The Urban Farmhouse Saskatoon: Baby/Toddler DIY Hairstyle Tutorial

She's had a bow in her hair almost every single day of her life. We started young!

Now that Brielle's hair is starting to grow out, we commonly get asked if we're going to let it grow long? The answer is yes. No bangs. One length. Can't wait to do more fun stuff with it! The question commonly asked since I started putting it in pigtails has been, how do you get her to sit long enough to do her hair? Well, there are a few tricks so I dedicate this post to all of the mom's & dad's out there who need some help; especially to my friend Michelle who asked yesterday and I promised her this post.

First time having piggies on the same day that she got her first tooth! What a big day!! What teensy piggies!!

1. Be prepared. Have everything you need already laid out (within your reach but out of baby's reach). You want this process to be as quick as possible.

My recommended items are:

spray bottle
fine tooth comb
teensy hair elastics (can usually get at the dollar store)
distraction items (something your little one doesn't normally get to play with)
Have a plan. Know what style you're doing ahead of time. You want this process to be as quick as possible.

Piggies with bows.

2. Choose a spot like the counter in your bathroom. Baby is up at your level, can watch in the mirror and can't easily scoot away from you.

3. Give baby distraction items. It varies from day to day, but often times I will let Brielle drink the water out of the spray bottle. Keeps her busy! She also gets to play with lip gloss tubes (make sure lid is on tight), the comb, her toothbrush, the cup that comes with her toothbrush holder, her hair bows....pretty much anything that interests her for that period of time.

4. Spray hair until fairly wet. You will not get dry hair into a pony tail well. A fine tooth comb is key to get the hair pulled as smooth as possible.

5. Put ponies or piggies in as quickly as possible. Don't worry if they're not evenly placed. The key is to put a cute bow in front so nobody will ever know they're crooked.

6. On days where I need her hair to stay, I will spray it with a bit of hairspray, but most days I leave it as is. When I put piggies in and curl them, I have the curling iron heating while I blowdry the piggies. Then I give her a new distraction item and curl the piggies as quickly as possible. I have to spray these otherwise the curl comes out quickly with such fine hair.

7. Done!

Basic side pony with a bow to keep the hair out of her eyes.

With time, practice & patience, both you and your baby will get better at this. Brielle & I do this 1-2 times almost every day for the past 6 months, although we don't always put piggies or ponies in. Most days I swoop the hair out of her eyes and pin it back with a bow on a clip. Same process as above but no hair elastics involved. She pretty much always co-operates. It's best to only have the two of you in the room. Adding mommy, daddy or another person just makes babies squirm more for some reason.

Curled piggies for her 1st birthday party.

Doing a little girls hair is typically something parents want to do at some point in time, so why not start early? Makes it easier as time goes on. It's a part of our daily routine, just like brushing her teeth is, and it's not an option for her to put up a fuss and us not do it. I think of it as if she had to sit still in church, get a needle, sit in her carseat, etc. She has to learn to co-operate for those things, so why not this? It's only a few minutes, it's not harming her and it's great practice for both hairdresser (mom or dad) and baby in the patience department. And we all need practice there! Especially with little ones.