Corner Flip-Under Accents | Hairstyle Tips

May 19, 2013

Feel free to follow CGH on Instagram and see behind-the-scenes photos of our family!

Welcome everyone to Sweet Pea’s “official” first hair tutorial! She is now two years old, super wiggly, but absolutely hilarious to watch!

I have been asked for toddler hairstyles for awhile now, and Sweet Pea was my only toddler, but my son cut off one of her corn rows with scissors about 5 months ago! We have had to wait until now for her hair to be long enough to film a tutorial!

We love the Topsy Tail, and have used flip-unders in several hairstyles over the years. Princess Hairstyles and Girly Do Hairstyles are also pro’s at showing us how to use this tool in creative hairstyles!

These corner flip accents can be done in any hairstyle alone, or in any form of combination. They are also for girls and women of all ages!

                    

For girls in sports {cheer, gymnastics, volleyball, softball, etc}, it would be perfect to combine the corner flip accents with a simple ponytail or braids.

In the video below, I show you how to create these corner flips on Sweet Pea, using a small Topsy Tail {you can find one at Claire’s, Sally Beauty Supply, Ebay, or Amazon}.

I then show you how I used the corner flips as accents on different styles on CGH#4 and CGH#3!

Enjoy!

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, toothbrush, leave-in conditioner, 3 small hair elastics, hairspray and accessories {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 3-5 minutes

Skill Level: Easy

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by wetting down the hair with a spray bottle…
2. Now, part a rectangle section of hair from the left part line to the right part line about one inch deep…
3. Secure that section with a hair elastic near the right-rear corner of the rectangular part {for my daughter’s AA hair, I used a toothbrush and some moisturizer to help tame any fly-aways and frizz}…
4. Repeat Steps #2 & 3 with two additional rectangular sections so that you have a total of three…
5. Gently loosen all three elastics by pulling them away from the head, which will allow for you to flip the ponytail through…
6. On the first section, insert the thin side of the Topsy Tail tool through the hair, but under the elastic, in a diagonal direction, towards the right-rear corner…
7. Before you pull the loop of the Topsy Tail through, insert the ponytail through the loop and gently flip the ponytail under…
8. Feel free to separate the ponytail into two sections and by pulling them apart, cinch the elastic back down again…
9. Repeat Steps #7 & 8 for the next two rectangular sections.
10. Incorporate any other hairstyle combinations {braids, buns, curls, etc.) using these accents.

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think, and as always… feel free to share!

Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, so if you want to follow our blog… you can do so at BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader for women!

Also, feel free to watch my twins’ video this week from their YouTube channel BrooklynAndBailey!

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Reverse Fishtail Braid | Cute Braid Hairstyles

May 05, 2013

Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to see BrooklynAndBailey‘s recap of the 2013 Radio Disney Music Awards, and enter their first giveaway… OPI Minnie “Minis” nail polish!

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I know that Fishtail Braids are all the rage these days, especially any that are variations of the original fishtail braid.

Recently, we have found photos on Pinterest of this cute Reverse Fishtail hairstyle, but we did not know how to recreate one. {I also just found out that Princess Hairstyles has a good tutorial on a French version of this braid.}

As you know, the stitches on a standard Fishtail Braid have a distinct “v” herringbone pattern.

Well, a Reverse {or Inverse} Fishtail Braid has an inverted “^” pattern which is very different than what you see around.

I spent a few hours a week or so ago perfecting this hairstyle on my mannequin head, and as I completed the first five stitches or so, it seemed like I was doing something wrong! Just as I figured on giving up, all of the sudden… the braid popped out perfectly! A beautiful inverse herringbone pattern!

 

I then recreated it on CGH#3 that day, and had her go show it to Bailey, her older sister. Bailey quickly asked… “How did you do that? I want to learn it!” So, last week, we were pretty much wearing reverse fishtail braids every day!

Hope you enjoy, and if you do… please feel free to share!

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 1 hair band, 1 small hair elastic, hairspray and accessory {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 5-8 minutes

Skill Level: Medium

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by combing all the hair into a high ponytail or desired location of the fishtail and secure with a hair band {I sprayed the hair with water first, to make the ponytail clean and crisp}…
2. Separate the ponytail into two equal sections…
3. Take a small sliver of hair from the outside edge of the right section, and take it behind the rest of that same section and combine it into the inside edge of the left section {in a regular fishtail braid, you would go over the section of hair, and not under}…
4. Now take a small sliver of hair from the outside edge of the left section, and take it behind the rest of that section, and combine it into the inside edge of the right section {simply the opposite of Step #3}…
5. Continue Steps 3 & 4 over and over again until you run out of hair…
6. When you get to the end of your braid, secure it with a hair elastic.
7. You may tug on the edges of the braid to soften the fishtail, and create a more romantic look, if desired.
8. Add any desired hair accessory {such as a bow, ribbon or clip} to finish it off.

If you liked this, you may very well love our other Fishtail Braid tutorials!

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think, and as always… feel free to share!

Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, so if you want to follow our blog… you can do so at BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader for women!

