Valentine's Day Hairstyles - Half Ponytail Ribbon Heart

Valentine's Day Hairstyles

A Braided Heart Half Ponytail With Ribbon Accent

We realized it is getting close to Valentines Day and we would probably only have time for one Heart Hairstyle tutorial this year. So, I asked "The Princess" to choose her favorite Valentine's Day hairstyle from our site for a video. She had a hard time narrowing it down to just one, but ultimately chose this half ponytail heart that we posted back in 2009.

This heart hairdo is quite simple and quick with no french braiding skills required. Perfect for a Valentine's Day party or dance, a flower girl hairstyle, or anytime you feel like wearing a heart in your hair!

Braided Ribbon Heart Hairstyle Video Tutorial:

The next day we made another hair style using almost the same technique shown above (with a few changes) and the style turned into this darling half updo shown below! I'm thinking this one would be cute for teens as well as little girls. Quite frankly, I may not have time to get the video uploaded before Valentine's Day, but if not... watch for it at a later date. ;)

Hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day! We would love to have you share your Valentine's Hairstyles on our facebook page. We want to see them! If you are looking for more V-day hair ideas, click here to see our collection from years past: Heart Hairstyles

How To French Braid For Beginners

Learning How To French Braid Tutorial - A Non Traditional Approach

Over our years of "hair blogging" I think the most highly requested video we have been asked for would have to be a how-to on french braiding. There are many great Youtube videos on this subject already, so I recommend searching there as well. I realize that everyone learns differently, so it might be helpful to watch several videos until you find one that explains it in the best way for you.

French braiding is one of those skills that is easy once you get the hang of it, but can be hard to learn at first (kind of like riding a bike!) It does require a lot of practice. I thought we would try a different approach for this video instead of the traditional method and I'm hoping this will be helpful!

How to french braid video:

When I first had this idea, I was hoping to find something that would grip the hair a little tighter and stay in place better, but was unsuccessful. As you can see in our video, our tricky tool (toe separator made by neat feet) really isn't the perfect solution. My thought is, if you can figure out how the braid is basically made while watching this video, hopefully it will be easier for you to practice with your hands and perfect the braid later.

Braided Headband - For Short Hair Too

Braid Headband:
A simple, quick and cute hairstyle.

If you are a regular visitor, you may have noticed that The Princess's hair is much shorter here. (No, we didn't cut her hair.) This hairstyle has actually been sitting on a "missing" card for a few years and was done right after we donated her hair to "Locks of Love." I was ecstatic to find this card which has many cute hairstyles that were never posted. YAY

To begin this style, you will want to make some "barbie bangs" by making a small part in the front and then take the hair on either side of the part and using water/gel slick it down behind her ears. (If you have bangs or fringe, you can skip this part.)
After you get the hair in the front smoothed down and arranged how you want it, bring the ends together in the back and tie together with a small elastic. (If your hair is not quite long enough to meet in the back, you could secure each side behind her ears instead.)
Next, grab a small section of hair behind the Barbie Bangs - on the side of her head and braid. (You will want to make sure and leave some hair out in front and on top of this section to help hide the parts later.)
Bring the braid over the top of her head to the other side and secure it in place by grabbing a small section of hair (behind the barbie bangs) and rubber band the braid/hair together. You could use bobby pins if you prefer, but elastic bands seem to hold better for us. This technique should work with fairly short hair! If you have longer hair, of course you could start the braid underneath her hair and bring it all the way around her head instead.
After you have the braid secured, you will probably want to try and hide the rubber band and parts on the other side of her head. To accomplish this, we added some curls with our curling iron and strategically placed them in a way that covered both where the braid started and ended. In the picture below, you can see that the first 3 curls we made are curled towards her face to help cover the rubber band.
And, the same curling technique was used on the other side to hide where the braid started.....
We actually used this style for her picture day hairstyle at school one year. I love the simplicity and classic look of it.
A side note: I can't get over how much she has grown up and how long her hair has gotten since this picture was taken. Everyone always says it, but it's true! They grow up so fast!!
Hope you enjoyed our easy and quick hairstyle tutorial for short hair. Sometimes simple can be very cute! :)