Kidz Corner

Faux Hawk: The Junior Edition

As you can see, my two-year old son's hair keeps growing and growing. Dealing with this much hair can be nerve wracking at times (for both parent and child), but my husband and I aren't ready to cut it. So, I've therefore decided to expand my hair styling abilities so that we can keep his hair looking fresh without having to bug my mom or pay someone else an arm and a leg to do it. Alas, after a little instruction from my mom and some practice, I have finally learned how to cornrow!

Now that I know how to braid, I alternate between styling my son's hair in a curly afro (as shown above), cornrows, and a faux hawk. I like the faux hawk because it lets us see what he would look like if we were to shave the sides and leave some hair on top: 

Front faux hawk

Side faux hawk

Cornrows aren't as challenging as they appear. It took me this long to learn how to do them because they always seemed so complicated. But, after my mom explained to me the concept and allowed me to watch her a few times, I finally got it. The technique is simple, and you really just have to practice in order to get good at it.

The style you see here will last about a week. I start out with freshly washed hair. Lately I've been experimenting with Curling Souffle by Shea Moisture. Since I've been wearing my hair straight for the winter (To learn more about that, see Heat Styled Hair For The Winter?), I haven't been using any curly hair products and therefore decided to use my son as a test subject (**smile**).

This product does a really good job at keeping his curls defined. It can leave a gooey feel if you use too much, so I would recommend using it in moderation and instead doubling up on your moisturizer of choice if you need extra moisture. For instance, after a few days, my son's hair gets dry and starts looking like this:

Faux hawk dry curls up close

Faux hawk dry

To refresh his curls, I spritz the hair that's left out with water, apply some pure coconut oil to seal, then scrunch with more curl souffle if necessary. To keep his edges in check, I slick them down with some Straight Edges Edging Gel by Silk Elements and a toothbrush.

Do any of you mommies out there know how to cornrow? If so, how are you styling your little one's hair? Please share your little one's favorite style. For submission guidelines, see the Introducing Kidz Corner! post.