Today on the blog I am welcoming Dione Laufenberg, the author of Laufty Life. She’s sharing her tips on how to create a french braid on curly hair.
The problem with French Braids on Curly Hair
As we counted down the days to our trip to Disney World, I asked my youngest daughter Misha what she was most looking forward to seeing or doing. She replied that she couldn’t wait to meet Elsa.
Although it has been 5 years since Disney released Frozen in theaters, the popularity of its break out stars Elsa and Anna has not waned. Their popularity has revived the classic French Braid hairstyle.
A single French braid in the case of Elsa, and a double French braid for Anna. Consequently, the hairstyle has been requested by my daughters on several occasions. Unfortunately, I have found it to be a less than ideal choice for curly hair because it doesn’t seem to last.
Which prompted me to experiment until I found a solution. Here is my workaround on how to create a lasting protective French braid for mixed girls with natural curly hair.
The Solution for Mixed Kid’s Curly Hair
Giana has a 3b/3a curl pattern and Misha has a similar texture with some of her hair around the perimeter falling looser into a 2c wavy pattern.
Whenever I braided their hair into a French braid, I noticed that as the hair dried and the curls reverted the smoothness around the edges dissipated.
The braid became frizzy and I would have to unbraid it and do it all over again within a day or two. In my opinion, a protective style that doesn’t last 3 days or more and cannot be morphed into a second style isn’t worth my time.
After doing box braids for the first time on Giana’s hair and seeing that style resulted in longevity, I changed my styling mindset.
Giana wore the braids for just short of two weeks, I realized that I could spend a little more time upfront and create styles for my mixed daughter’s hair that would carry them through the school week.
I noticed that by sectioning the hair into 1 inch by 1-inch squares and smoothing each section, the curls were stretched and subsequently remained more tamed. I wondered if I could use this same technique to create a sustainable braided style.
I sectioned the hair first, and then added the French Braid. This created a French braid with a little more pizazz and longevity. Here are the full instructions on how to create a French braid on Mixed kid’s hair that lasts!
Recipe for French Braid Style for Mixed Kid’s Curly Hair
- Co-wash hair
- Deep Condition 30 minutes
- Add leave in conditioner
- Layer an oil to seal
- Apply a curl crème
- Use rubber bands and section hair into 1×1 inch squares.
- Smooth each section with a comb
- Use the sections to create a French Braid
Maintaining the Style
As we usually do, we spritz the hair throughout the week with a mixture of water, oil and aloe juice. We also added a little mouse to smooth down and hold the braids. Misha rocked this style from Monday through Friday.
On the fifth day we unbraided the French Braids. Then added more moisture and she was able to wear the sectioned hair as a second style. We could have also converted those sections into twist.
It can be disheartening to disappoint our mixed daughters when we cannot achieve a commercialized style that is meant for straight Caucasian hair. Elsa is defining a standard of beauty and reinforcing one image into young girl’s minds. We have taken that frustration as inspiration to create unique hairstyles that we share on Laufty Life.
To my delight, these styles have all the straight-haired girls at their schools asking my daughters, who did your hair? Hearing this is music to my momma ears!!
Dione Laufenberg is the founder of Laufty Life. She is mommy to two perfectly blended beauties who recognized the challenges of caring for their hair. As an expert in wellness and relaxation, she has a Bachelors degree in Psychology and license for massage therapy, nail technician and Aesthetician.
Having owned a boutique day spa that offered luxury spa treatments she has a passion for self care, preventative healthcare and pampering. Now channeling her knowledge into her writing, she gives a unique narrative to being a black women raising biracial daughters. Laufty Life is a resource for biracial children’s hair. Providing regimens, hairstyles and positive self love tips.
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