NEW COMPETITION STYLE!!!

Well I saw this on Pinterest and just had to try this.  Much to my surprise it was much easier than I though AND.... it laid FLAT on my daughter's head which means it is PERFECT for my little flipping gymnast! Now this was my first attempt and I must admit, I didn't think it would be a success so I took pictures mainly at the beginning and the end.  However, once you get the beginning and the end then the middle is simply repetition.  


So here we go.... HAVE FUN! 

Start with a part on the right side.  you want to take a section of hair approximately 1 1/2 - 2 inches around your child's head.  

Although you want the amount of hair to be even all the way around, you don't need the circle of hair to be perfect as no one will see it.  Once you have parted the hair, pull the middle section into a tight, neat ponytail.  

You will then begin braiding.  I prefer to begin on the right hand side.  The reason for this is simply a matter of gravity - when you end the style you want the braid to be able to tuck in on the right with limited use of hairpins (if any at all).  

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.  

Now you begin to 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 head.   

Continue the braid all the way around the head.  I highly recommend having your child on a higher stool and possibly sit on a chair while braiding the back or have your child put their chin to their chest to make it easier.  Don't worry if you see little hairs start to come out of the braid as these will not show at the end of the style.  

When you reach the top of your child's head you will not have hair to pull into the braid so continue braiding a traditional braid as far down as possible.  

Then, simply tuck the remaining section into the hair.  If your child's hair is shorter or if you are not using this for a sporting event, dance recital or gymnastics meet, then you can leave it without pins as gravity will hold it in place.   However, since my daughter was headed to practice I secured it with a total of 3 bobby pins.  

The picture I had originally seen of this style had clearly been done on shorter hair and the mom or stylist had a lot less to tuck in so when I finished and took these pictures I noticed the braid didn't lay flat due to Bella's long hair.  To fix this I simply laid the braid down flat, inserted a bobby pin along the braid and it stayed.  

Not only did the style stay, it stayed through 5 hours of being at the gym and it laid flatter than a bun so it didn't bother her during any of her skills!  I would call it SUCCESS...