband.

Repeat on the other side.

For a variation, you can tie the two together at the base of the neck...

...and then wrap them around into a bun.  Tuck in the ends and pin in place.

Lesson 76: Another French Braid Variation

I saw a tween girl with this hairstyle at a choir concert not too long ago.  I thought she was adorable, and I was intrigued that I had never thought of or seen this before, when it is such a slight change to the ordinary french braid.  You just start braiding with hair at the top of the head near the part instead of at the front of the head near the forehead.  Braid straight down instead of curving around to the neck.  You may run out of hair over the ear before you run out at the back of the head, so you just keep braiding the one side without adding hair to it, but still add hair to the other side until you run out.

Lesson 75: Braid Loops Ponytail

I was inspired to do this style from a darling little girl (another Belle) at my church.  Hers was done on the side with an enormous sunflower.

Gather the hair into a ponytail (middle or side).  The higher on the head the ponytail is, the more difficult it will be to match the end lengths of the hair to braid.  Braid all the hair, one small section at a time, and put a small elastic at the bottom of each.  It may be helpful to do this on wet hair (use a spray bottle if necessary) to keep shorter lengths from poking out of the braids as much.  Fold the braids up and stick the ends into one of loops of the hairband.  Adding another hairband around the whole thing will help keep them from slipping.  I used a no-slip grip hairband.  Just be careful not to mess up the braids when you are wrapping the hairband.

At this point the little ends are sticking out like wild at the top of the ponytail.  Do whatever you can to tame them.  Spray them wet, roll, tuck, wrap, pin... whatever you can do to contain them to a small area.  Now cover up the mess with a bow or flower to hide it.  I used three small flowers because I don't have a big one. (Thanks again Gimme Clips!) A wide piece of ribbon would have done the trick nicely, too.

Lesson 74: Ribbon Accent

More curls!  He's another way to spice it up. This is a simple front half pony.  Some curls from different places on the head gathered together beneath the hairband.  I combined them smoothly by wrapping them around my finger and combing them a bit at a time while on my finger.  For the bow accent, I tied a short thin ribbon into a bow around the end of a bobby pin, and then inserted it into the hairband.