Saturdays "Shappin" Hairstyle: Veil Style Braids into a Ponytail of Small Braids

How it's done:

After washing, detangling and moisturizing; I parted out a circle, starting approximately 1 1/2 inches out from Ds hairline. I clipped the remaining hair in the center out of the way. And began parting squares and making ponytails all the way around using Bee Mine Curly Butter on each section. As always, I had previously soaked the rubber bands in extra virgin olive oil. Once I had all the ponytails done I split each one in two sections and braided them. When that was done I parted out a second circle and clipped the rest of the hair out of the way. The squares in this round are parted off center to the ones in the first round. I then started adding the braids to these squares in a veil style fashion. I continued doing this all the way around.

Once I finished that, I gathered the braids and remaining hair into a single ponytail and braided the hair that hadn't been braided yet in small braids matching the other braids in size. And vio-la!

I hope you all enjoyed this weeks "Shappin" Style! For all of our new followers who don't know the story behind the title: Shappin' is a word D made up meaning cute/stylish/fashionable/cool and I post a new "Shappin" style every Saturday! Be sure to tune in!

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The Ultimate Curlformers Giveaway! *closed*

This giveaway is closed as of 10:30pm May 13, 2011, but feel free to check out our Curlformers Review

We are proud to announce that Untrained Hair Mom and KandyLandKurls have come together for an Ultimate Curlformers Giveaway. You will be able to enter this giveaway here and at KandyLandKurls! That means your chances of winning DOUBLE!

Curlformers has kindly offered 2 prizes:
•1st Place Prize: A Curlformer Styling Kit of your choice! Click here to see their styling kits
•2nd Place Prize: Curlformers Extra Long and Wide Styling Kit!





*Entry Guidelines*
-In order to enter you must do the 4 following steps, and leave a separate comment below for each task you complete: 1.) Follow my blog (click follow on the right) and follow KandyLandKurls
*Extra entries*
• Tweet this giveaway (1 per day max, for each blog)
• Daily entry (1 per day max, for each blog)
• Follow Curlformers on Twitter
We will select 2 winners using Random.Org on Friday, May 13th!
Good Luck To All!

And in case you missed our Curlformers review you can see it here




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Essential Oil Blend Winner

Thanks to everyone who participated in our first giveaway!

The winner of our essential oil blend giveaway is...

Comment # 9

which is....

aven208

Congratulations! Please email me your info by May 1st!

If you didn't win don't be sad...try your luck in our newest giveaway

Hair and Skin Care Ingredients to Avoid

I've been using sulfate free shampoos for several years now, but I never paid attention to what was in them. I decided take a look at the ingredients list and look them up using the Cosmetic Database, on Environmental Working Group, a site in which you can search specific products or ingredients and be informed of their health hazards. I've found this site to be a very useful tool, they also have many great articles.

My specific shampoo has an overall rating of 6, which means it is a moderate hazard to my health. Their rating system is as follows: 0-2 = low hazard; 3-6 = moderate hazard; 7-10 = high hazard. So, my shampoo is not as bad as if could be, but it definitely isn't as good as I'd like it to be. One thing I've noticed through research is that "fragrance" is bad! If a product has "fragrance" in it, the health hazard rating is usually fairly high. "Fragrance” is a term that the cosmetic industries use on ingredient lists that disclose only that there are unnamed chemicals in the product. My advice, and what I plan to do from now on, is avoid scented products as much as possible, unless of course it is a natural scent from an essential oil.

As I share this information with all of you via my mobile device, I also hold my precious sleeping baby boy. And it makes me angry, sad and terrified that the government basically allows personal care product manufacturers to use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks. Potentially giving our babies cancer!

Here is a list that I've found helpful, from EWG, of potentially harmful and cancer causing ingredients to avoid:

How to navigate product ingredients lists:

Start at the end, with preservatives and avoid:

•Words ending in "paraben"

•DMDM hydantoin

•Imidazolidinyl urea

•Methylchloroisothiazolinone

•Methylisothiazolinone

•Triclosan

•Triclocarban

•Triethanolamine (or "TEA")

Check the beginning of the ingredients lists, where soaps, surfactants, and lubricants show up, try to avoid:

•mineral oil, also known as white oil, liquid paraffin, and liquid petroleum.
•petroleum
•ingredients that start with "PEG"

•ingredients that have an "-eth" in the middle (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate)

Read the ingredients in the middle, avoid:

"FRAGRANCE,""FD&C," or "D&C."

