Many mornings for the sake of time, I do simple puff ponytails, either one or two, in my girls' hair. I can do both girls in 15 minutes flat this way. The down side is that the puff ponytails 'fuzz' out quickly, so these styles only last a day or so.

This morning I had a little extra time and decided to braid their hair, since it had been a week or more since I had done a braided style. I am not expecially fast at braiding, and so it took me about 40 minutes to put 4 cornrows in my older daughter's hair, and about 20 minutes to do simple braids in my one year old's... more

Yesterday morning we were in the midst of the usual Sunday morning scramble to get kids presentable before heading out the door to church. I grabbed my tackle box of hair goodies, and headed out to the kitchen, ready to corral my two youngest daughters to do their hair.

The first kid I came across was my one year old. "Come here, sweetie! Let's do your hair," I said hopefully, even though I knew very well that hair combing is not her favorite thing.

She grinned and obligingly began to head my way. But then apparently my words sank in. Or maybe she got a look at my torture devices hair products. Suddenly a look of consternation crossed her face, and changing... more

On our very last day in Ethiopia while picking up our second daughter, I planned to bring our first daughter, age 3, in to a beauty salon to get her hair braided professionally. At the time she did not have much hair, and I was not yet very good at braiding. I was looking forward to seeing her hair done by someone who knew what she was doing!

My sister who'd volunteered extensively in Ethiopia was there at the time, and she had a vague recollection of the beauty salon she’d gone to before and liked. We tooled slowly down the guesthouse road, hoping something would look familiar. My sister remembered that the shop was behind a wall, so we were afraid we’d miss it. But her memory... more

Just had to share this picture showing how long my one year old's braids are getting!

It's been a while since I've shared pictures of my 4 year old's hair. So when I finished these braids the other day, I snapped a picture for you. You can click on the picture for a bigger view.

I like this style for several reasons. First of all, it's one of the easiest many-braids styles to do. They're just simple braids, secured close to the head with a cloth-covered rubber band, and at the end with a snap. If you want less-obvious fasteners (like... more

I've been wanting to do cornrows on my baby's hair for awhile, but since she barely tolerates a 4-pony style, I haven't been successful. Usually three turns into a braid, she starts thrashing her head violently from side to side and screaming. Not exactly conducive to a style of any kind, let alone corn rows.

But today, as you can see, I actually had success. Only two uneven rows, and loose ones at that. But, still, they're in! Here's what helped me succeed.

First, I did the comb-out by just kind of following her around the room with the pick and generous glops of conditioner. It... more

Per a reader's recommendation I recently subscribed to the Adoption Haircare Yahoogroup , a group that focuses strictly on AA haircare. Wow! What a fun place. For starters, there are tons and tons of photos in their archives showing all sorts of cool hairstyles. You could spend hours looking through all those photos (Just what I need-- another reason to be online ! Not)

Recent discussion on the group has been something that is possibly the coolest hair gizmo ever-- the snap. As you can see by the photo, it is kind of a miniature barrette,... more

I thought it would be fun to share pictures of some of the hair things that work best for my girls' hair. I am sure that as their hair grows longer, we will be adapting what we use. But for now, here is what works best.

First of all, here are the combs that I use. Before I use the pick, I always wet the hair and gob on a generous amount of hair conditioner. Then I work my way through sections of hair, starting at the ends of the hair and working gradually in close to the head once I have gotten the tangles out at the ends of the hair.

I use the back point of the rat-tail... more

Today I had fun doing the girls' hair and they both turned out looking so cute that I wanted to share some pictures with you. I did my 1 year old's hair in french ponytails. First I made a part all the way down the middle. Then starting at the front, I made a little ponytail, then another, then another, adding each ponytail into the next ponytail. This makes them connect from front to back in two rows down her head. She fussed and fumed some, and I had to get older siblings to help me distract her. But this... more

So I’ve been choosing entertainment lately based on the presence of little black girls in the cast. IMHO the movie “Dr. Do-Little” has only one redeeming feature --and that is the beautiful hairdos featured on the two daughters on the movie. One had gorgeous extensions, which ain’t happening for my 3 year old for a few years. But the younger one had some cute styles that I think I could copy.

Another DVD that has offered me some recent inspiration is the Cosby show. We are proud owners of the first two seasons on DVD and have found it to be FUN family entertainment. Most of the females on the show have straightened hair, but 6 year old Rudy is always sporting an adorable natural... more