Working from a collection of inspiration, I decided to try my hand at cornrowing... again. It took some time, but I was finally able to get a workable technique going, and come out with something that resembled cornrows. I gave Miss J these box braids about a week or so ago, a re-boxing of some older box braids from her shampoo. We have been doing different things with the front, and since her dress came with a headband, I decided to try a style that I saw on a Youtube video.



Although the BronzeGoddess has beautiful locs, I thought I should be able to do a variation of this style on Miss J's hair. Starting with one side, I attempted the cornrows.

As you can see, the bit of braiding that is close to the scalp looks NOTHING like a braid *sad face*. I'm starting to feel like I am not a 'small cornrowing' kind of girl, but I know that with more practice I will get better at it. I took these two side cornrows and connected them into the big braid on the other side (which I now realize I should have left the ends lose!)

Instead of taking the big side braid all the way around the back of Miss J's head like the BronzeGoddess does, I opted to only incorporate 3 of the box braids from the back left side so that the big braid would hand toward the back with the rest of the braids. It sort of worked.

And in place of a flower, of course we used the headband, which had a fabulous red bow. After removing the three back box braids from the big side braid, I liked the way the braids had a crinkle to them, and decided to take a page from Beads, Braids, Beyond and braid the back box braids into about 4 big braids for sleeping. We'll see what the result turns out to be.

Youtube is proving to be a great research tool...

As my hair becomes fuller, and my curls become tighter, I become less fearful of styling outside the box. Granted, I am very low maintenance, which means that on any given day, I am spraying my hair with a little water to loosen the curls, and going on about my business. From time to time I have added gel to define my curls, but for the most part, I am very get-up-and-go, letting my spiral curls hide close to my scalp, while the rest of my length covers them like a frizzy cloud. Its just what works for me. However, since finding a series of videos by a fellow TWAer, I have been inspired to try something new. I mean, who new that you could style hair this short! While I can't cornrow to save my life, I thought that maybe I'd try my hand at some flat twists - they didn't turn out too bad for my first try.

My 26th is rapidly approaching, and while I have my own feelings about that, I put them aside to get out of the house for a while to join some friends for dinner and drinks. It was nothing big, but I still wanted to get all dolled up. Following Rimblu4's tutorial, I flat twisted one side of my hair, while twisting the rest. While the result was not completely the same as her's, I was still happy with it, and proud of myself for not being afraid to try something new.

Growth since 12/09 (shrunken curls)

Two strand twists
Three flat twists on one side and pinned up
Twisted out with a hair accessory.
After pulling the twists apart to make my fro bigger, I didn't have much definition, BUT, I did have less frizz than I would have if I hadn't done the twists.

I'm looking forward to seeing where my 'fro is by the end of the year!

I am super proud of myself! I went out of my comfort zone and did something completely different with Miss J's hair. I have been wanting to put it back in twists, but that would require us to shampoo it, and I have had too much anxiety lately for us to do our wash routine. Its coming though... the lint balls tell me so. Anyhoo... I was looking at Joyful Mom's latest Hair Day post over at Happy Girl Hair, and loved the styles that she did on her Little R and Little B, as always. Then I noticed, what looked like, a post featuring a veil style so I clicked on it. It was indeed a veil style... two veil styles, on Little R and Little B. I think the style is so cute and intricate. Anything that doesn't require simple parts or simple plaits is intricate to me. Without thinking twice, I propped the laptop up, got out all the beauty supplies and called Miss J upstairs for some hair time. She is always open to different styles, but the process of getting there almost always includes tears, and requests for breaks. We made it through though with huge smiles at the end.

Her hair was already in some nice sections so I just tried to pay close attention to where I was suppose to be connecting the braids that were coming from the sections. I got it!

And look!! I even put beads on the end! Never done that one before either. I've always let my sister in-law handle the french braids and the beads (those aren't french braids by the way, they are criss-cross ponytails... or... kinda... just see Joyful Mom's pictures in her post and you'll see what I'm talking about). I am so proud of myself for stepping outside the box. Miss J loves it too. But then, she always loves the outcome of the styles that we try, so I will be looking forward to stepping outside the box more often.

