IMPORTANT POST READ & SHARE!

Hi everyone!  I have missed blogging so much, but with Summer Fun comes summer gymnastics training for gymnasts.  Translation:  YOU NEVER LEAVE THE GYM!  I also teach dance to the gymnasts each day in the summer so not only do my kids not leave the gym, I don't leave the gym.  


However, I am taking pictures of the summer hairstyles I've done and will blog about them soon.  I have been blessed to have done wedding styles, flower girls and even birthday party princess styles lately so it has been fun! 

This blog post is a bit more serious and I am BEGGING for your SUPPORT!  The following is from a dear friend of mine, Ashley.  The nephew she speaks of, Maddox, is the 4 year old son of her sister and another person I am blessed to call a friend, Autumn.  Please pass the word and please help!! (below the fundraising post is a small history on Maddox's condition)

Many of you know about the journey of my 4 year old nephew Maddox. We have seen many specialists and haven't any answers. Maddox continues with daily leg pain and bouts of Paralysis. Still continues to fight the fight with his strong will in ...life. August 14th we see a new Dr. and pray for new hope. The reason for this post is to let you know we are hand making felt flower headbands or flowers on barrettes. Our goal is to help off set the cost of Maddox's appt. If anyone would like to make a donation of $7.00 (actual plus s&h) and receive one of these they come in white, orange, purple yellow, turquoise and pink. As each one is hand made petal by petal they are all uniquely different. Prayers and donations are gladly welcome. Please help by placing your orders by emailing me at mommyknie@gmail.com. Please include the number of felt flowers you need, color, headband or Barrette. Our plan is to have these completed prior to Maddox's appt. on August 14th. Thank you in advance for helping Maddox.                        


Please note that local families will not have s&h costs.  However I have wonderful blog followers throughout the states and the world so the s&h was added.  I will keep it as cheap as possible. It is more important for us to help this family than anything!!

From Maddox's Mom:  My heart is overwhelmed with all the love and prayers, yet I am still humbled at His feet. I'm reminded that God is love and that His grace is enough. We are overjoyed in the fact that through all of this our amazing Lord gets praise and glory. Maddox was recently diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus, we learned yesterday that his brain is creating 5 times the normal amount of spinal fluid, which is causing it to back up in multiple areas of his brain and has created an unsafe amount of pressure that Maddox cannot live with. Our prayer is that God heals Maddox so that brain surgery will not be necessary. Thanks for all the prayers.




MamaSalon GIVEAWAY 
As a THANK YOU for your support  When ordering your clips/ headbands, please mention MamaSalon in your email and you will be entered to win a copy of Dominique Moceanu's new book from the GO-FOR-GOLD Gymnast Series 

REACHING HIGH

orders must be in & paid


for by August 12th so


please hurry!   




I have confirmed that they do have alligator clips so you simply can ask for those which are so easy to use!  Remember to think of Christmas gifts too!  Help Maddox and ease your shopping stress early!


As always you can contact me at mamasalonblog@gmail.com or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MamaSalonBlog?ref=hl 
If you feel more comfortable placing orders through me I can help too 

Princess Leia Has Nothing On Us!

Awww it is so good to be back!  Like most moms the month of May makes us feel like hamsters on spinning wheels - mine seemed to be spinning ultra fast this year.  So today I took a breath.  Thankfully my ability to braid wasn't affected, but my photography ability was... the pictures are awful, so hang in there with me :-)

As you can see I decided to modify a previous hairstyle!  One I have come to name the sunburst at our home.  Not sure why, but it seemed to catch on. Because this is a modification of a previous style and my pictures were awful today, you may see me use some of the past pictures to show you how.


Start by parting the hair straight down the middle - as if you were making pigtails

I wish my part had been cleaner this morning but, believe it or not, this style was completed in less than 15 minutes (which may explain the awful pictures) so I decided perfection wasn't my goal.
Also, Boo's hair was half dry, half wet... I STRONGLY recommend that your child's hair be wet or dry, the in between stage is awful to braid as it sticks together a lot.


Then, secure one side of the hair so it stays out of your way

Now, stand to the side of your child (by their ear) and comb out the side you will be working with towards you.  Then, stand behind them (trust me on where to stand - it will save you many grunts) and take a 1/2" - 1" section of hair close to the part. Boo has a lot of hair so I went with the larger amount.

Then flip it to the side so it stays out of your way.  Continue to take about the same amount of hair so you end up with a center ponytail and loose hair all around.  As you can see in my picture, the circle of the ponytail does not have to be perfect.

