This is what our Li-Li looks like after we wash and condition her hair. Isn't she a ham?
We start sectioning her hair using long clips and metal comb. I'll post pictures of the tools later.
Sometime we get creative in our sectioning. It is popular to do zig-zags. Just a note...we have been told to straighten her hair as we section it...but we have not been able to pull that off!Straightening makes the hair much shinier and not as fuzzy when you braid and bead it. The best way to straighten is using a hot comb. We have not tried that yet.
This time we made bigger sections, using a small black elastic to hold each section. The larger sections we split into 5-6 braids per section. The smaller section only needed 1-3 braids each. We add 8-9 beads to each braid. The more beads, the heavier and neater the braid. We use a beading wand to add the beads. Once you string the beads on, you secure the braid with a black elastic. You wind the end of the braid around the final bead, and secure the end ABOVE the last bead, to make a loop. Again, I'll post pics of the tools, and how to use them, the next time we bead her hair. I just did not get around to it this time!
It can take 2-4 hours to bead her hair, depending on the style and how many sections we are using. We keep her happy by doing this later in the afternoon or evening, and having a good DVD playing as we do it. She is pretty patient about it!We can usually leave the beads in for two weeks, although she does get a bit fuzzy headed by the end of the second week.
