Woven Puffy Braids

This is a beautiful hairstyle but you will need a good 20-30 minutes to complete this one.  (Just wanted to give you a heads up so you didn't get frustrated on one of those "crunch time" mornings.)  :)

Begin with wet hair and create a part directly down the center of the head so that you now have two equal sides.  Section out a small area on one of the sides (right up in front) and secure it with an elastic.  Create a parallel section on the opposite half of the head.  Now you've got two small piggies on top to work with. 

Separate each piggie into 3 equal sections and twist each section.  Your princess will be a huge help in holding the twist for this hairstyle until you need them.  Have her hold the six twists while you create another section on one half of the head, directly under that first section.  Pull the 3 twists from the opposite half of the head over to that new section and secure all of that hair together with an elastic. 

Now section out a parallel new section on the other half, just below the first section and take the 3 remaining twists that your princess is holding and weave them through the first 3 twists that are already coming across the head. 

Weave them in an over-under patter and alternate which way your pattern goes with the different twists. 

 Once they've all gone through you can secure them in with the hair from your brand new section.

  Now you've got two piggies once again.  Comb out any remaining twist from before.  Divide each ponytail into 3 equal sections and create twists out of each of those so that you once again have 6 twists to work with.  Repeat the steps from above to create another woven section.  Depending on how large you aer making the sections on the head, you could have 3-8 woven areas going along the back of the head.  We have 4 here. 

 Once all of the hair was gathered, we finished off our piggies with a couple of Hawser Braids. (Two Corkscrews twisted together.) 

We then went through and covered each of our elastics with tiny claw clips just to give it a fancier look but this is not necessary.  Add some hair bows and you're all finished!

Merry & Bright

Princess Piggies wants to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and we hope that your season is "Merry  & Bright" just like this hairstyle!  You may recognize this style from our title as you enter our blog.  We've gone ahead and spruced it up just a bit for the holiday!

I found these awesome little LED lights at Walmart and they came with a little battery pack.  This hairstyle is best when you're going out caroling or to see some lights because you'll want to have a scarf to wrap around your princess's neck to not only hide the cord but also to hold your little battery pack in place.  (My daughter just had it in the hood of her shirt here and then wore a jacket over the top with a scarf wrapped around her neck.)

The instructions for the original hairstyle, "Crossed Hawser Braids," can be found here.  I'll give you some brief updates for illuminating it as well.  :)

Once you've completed your Crossed Hawser Braids you will want to grab your strand of lights and begin poking the up through the under side of the braids.  try to keep your wires either under or behind the braids.  Don't worry too much about the wires that are hanging out below because those will get covered.  Remember to leave the end connected to the battery pack accessible and coming out of the middle.

Now you will want to grab a stretch band or wide ribbon to hide your wires with.  We've used a stretch band here and just wrapped it around the two side of the Hawser Braids and over all the wires in the back. 

 I was worried that the hairstyle was becoming heavy but my princess said that it wasn't heavy or bothersome at all.  Tuck your battery pack into either a hood or scarf, turn your switch on, and you are ready to go for a night out!

My princess wore her hair like this when we went out to see some lights and people were just as impressed with her as they were with the scenery! 

We will be back with some fun new posts at the beginning of the year and will be taking a small vacation until then. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Do The Twist

Corkscrews have such a pretty look to them and they hold so nicely that I find myself using them quite a bit.

  Your first step with this style is to create a part from ear to ear so that you have a top section to work with.  Now separate a middle section from that top section and clip it aside for a moment.

 

 You should have two remaining sections from the top that you will want to create Corkscrews out of.  Have your princess hold these two Corkscrews while you move back up to that middle section.

 

 Divide the section into two equal parts and secure each part with an elastic. 

Using your Topsy Tail, create a Pull-Through out of each small section and then twist them both together to create another Corkscrew. 

Combine the three Corkscrews together at the back of the head with an elastic. 

Take the hair from that combination and create another, slightly larger, Corkscrew.  Add that Corkscrew in with all of the remaining hair at the nape of the neck and secure it with an elastic. 

 Now separate that new ponytail into two even pieces and create a Corkscrew out of each piece.  Twist those two Corkscrews together creating a Hawser Braid.  Add any hair clips you like and you're all finished. 

Count the Corkscrews

I love doing Corkscrews in my daughter's hair because their really fast and look pretty. A Corkscrew is a basic twist but you must make sure tht you twist the two pieces one direction and then wrap them together the opposite direction.  This helps the Corkscrew hold better than a regular twist.

Start by parting the top of the hair about 3 inches back. 

Take each side of the part and create a Corkscrew, making sure to start it without an elastic.

 When both Corkscrews are long enough to reach the back of the head, tie them together with an elastic. Make another Corkscrew out of the hair from that last elastic.

When you get to the nape of the neck, combine all of the hair into an elastic. From here you are going to make a Hawser Braid, which is essentially two Corkscrews twisted together. The hairstyle is as simple as that!

3 Corkscrews Into Hawsers

There can be many different variations on this hairstyle. You just have to decide if you want braids, twists or straight hair. Start by parting the hair down the middle and separating the two sections. Now grab two small sections of hair, from the forehead line, on the left half of the part and one section from the right side of the part. Make each section into a Corkscrew and pull them diagonally to the right. Combine all the hair on the right side (including the 3 Corkscrews) into a piggie. Combine the hair in the left section into a piggie as well. Now, in keeping with the Corkscrew theme, we made each piggie into two Corkscrews and twisted them together to make Hawser Braids.

Squish Braids

You never knew there were so many types of braids did you?! You can use Squish Braids in practically any style and here we've just added them to some piggies for church. First section out the hair that you want to braid and just create a traditional 3-strand braid but make sure that it's a bit loose. (This works best when the hair is damp.) When you're at the end of your braid, hold the middle strand and simple "squish" the other two strand up towards the scalp. You can spread out the squish to however tight or loose you would like it. Now just add those braids with the rest of the hair to make your piggies on both sides. We went ahead and made Hawser Braids in her piggies. Hawser Braids are essentially two Corksrews twisted together. A quick spray and she's all ready for church!

Crossed Hawser Braids

A Hawser Braid is one of my favorites. The princess wanted her hair up off of her back on this particular day so I thought I'd play around with a couple of Hawser Braids. First I used a Zig Zag Part and then I made two Hawsers on the sides of her head. I crossed them around the back of the head and then joined them with some bobby pins. I flipped the ends out and added a couple small bows for a fun look.

(You probably recognize this one from the blog title!) :)