Finding the perfect hairstyle for your tween

If you’ve got a daughter on the verge of being a teen, you better believe that even though she’s still technically a kid, she doesn’t want to be walking around with ponytails or looking like Shirley Temple. That would be totally uncool for a “kid” who’s a tween about to become a full-fledged image conscious teen.

So that has been my dilemma with my daughter Kaitlin who’s 11. She’ll be 12 in October which means that 13 is just around the corner. And trust me when I tell you Kaitlin’s pretty much already a teen on standby. Her little sisters are uncool, I’m pretty embarrassing and she cares a lot about her looks.

So here are a few ideas for you to make a cool compromise with your tween that will make them feel happy and confident and earn you some props along the way.

Micro-Braids

So I decided to get kaitlin some micro braids because she wants to wear her hair “out” but she’s just not mature enough to keep up the maintenance. Micros are a good compromise because half of the hair is braided and then a small knot is tied at the bottom of the hair so the rest remains out. We used synthetic hair to allow for the hair to maintain a luscious curl. But beware. Young girls hair is tender so be mindful of your child’s hairline and that the braider doesn’t braid too tight. It could damage the hairline, and cause hair loss. But I’ve worn braids for over 20 years and never lost my hair along the edges. I recommend not keeping the braids in longer than 4 weeks.

Two-Strand Twist

Two-strand twists are a versatile hairstyle that can be worked on short or long hair. The basic two-strand twists can be used as a base hairstyle for many different variations so that each hairdresser can give an individualized look. Kids also benefit from this easy-to-keep hairstyle since it can be dressed up with ribbons or beads. But again your tween might not want ribbons or beads. It may be too childish. But it’s a great compromise.

Bantu Knots

Shout out to Bernetta over at BernettaStyle.com who gave a tutorial and set off a furry of people running to her youtube channel to figure out how to do this beautiful versatile style. I even tried it on my daughter Mikaela but I need a few more lesson! Bantu Knots are very cute and will give your tween a natural deep wave look that’s age-appropriate and pretty.

Hair Bun

This is such an easy hairstyle and gives an air of glam and sophistication. You can add in hair depending on how long your child’s hair is. Or if you are a true naturalista you can just take some gel (my favorite is a brand called Jam) and slick down your child’s hair and put it up into a ponytail to make a bun. Even more if your child’s hair is natural, they can rock an afro puff! But it depends on how your tween feels about that!

Goddess Braids

Goddess Braids are all the rage and every where you look somebody’s rocking them. I accomplished this look on Kaitlin by doing them myself. This stye took a few hours to achieve but it lasted a few months. #Winning! This was Kaitlin’s favorite style until she got the micros. And it made her feel like the tween she is.

 What are some of your favorite styles for your tween?