Now, bring back the section you flipped over and you will want to part it where you will start braiding. I recommend standing at your child's side and parting it more towards the back right .  

Notice I flipped the front hair of the part forward so it stays
out of my way

Now you are actually done with the hard part!!!  It is time to braid.  I will reference an old picture to help you understand the beginning of the braid. Remember this?

In order to start the braid you will take TWO small sections from the hair outside the ponytail and TWO  small sections from the hair in the ponytail.  Join ONE section from the ponytail and ONE from the outside together creating the middle section of a braid.  In other words, picture a traditional braid, the hair on the right will be made up of only hair from the outside section, the middle part will be a bit of both sections and the hair on the left will be only from the ponytail. Then you begin a regular french braid.You will bring SMALL sections from the outer section on the right and SMALL sections from the ponytail on the left.  Be careful to keep the ponytail sections small as they need to last you all the way around the circle.   

Keep repeating this all the way around and when you come to the end finish with a traditional braid as far as you can go. Then tuck the braid into the circle.  Now, Boo has really long hair so I had to have a little cute loop on the outside, I wasn't sure about it at first, but I ended up liking it.  If your child has less hair, or shorter hair, you won't see this loop. 

They weren't totally even - my 1st attempt &
a total of 15 minutes... it was still super cute! 

Worms & A MOHAWK

It feels like I have been gone for so long!  Well like most moms the end of the school year means a very full calendar so, even though my hair styles continue at home (and yes, I do take pictures!) I haven't posted them all.  So, I have some catching up to do.  


Every once in a while a hairstyle you try comes out totally wrong and from that you develop a new, sometimes even greater style.  Or... what starts out as a joke turns out to be a pretty great style.  That seemed to be the case last Friday for me with my "Boo".  It was crazy hair day at her school and we decided to do a "Worm Mohawk".  Sounds crazy enough right?!?!  Well, how did we know that it would turn out pretty and her friends would end up asking me to do this "on a regular day".  Go figure!  


Please excuse some of the blurry pictures - since I didn't really see this as a hairstyle that would be used that often (or even posted on this blog) I wasn't taking very many so I couldn't be selective. 


Now, unlike the styles I usually like for school, this one requires quite a few hairpins and, although it isn't hard, it is very time consuming so if you plan on doing this style make sure you have a great TV show, allow yourself 20-30 minutes (30 if it is your first time) and be sure you look at my video on twist braids if you are not familiar with them already.  The video is on my two previous posts.  

Have the following handy and ready: 

* a fine toothed comb
* a spray bottle or detangle spray if your child's hair is dry 
       (helps pull the ponytails tight & twist braids smooth)  
* a good amount of small rubber bands that match your child's haircolor 
 (very light blonds should actually use white bands as they blend really well - 
    a trick I learned this weekend :-) 
*  Hairpins that match your child's hair
*  Hair Serum or Shine Spray and Sparkles (optional) I just listed this as I used it
Begin by making 4 ponytails in a line down the center of the head.  The size of the ponytails should depend on the amount of hair.  

Make sure they are in a straight line and make sure the first one is a tad further back on the head and the last one is a bit higher off the neck this will help the mohawk stay closer together. 

You can see if you look close that my top pony is
secured back & the last is secured as high up as I could

You will find that it is near impossible to have equal amounts of hair in each pony - don't worry about that.  What IS important is to make sure the hair going into the ponytail is tight and slicked back.  You can use a fine toothed comb for this and a spray bottle or detangle spray to pull the hair back (or both).

After you have secured the ponytails begin by taking small sections of hair and making a ton of twist braids.  The smaller the sections the more impressive it will look.  However, there has to be a balance because it the section is too small the hair will simply slip from your hands as you try to braid it :-(  When I do the twist braid on this style I begin by spraying the hair with detangler, then I comb it with a fine-toothed comb, coat it with a small amount of serum and then begin my braid.  By doing this the twist stays tight and shiny.  Seeing as it was supposed to be a WORM, I was aiming for small, tight and shiny worms :-) 

Continue making these braids throughout the hair.  Once again, thank you the 7:30 a.m. airing of Spongebob Squarepants for holding my daughters attention through this adventure LOL That cartoon is getting a lot of free advertising here!  HA HA HA  To be honest, "Mama" loves it too so it keeps me a happy stylist! 

Once your braids are complete it is time to twist them and pin.  There was no rhyme or reason to my twist or pinning.  

