Everyday Fab Hair

Several weeks ago, Ryan, my eleven year-old cousin, commented on my hair.

"Mom," she said, "that's the style I want for my prom."

I laughed and told her that she could come down to my house when the time comes, and I would do her hair for her.

"Yeah, well, not all of us can have fab hair everyday," she said with a grin.

My dear--you can have fabulous hair everyday! So, in honor of your twelfth birthday this week, I'm going to show you exactly how I did my hair that day (though the offer is still good for you to come down here for a hair-styling session).

Start out with damp, shoulder-length or longer hair--the less layers, the easier your job is. Part your hair on the top of your head the way you like it (I did a side part, but a center part works great too). Take your fingers and loosely divide your hair in the back, pulling equal amounts to both sides. You don't need  perfect part for the back, and irregularity helps to hide the part! Brush everything out as smooth as possible, and use gel if necessary to get everything to lay down neatly.

 Now take a small section at the top of your head and divide it into two pieces.

 Pull the section closest to your face over the other section. Pull tight (as shown in picture below). Now add a small section of hair to the piece closest to your face (much like a french braid technique) and cross it over the other section. Pull tight. Continue doing this all the way down. You can stop in the middle or go further to the side to get an off-centered, side-swept look.

Once you have finished the first side, pin it up securely (or get a helping hand to hold it for you), and move on to the other side. Again, you're dividing the hair into two sections and pulling the piece closest to your face over the other piece. Pull the top piece up and the bottom piece down to tighten the twist and then pick up more hair to add to the piece closest to your face. Check out this YouTube video for a live example of the process.

 When you finish, hold your twist tightly while undoing the other side. Bring them together, being careful to keep the crown of your head smooth, and secure with a ponytail holder. Now, you can stop here, curl the ponytail, wrap a piece of hair around the elastic and pin with a bobbypin to hide the ponytail holder, braid the hair, or put the hair up into a bun (the option I went for). With accessories, different partings, and creative finishes, the possibilities are almost endless for this hair style.

Use bobbypins to smooth out any unruly and bumpy strands, and to secure loose parts of the twist so your fabulous hair doesn't come out halfway through the day. Spray the whole thing and smooth down your fly-aways, and your look is complete.

Happy Birthday, Ryan! Your siblings are so blessed to have you as their wonderful big sister, and I am always encouraged by your sweetness to them and your pleasant spirit. How glad I am to have you as part of the family! I hope you will continue to seek God this year, and follow the command of I Timothy 6:11-12: "But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.