Potective Style: Braided Crown with hidden ends

My babies left me recently to head down south for a family reunion. They were only gone for 4 days, and while I knew they were in good hands with my dad and sister, I was beside myself with worry. My family always jokes with me that my kids come with more instructions than a new swing set (at least I think they're joking), though I can't figure out what the big deal is. Make sure they wear sunscreen. Remind them to brush/floss. Don't let them near water unless someone is DILIGENTLY watching them. No soda. No candy.   No rated R movies. They will try to convince you that they are allowed to watch 'Family Guy', but they are NOT. You know, typical mom stuff. :)

Obviously, one thing I do not want them to have to worry about is hair. So before travelling or overnights away from mommy, I like to make sure the girls' hair is styled and protected. Here is the style that Li'l Bit rocked for the weekend. These pictures were taken 5 days after her hair was styled, and she DID swim without a cap, and she DID sleep without her satin pillowcase, and that IS lint, or grass, or something else in her hair that I did not see until looking at the pictures. But its a cute style, so I thought I'd share anyway:

Starting with freshly washed and conditioned hair, Li'l Bit wore plaited hair for a day to stretch it out. I have found that her hair is easier to braid when it has been stretched somewhat, and I always braid her hair when it is dry. Her hair tends to break when  I braid it while it is wet. 

I parted the hair from ear to ear, but the part was not directly on top of her head, it was back more toward her crown area. Then I began to braid her hair. I freestyled the braids on top, but the ones in the back were braided straight up toward the part. The loose hair (after the cornrowed parts) were braided. Then I started on the left of her head and cornrowed the loose braids toward the center. Then I went to the right side and also braided those to the center. I twisted and tucked and pinned it all under itself until I liked the way it looked. (Did that make sense? I dont know how else to explain it.) I used two bobby pins, and plopped those two cute little clips on top just because she wanted me to. :)

See the hair at the bottom that is left out? I intentionally leave that hair out whenever I am braiding/styling her hair. It is not as long as the rest of her hair, so I am afraid of pulling it. In addition to that, it hurts her if that hair is tugged at all. Since I am more concerned with her comfort and the health of her hair than I am with how it looks, that section is always left out. :)

 

I really like this style, and I am going to try and get another week out of it. :)