I would loop it around the pony above it and then pin it and then the next one I would simply make a circle without looping it and pin it.  The only "rule" is to keep it close to the middle to keep the "MOHAWK" look.  So PIN PIN PIN away and before you know it.... TA DA! 

Simply pin any "fly-aways"

Sparkle if you wish, hairspray the heck out of it, and take a picture as you come to terms that you actually willingly gave your child a mohawk! 

Awwww it's good to be back!  :-)  HAPPY FRIDAY!   

That's Glitter in their hair but the camera makes it look like lint :-) 

PS - My daughter's gymnastics team competed this weekend and they all sported this style.  Not only was I able to teach the assistant coach this style using only the blog, the two of us easily did the hair on each gymnast (they have various textures of hair) and they looked AMAZING!  We received a ton of compliments and the girls loved a style that didn't interfere with their moves!!! 
Ballerinas I can only imagine what this would look like for your recitals! 

A Pre-Hairspray View from the top! 

PEANUT'S CRAZY HAIR DAY

Well today was CRAZY HAIR DAY at my daughter's school.  I love the hairstyle I decided to do for her.  The truth is that this is a style I love to have for her on a regular day, I simply made it a bit more colorful by adding colorful rubber bands and a ton of clips to make it "crazy".

After seeing my Twist Braid tutorial video and becoming an expert :-) you are ready to do this style in no time at all... it is actually very easy to do.  Here it is again in case you haven't seen it.  (as I mentioned in my other post, the volume is low so you will have to crank it up)

Begin with pulling the hair into a tight ponytail.  It creates a better effect if the hair is slicked back into the ponytail.

Take sections of the ponytail and do various, small twist braids.  If you are doing this for a spunky look, then make the twist braids smaller and do more of them (as I have done here).  If you are making a more everyday look then perhaps you should stick to making 4 or 5 twist braids.  

When braiding, leave a bit of hair at the ends (this makes it easier anyway). 

After making twist braids using all the hair in the ponytail begin to twist the hair around the ponytail and then clip the ends of the hair against the scalp.  Again if you are looking to make an everyday look then put the clips evenly apart against the scalp in 1/2 circle formation (or sun as I like to call it).  

It is important that you remember to twist each one around the ponytail first or it will be way too long.  After clipping it you may want to use a bobby pin close to the center of the ponytail to keep the sections in place.  

A bit blurry, but you can see how I am taking
the twist braid and twisting it around the pony.
You can also see where I am pinning it in place. 

Keep repeating this with all the braids and place them in different locations.  Of course more "displaced" if you are going for something funky and more strategic if you are going for stylish.

Again, I OVERDID IT on purpose with the butterfly clips - it's crazy hair day after all! And, then I HAD TO tease the ends... You have many choices with the ends:  tease, curl, leave alone... it's up to you.  But.... If you can find it in yourself to look past the clips you can see a really cool bun-ish style.  It's almost looking like a sun with it's rays.  Then I sprayed it with glitter - OF COURSE!

A view from the top with the teased hair

My Crazy Little Peanut!

Twist Braid Video

The fastest most simple braid I have done on my girls is the twist braid.  It also looks really great and makes other ordinary styles look extraordinary.  So, as much as it is out of my comfort zone, I did a very small, tutorial video on the twist braid so you can see how truly easy it is.  The volume on the video is a bit low (I am sorry for that - It was early in the morning) so turn up your computer volume :-)

Mama is SAD!

So I know it was bound to happen, but my "Boo" came downstairs with a .... wait for it..... headband in her hand and said "Mama can I just wear my hair down?"  GASP!  Then when I looked like the sad little mama she giggled.  Poor little me.  


However, I still have the power (I tiny bit of it) and convinced her to do a bit of something with the back. The truth is she has a ton of hair (like many of our kids) and if I simply let her go all day with a headband I will be pulling out knots like crazy.  Not to mention kids (even 8 year olds) simply do not keep headbands in all day.  So, here is a simple way to make sure that when the headband comes off their hair is out of their face. 

Although you can do this style very easily without the tool I used, I found this awesome tool in my daughter's playroom that makes the twist braids a cinch! I believe it is found at Walmart or other toy stores like that.  I did 4 twist braids in under 2 minutes.  

If you don't have a tool like this, or it the hair is thick (it won't fit into the tool) then split it into two sections and twist both sections the same direction (individually) - I prefer to the right.  Then, twist them together the opposite direction (in my case to the left).  


