Full Head of Cornrows, Ethiopian Inspired AND Kinky Curly vs Darcy's Botanicals

This style was inspired by a 6 year old girl I met in Ethiopia.  It looked so pretty and practical and I'd been dying to try it, but was intimidated by the cornrows at all angles on the head.  But, ooooh, I am so excited about this hairstyle!  I started with freshly washed and conditioned hair, and cornrowed while the hair was very wet.  I think braiding wet hair is the main key to longevity for hairstyles for us.  Anyway, there are several reasons why I am happy with this style and the making of it:

1)  The girl mainly sat still for it.  THANK YOU TV!  I don't know what took me so long to discover this distraction technique.  A couple of the girl's fave shows and 2 snakcs...It worked like a charm.

2)  It only took me an hour and 15 minutes to complete.  Much less time than I expected.

 3)  The cornrows were short so I didn't run into the problem of the hair that I started braiding with first, running out of length in the middle of the braid.  It is always tricky for me to hang onto the hair and deal with dry and slightly tangled ends when that happens.

 4)  I had to braid several of the cornrows upside down...but it worked!  I stood, bent over at the waist and held her hair out of the way with extra fingers as I went.  I thought this was going to be very difficult, but it wasn't.  The hair being wet helped immensely.

 5)  The style has lasted a whole week so far.  I could make it last longer but I think I'll take it out tomorrow and try something new.  Suggestions?

6)  And last but not least, I tried a little product comparison experiment during the making of this style.  Prior to styling I washed the girl's hair with Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose Shampoo and conditioned with AO's Honey Suckle Rose Conditioner.  I rinsed the conditioner out.  Then, on the right side of her head I used Kinky Curly Knot Today as a leave-in detangler.  As I braided that side, I added Kinky Curly Curling Custard to each section.  On the opposite side of her head I applied Darcy's Botanicals Daily Leave-In Conditioner before detangling.  As I braided that side I added Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly to each section.

Now, this would have been a more appropriate product comparison to do on loose hair.  The only loose hair she has in this style are her puffs.  And they have looked exactly the same the entire week.  Both Kinky Curly and Darcy's products have about equal hold.  The braids on both sides of her head became equally fuzzy as the week wore on.  The only difference and preference I identified was during the styling itself, specifically the detangling phase and the braiding phase.

During detangling, the Kinky Curly Knot Today (KCKT) had significantly more slip than the Darcy's Botanical Daily Leave-In Conditioner.  KCKT has been my go-to for detangling ever since I tried it a few weeks ago.  And this experiment sealed the deal.

During styling, the feel of the Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly was much smoother and the hair retained slip.  Instead, as I applied the Kinky Curly Curling Custard to the opposite side of her head, the hair lost its slip and it felt more difficult to smooth into place with my fingers.

In summary, a winner style.
My choice for best detangling product is Kinky Curly Knot Today.
And my choice for best styling gel/serum is Darcy's Botanicals Natural Coils Curling Jelly.

Happy long weekend everyone.
Ciao,
Jenny