I love all of the fun that comes with having a little girl! I love dressing my little girl up, shopping for her and doing her hair. When my little girl was about a year old here hair kinda hit an awkward stage and her sweet baby do's just didn't quite cut it anymore. So...I decided I needed to give some new do's a try. After about a month of practicing new hairstyles I am happy to share some of my favorites with you! Elastics I love using elastics because they hold all day long and there are so many different hairstyles you can use them for. 2 Banded Pigtails Elastic Braided Pony in Front Elastic Braided Pigtails (5 or 6 elastics on each side) Elastic Braided Pigtails Half Way (3 elastics on each side) Topsy Turvys Topsy Turvys are pretty simple to do and hold FOREVER. I think they really dress up a hairstyle and they are quick to do. I have people stop me all the time and ask me "how do you do that?" when I show them they always say something like "I could totally do that!" You really can do these...they are simple and you don't need to buy a tool. So...how do I do it? My little secret is that I wet the hair down with a squirt bottle to prevent frizz. I then: 1- Section out the hair and put the section into a loose ponytail 2- Divide the hair under the elastic (the section closest to the head) 3- Flip the ponytail through the divided section 4-Pull ponytail elastic tight (If the hair isn't wet, this is where it will frizz) Here is a video where they use the tool, you can do the same thing just use your fingers to pull it through. Half Up Topsy (Curled) Half Up Topsy (Scrunched) 2 Topsy's Straight Back 3 Topsy's Straight Back 1 Topsy Divided 2 Topsy's Divided 1 Topsy, Half Up Pony 2 Topsy's, Half Up Pony Topsy Pigtails Braid Okay, so those of you who have tried to braid a toddlers hair know it is pretty hard to get that baby thin hair to stay right? Good news...you can still do the braid. I braided about half way and then secured the braid with a clear elastic and then finished braiding from there. You can't even see the elastic because it gets tucked in the the braid. This trick will help the braid stay in all day too! Clip I love just using a simple clip to hold my toddlers hair back. This is my last minute do. Clip (on the side) Clip (with teased hair) Ponytail Not much to say about this ponytail, except why does it look so cute on toddlers? Headbands I don't use these as often as I used to mainly because my daughter doesn't keep them in like she used too but I still think they are stinking cute! Headband with Bangs Back Headband with Bangs to the Side Pigtails I think these will always be my favorite on toddlers...they are just so cute!! Down Low Pigtails (bangs in elastic) Up High Pigtails (bangs in elastic) Half Up Pigtails Twists I secure every twist with a bobby pin. I simply twist the hair and then put a bobby pin along the twist. I have found that getting the hair wet and using additional clips at the end of the twists helps it last for the day. Cornrows or Mini Vertical Twists Horizontal Twists Twisted Back Piggies with Zig-Zag Part Half Up Half up do's are one of my go to do's when days are crazy. I like to mix em up a bit! Half Up to the Side Half Up with Bangs in a Twist Half Up Bun Scrunched My little girl has a little bit of curl in her hair so I love to show it off a bit by scrunching it. I wet it down with a spray bottle and gel it really well and let it dry. I found this works the best if I use a thick gel...almost as thick as glue. Distractions Distractions are a must for doing little one's hair. Here are a couple things that help me when doing hair: First of all my little girl has to be sitting...I put her on the bathroom counter right in front of the mirror and stand directly behind her. I keep everything I need close by in a drawer. I usually get 10 minutes top to do my little girls hair after that distractions don't work anymore she just wants down. Here are a few of my little one's favorite distractions: ~Any kind of bottle and lid (she loves to put the lid on and off) ~Toilet paper roll holder (random...she loves it!) ~Bobby pins, Bows and Elastics (this is the only time she gets to play with them so they are cool) ~Phone (I have had her talk to grandma so I can do her hair) ~Books and Pictures (I talk about what she is looking at) ~Where is your game? (I ask her to touch her nose, eye, toes, ect.) If you have any questions let me know...I would love to help! Hope this helps get you past the awkward toddler hair stage. Have fun mixing and matching what you see here so that it works for your little one.