SpotLight Interview: Elena & Bree

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SpotLight Interview: Elena & Bree

1.) Your name and little one's name/nickname?

Elena and my daughter's name is Bree

 2.) What's your child's haircare routine?

I wash Ms. Bree's hair every other week (unless he hair is full of sand from playing at the playground), and I co-wash her the weeks in between her washes.

3.) What products are you currently using?

I mainly use 100% Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer. Depending on the style I may use Bee Mine Curly Butter, Bee Mine Deja Hair Milk.

  

4.) Do you use heat/chemicals on the child's hair?

NO, we do not use any chemicals at all, we are trying to stay as natural as possible.

From time to time I give in and flat ironed her hair but I take all the necessary steps to protect her hair from heat damage.

5.) How does your child feel about their hair?

She loves it! She prefers her hair free of any style like braids and cornrows and I believe is because it takes less time!! after all she is almost four yrs old. She loves feel of her free and natural hair, twists out and braids out are also her favorites.

 

6.) What was the worst hair tip you have received?

To RELAX it in order to make it easier on me!! But that was not an option for me. I read and read, purchased several products and tried several techniques until I found what worked for her.

7.) Do you cut/trim the hair? if so how often?

Believe it or not, I had never trimmed her hair until recently and it was soon after seeing a post by you. I started to notice a couple of split ends and read your post and I did it myself!!

8.) What is some hair advice you would like to share?

The best advice I would like to share is that establishing a routine is very important for any curly babies. the sooner you get a routine established the better. Then I would also say, don't get discouraged if a style doesn't look right after your first try, try and try again, with time you will get better and you will. The important thing here is that you try and continue to try and have fun in the process. This is a great bonding experience so don't give up!!

-If Bree isn't the cutest little girl!!! I love her curls and her Mom Elena is doing her "THANG" at taking care of her hair! I'm so glad our post on trimming has helped you! Keep up the great job! If you would like to see more cute styles on Bree, come follow their hair journey here: Caramel Curlz & Swirlz

SpotLight: Maria & Adriana

Kandy 4 comments

SpotLight: Maria & Adriana

Hello lovely readers! 

We are back with a SpotLight all the way from Brazil! 
Isn't it amazing how we have readers all around the world! Today's SpotLight is originally written in Portuguese. Not sure if you all noticed, but take a look on the left side on our blog. There is a "translate" button, so please use this tool to translate. I tend to click on this button every now & then, and look at my site in other languages (my fave is yiddish kinda cool.. don't ask...lol) :) 

Olá, meu nome é Maria Fernanda, mora em São Paulo, tenho 10 anos e meu apelido é Fefe.

Faço hidratação e nutrição 2 vezes por semana, testamos vários produtos que surge no mercado, o qu uso atualmente não é novidade mas é bom para meu cabelo, Rigen da Alfaparf, sempre potencializo a hidratação ou nutrição com oléos naturais, meu cabelo é natural, não tenho nenhuma química.

Eu me sinto bem com meu cabelo, gosto dele, só uso preso porque tem muito volume, mais quando for adolescente vou fazer uma química para reduzir o volume...

Minha mãe corta as pontas do meu cabelo, uma vez há cada dois meses mais ou menos.

O conselho que dou para mais meninas de cabelo afro como o meu, é que façam muita nutrição e hidratação, não usem formol, e procurem um bom cabeleireiro na hora de fazer uma química...

Lembre-se sempre que o barato pode sair caro.

Beijos,

Mamãe Adriana e Maria Fernanda.

-Maria tem o cabelo lindo assim! Mãe está fazendo um trabalho tão bom em cuidar do seu cabelo. Mantenha o bom trabalho! Muito obrigada por participar!

  I wanted to try responding in another language, how'd you think I did? 

LOC Method

Kandy 14 comments

LOC Method

If you have been experiencing serious dryness this winter, you may benefit greatly from using this method of moisturizing your hair. Especially if you've found that no matter how many things you've tried, your hair is still feeling dry hours later. This method is called the LOC method. 

L.O.C method, what is that? 

L=Liquid.

O= Oil.

C=Cream.

Here's how it works. The liquid moisturizes your hair. The oil seals in the moisture, so that it won't escape. Then the cream works to locks in both the liquid and oil. The cream creates a barrier so that neither will escape your hair strands. The whole process is based on how you layer each key ingredient.

Step 1: First use water or a water-based moisturizer (which means water is the first ingredient listed on the bottle.) Now apply the L (liquid) to your hair. (If you have thick hair try applying it in sections.) Products such as Giovanni Direct Leave-In, or even Bee Mine Juicy Spritz, will work perfectly.  

Step 2: Next, apply the O (oil) make sure the oil is a natural oil such as (coconut, extra virgin olive, or shea butter.) Apply the oil directly on top of the liquid. 

Step 3: Finally apply the C (cream) on top of the liquid. Creams such as Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer, or even Shea Moisture Conditioning Curl Milk will work for as the cream. Just make sure the consistency of the moisturizer is thick and creamy.

Now, if you like to wear your curls down, try adding gel or styling butter as your (cream.) As shown below.

On the left there is (zero) products on her hair. On the right is after using the LOC method.

Using the L.O.C method will stop you from having to reapply products daily to your hair. Therefore it helps to save $ in the long run. 

