Five Quick Summer Hairstyles for Girls

When I was little, my mom used to braid my hair (a lot)... my sister's too. Now that I'm a mom to a six-year-old girl, I fully understand why she braided our hair so often, especially during the hot summer months. Girl hair is crazy. It's like there are no rules, and depending on the hair type, good luck trying to keep it looking nice for an entire day.

I have enough trouble with my own hair, and I'm almost forty! I'm not great at styling hair. I have a couple of basic styles for my own unruly curly mop that I stick with, but I know my hair, and that those styles work for me. My daughter, however, has different hair than I do- thicker, straighter, and easier to work with for hairstyles. While a plain old braid is fine, I knew that my 'fancy' daughter would want other types of hairstyles, so I tried to teach myself a couple of other braid styles and played around with a couple of other hairstyles for quick summer looks.

Here are our top five favorite quick summer hairstyles for girls.

Double French braid piggies (pulled back)

I had to teach myself to French braid, and it was pretty easy to learn to do it, and get the hang of it. It's impossible to part my daughter's hair without a long ended comb, so forgive the staircase part in the photo. If you're a fan of French braids and pigtails, you'll love this elevated look, where the braids are pulled back, instead of sitting on the sides. This is a go-to style for active days to keep hair out of Bean's face.

Need a French braid tutorial? Check this one out!

Side twist into low pony

Another quick hairstyle is a simple thin side twist, married with a low ponytail. Bean created this do herself by describing it to me, and asking me to do this on one of her dolls. She loved the way it looked and asked me to match her hairstyle to her doll. I simply twisted a small side section of hair, pulled it across the back of her head, and pulled it and the rest of her hair into a low ponytail. I wrapped the twisted section around the ponytail for a rope-like effect holding the ponytail. I got this idea and other from Hairstylepedia.com.

Princess braids

This twist on French braids is just that- two thinner French braids, and a ponytail twist. To do this style, Make two small French braids- one on each side. Hold each one in place with an elastic. Pull the bottom half of the hair into a low ponytail, leaving the middle section loose. Flip the hair through the middle of the ponytail and pull it through to create a low twist. Bring the braids to the middle, and drop them through the open section that you twisted. Remove the elastics, pinch all hair tightly together and secure with one elastic. This style was a big hit and was really easy to do.

Twisted rope braids

There's nothing perfect about this style, and we just sort of made it up as we went along while we were styling hair one day. Bean asked for several thin braids, all brought together, and this was the result. To achieve a look like this, make two or three thinner side braids on each side. Bring them together in loops or twists. Play around with it to get different looks.

Fishtail braid

I still have a lot of practice to do before this popular braid is perfected. I love the look of the fishtail braid, but it's a little trickier to do than a traditional braid. If you can French braid, you can do a fishtail braid, too! The fishtail braid is one more step than a French braid, even though you're technically doing two sections vs. three sections (hint- a Fishtail braid actually starts with four sections and eventually becomes two). I did use a tutorial to figure this one out. Getting it started is the hardest part, and once you have that down, it's pretty easy after that. Keeping their sections of hair small and thin will help you achieve a super layered look for this braid, which gives it its oomph. I really love this braid and love the way it turned out- even if it was my first attempt.

Want to try a fishtail braid? Check out this tutorial.

Any of these styles would work great for an active girl during the summer. My girl loves to have her hair looking pretty, and I love keeping her hair out of her face. These styles are a great compromise.

Have you tried any of these hairstyles?

Which ones do you like the best?