Especially for our children

Extra caution is in order for kids because, pound for pound, they are exposed to more contaminants in everyday products than adults. Their immature metabolism and organ systems are typically less capable of fending off chemical assaults. Even subtle damage to young bodies can lead to disease later in life.

Here are the Environmental Working Group's top five tips for kids:

•Use fewer products and use them less often

•Don't trust ad hype. Check ingredients!

•Buy fragrance-free products

•Avoid the use of baby powder

-Always avoid these top six chemicals of concern for kids:

•2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3 Dio

•BHA

•Boric acid and sodium borate

•DMDM Hydantoin

•Oxybenzone Triclosan

For more info on environmental health for family's I recommend EWG's Healthy Homes Tip Series

I hope everyone finds this helpful and useful...it sure gives me the drive to learn how to make my own natural products without all the harmful additives!

Sources: http://www.ewg.org

Saturdays "Shappin" Hairstyle: "V" Shaped Rolling Twists

This weeks "shappin" style is the "V" shaped rolling twists.

How I got this look:

After washing, detangling and moisturizing, I parted her hair from ear to ear and tied off the back section to keep it out of the way. I parted the front section down the middle, then parted out a small "V", this made two little sections (one on each side of the middle part). I sprayed on our oil mix, rubbed it into her hair and scalp, then added some Bee Mine Curly Butter and began the rolling twist. Once I was done I secured it with an elastic band that had been previously soaked in extra virgin olive oil. I continued doing this until I until I was done with the entire front section. I let the back down and she wore a headband.

I switched it up with a ponytail and a bow.

This style lasted 5 days!

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Curlformers Review

After much debating (in my mind), I finally purchased a Curlformers kit. I was torn between spending the money on them or getting flexi rods. My concern with the flexi rods was: would they stay in her hair? I've read that they don't stay in thin/fine hair very well. After using the Curlformers, I don't regret my decision at all. They are easy to use and produce some amazing curls! I got the kit that includes 40 long and wide, 6 short and wide and the hook. Pictured below is a long and wide curlformer and the hook.

Curlformers have an opening at each end; this is the slot for the hook to slide through.
 

Once the hook is through the Curlformer, you take your section of hair, give it a twist and put it through the hook then pull the hook out, in turn pulling the hair though the Curlformer, easy as that!

The amont of time this process takes depends on the hair length, thickness and the size of sections you place in each roller. I did about 1 inch sections, used probably half of the long and wides and it took about 30
minutes...not long!

I washed her hair and put the Curlformers in while it was still wet. I used Bee Mine Curly Butter on each section of hair. She slept in them overnight and I took them out the next morning. Here are the results:

The first stranger we saw after we stepped out of the house was complimenting her curls, asking if I did this with a curling iron! I explained to her what I used and that they are a great alternative to using heat on the hair, which means less damage!
Day 2

Day 3 

She didn't feel like taking pictures that third day, but they held up pretty well for 3 days, she slept with a satin bonnet on each night. So, it's safe to say that I love Curlformers and I can't wait to use them more in the future!
For more information and to order your styling kit visit Culformers


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Saturdays "Shappin" Hairstyle: Faux Hawk with a twist and a poof

Welcome to this weeks "Shappin" Hairstlye: the faux hawk! This is my favorite type of hair style, there are many different versions of the faux hawk/mohawk/frohawk and this is our most recent attempt at it.



To get this look, I first sectioned off the top, middle part of her hair, which would later be the "bump".

Next I split the hair on the right side into 3 sections and began twisting each section into rolling twists, using SheaMoisture Curl and Style Milk on each. I did the left side the same way. Then, with the back of her hair I made ponytails starting at the top, working my way down, to create the faux hawk look. Lastly I made the bump.



I used the SheaMoisture products for this style. I like the SheaMoisture shampoo and the deep treatment masque conditioned her hair well, the moisture spray revived her curls each day, the style milk and the smoothie were just ok, in my opinion. While, I think this style could have lasted longer, I was pleased with the way it turned out. Have any of you used any of these products? How did they work for you?


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Our first giveaway!

This giveaway is closed as of April 29th, 2011, but feel free to read about our natural hair care oil mix and other essential oils great for hair and skin care.
Hey everyone, welcome to our first giveaway! If you missed my article on Essential Oils for Hair Care you can check it out here. This giveaway is for an essential oil blend formulated for dry hair. The winner of this giveaway will receive a 2.7 oz (a little goes a long way) bottle of a Jojoba oil mix with Lavender, Geranium, and Chamomile essential oils. Again, you can learn more about their hair benefits from my article mentioned above! The winner will be chosen using random.org on April 29th and will have 48 hours to contact me or I will choose another follower!

