School and Long Hair

[Irishred]

OK ladies and gents ;)

I need hair style ideas. I am going back to school to get my degree and my DD6 is going into the first grade. Last year we had a "lice warning" note sent home at least once a month but managed to avoid it. (until summer and they had dentist appointments and took us 2 weeks to fight off, grrr)

Requirements.

1. FAST to do (5 min or less)
2. Easy to do, possibly she or DH may learn how to do over a little time
3. Will hold all day through play and car rides.
4. NOT complicated but still hair containing while adding variations to our daily up do assortment.
5a. Products - no sticky requires washing stuff... we only wash her hair one or two times a week... suggestions please?
5b. Accessories - we have metal free elastics and metal clippy barrettes and a few others. would love to have suggestions for what and where to buy inexpensive (losses) accessories that may last. I keep breaking the dang jaw clips I get (they were Goody too :( )

DD6 is a 1b/m/ii at about waist on her. slight 'u' blunt cut with LOTS of wispies and a small growing out section of hair she got mad at (fortunately it looked like bangs/fringe for a while). Buns do not work well on her because her hair has a tendency to slip out of whatever I try to hold it with. OH, she does semi-successful comb her own hair and can do a simple ponytail herself and puts in headbands and clips.

Me, hair type in siggy. length is just below my bum however I am considering a 2-6 inch trim (possibly more) because of damage from ... nit combing and that NASTY shampoo even though I conditioned and oiled like crazy :( ... oh and stress, did I mention that? :confused: Need to keep my hair out of the way! I am also growing out most of my bangs/fringe. I have just a thin wisp that just makes my face softer. So... I need to keep that up too - old bangs are almost to my mouth and I can almost tuck them behind my ear and have them stay.

Suggestions?

Thanks
IR

[TinaDenali]

For your daughter I would certainly try braids. Braids look great on anyone, but I think they look adorable on little ones :)

Does she like braids? I think those would hold up better all day for buns, and it would prevent her hair from tangling as much as if she wore it down all day.

[LeaM07]

Have you tried Goody's "Stay Put" ponytail holders? DD5's hair slips out of ponytails very easily also, but these stay pretty well.

Watching this thread for more suggestions... :)

ETA: Link: http://www.goody.com/#/grid/stayput/products/secure_fit_ponytail_holders

[Anje]

At her age, I would do braids most of the time. Single, double, French and Dutch will hold better than English, but take a little longer. Ponytails with a few bands down the length are fun and will have fewer tangles than normal ponytails.

At that age, I never tolerated barrettes longer than a few hours and probably would have hated buns, but these days I find a bun with a single horizontal hairstick to be incredibly comfortable. (I think my mom just couldn't do styles that didn't pull, looking back.) If you can teach her something like a celtic knot bun (or lazy infinity bun, or gibralter bun, or a lazy wrap bun) that she can re-do as necessary, she might enjoy that. Maybe get her a short Ketylo or two in fun colors -- they're pretty indestructable and hold well. I wouldn't send her off in any bun that she can't do herself, though. That's a good way to have her lose a stick and come home with her hair loose.

[julliams]

Braids and ponytails seem to be the run of the mill with all very long haired little ones that I have taught in the past. Anything with clippy bits will just fall out/be lost/pulled out by curious 6 year old and the teacher will not be able to redo it as well as you can.

My daughter has worn a ponytail to school now for pretty much 90% of her "career" and she is in year 6 now. When she was getting an award in year 3 we joked that it could possibly be for "most consistent hair style" until we found out what it was actually for -lol.

Another good one is the half up, split into two ponytails (pigtails or braids) which is a little Sharpai (from high school musical). They like that one too.

[ptnicole]

My DD is 4...we've never cut her hair. Definite hair envy on my part :)!

Anyways, go to styles for her everyday are single braid with headband, french braids and ponytail holders (usually 4) starting at top of head going down (keeps all her hair in all day).

I wish she would keep a bun in for longer than 10 minutes....so cute with a sock bun!

[tinker bug]

A way I like to use mini claw clips to change up plain styles is by sectioning half inch portions from my hairline to my crown(-ish, maybe not so far back) and twisting them and then using the mini claw clips to secure. It ends up looking like partial cornrows, but with 1% of the effort :D

[tinti]

http://www.youtube.com/user/CuteGirlsHairstyles
Here is a link to a youtube channel called CuteGirlsHairstyles. They do a lot of different hairstyles for scchool, some quick some take longer time.

I also would have bought her a couple of hair sticks and teached her a few hair sticks styles that she can do herself. Like this one is easy and simple and done in a jiffy :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roL-8kqQXOw&feature=PlayList&p=2D6B072AFB1EE046&playnext=1&index=37

And braids, braids are cute on everyone, but especially on kids.

[pineconejg]

Double braided pigtails are classic for a little girl. I hope she doesn't have rude friends like my sister, though. When she was in grade two, she wore her waist-length hair in braided pigtails almost every day (we called them snake braids because of how they taper). One day another (envious) girl cut off the tassel of [I]one[I] of her braids. It was a disaster. I hope nothing like that happens to your little one.