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Yarn Extension Fishtail Braid | Temporary Color Highlights

April 21, 2013

BONUS: Be sure to see our Disney-exclusive “Tinker Bell Hair Bun” tutorial on the DisneysStyle YT channel!

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This is not a new hairstyle by any means, and it can be seen all over Pinterest, but we wanted to show you how we create it in our household!

We were simply feeling the urge to help bring out the “Spring” feeling by filming this tutorial!  It definitely helped!

This fishtail braid with blended yarn highlights is perfect for cheerleaders and dancers, but also great for girls during Spirit Week {using school colors} or Crazy Hair Day!  My twins wore this out last week and had lots of people intrigued and taking photos!

Now, you all know that I am not a fan of highlights or permanent coloring in my young girls’ hair.

What I love about our Chalk Highlights tutorial and this Yarn Extension Braid, is that there are ways to get a cute color accents in the hair without a long-term commitment and potential chemical damage!

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, 1 hair elastic, 12-14 yarn strands {from 3 or 4 colors} each measuring twice as long as your hair.

Time Requirement: 10 minutes, including tying in the yarn.

Skill Level: Medium

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by sectioning off the top part of the hair and securing with a rubber band to keep it out of the way, leaving the rest of the hair down…
2. Now, take a yarn strand and tie it onto the base of a sectioned strand of hanging hair {you do this by placing the yarn perpendicular behind the hair and at the base, and tying a simple square knot in the yarn around the hair. To keep the knot from slipping, you can teaze the hair a little below the knot}…
3. Next, grab another piece of yarn {different color} and tie it on the next strand of hair {try to place different colors of yarn next to each other, so their is a variety}…
4. Once you have placed all your yarn strands {we used about 13 strands}. drop the remaining top hair down over the top to hide the knots…
5. Now, sweep all hair over one shoulder, gather it, and separate it into two sections…
6. Begin a regular Fishtail Braid by taking one outside tiny piece of hair, cross it over and into the other section of hair. Be sure to include a yarn strand in each section…
7. Now repeat on the other side.
8. Repeat Steps #6 and #7 all the way down {remember, try to get a strand or two of yarn in each piece you cross over}…
9. Once you have completed your fishtail braid, secure it with a hair elastic. You can also take some of the extra length of the yarn and wrap it around the elastic to hide it.  We show you how to do this in the video…
10. Lastly, go back and tug/pop out any hidden strands of yarn so that you can see them better. You can also pancake the fishtail a little to broaden the braid, soften the look, and help the colors show through.
11. Prepare for compliments!

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think, and as always… feel free to share!

Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, so if you want to follow our blog… you can do so at BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader for women!

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Stacked Braids | Cute Braided Hairstyles

February 10, 2013

A few weeks ago, we posted a video called the Ladder Braid Side Ponytail, and it received a lot of positive feedback!

In fact, one of our fans, Ceridwin, adapted the feather braid technique to create a new, beautiful “stacked” braid look, and sent us a photo on Twitter!

 

I loved it so much that asked her to tell me exactly how she did it so that I could teach you! She agreed, emailed me her instructions, and here you go!

You simply create a large feather braid, with tiny strands coming off each stitch from both sides of the braid.  You then go back and Dutch braid the feathered strands on top of the regular braid, and then pancake the latter.  Further instructions are below…

 

 

 

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 1 small hair elastic, hairspray {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 5-8 minutes

Skill Level: Medium

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by brushing the hair and pulling it to wherever you want the braid to lay. {In the video, I did the hair straight down the back, but a side braid would also be very cute.}
2. Using all of your hair, section it into three strands and create the first “stitch” of a simple braid…
3. After the first stitch, on every outside edge, you will begin creating a Feather Braid… {On the left-most strand of hair, pull out a sliver of hair off the top and lay it to the side. For a DIY, you can use a clip, teeth, or extra hands to hold the strands out of the way.}  Also, for this braid, I chose to feather off larger strands at the top and smaller feathers as we worked our way down…
4. Now cross that outside strand over the middle to become the middle strand….
5. Then, go to the right-most section of hair and pull out a sliver of hair off the top and lay it to the side, and cross the remaining strand over into the middle…
6. Repeat these alternating steps until you run out of hair.
7. Secure with an elastic. You should have a normal-looking braid with feather strands of hair coming off both sides of the braid all the way down. {Kind of looks like a feather, huh? LOL! That’s why we call it a Feather Braid!}
8. Now, pick up the top two feather strands of the left and the top feather strand on the right.
9. Begin a Dutch braid using those strands. {When you need to add hair into the braid, use ONLY the other feather strands of hair on both sides of the braid.}
10. When you run out of feather strands, finish off with 2-3 stitches of a regular braid….
11. Then, undo the original hair elastic and secure both braids together with that same elastic.
12. You should now have two braids right on top of each other, the Stacked Braids.
13. To help the Dutch braid stand out just a bit more, you may choose to “pancake” the bottom braid edges, as I did, by gently tugging on the elbows to make them a little more puffy. {This helps add to the overall illusion of braid awesomeness!}

Enjoy!

If you liked this hairstyle, please do feel free to share! Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!

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