I have been really loving no-heat curls lately. I gave up heat styling all together a couple years back because I felt like I was torturing my hair. I also gave up shaving anything anywhere, ever. Somewhere in the journey of trying to raise my kids conscientiously, I gave up many of my old beauty belief systems that I had been carrying with me. I am now a hairy, frazzled mother who smells like a human and not a bottle of something, but I still love to play with my hair.
My daughter Mars is like me in that she loves to experiment with her hair in ways that aren’t necessarily ‘normal’ or mainstream. When she told me “Mom, I’m bored with my hair” I knew I had a kid who would appreciate the transformative effects of DIY hair play. Anything that makes her feel different and unique brings a smile to her face. I put her hair in rag curls about a year ago and she was very excited with her new look and empowered with the knowledge that she can play with changing her appearance. ( The kid LOVES halloween)
So on that note, I have been experimenting with different ways to do a no-heat curl that are easy, quick, and not too uncomfortable to sleep in. Mars pleads with me to put her hair in curls after a bath. She said the other day ” When I get to school with my curls I’m just going to tell everyone that all you have to do is put your hair in little braids and tie them in knots, even the boys. My teacher wants me to do her hair. Carlo’s will say ‘oh my gosh!’ because that’s what he always says!'”
So, we put em in at night, she wakes up in the morning like it’s Christmas, ready to unveil her new hairdo.
Here is what we did last week…
After I shampooed her, I put her hair in 4 little braided buns and secured them with tangle free elastics. She slept with it like that. She was up at 6 this morning, super pumped to see how her hair turned out.
Note to self: If you want your kids to sleep longer so you can catch up on your own sleep for the sake of your own sanity and the bettering of the universe in general, don’t put curls in your kids hair at night. Wait until you feel fully caught up on your own sleep to do this kind of thing. The excitement of debuting new wacky wavy hair to a kindergarten class is enough to rouse a 5 year old at an ungodly early hour.
Lesson learned, she was “angry with excitement” about her hair and we put it into pigtails to wear to school.
Last night, we tried out some easy pin curls. I parted her hair down the back, and did 3 little curls on each side, curled forward towards her sweet face and pinned with criss-cross bobby pins.
My last no-heat curls for kids trick is rag curls. My personal favorite. Rag curls makes for a very Mugatu from Zoolander-ish poofy little fro-curl. Perfect for your kid who wants big bang-for-your-buck curly hair.
And after you brush ’em out, you can put them in “curl puffs” as Mars affectionately coined them.
Here is the video tutorial for DIY rag curls
Here is the tutorial for Curl Puffs!
Playing with your kids hair is fun. If you haven’t tried it, you should try it. Then, maybe they will play with your hair and there is nothing better than little tiny hands on your head. XO
BTW, if you want DIY kid haircut ideas, check out HTHG’s children’s hairdos category.
And if you need DIY hair tips for busy moms, try this one.
