Ask Nik G of BeadsBraidsBeyond

I love your latest Avatar!!!

Thanks sweet! Loving yours as well!

THIS AVI IS AWESOME [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hi Nik!

I do not have a little girl (yet) but I follow your blog (I love the tips and styles for myself! lol!)...This thread is awesome! I have a little boy...i am thinking about getting him a satin pillow case..lol! I agree with the other ladies the avatar is gorgegous! I am going to let my friends with daughters know about your blog! Keep it up! I have learned a lot for myself just reading it!

Here is Junior

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Thanks so much Intelligentbeauty & MahoganyCurls!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

MC, I didn't even know you had a son, he is SOOOO ADORABLE! Those eyes!! And look at those little curls, soo cute! How old is he? My son turned 1 in April. btw, I was just watching one of your videos the other day on NC's youtube channel, I love them!

*CurlyNikki* wrote:Nik G of BeadsBraidsBeyond is dishing on ways to keep baby girl's natural hair healthy and beautiful, without pulling yours out!

Ask your questions here!

Im so glad to see you on here!! I have a question for you, have you ever blow dried A's hair and if so what were your results, and thoughts about it?

Here is the thing my daughter has very tightly coarse hair and her haor looks good for about a day or so, but then her edges get really crazy by almost day 3. Her edges are long enough to braid/cornrow, but they never stay in the cornow for that long and it starts looking crazy around day 3 or so. So I was thinking that maybe if I blow dried her hair first it might help a little. So I was ucrious to see if you or any other curly parents have done this on their little ones. By the way she is almost 2 1/2 years old. Some styles I do, her edges last longer. Below are a few pictures of her with her hair braided.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Just a style I tried with some beads on the ends. I never have a set style in mind I just go with th eflow. I have trouble with coming up with designs and things also. They never end up the way I envision them too.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Sideview of the same style, her edges actually look pretty good here, but you can still see them coming out..

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Baby picture about 8 or 9 months, I think.
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I know she is gonna get me for this one. LOL But her hair with some conditioner in it..


I would also love for her to wear her hair out some days to let it breath, but when I do styles with puffs, by the end of the day it looks like one big dry cotton ball with everything in it.

ANY COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!

Hi laleepop,

She is so adorable! Love her first style.

I don't blow dry A's hair. To stretch it out before styling I usually band her hair. I think blow drying is really unnecessary use of heat because there are other ways to stretch the hair out. I think if her edges come out of the style, while it may not look so neat, you should probably just leave them alone and moisturize them. Trust me, A's hair doesn't stay perfect throughout the week, I just moisturize and leave it alone. lol I definitely don't want her edges breaking off, or your little one. Maybe you can do other styles that might cover her edges, like box braids and stuff like that.

Moisturize and let them be free!

Hope that helps!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Happy Mother's Day!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

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Aww Thanks Lynnie!! I hope you had a great Mother's Day as well!! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ummm Ok that post is all messed up...lol.

For you and A:
http://tiashauntee.blogspot.com/2010/05/six-cornrows-with-bow.html

I wanted to do a more complicated one but my time was limited.

Hey NikG,

I tried my version of box braids and this was a tremendous help! Her top lasted almost a week without me having to redo. I did have to plait the back and sides again. Her back is a trouble area but in a week I can see improvement. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

NikG20 wrote:Hi laleepop,

She is so adorable! Love her first style.

I don't blow dry A's hair. To stretch it out before styling I usually band her hair. I think blow drying is really unnecessary use of heat because there are other ways to stretch the hair out. I think if her edges come out of the style, while it may not look so neat, you should probably just leave them alone and moisturize them. Trust me, A's hair doesn't stay perfect throughout the week, I just moisturize and leave it alone. lol I definitely don't want her edges breaking off, or your little one. Maybe you can do other styles that might cover her edges, like box braids and stuff like that.

Moisturize and let them be free!

Hope that helps!

I havent tried box braids yet, but think her hair will love it!!! Thanks for the feedback and I love your blog, I have found soooo many styles and ideas from it. Thank you for taking the time to do all that you do...

@tia- I saw! Looooved it!

@coilylove, that is so great! I love hearing stuff like that. I really love boxbraids. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Would love to see pics sometime!

@laleepop, Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Keep me posted!!!

My daughter is 13months old and has a lot of hair already. Her hair looks like your daugther's in the pic you have posted now (avatar) but shorter. Wondering did you style your baby's have at 1yr and what products should i try (don't think our hair likes butters, CD healthy hair butter made her hair hard and stiff). I've always thought braids would pull the hair and damage it...any and all
advice is welcomed....Thank you[img][/img]

Hey patmichele,

Well my daughter wasn't blessed with a head full of hair as a baby, lol. So she didn't have many styles at all, the only thing I knew how to do at the time was pigtails. So she either wore her hair out or had pigtails.

Since your daughter is so young, I think all natural products are the way to go. I love Bee Mine Products on my daughters hair! I use CURLS (Curly Q's) line on my sons hair (currently) though. He is just a little older than your daughter. www.beemineproducts.com and www.curls.biz I have a few reviews on my blog as well.

