“Moms of girls with curly hair: I get you. The struggle is real,” says Jessa Colón, owner of Hairitage Hair Lounge in Somerville, who is on a mission to educate mothers on how to style and maintain their daughters’ seemingly untamed locks. “Natural hair is gorgeous; you just need the right tools and know-how.”
As the holidays approach, Colón has created easy, seasonal styles for mothers and daughters with curly hair that are party-ready and will last several days.
Tools
8-row nylon brush to untangle large areas without pain
Parting comb
4 crocodile clips
A natural boar bristle brush
4 4mm elastic hair ties
4 tiny hair elastic ties
Steps
In the bath after cleansing, apply a paraben-free, sulfate-free conditioner evenly throughout the head.
Take an 8-row nylon brush and detangle hair section by section.
Tie or clip up hair on top and sides, only leaving out the hair you’re detangling.
Once completely detangled, rinse 50 percent of the conditioner out, leaving the rest in.
With the parting comb, make a part down the middle, then ear-to-ear, resulting in four quadrants.
Apply gel to each section one by one, then with the boar bristle brush, smooth out all the hair into a 4mm hair tie, making four ponytails. (This helps you reach all the shorter baby hairs around the entire hairline.)
Braid each ponytail.
Wear the braids for one day or sleep with them overnight to assure they are dry. After that, you have many options on how to style your daughter’s hair for the entire week:
Styles
Day 1: Leave the braids dangling for younger girls. For older girls, connect the front braids to the back braids to make them appear like a French braid.
Day 2: Four braids can turn into three by combining the back two.
Day 3: Three braids can turn into three crimped ponytails.
Day 4: Three crimped ponytails can turn into two braids.
Day 5: Two braids, unbraided, can make two crimped ponytails.
Adults can use this braid-out method as well by eliminating the 4mm elastic hair ties. You can also speed up drying time by using a blow dryer.
See more style options at hairitagehairlounge.com.