I'm not sure I should have shared that...:eek:

[Rivanariko]

Braids are probably the quickest and easiest for your daughter. My mom used to braid my hair all the time when I was that age. They're easy to play in and keep tangles at bay, and they stay pretty well.

Another option if you have a bit more time (though I'd imagine you could get pretty quick at it with practice) might be Elizabethan hair taping. Torrinpaige has a great video tutorial on it, and it's SO comfortable and secure. You might be able to leave it in for a few days, several people have talked about sleeping with it in with no problem.

For your own hair, simple wrapped buns secured with hairsticks are my favorite. The ones that I use regularly take about 15 seconds for me to put up and last all day. I might have to redo them once or twice if I'm being particularly active, or if my head is bumping against things and it loosens, but once you get the hang of them, you can just redo them without much thought.

If you're looking for a product to help a little bit with holding hair in place without the gunky feeling, try plain aloe vera gel (no color, no fragrance, no alcohol). You should be able to get a tube of it cheap at your local drugstore. It gives you hair just a big more holding power, but leaves it soft and lovely rather than sticky or crunchy. I LOVE it.

Good luck!

[LeaM07]

Something else you might want to try is an English or rope braided ponytail. I have trouble with braids myself, because DD has so many wispies (and I'm rarely patient enough to French braid), but if I ponytail first it stays much longer.

I also make buns by ponytailing (or ponytail braiding), then twisting and winding the hair into a bun, then securing the whole thing with one or more additional ponytail holders. This way she can use multiple colors or those fancy scrunchies with the dangly doodads that won't hold up anything on their own.

You can also turn a ponytail into a pseudo peacock bun by making a ponytail, folding it upwards (maybe with a twist) and securing with a claw clip. The hidden ponytail holder adds some grip where it would otherwise slide out.

Good luck. :flowers:

[aksown]

The most secure, yet fast 'do I ever managed on a child is a half-up ponytail and then an english braid. I braid the tail of the pony with the other hair. This holds all day on a very active 4 year old with tb length, slippery hair. If you tie a ribbon over the ponytail holder then you can braid it in. It might be cute.

[Ursula]

Two braids are probably the most practical for a small child. They take a bit longer to do but stay put all day, and don't get in the way of childhood activities.

Your daughter may not be quite ready with hand coordination to do this on her own, but barring a physical handicap like CP or MS I can't imagine that your husband couldn't learn to do a fine job.

***

For yourself, I'd suggest learning to do a simple bun with sticks or hairpins, and have some plain "every day" sticks you can use without too much worry about coordinating to your outfits.

[Medievalmaniac]

Everyone else have given you wonderful ideas. I would only add that my DD (also 6) loves buns and wants them all the time - if you pin well with bobby pins, a ballerina bun WILL last through a day of kindergarten and first grade antics. Also, you should try "The Bun That Stays" which is on cinnamonhair's website - and it WILL stay. Takes about four or five minutes at most to get it done. :)

[Jessica Trapp]

Braids would probably look great and they stay pretty well.

:flower: jes

[candlesandfish]

I'd echo everyone else and say double braids, that was the standard 60 years ago (probably 40 years ago!) for everyone and they managed. My mum had double braids until about Year 11. You can do cute things with them too like tying them in loops at the side of her head with ribbon (think Kirsten from the American Girl dolls).

That, or a long ponytail with lots of different coloured elastics down it. A friend of mine had her hair like that for the first half of primary (elementary) school :)

I had my hair in one long ponytail or two pigtails for all of primary school, but it didn't get past my waist (got close!) until high school when I refused to get it trimmed more often than necessary.

[PineappleJello]

My mum always kept our hair in a plain english braid (we had tbl hair)and put into simple buns during lice season. and we didn't get lice once.
Also don't have the school check her hair for lice, they usually seem to make more of a mess and don't put the hair back into the braids or buns.

[Rivanariko]

Can you tell the school not to search for lice? I don't think that was an option in my school, they checked everyone, regardless of hair style.

[Blandine]

If your daughter loves buns, how about a sock bun with a scrunchie around? Holds well and has no sharp pieces in it. Let her make the bun cushion by herself from one of her socks (one with holes that you won't mend any more).

Otherwise, varieties of braids to make the styles more interesting. Rope braid. High ponytail in a round 4-strand braid. French or Dutch braid.

[PineappleJello]

Can you tell the school not to search for lice? I don't think that was an option in my school, they checked everyone, regardless of hair style.

My mum did, but I have a feeling she had a huge fit. The school unbraided our tbl hair and didn't brush it after, turning it into a tbl fro. It took 2 hours to get my hair untangled.

My mum also told them that she checked our hair every morning and that they couldn't do them unless they called and she was there ready with a brush to put it back into a braid immediately.

[countryhopper]

How about braiding in pretty ribbons into normal English braids?

I personally think double ANYTHING (braids, ponytails, buns, etc) are super cute on little girls. Especially double buns on the top of the head that look like bear ears :)

I'm sure your husband would be able to topsy tail her hair too, as a change once in a while from a regular ponytail