Hair Day

(I wrote this on the 13th and am just getting around to posting it. I had a hard time getting pictures of their hair for the post....still not the best pics, but you get the idea.)

Saturday was hair day at the Emett house. Madison has been begging me to cut her hair short. I have been reluctant because:

1) Her hair is the longest it has ever been.

2) It's so easy to pull into a pony-tail for a quick hairdo.

3) She looks so much like her birth mom with her hair long like that.

But I gave in and began cutting. I put her hair in a pony-tail, then cut off about 5 to 6 inches. When I took out the elastic, her hair had a cute A-line. I trimmed it up to make it even and then let her take a look. She came back and said one word, "SHORTER!" So, I pulled it into a pony-tail again and cut off another 2 to 3 inches. She seems to really like it and it does look cute on her, though it makes her look even older to me.

(I know hot chocolate and swimsuits sound like a funny combo in January!)

Then it was Steve's turn. He has been cutting his own hair lately because I had surgery on my hand in November and my ankle in December. His cut went as usual....just starting to see more gray hair. ;)

I usually keep the twins' hair in extensions. I cut them out in September or October and they haven't had them since. They hate getting their hair combed everyday, so the big advantage to the extensions is that I only have to spray their hair each day with some moisturizer/oil spray. I have done extensions a couple of ways:

1) I have used synthetic hair that is straight and unbraided and then I braid that into their natural hair. This takes about 8 hours for each child. I burn the ends (of the synthetic hair) with a lighter and usually have very tender fingers afterwards, but the extensions last for 6 to 8 weeks.

2) I have also done latch-hook extensions. You buy the synthetic hair already braided and curly. I cornrow their hair and then hook in the curly braids with a latch-hook. It only takes 4 hours to do and it looks really cute, but doesn't seem to last as long....probably because I am not great at cornrowing.

I have read about yarn extensions from people on Yahoo Groups and on blogs. I decided to give it a try. The method of braiding is about the same as #1 above, but no lighter (no burnt fingers) and easier to work with. I also read that their natural hair is able to breathe better and there is less breakage when you remove the extensions.

I started Savannah's hair on Friday. I conditioned it well, moisturized it and sectioned it off. I did just some simple 2-strand twists in each section, so she had a cute hairdo for the day. This took about 2 hours. On Saturday, I began the extensions. I cut all the yarn in advance. I started her hair around 1:00 and worked on it until about 4:00. I had to go to work, so I called it a day. I got home from work at 1:00 AM Sunday morning and worked on the extensions again while she slept. I finished at 3:15 AM. The next morning before church, I cut them all to make them the same length (about 30 minutes). So all in all, it took about 7 hours.....maybe a little less since I gave her breaks during the day when I worked on it.

It looks great and it is so easy now that it is done. She calls it her "Madi hair". I'm not sure why. Maybe because she can put it in a pony-tail now???



Now I just need to schedule a time when I can go without sleep so I can do Sierra's! :)