Entry Guidelines
• Follow this blog (1 entry)
• Friend us on FB, see FB badge on the left side column (1 entry)
• Read the Essential Oils for Hair Care article and tell me which oils you would like to try for you or your child's hair (1 entry)
*Extra entries
• Share this giveaway on FB (1 per day)
• Tweet this giveaway (1 per day)
• Blog about this giveaway (2 entries total)
   Once you've done these leave a seperate comment for each one!
                    Good Luck!

BBB is having a giveaway!

Little Penguins giveaway at Beads, Braids, Beyond! Check it out and tell them I sent you!

http://beadsbraidsbeyond.blogspot.com/2011/04/little-penguins-giveaway.html#comment-form

D featured on KandyLand

D was recently featured on the children's hair care blog, KandyLand, go check it out! Kandyland Spotlight: D A big thanks to KandyLandKurls for putting the spotlight on our little D!

Saturdays "Shappin" HairStyle: Connecter pony halo and bun

Each Saturday we will be posting the most fashionable and cute hairstyles, my daughter is biracial, more specifically Caucasian and African American, and our blog is primarily for the care and maintenance of children's biracial kinky-curly hair, but so many of our styles can be done on any hair types.

I would like to start this post by explaining the title...Shappin means fashionable, according to D. Anytime she has a style she really likes or is wearing a cute outfit, she says it is, "shappin"!

How I did this style: I parted out a section in front from right above one ear to right above the other ear, much like the popular braided crown hairstyle, but instead of braiding I did connecting ponies all the way across. When I finished that, I braided the hair coming out of the pony in a single braid, then I gathered the rest of her hair in the back into a bun and rapped the braid around it, secured it and added her bow...that simple! She danced at halftime of a basketball game that night. And it held up amazingly and actualy lasted a few days after that! Hope you enjoy todays "shappin" style! :)


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Essential Oils for Hair Care

Essential oils have many therapeutic properties, I want to list the essential oils with benefits regarding hair care:
•cedarwood - used for eczema, Seborrheic dermatitis aka dandruff, hair loss, dry hair
•tea tree - dandruff
•patchouli - eczema, dandruff
•rosemary - dry skin, dry hair, hair loss, dandruff
•thyme - hair loss
•sage - cleansing, eczema, hair loss, dry hair
•lavender - hair loss
•chamomile - fragile/damaged hair, eczema, dandruff
•geranium - dry/damaged hair
•peppermint and eucalyptus - dry hair, tingling effect that stimulates the hair follicles and promotes growth

   For our hair oil I mix lavender, camomile, rosemary, geranium, sage and peppermint with Jojoba oil. Jojoba oil is the best carrier oil to use when mixing oils for hair. The recipe calls for 50 drops of essential oils per 2 oz of jojoba oil. I like to use more lavender, camomile and rosemary and a less peppermint. I've noticed too much peppermint make the mix tingle too much on her scalp and makes her scratch her head.
   When it comes to selecting essential oils you should only use high quality, 100% pure and natural oils extracted by steam distillation or cold expression. I use Lotus Touch brand oils their products are formulated with certified organic ingredients.
  *A word of caution: Essential oils are very concentrated and should not be applied to your skin unless they are diluted.*

Want more on natural remedies and essential oils? Have a look at these posts:
Natural Remedy for Eczema
Natural Remedy for Insect Bites and Natural Insect Repellent
Natural Remedy for an Eye Infection




Sources: Aromatherapy Workbook, Marcel Lavabre


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New Venture

So, originally this started out as a giveaway blog; I needed a name and quickly came up with Untrained Hair Mom... people began asking me questions about our styles, products we use and for other tips, so I've decided to expand the blog to include more of that!  I will be making more posts in the near future! I've also created a FB page exclusively for Untrained Hair Mom http://www.facebook.com/untrainedhairmom
Feel free to friend the page, post comments, and share and tag photos! And if you aren't already a follower please follow my blog! Thanks!

Hair Accessories: Diva Do's & Everything in Between

I discovered this beautiful crocheted headband at Diva Do's & Everything in Between  I absolutely fell in love with it! So, she sent me the white one pictured and a hot pink one, too. I love that they are soft and comfortable for my daughter to wear all day. And they tie in the back so they actually stay on her head all day (she has trouble keeping the regular headbands on). The headband pictured is a flower, she also does hearts, stars and a variety of really cute bows at great prices! Go check them out!