Long Hair Styles on Little Girls

About fifteen years ago, I started to obey the Bible verses in 1 Corinthians 11: 1-16, which tell a woman to have long hair (my way of obeying this was not to cut my hair anymore at all), and to cover it when she prays or prophesies. It was a hard thing to come to terms with, as it certainly makes me stand out most places I go. But after a while, I came to terms with it, and even became very comfortable looking this way.

Soon after I came to this conviction, I gave birth to a little girl, and around eight years later, another little girl came into our lives through adoption. I let their hair grow, too. My biological daughter has never had her hair cut except for the time she did it herself when she was about three, and she cut the ends of her ponytails off when I neglected to put the scissors away. My adopted daughter came to me at the age of two and a half with short hair and bangs, but her hair has not been cut since she has lived with me.

Both girls have long, lovely, waist length hair, the older girl's hair is thick, curly and brown, and the younger girl's hair is silky, fine and blond.

With them both, I've had to find ways of containing their hair to keep it neat and tangle free.

Since we don't braid our hair because of the verses instructing us not to in 1 Timothy 2:9 and also 1 Peter 3:3, I had to find other ways of putting their hair up. I didn't want to spend a lot of time everyday. I just wanted something quick and trouble free that would last all day.

One quick way I learned was to part their hair down the middle and pull one side out of the way. Then I sectioned off the other side just above the ear and put in a ponytail holder. I took this portion of hair and added it to another section parted just under the ear, and put in another ponytail holder. Then I gathered the rest of the hair on that side and put in yet another ponytail holder, then repeated the process on the other side. This held almost like a braid would, and if you do it just right, it almost looks like a French braid in the way the sections appear.

Another way to do this same hairstyle that looks really nice and stays even better, is to make a 'knot' each time you put in a ponytail holder. The way to do this is: once you get the ponytail holder in, loosen it. Then, take your thumb and first finger and stick them in the middle of the hair, going from the underside, just above the ponytail holder. Grab the hair contained in the ponytail holder with your thumb and first finger, which are sticking up through the hair, and pull it through to the underside. Tighten it, and the ponytail holder should be hidden under the hair you just pulled through. Do this each time you make a ponytail. For a tutorial in this, there is a wonderful site on doing little girls hair at:

http://girlydohairstyles.blogspot.com/

Another style that looks really nice for church or any other formal occasion is to twist it. Once again, part the hair down the middle, and pull one side out of the way. Take the other half, and comb it like you are going to make a ponytail in the very front of the child's head, at the hairline near the forehead. Instead of putting a ponytail holder in, however, begin to twist the hair in the direction of the part. As you twist, let the hair naturally turn toward the back of the head. This takes a little practice to make it smooth. Once you get all the way to the back with the twist, fasten it down with a clippie while you twist the other side in the same way. When the second side reaches the spot you stopped at with the first side, unfasten the first twist and use a ponytail holder to fasten both twists together. Then stick your thumb and first finger from the bottom side of the ponytail holder up to the top, grab the hair from the ponytail in the same way you did in the first style and pull it down through the part you made. This time, however, keep rolling the hair around the ponytail holder in the same manner through the part, until there is no more hair left. Now the hair looks like a roll from one side of the head to the other. Place bobby pins in the hair to make it secure and spray it well with hair spray. This is a very beautiful, elegant style for a little girl.

We like to make buns, too. A simple way to make a pretty bun is to pull the hair back in a ponytail, twist it a little, then wrap the hair around and around the ponytail holder until all the hair is wrapped. Then take the tiny little clasps you can buy at the discount store, and clasp the bun to the hair with them evenly all around the bun. This holds amazingly well even for an active little girl, and it's very pretty. Once again, spray it well with hairspray to keep the wispy hairs in place.

These are just a few examples of the ways I have arranged my daughter's hair that keeps it out of their face and tangle free. Neat, clean hair is always attractive and a better testimony than messy hair if you are keeping your hair long as a religious conviction. Soon your daughter will cover her hair, too, and that simplifies things even more.

Experiment and find what works for you and you little girl.