- Have you tried the LOC method, please share your thoughts below.

Children Natural Hairstyles Youtube Video

Kandy 2 comments

Children Natural Hairstyles Youtube Video

Hello everyone! 

We are back with a new Youtube video! 

"Children's Natural Hairstyles: Part 5" 

I hope you all enjoyed it! 

Please subscribe to us at, http://www.youtube.com/kandylandkurls 

 and rate the video.

-We will have more videos soon, by subscribing you wont miss out. 

Deep Conditioning Oil Treatment

Kandy 1 comment

Deep Conditioning Oil Treatment

It's a new year, and I'm going to experiment more with Lady N's hair. I started off by using a new way to deep condition her hair. If you read our hair routine (click here) you will notice that her oil treatment, and deep conditioning treatment, are done on two different weeks. After hearing my friend Ki talk about mixing them together, a light bulb went off in my mind...It made much more sense to do both treatments together. 

Here's what I did.

  

After shampooing, I used one of my favorite deep conditioners (Bee Mine "Bee*U*Ti*Ful Deep conditioner) and mixed it with extra virgin olive oil. I used roughly one and 1/2 tablespoons of the deep conditioner, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.)

Next, I mixed it really well. 

Then applied this mix in sections throughout N's hair. I let this mix sit for approx 20 mins, and used our hooded dryer to help the mix penetrate deeper. Next, I began finger detangling her hair in sections. I used our spray bottle to re-wet hairs that were drying. I noticed right away that the oil helped to slide her curls apart, along with the deep conditioner. Detangling was a breeze! I really like this combo of deep conditioning, and oil treating the hair in one wash. These ingredients work very well together. Plus, with this weather, her hair needs more moisture. I will definitely do this more often this winter. 

-What different hair methods are you experimenting with this winter? 

Twisted Bun with Criss-Cross Braids

Kandy 2 comments

Twisted Bun with Criss-Cross Braids

For week 2 of our Protective Style Challenge, I decided to do this nice updo for Lady N. I really didn't have much in mind. I just knew I wanted cornrows and a twisted bun.

Her friends at Girl Scouts really loved her hairstyle, and asked me "who did it, and how?" Below is the step by step instructional. Please leave any questions or comments below, and ill get back to ya. 

I started her hairstyle on clean, stretched hair. Pictured below is the breakdown of how I began this style.

1.) In the illustration number#1, I parted her hair from ear to ear.

2.) In the illustration number #2 and starting in the back of the hair. I created 4 cornrows starting in her nape area, braiding upwards towards the center of her hair.

3.) Once the cornrow reached the part when it rises off of the scalp. I switched from cornrow to two strand twist. Then I twisted the remaining hair all the way to the ends.

4.) In the final illustration, after the 4 cornrows were completed. I created once braid on the right (highlighted in the color red) and brought the braid across the four braids.

5.) Then I took a braid (from the left indicated in blue) and brought that across the 4 braids. (In the opposite direction.)

6.) I continued crossing the blue and red braids, until I reached the center of her hair. I did stitch a inch or so, of hair on the sides into the blue and red sections, to secure them.

7.) For the top of her hair. I created random parts and cornrows. 

I left one piece out to put some beads from Tikilala on it to decorate the style.

8.) Once the cornrows were completed. I created twists all the way to the ends of her hair, on each cornrow.

9.) Next, I gathered all of her hair in a ponytail. 

10.) Finally, I began wrapping the twists around each other to form a bun. 

I used black ponytail holders to secure the bun. 

Styling Products Used: 

-Eco Styler Gel

-Bee Mine Curly Butter

SpotLight: Charisse

Kandy 1 comment

SpotLight: Charisse

Hi, My name is Patricia and my daughter is Charisse (ka-reese). 

She is a soccer player and loves to read and go fishing.

2.) What's your child's haircare routine? We only brush through her hair when it is wet and with a lot of conditioner. She wears a bonnet at night to help prevent more tangles.

3.) What products are you currently using? Silk Elements Mixed Silk shampoo, leave-in conditioner & nourishing deep conditioner (I used to get this at Sally’s Beauty Supply but they don’t carry it anymore! Help!)

4.) Do you use heat/chemicals on the child's hair? 4 times in 9 years I’ve flat ironed her hair. I used a lye free texturizer (Silk Elements No-Lye No-Mix Texturizer System Regular ) but I don’t think I used it correctly.

5.) How does your child feel about their hair? She thinks it’s ugly and of course thinks she is prettier with straight hair even though I insist her hair is gorgeous. She hates that it’s so challenging.

6.) What was the worst hair tip you have received? To brush my daughter’s hair out when it’s dry.

7.) Do you cut/trim the hair? if so how often? I trim about once every few months.

8.) What is some hair advice you would like to share? I think I need more advice before I offer any to others! Ha ha!

Patricia, you are doing a really good job on Charisse's hair! Her curls are G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S! I hope she starts to realize just how pretty her curls are! My daughter went through the same phase, as they get older they may start to appreciate their hair. Oh, and they stopped selling Silk Elements Mixed Silk products nationwide (legal reasons.) But Mixed Chicks products and their kids line, is very similar. Thanks very much for participating!

- If you would like to be featured on our next SpotLight click here for more details.