We are back to school this week after eight (yes, eight!) weeks off. I’ve spent the last week getting everyone back into some semblance of school morning and evening routine so day one doesn’t come as too much of a culture shock and I thought it might be handy for some readers if I share how we organise our school hair ‘stuff,’ two simple hairstyles for long hair and the hairbrush that has literally saved my sanity as the Mum of a child with long hair who hates to have it brushed!
First up, our school hair ‘stuff’ is stored all together in an empty, reusable baby wipes container. It is just the right size for keeping everything together but really any similarly sized plastic container would do. I like keeping everything together as I often do Immy’s hair while she is sitting at our breakfast bar but sometimes it is at the kitchen table or the lounge room or in her bedroom, so this way I just grab the box and take it where it needs to go. In the box is a small spray bottle that was previously filled with a commercial kids detangler. I now make our own using this recipe from The Organised Housewife, just refilling the bottle each time. The addition of conditioner is great for keeping the knots away and you can also add a few drops of tea tree oil to help keep those nasty head lice at bay.
Immy has long hair and I am paranoid about lice so I keep her hair tied back in plaits, close to the head every. single. day. I keep her school hair ties, scrunchies and clips in a travel soap container (Immy is required to wear black hair accessories as part of her uniform, her fancy, out of school hair accessories are kept elsewhere). The soap container is also great for transporting hair ties and clips when you are travelling.
Also in the box is a small regular hairbrush that keeps AJ entertained while I do Immy’s hair 😉 and the best hairbrush ever for children with medium or long length, curly or wavy hair that snags easily – the Tangle Teezer
. A local hairdresser recently introduced it to me and I could kiss her as we have gone from daily grumbles, dramatic exclamations of ‘Ouch! That hurts!’ and the occasional tears to a much more peaceful hair brushing experience. The Tangle Teezer fits comfortably in your hand and has these tiny bristles that just pull less – I have no idea how or why!?! Immy has even started brushing her own hair with it as without a handle it is much easier for children to co-ordinate hand to head.
2 Long Hair Hairstyles for School
As mentioned previously, Immy wears plaits or braids in her hair to school everyday. Often times they are just two simple plaits or braids but sometimes she gets bored and asks me to do something a little fancier. Time is of a premium in the morning so our fancy has to be simple! Here are two styles that have worked for us…
Fancy Plaits
This crossover plait duo is really easy to do, requiring no fancy braiding just a series of plaits, but Immy gets compliments every time I do it. I start by parting the hair down the middle. I then take a small section of hair from one side at the front of the crown and form a plait. I hold the end of the plait temporarily with a hair clip (see below right for an example) and repeat on the other side.
I cross the two plaits and secure each in place with a section of hair which is roughly half of the hair on that side. I then remove the clips and again form two plaits with the hair in each bunch, securing with clips, and repeat the process of crossing over and securing into a bunch with the remaining hair. Then plait the ends, secure and you are done.
Fishtail plaits
A fishtail plait or braid uses two sections of hair to form the plait rather than three.
I part Immy’s hair in the middle and secure each bunch with a hair elastic. The I section one individual bunch into two. To form the plait I take a section of hair from behind the right section (I take about a third of the available hair, you can make your plait finer by taking less but it will take more time – what really matters is that you take roughly the same amount each time), pass it over the front of the right section hair and add it to the hair in the left section. Repeat on the left side and then keep alternating until you reach the bottom of the plait and then secure with a hair tie. Repeat for the second side. It’s a little hard to show with still photos but there are lots of video tutorials on Youtube.
I would love to hear how you organise your hair ‘stuff’ and what styles your kids love for school – especially those with medium and long length hair.
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