SO clearly not my MAMASALON style, but I had a tad of success in this sad moment :-) 
On the other hand, I had a very happy 8 year old! 

Even Gymnasts Go To Prom

Prom!?!  Thank Goodness Mine Isn't There Yet.....

So my one of my daughter's gymnastics coaches sent me a picture of her prom dress.  Yes, I do feel old.  In fact, my daughter's head coach, was the coach to this same girl!  Time flies - so sad. 


Anyway, as I looked at the back of her dress I wanted to come up with a style that would work for her, but would also work for younger girls as well.  Perhaps this would work for Flower Girls, Jr. High dances or even dance recitals.  This hairstyle probably would be fine for gymnastics practice, but I highly doubt my daughter's coaches would approve it for competition.


There are a few variations (depending on the thickness of your hair). I did my daughter's with four braids, but I have seen it done with three thicker braids and it looks a bit looser, but really pretty for an older girl.  You would need more pins for the three braid style to hold through the night. 
I think I will try the three braid variation soon and post it.  I have to convince my daughter .... hummm time for a bribe!  


Start by evenly dividing the hair into sections and securing them with loose bands.

Then take the band out begin braiding them one at a time.  

As you can see my gloves made an appearance.
Too tired to take them off for pictures.  Gotta
love being allergic to hair products :-( 

As you can see by the picture below, in this style the braids will be hidden so you can get away with stopping the braid if you have layered hair, putting a rubber band in it, and then restarting it.  

Depending on how you want the style to end you will want to leave hair at the end of each braid: anywhere from 2 inches (if you are tucking the hair in), about 3 inches (if you are going to rat the hair for a funkier look or put small curls for a cute look) and up to 4-5 inches (if you have long hair and want to cascade curls down).  Please remember that if you choose to cascade the curls you should pin them in place as they can weigh down your hair and can cover up the style you worked so hard to do.   I left about 3 inches as I assumed I was going to rat her hair or curl it - I figured I would decide on it when I was done.  


Continue braiding the same way with all four sections.

Now you will simply be knotting the sections together.  Begin going left to right (for these instructions lets call the braid on the far left "braid 1" and the far right will be "braid 4".


Take Braid 1 and Braid 2 and tie them together. Then pull the ends of the braids to the knot is laying against the head.  You will then repeat this.  Now, Take the longer braid which is in position 2 and tie it with Braid 3 the same way you just did with 1 and 2.  Then, take the longer strand and repeat the process with Braid 4.  Always making sure you are pulling lightly at the braids so the knot comes up and lays against the head.  

When you tug at the braids they should come up and
lay against the head like this.  I tugged after knot 1
Then repeated and did knot 2 to make it easier.
Then I went on to tie strand 2 with BRAID 3. 

When you are done with all your knots you should look like this :-)  LOVELY!  

By the way... Don't worry about the lines you see from parting the hair.  

We will take care of those at the end.  

When you are all done knotting your braids together, gather the ends in your fingertips as shown in the picture and secure the ends with a rubber band.  I suggest using a band that matches your hair color.  However, my daughter wanted it to match the green in her shirt :-)   Then you can add only one or two hair pins IF you see that the mini ponytail you made is pulling forward.  I tried this style on my hair and it pulled forward, but it didn't seem to on my daughter.

  Now since this was for my daughter I just tossed in a ribbon.  However, you can fancy this up for a wedding or prom.  There are so many accessories you can find at your local store that are super cheap!  In fact a friend of mine asked me to help with a wedding this summer so I have kept my eyes open and found a few for her and her little Flower Girl daughter (you can see some of the ideas at the end of this post).  

I wish my picture of the finished style had turned out.
I just tucked in the few hairs that were going astray. 

Love the side view.  The accessories below show some of
those gems that they sell that go in like corkscrews.  If you
tuck in the top and simply put simple gems on the sides
this would be stunning! 

Anyway,  at this point you can tuck in the ends, curl them, spike them... be creative.  As far as the lines from the part go, simply spray the hair lightly with hairspray and take a fine-toothed comb like the one I have pictured below and comb downward joining the hair together.  You will see them disappear.  Then you can do an overall spray of the hair.  

you can see the lines in the pictures above... this is after
combing them out. 

Here are the accessories I found at my local drugstore.  I have always seen them at stores in the mall too, but I always get my bank account in trouble when I go to mall accessory stores so I stay clear!  ha ha ha 

Obviously I am not trying to advertise for any of these companies, but the accessories are cute and they can be found easily :-)