Quick And Easy Natural Hairstyles For School

Mornings are busy, especially if you have more than one child’s hair to style. This means you need to identify a few quick and easy natural hairstyles for school as well as a few preparation tips to make mornings easier.

Start The Night Before

Before we get to the hairstyles, let’s talk about the prep stage. Simplify your mornings by laying out what each of your kids will wear the next day, which can help you determine their hairstyle and accessories. Have your kids get involved in this process, helping to select their clothing, and finding hairstyles in magazines and on YouTube and social media. If their hair needs to be shampooed or detangled, do it the night before. Finally, gather your styling tools and have them set out and ready to go in the morning.

Super Defined Curls

Whether they will be wearing their hair down, half-up, or in a pony you can make sure their cute curls stand out. Defining curls will vary depending on how thick and long your child’s hair is, as well as what type of hair they have. Here are a few tips:

• If their hair is short (2 inches or shorter when gently stretched), spray it with water or a DIY spray conditioner
• If their hair is long, thick, or tangled, section it first
• Comb, brush, or run your fingers through the damp sections
• Apply a curly kid’s curl definer like Curls-A Poppin Soufflé
• Shape their curls one section at a time

Your child’s hair texture will determine how much work you must do to shape their curls. The tighter their curls the more you will need to manually shape, the looser the faster and easier it will be. You can further define loose curls by scrunching it. As they get older, you can put an attachment on your hairdryer to diffuse their hair on a cool or low heat setting.

Headband And Go

Headbands come in a variety of sizes and styles. For natural hair, you want to avoid any with built-in teeth as they will break and damage your little one’s hair. Also be mindful of headbands with non-slip backing, which can stick to and break their hair. On the flip side, some elastic headbands can be too slick, but you can hold them in place with a barrette.

Thicker cotton and cloth headbands with a bit of stretch are a fan favorite for natural hair. They keep hair back and out of your little one’s face so that they can study and play. You can put a headband on with a variety of high, mid, or low ponytails, but consider letting their curls go free. This might be fluffy afro, or you can define and shape their curls as described above. You could use a headwrap or pretty scarf instead of a headband.

Ponytails

Ponytail options are endless but think beyond a standard solo ponytail to parting their hair to create 2, 3, or countless mini ponytails. A rattail comb isn’t ideal for detangling or combing out natural hair, but it’s perfect for parting. Use either end of the comb to part, whichever is easier for you. For center parts, use the middle of their nose as a guide for where to center the part. Depending on their part pattern, you can also use the arch of their eyebrow as a guide for where to place their part or ponytail. Consider leaving a bit of hair free in the front for bangs, 2 parted braids, or 2 parted twists. If their hair is long or in their face, you can angle their bangs with a bobby pin or two. Slick their hair back with a soft-dry, crunch and flake free styling product such as Puffy Hold Me Down Baby Gelle. Here are a few fun and fast options to consider:

• Create an afro puff
• Add one or more braids to each ponytail
• Create a bun
• Create a ponytail or bun mohawk
• Do a half up and half down style
• Create one or more twists like in the 3 strand twist video below

Buns

We mentioned buns above, but let’s talk about them a bit more, as there are many cute ways to shape buns.

• Do a standard ballerina bun by creating a solo twist of a ponytail, then bobby pinning the twist in a circle around the ponytail
• Braid the ponytail, then bobby pin it in a circle around each ponytail
• Create a raised knot bun
• Use a bun form or create a sock bun like in the video below, which also demonstrates how to use a toothbrush for baby hairs

 

Braids 

Braids are great protective styles that you can do on the weekend to keep your child’s hair looking it’s best all week long. This could be any series of cornrows but not to worry if you aren’t a skilled braider yet, as French braids and Dutch braids are easy, and once they are mastered can be completed in the mornings. First, master a standard center French braid, then try a center part for two braids, and finally learn to wrap your braid around the front of their head.

Get creative and braid their hair into a ponytail like in the video below. Fast forward to 12:35 for this look.

 

For braids to last more than one day, ensure your little ones sleeps with a bonnet, headwrap, or on a silky pillowcase. Touch up their hair each morning with water and curly kid’s hair gel.

Finishing Touches 

Personalize your little one’s hair with a fun mix of hair accessories. While you may need matching brown and black bobby pins and barrettes, invest in at least a few with rhinestones, embellishments, or with fun pops of color. Your options in ponytail holders are endless. You may need to secure ponytails with thinner elastics first, but you can still layer a stylized option on top. Bows are fun too, which you can hand-tie with ribbon or buy attached to smaller hair accessories. Don’t forget to remove metal hair accessories before bedtime. Not only are they uncomfortable, but they can break and damage hair.

Here’s to easy hairstyling mornings!