Our 5th Annual Hair Show... Meet Diva C

I must begin by saying this is the first time i have done my little cousins hair and she is 10 years old... She is half Caucasian and half Jamaican. We will call her Diva C :) Her mom (my cousin) came to me asking if i could do her hair and since she figure skates she has to have it a certain way. The desired style to achieve was a cornrowed pony tail with two different colored extensions added.

I had Diva C come over the night before so i could band and moisturize her hair since i knew she had a dryer coarser hair type.  See below the results the afternoon after of my using Cush Cosmetic's Moisturize Me Leave-In after her hair was shampooed before i banded it...

 I just used simple pony o's which were the better quality ones to band her hair with. Detangling was simple and didn't take but 3 minutes or so to do. Her hair type is 3b with a slight softness from the type 2 group. It is and was really hard to break her hair typing down because of how heat damaged her hair is :/ As you can see above her hair looks like its got a whole lot going on but really it just needs a good trim and some deep conditioning love...

So on to discussing her style.... I must admit i was nervous about doing this type of style because i have never been approached with a specific style and design idea which required leaving an x amount of bangs hanging out and the pony being of certain height.  I also have never done hair extensions with cornrows on someone before SOOO this was a big challenge on top of my already consistently learning abilities which i have not mastered entirely.  Its shocking how i haven't done her hair before since shes our family BUT better late than never right?

So i began with the hair, separating it into smaller grouping so i can grab and braid. I spliced the two colors she wanted together and began.. (This was HARD because the hair they brought with them was TERRIBLE quality hair that tangled horribly and once it got knotted up or fell on the floor it was a goner.)

Before i started braiding and as i went i used the Bee Mine Juicy Spritz and the Bee Mine Bee Hold Curly Butter my FAVS :)

Here is the back of her head which was also the very hardest part to braid... I had her in all types of positions and it was a great challenge for me that's for sure!

As you can see the nape wasn't as tight as it should have been or could have been and i guess i could have used more hair in the back too... BUT i cant beat myself up because for a first time this is pretty good. SO i know what my practice head will come in great handy for now.

Skipping a head a bit here is me finishing up the top left of her style. (I am longitudinally challenged LOL and no thanks to my bar height chairs in efforts to help!) I must say the complete doo looks pretty darn good!!!

Here are some close ups

In case anyone is wondering, i rubber banded the ends after i snipped about 4 inches off per her moms request so that she could use curlers dipped in hot water to curl them when they got home :)  Someone please tell me why this took 5 and a half hours to do... Could it have been the fussing with the extension hair? My never doing a ponytail like this before, or the fact that i have to switch positions frequently cause i cant braid in all angles from one standing position? Or just the luck of the draw?

Well here is the final product in a pony tail :) The colors she chose were like a reddish blonde and a blonde color to mix in with her brown natural hair...

I went into this being super critical of my work as it is, i am very picky with my cornrows and styling in general so if i didn't like how i was braiding or how the braid was looking i unraveled it and began again...

Here is the back of the pony tail

Here is the top aerial view with her chosen bangs that she wanted left out so she could straighten them (GASP)

I used one full bag of hair (almost) to do this style and wanted to show everyone what the hair looked like that i used. It costed $1.50 per pack from a local beauty supply.

I have never really ventured in to studying hair and what is best or even what hair is for different styles... So I just went with what my cousin had in mind and did what i do :)

I as well as Diva C was very pleased with the results. She said "Mom i like this style SO MUCH MORE than before (when her aunt did it)" she was really product and it showed! Her hair is a big deal to her and i am super shocked to hear that she liked it more this time around because her aunt is an awesome braider! YAY for me!

One thing i did learn is that i will never recommend this type of hair picture above nor will i ever buy it, its so worth spending the extra money especially if your planning on it staying in long...

Here is a bit of an element that disturbed me and mad me sad :(  Diva C from the beginning of coming over has made it clear she HATES her hair (in those exact words), she stated that she "Wants hair like mine and her moms" :'''( That broke my heart because she has and has always had gorgeous hair her curls are so lovely and if she wouldn't have damaged it with her straightener as she has for years she would be able to cherish the curly blessings she was given. I just cant imagine why she hates her hair so much. I had to pep talk her throughout our hair-time because that's just unbelievable, i am so glad her mom stayed there too so i could fill her in on how to reverse these feelings and turn her hair back into its luscious natural state. I just hope they listen.

It was a real pleasure doing Diva C's hair and they plan on coming back in the near future for another style :)

Hope you enjoyed the show!

How old do YOU feel is old enough to let your child straighten their hair if at all? Have you or do your straighten your child's hair? If so why?

Diva R's Mommy-Kim