Have you tried any "outta the box" hairstyles lately?

For more from Pretty In Peace click here.

The virtual world is such an amazing place. Just the opportunities to meet new people every single day; the sharing of life experiences and lifestyles. Its an introvert's dream palace. Speaking of lifestyles, as you know, last year I made the decision to start rocking my natural hair. I've been having so much fun playing in it. Growing it and chopping it off again. The best part of living this new natural hair lifestyle is the community that comes with it. A community that I wasn't even aware existed before now. One of beauty, support and acceptance. Its awesome!

I recently met the beautiful Angie of naturallengths.com, on the natural hair social networking site Natural Sunshine, and she invited me to be featured on her blog. I was honored and I accepted. If you want to check me out, click here.

As you all know, I happen to be a natural hair lover. I think I become more in love obsessed with natural hair styles and care every single day, so its no surprise that I have been stumbling upon all kinds of fabulous natural hair blogs. My obsession with hair didn't start when I went natural, but started somewhere during my teenage years. I fell in love with hair magazines, and to this day, even without hair, I hoard them! I can't leave a Walgreens or any other store's book/mag section without at least looking through a black hair magazine.

One of the natural hair blogs that I now read is Black Girl with Long Hair. Its great. Always featuring the beautiful styles and wisdom of natural women. I enjoy reading the experiences of other natural women and following their progress through before and after pictures. Last night, Miss J and I did the hair dance. You know the one. Where I become the enemy with the deadly weapon known as comb, and she takes on the duty to destroy me. She has been rocking a ponytail for a while so her little scalp was kinda sore, but she took the combing out process like a pro. There were tears, and one too many breaks, but we got through it, with big smiles and beautiful plaits as the reward.

With favorite detangler/moisturizer in hand, we started the first section.


Check out her length. My lil' black girl with long hair.

Its nearly to her waistline. We keep this good hair care up and she'll be sitting on it once she hits high school! Her crop reminds me of my own. Back in the day when I broke combs in the hair salon, and held my ear when my great-grandmother would press it out, and when I'd sit crying, arms stretched wide, wishing my cousin would come rescue me as he stood admiring my pretty long hair and my great-grandmother's hard work. Those were the days. Seeing my baby's hair makes me excited to get mine to where hers is. So we can rock our wild curls together. This year, I'm trading the clippers for pretty hair accessories! I can't wait to see how big my hair will be come the end of the year.

The wonderful Karen, a fellow natural Bay Area sistah, runs the website and blog, Naturally Beautiful Hair. She showcases the beauty of natural hair and handmade goods through photographs, artwork, and reviews. She also likes to feature the styles of her readers. I happen to rock a style that Karen found fierce enough to highlight on her blog, and for that I am delighted. It always makes me feel good when my short cut or my mini-afro is noticed in a positive way. As you all know, that isn't always the case when it comes to natural hair styles, so when I come across bloggers like Karen, I flock to them, trying to soak up all of their natural hair wisdom, and am eager to submerge myself within the community of the happily nappy.

So, if you are interested in checking out Karen and her beautiful artwork, hair photos, goods, and ME, click here, and explore.

Back indoors yesterday evening, recalling her school day, Miss J exclaimed, with that Miss J smile on her face, "everyone liked my afro mommy."

So, I know I said that I wanted to try out some baby locs on my hair. Since then, I've gotten a haircut, and let it grow again. I'm so indecisive when it comes to hair. Its hard not to be when there are so many fun things that can be done with it. Today, I stood in front of the mirror running my fingers through my curls, trying to decide if I wanted to part with them once again. Wildboy and I had talked about doing a mohawk the next time I came to see him and I was a little apprehensive. Again, this is the usual. I always am when considering something new. I pushed all of that to the side this morning and just let Wildboy do his thang.


What do you think of my frohawk? You know we always have to put a spin on things. I'm glad I wasn't too chicken to try it out because I'm completely in love. Its fun, its funky, and its wearable. And I will be wearing out tonight when I hit the country bar with the Cal mommies. Yes, I am going to get my line dance on, punk rock style.