Just because you can't cornrow hair doesn't mean your child can't wear beads.  Personally, I don't feel like fighting my daughter for hours to do her hair.  This week I was brave and let my daughter wear braids with beads. Beads are tiny, so I was worried she would pull them out and put them in her mouth. (I've seen this child pull bows out of her hair to play with them.) 

The beads I bought are shades of pinks, purples and white. Some are clear, some have glitter, but all of the beads are cute. To stay with the color scheme, I used purple and pink rubber bands. It's a small touch that makes the style stand out from regular black rubber bands.

For this cute style, I started with our usual little ponytail in the front. This helps secure her short bangs.  Next I created two ponytails at the top of her head. She has worn two front puffs many times as puffs, long curls or twisted ponytails. This time, I made four little braids from both ponytails. These ponytails were secured with rubber bands, not the ball style hairbows. Those are just for show. 

In the back, I did 9 individual braids. You can use regular boxes, but I used triangle parts. Triangles are just as easy to do as squares. However, they seem fancier when the style is complete. They are also good for a little girl who won't sit still. It isn't as easy to notice when they are crooked. 

After braiding her hair, possibly fighting her for 15 mins, some tears (from both of us) and shooing my son out of the room, I was able to add beads. There is a little bead adding tool, it made adding beads a cinch. It works similar to adding  thread on a needle. I picked out 5 beads, threaded my needle and pulled her hair through.  To give her a little space to sleep without beads, I didn't add them all the way up the braid. At the top of both ponytails, I added two ball style hairbows in alternate colors. 

After the last bead, I pulled the end of her hair above the last bead. Next, I added a rubber band between the last bead and next to the last bead. It causes the last bead to curl up. 

I remember as a child sleeping on my arm *lol*. My friend said she slept the same way. I also wore a scarf. My daughter will NOT wear a bonnet. I have tried several times, each time she takes it off as she gets into bed. She slept without a bonnet or scarf and her hair was fine in the morning. All of her beads were in place without any issues. 

My daughter loves her beads. She's been walking around shaking her head and flipping her hair. She goes, "pretty hair. Mommy, pretty hair. Lena's hair pretty." This will be a style that will reappear in the near future in some variation.