I have often told people that if Ellis ever has to have therapy sessions when she is older because of our relationship, the culprit will be our relationship with her hair.
The girl has beautiful spiral curls for days. But curls after being slept on, gone swimming with, or twisted equals MAJOR knots. Not tangles...KNOTS. The kind that ends with us both in tears, me because I am frustrated and trying my best to not have to cut them out, and her because it just plain hurts getting them out.
Also factor in my low patience on some days...gah.
So last summer, I started watching Youtube videos to learn how to braid her her. I started small with just braiding the hair on either side of her face and then pulling them both back into a pony tail.
You can see here, this is fresh from coming from swim lessons that day - and they held up well.
So for a while I stuck with what I knew worked.
I remember a couple of women asking her at Walmart if her mama had done her hair this day...it made my day. I was so happy that I found something that worked to keep it off her face and looked good. #mamawin Thank you, kind strangers for your compliments!!!
And so I kept practicing.
That hair wrapped around the pony tail didn't hold, by the way - still have yet to figure out how to get that to hold in place.
Got a little fancier with a bun in the center using one of those Bun-dini's...
The braids held. The bun, not so much - at least not all day.
And finally I worked on a two braids all the way down.
This photo clearly represents the way she likes to twist her hair. A nervous habit, I guess, that I am hoping she will eventually grow out of. But for now, I can hands down say that I would MUCH rather take a twisted knot out from the bottom of her braids than from the center of her hair. Also, the braids help to keep the twisted knot in a controlled place. That makes both of our lives much easier when it comes to brushing it out later.
Finally, my most favorite way to braid her hair - the braided headband.
Obviously, it did not hold as well as the other in the swimming pool, but it still held and created this amazing style that I don't think I could ever achieve even if I tried. A photo like this reminds me that as much as we struggle with keeping it out of her face/keeping her from twisting it into knots/keeping the knots out, her hair is a blessing.
So now, for my quick tips for learning how to braid:
- TV is a must to keep her busy while I practice/work...it keeps her occupied and still long enough for me to work on her hair.
- I have to get her hair completely wet with a spray bottle of water. This helps it so much to brush out, but also helps me to work a little faster than with dry hair.
- This girl on YouTube, Missy Sue, is who I learned from - her video tutorials are awesome.
- If I have to "start over" I usually do not make a big deal out of it - sometimes she notices, but most of the time because she is watching t.v., she barely notices.
- Small rubber bands work well to hold small braids.
- Sectioning off hair and using styling clips helps to keep the part I am not working with out of the way.
- TIME. It takes about 5-10 minutes, so I always allot enough time for us to get it done without having to rush.
- Practice. I know that's a no brainer, but still, practice makes better.
- Perfection does not exist. Luckily, with her hair type (curly, and a bit frizzy), the imperfections generally work themselves out within a few hours. So if it doesn't quite look how I wanted it to, sometimes I will fix, but most of the time I just let it be.
And as her mama, I will always try my best to make a hard situation better for us. Get past the struggle, and find the good...even if that means watching Youtube to learn something new at thirty-six years old.
I want her to see her hair as a blessing, not a curse. I know the day will come when she will wish she has straight hair, but for now, I will try my best to encourage her to see that the hair she has is perfect as it is, because God gave it to her.