Now as far as styles, I think with the little ones keeping it simple is best. No tight ponytails and when you do use elastics for ponytails make sure you cut them out as soon as you get home. If you can do box braids on her hair now I think that would be cute. I don't see how braids would pull the hair out unless you are doing it too tight. Just be mindful of the scalp, make sure you are being gentle, and while her hair is in braids make sure you still moisturize when needed. You can add one of those cute little baby bows or headbands while her hair is in box braids or while it's all out. If you want to try emailing me a picture maybe we can chat more and think of some more styles. beadsbraidsbeyond@yahoo.com

Nik...Do you have any advice/tips on how to combat thinning edges? For some reason, my oldest daughters hairline looks JACKED UP...And her hair is normally in twist, so there is definitely not a lot of tension on her edges.

TIA

Hi Nik! On your blog you gave good reviews on the Bee Mine hair products and on the Blended Beauty hair products. Have you chosen indefinitely between the two? I ask because I'm not sure which line I would rather try, haha

oooop2 wrote:Nik...Do you have any advice/tips on how to combat thinning edges? For some reason, my oldest daughters hairline looks JACKED UP...And her hair is normally in twist, so there is definitely not a lot of tension on her edges.

TIA [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hey oooop!

Unfortunately I don't think I can help much on this one. I know you keep her hair in twists and I doubt you do any tight ponytails or anything. Do you moisturize that area well? You know your stuff so I would imagine you do! Some of the ladies talk about castor oil for growing back/thickening up your edges, can you try a little of that on her? Or have you?

For A's edges/nape area I always apply a little more moisturizer, just like on her ends. Wish I could help more! Keep me posted!

TriniCherryPrincess wrote:Hi Nik! On your blog you gave good reviews on the Bee Mine hair products and on the Blended Beauty hair products. Have you chosen indefinitely between the two? I ask because I'm not sure which line I would rather try, haha

Hey!

I like the lines for different things. Bee Mine I loooooove for moisturizing her hair and for styling her hair in styles like braids, twists, cornrows. I haven't tried it yet on her curls, like defining or letting her wear her hair out. I will definitely be trying it for that some time this Summer though.

I loooove the Blended Cutie Down & Out styles for defining her natural curls. The best part is the day 2 hair. I think you saw the pictures from the next morning, we have never experienced that before! And she slept with her hair all out. Again, I haven't tried this for styles like braids, twists, etc. I need to do that as well! lol

I definitely use Bee Mine a lot more, like on a daily basic now but I would consider bee mine products and the down & out styles staples for sure. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

NikG20 wrote:

TriniCherryPrincess wrote:Hi Nik! On your blog you gave good reviews on the Bee Mine hair products and on the Blended Beauty hair products. Have you chosen indefinitely between the two? I ask because I'm not sure which line I would rather try, haha

Hey!

I like the lines for different things. Bee Mine I loooooove for moisturizing her hair and for styling her hair in styles like braids, twists, cornrows. I haven't tried it yet on her curls, like defining or letting her wear her hair out. I will definitely be trying it for that some time this Summer though.

I loooove the Blended Cutie Down & Out styles for defining her natural curls. The best part is the day 2 hair. I think you saw the pictures from the next morning, we have never experienced that before! And she slept with her hair all out. Again, I haven't tried this for styles like braids, twists, etc. I need to do that as well! lol

I definitely use Bee Mine a lot more, like on a daily basic now but I would consider bee mine products and the down & out styles staples for sure. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

Thanks, that was very helpful. I guess I'll wait to see if you post anything more about the two lines.

Thanks for the response Nik...For all I know she could be 1 of those kids that like to pull on her hair.

How often do you do A's hair? Like 1-2x/week? Your styles are so detailed, PLEASE don't tell me you do it more that once a week...LOL

And do you ever trim A's ends? I just gave both girls a good trim, and OMG, what a difference it made in the appearance and feel. Now I need to tackle mine...

So I think I am finally gonna give Bee Mine another try. This time I am gonna purchase the moisturizer like you suggested.

Give me the step by step process of how you use Bee Mine products for twisting. After I rinse out my deep conditioner, would you suggest using the Moisturizer and the Curly Butter only? I usually apply a leave in, oil, my shea butter mix, then the curly butter. So I guess my question is do you still use a leave in conditioner along with the products?

I call myself checking the blog [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] but I didnt find it.

Lynnieluve wrote:So I think I am finally gonna give Bee Mine another try. This time I am gonna purchase the moisturizer like you suggested.

Give me the step by step process of how you use Bee Mine products for twisting. After I rinse out my deep conditioner, would you suggest using the Moisturizer and the Curly Butter only? I usually apply a leave in, oil, my shea butter mix, then the curly butter. So I guess my question is do you still use a leave in conditioner along with the products?

I call myself checking the blog [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] but I didnt find it.

Yeah Nik...I want to know step by step also....

oooop2 wrote:Thanks for the response Nik...For all I know she could be 1 of those kids that like to pull on her hair.

How often do you do A's hair? Like 1-2x/week? Your styles are so detailed, PLEASE don't tell me you do it more that once a week...LOL

And do you ever trim A's ends? I just gave both girls a good trim, and OMG, what a difference it made in the appearance and feel. Now I need to tackle mine...

lol No, Nowadays I leave her styles in for 1-2 weeks but I always wash 1x per week and cowash after swimming.

I have not trimmed her ends, she did have an accidental trim (see this weeks QOTW) from her grandma though when she was 2. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] BUT I really need to get her a trim!! I know for a fact I am going to get her a trim before the end of Summer. I'm thinking end of July, early August? I need a cut myself so maybe we can do it together. I'm still not sure where to take her. We don't have any natural salons in our area so I don't know. I'll figure it out. Did you do their trims? How did you do it? About how much did you take off? I was thinking an inch for her...