Jada Pinkett Smith is a badass. Plain & simple. She flat-out SCARES ME, if I am being perfectly honest. I know she's under a buck in weight & 5 ft. tall in height or some shit, but I'm 100% sure she could kick ANYONE'S ass if given the chance. And this chick can rock Bantu knots with the best of 'em.
Jada, along with my new
obsession/time-killer/love Pinterest (you can follow me
here!), encouraged me to try some Bantu knots on my extremely straight-haired daughters. After all, I wanted them to have gorgeous, spiral-y, heat-free curls the next day like this girl, yo...
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| Click here to learn how to create-your-own Bantu knots! (or not... read on...) |
I started my experiment on Claire since her hair is more cooperative, she has more of it, and she's down with changing her hair often (just like her Mama!). I read & re-read the directions carefully, a bit unsure how to secure the knots, but I figured it out, and before long, my Mimi was sportin' knots like nobody's business!
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Damn microcephaly only allows me to fit FOUR knots on her tiny melon, but girlfriend ROCKED them!
For 24 whole hours. |
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| I *LOVE* your smile, Buggy Boo! |
What transpired 24 hours later still remains a bit of a mystery to me. I did it all CORRECT. I am SURE OF IT. I put the knots in wet, I spritzed with a little light gel/product, I secured them as well as I could, they LOOKED adorable (!), and I untwisted them just as described on the website. I could HARDLY WAIT to see the spiral curls & see if they really did last for days & this whole process was so EASY & CUTE & it was gonna be my new go-to hair-do for Claire especially, and OMG! Bantu knots ROCK!!!!! My girl was gonna be precious with her curls!!!!!!
F'in A.
I have the sudden urge to either sing "A-B-C, easy as 1-2-3" or paint some "happy little trees."
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| I gave my girl a 'fro. |
I immediately have flashbacks about the time in Kindergarten when I had long, sandy blonde hair similar in color to Claire's. I remember my Mom had the same dream for my class picture day -- curls! Although I'd never done so before, I slept overnight on those squishy pink rollers, and I could hardly wait to wake up & see my beautiful long curls! Imagine my own horror when THIS is how my hair ended up...
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"Hello, is it ME you're looking for?!?!?"
Can you find me?
Front row, 3rd from the left, purple dress, possibly smile-crying.
Complete with straight bangs & a cowlick to boot. OMFG. |
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Get a load of this action up close. That's so hott!!! (I've been reading wayyyy too many middle school texts!)
I do find it ironic though that I have my thumbs tucked into my fists.
Our girls do that ALL THE DAMN TIME (due to their high muscle tone/cerebral palsy/brain condition). Clearly only cool people do that. And wear Elizabethan-style, white collared, poofy-shouldered, empire waisted, floral dresses. Fan-friggin'-tastic. Poor 5-year old me. |
So yeah, I basically pink-rollered my daughter.
Now, how to fix it? OK -- if I tame it down a bit, it will still look cute & curly. Maybe some clips?
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| Aaahhhh. MUCH better. Channeling her inner-Diana. |
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| Rear view -- HA! A bit out of control, but I think it'll "fall" as the day goes on... yeah, that's it. SURELY it'll fall. |
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| Workin' the 1970 Instagram filter, yo. Seemed fitting. |
Day 2: Attempt to work with what she's got. Yes, I could give her a bath & be back to square 1, but where's the fun in that? I'm goin' for 4 puffs, in the original knot sections. It's gonna be SO cute.
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| Ummm, fail? Got more of a Bozo the Clown feel, dammit. |
Upon seeing the sheer size of Claire's 'do, Scott comments, "You know who you REALLY should do the knots on? POCKET!" So... I gave 'er a go...
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| Lola's noggin |
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| Shrek baby?! |
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| I found this picture both endearing & touching at the same time... love the knots, but WOW do they ever accentuate how teeny tiny Lola's head truly is. Kind of an eye-opening moment for me. Not to mention the skin wrinkling up on her skull due to her head/brain not growing properly. (sigh) |
While Lola's knots "cured" for 24 hours, we had some fun with Claire's mane.
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| She's an angry elf. Wait, is that Carrot Top?! |
I tried combing it out, as I'd not done that since I untwisted it that first day. Ummm, poor choice...
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| Even Romeo had to look away... he thought he saw Phil Spector! |
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| WTF??? Richard Simmons would be proud... but he'd definitely recommend some sequined shorts. |
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| Ready to ease on down, ease on down the rooooooad! Sooooo proud of herself & her big hair!!! |
I was ever-hopeful that Lola's hair would turn out differently than Claire's had... alas, it did not.
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| BOOM! |
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She put her lip out -- she's gonna cry!!! (<-- see video link for an example)
I would too! |
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| This look feels very "Will Ferrell in Zoolander"... no? |
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| Slightly tamed... |
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| Side profile. I LOVE staring-off-into-the-distance shots. |
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| It's ON, jackwipe. |
I blame Pinterest.
xo
11 comments:
OH my gosh!!! Hilarious--I wonder what happened--I can barely braid so I give you an A plus for effort!! The girls are still adorable no matter what--Lene will love that they were going for the curly look--because, well, you know--she wants her curls, straight. Sigh, never satisfied, are we? Lol! happy weekend!
I totally tried this the other night too. Exact same thing happened to me. I headed straight for the shower upon on doing my hair. Everything on pinterest looks so easy, and I manage to screw it up.
I seriously just laughed out loud. thank you. I ADORE your girls (and you!) they can ROCK any style the want ;)
Oh my girl! I just about peed myself reading your craziness! You and your girls rock a style all your own, and I think we all love you even more for it! You are all beautiful inside and out!
P.S. I hadn't seen that photo in years! Thank you for picking the only class pic ever taken of me that my mother didn't do something just as awful to me too! ;)
Oh my good.ness. That is hilarious. I'm still laughing, hysterically! I do sponge curlers on Sammy, but this...if I can get the same look that you did, I just may have to try it. This seriously is totally cracking me up! ahhh. This is the best part of my entire week! hahaha
I was laughing so hard, this is so something I would do! And I wouldn't have given up and washed it either, after all of that time and effort! They are beautiful, 'fros and all! :)
I found your blog yesterday and have been addicted to reading it sense. Just came across this gem of an entry while eating my cream of wheat. I am now cleaning it off the screen and keyboard. You and yours are amazingly strong peeps! Keep up the great job!
Oh my goodness, your girls are good sports and you're a nut! I love it! They're ADORABLE!
In the summer I wish I could go incognito everywhere since my silky smooth hair the second I walk out into the hot, humid southern heat and forget rain, goes poof, frizzy as all get-out and grows bigger every which way right in front of people's eyes, its a talent of sorts. I'm gonna rock the frizz now after seeing how well your girls rock the look. :~)
I just started following your blog yesterday and have been reading at work as much as possible. OMG I laughed so hard when I saw the picture of Claire!
Thanks for posting this, I've been wondering how the knots turn out on different types of straight hair (a lot of the pics/vids Ive seen the knots were taken out before fully dried--so kind of a failure). Perhaps try some setting gel or curl defining mousse if you ever do the bantu knots on them again, that and a few drops of anti frizz serum should tame that fro into more spirally curls.
Your daughters are adorable and totally rockin' those fros. I love the pic of Claire with the purple clips.
:)
Your girls are adorable!
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