Mini-Buns with Dutch Braid Accent

We took this style to dance class today (can you tell??).  Two tiny buns with a braid going into one. 

As (almost) always :) , start with a large box part on top of her head.  Then part out an arc at the front of her head: 

Do a Dutch braid (inside-out French braid), starting on the left (or whichever side you prefer), and braiding out as far as you can after using up the hair in the arc.  Secure with a temporary hair band. 

Then you're going to split the remaining hair into two little ponies.  I collected more hair in the one on the left, since the one on the right was going to have the hair from the braid combined into it, too.  To make this look less unbalanced, I used a diagonal part. 

Then turn the two little ponies into two little buns... Use whatever method you prefer (classic, messy, etc.).  I did classic buns, but they ended up looking pretty "messy" since her hair is so short.  I used about 4 bobby pins for each, and tried to have them overlap when possible for extra security.  Here's a close-up of the first mini-bun...

And the finished product, with cute bows to match her dance outfit...

Dutch Braid Pull-Backs

Simple.  Sweet.  This is just 3 Dutch braids (aka "inside-out" French braids) going straight back into two pull-backs.  Two of the 3 braids are pulled together for one of the pull-backs to give a little more visual interest.  You probably don't need more than this, but if you do, here are brief instructions...

Start with a large box part on top of the head (seriously, with her short hair, I feel like 90% of my styles start this way these days!).  Then part that into two sections, with one slightly larger than the other.  Dutch-braid the smaller one:

Then divide the remaining section into two, Dutch-braid each of those sections, and join them with one elastic.  Try to get the pull-backs even, and similar in their spoutiness:

Add bows and hit the park!  (or school, errands, etc.)

Braided Headband for Very Short Hair

My fingers have been aching to braid again!  I love doing all kinds of styles on my daughter's hair, but braiding and latticing/weaving are probably my favorites.  Thus was today's style born.  This is a version of princesshairstyles.com's "Barbie Hairstyle," which I've adapted for super short hair.  That being said, Little Miss' hair is a little too short even for this adaptation.  It's a little challenging to hold the braid with such short strands.  But we made it work.  Read on for instructions...

Since Little Miss' hair is in no way long enough for a complete headband, I only did the "headband" on the longer side.  So I started with her default side part, and then parted out the section of hair to be braided.  I decided to use a wavy part, although I did not make the braid itself curve back-and-forth with the part.  Honestly, that may have looked cuter, but I completely forgot!  Maybe I'll try that when her hair's a little longer.  :)  To make the wavy part, I first parted off the front ("bangs") section and secured it out of the way with a hair band temporarily.

Next, I made a wavy part parallel to the first, about an inch behind it.  I secured the hair after this second part with a few unadorned alligator clips, leaving the hair in between the two parts loose to be braided.

(Again, her hair is not greasy in these pics; it's the water I use to smooth her hair while styling it.)  Next, I did an inside-out French braid along the strip of isolated hair, cornrow-like.  I had to secure it a bit sooner than I would've liked, since the hairs got so short! 

Finally, I removed the hair band from the front section, smoothed it back with water and a comb, gave it a quick twist, and joined it to the braid with an elastic.

Add a bow, and you're done!