Sorta Sideways french braids w/ messy piggies

Long name huh? Anyway, this came to me as I lay in bed sleeplessly. So, I tried it. When I got to the end of the braid on the first side, my brain started going crazy with ideas on what to do with the hair, but in the end, we just did messy piggies. It would look cute with Leah buns, regular piggies, curled piggies or if you angle it a little differently, it would look cute just braided.

* I started with a part down the middle and put the left side in a ponytail holder to keep it out of the way.
* I started the braid right at the crown of her head and worked my way down to her ear.
* I actually kept braiding then put the ponytail holder in right above her ear and combed out the braid that was past the holder. Then on the third pull through (remember, I'm a counter) I didn't pull her hair all the way through.
* I tightened the holder two more times around the messy piggy. 5 total pull throughs.
* Repeated the same thing on the other side.
* I used a flat iron to curl the "messy" part.

* This took 20 minutes, but will take less, probably 10 or so. Like I said before, my brain was going crazy trying to decide what to do at the end.

Also, you may notice that her left side is a little bit messy, or not as smooth. Well...after I had already finished the right side and I started braiding the left side, I notice that there was a section of her hair that wasn't completely rinsed out. So, the hair was really slippery between my fingers. But I didn't want to start all over!!!

Two Braids to a Pony

An old standby. And as you all know by now, I love braids, especially french braids.

* I part her hair in the middle back to the end of the top of her head. (did that make sense?)
* Then down each side.
* I put the hair hanging down in a ponytail holder to keep it out of the way.
* I french braid both of the top sections and braid down to about where the pony is going to be (a little bit further actually) and put rubber bands in to hold the braids.
* Comb the remaining hair and the braids into a ponytail.
* Take out the rubber bands from the bottom of the braids and comb the ponytail out.
* Add a bow, ribbon or flower.

* This takes about 10 minutes.

Braided Headbands

These are some of the pictures that have been in a folder on my desktop for awhile now, so here we go.

I decided to do this in one post, even though there are two styles, because they are the same thing, only one has two braids and one has four. Also, Piper has on the same outfit both times. I didn't intend for this to happen. These hairdo's were done about a week and a half apart.

*I use her natural part, on her right side, for this style. I am sure it would look cute with the part down the middle as well.
*At the back of the original part, I part down on both sides and secure all of the remaining hair in a ponytail holder so it doesn't get in the way.
* Then I french braid, underneath so the braid lays on top. I like how it makes it look kind of like a headband.
*I braid all the way to the end of the hair and secure it with a rubber band, then I secure both braids in the back underneath her hair that was left down.


*This took about 10 minutes

*For 4 braids it took about 15 minutes



This is what it looks like with 4 braids

Loose French Braid

This is one of those hairdo's that is great for "one of those mornings." And, since she was playing 'Tessie' in "Annie" this same night, by the end of the hot un-air conditioned day, it was the perfect orphan hairdo.

As long as you know how to french braid (which I will be doing a tutorial on...soon) you are set.

Usually when I french braid, I start out with a little section on the top of her head and when I add more hair, I just add a little at a time, and I pull it tight. Sometimes I braid over and sometimes I braid under (making the braid sit on top of the head).

With this braid I start out with a big section of hair on the back of her head and when I add more hair, I add a lot and I keep it loose. I always braid over. Also, I don't braid it down to the end, I think it looks pretty with some hair left out (and curled...of course) and a pretty bow/ribbon.

Since I knew she was going to be an orphan that night, I didn't use as much product as usual.

It took about 3-4 minutes. Piper and I decided to start timing all of these lovely do's for you!

The X

For obvious reasons this hairdo is called "The X." I must admit here that I totally forgot to put product in her hair before I got started so she has fly aways all over the place. ARGH.

To get started I parted her hair into four sections. Down the middle then across the back. After I parted her hair, I put the bottom right section in a ponytail holder and the top left section in a ponytail holder to make sure that they stay out of the way.

I french braided diagonally starting with the top right section to the center. When I got to the center, and had used all of the hair in this section I did a regular braid (about 2-3 crosses) until I got to the top of the bottom left section. Then I started french braiding diagonally again. Then I did the same thing on the opposite side.

The Horseshoe

This one was a little strange. We definitely made it up as we went along.

I parted her hair down the middle then started French braiding at the bottom of her head on the right side then went down the left side. When I got to the bottom I bobby pinned the remaining into a circle and clipped in a flower.

Little Triple Braid

On this one I just did three little French braids on the top of her head. I would put a rubber band at the bottom of each one, then when all three were finished I connected the three braids with one rubber band. I clipped the flower on the middle braid only.

The Triple Braid

For awhile now, Piper and I have been trying to come up with new ideas for her hair, Piper had the idea for this one. She named it (she names all of her hairdos) "The Triple Braid."