Do you love the look of “mermaid hair” or hair tinsel for summer fun? You don’t have to pay a lot to get it done at the salon! Follow my step by step photo instructions on how to add hair tinsel with beads using an affordable kit from Amazon and a set of plyers!
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I gifted this Hair Tinsel set to my girls for Christmas last year and have been loving adding in these sparkly strands to their hair all year for different reasons and seasons!
It’s also been a go to gift to give their tween friends. While there are many methods out there to add the tinsel to their hairs, here’s my method that I’ve found successful and have even taught to a few moms.
Hair tinsel is great to add for summer fun and the mermaid look, at a parade, for a special holiday, silly hair day, for a pep rally and team spirit day, to support your favorite team or your own team’s playoff game! This kit includes lots of color options which goes a long way for creative hair design!
What You Need:
- Hair Tinsel Kit (Includes 3300 LONG strands in 16 colors, 100 beads and 2 tools used to apply it)
- Extra 1000 Hair Beads (optional! I bought these as a back up after using the 100 that came in the kit)
- Needle Nose Plyers (look for ones which have a flat area to crimp but also have grooves to help grip the beads)
- Scissors
How to Prepare the Beads:
I HIGHLY recommend letting your kids pick out the colors (I suggest a max of three) and do the prep PRIOR to the application time. The prep part can be tedious and having them watch over you as you create the beads can be a little stressful. LOL.
Snip the top of the package and pull out your strands, keeping them folded in half. (I find this easier than releasing them from the bottom as it lessens them from getting tangled!)
Stack the strands with one another. In the case of this application, I did 3 strands of 3 different colors for a total of 9 strands per bead.
Thread a bead onto your crochet hook tool that was included in the kit.
Open the mouth of the tool and put the folded part of your strands in. Close the mouth.
Push the bead off the hook, over the mouth, onto the strands.
Stick your finger in between the folded part of the strands.
Bring the tails of the tinsel strands up and through the loop, while still holding onto the bead.
As you pull the strands all the way through, (while still holding onto the bead) they should then be secured to the bead.
Note: It will likely loosen a bit as you lay it down and work on the next one. The “knot” will only be tightened and more secured when you crimp it and at it to the hair in the application step.
How to Add the Hair Bead To Their Head
Brush the hair. Note: Hair can be wet or dry but wait until it dries to cut the strands as hair tends to shrink up as it dries.
Look at your threaded bead. Make sure to align it so the strands are faced downward like the photo on the left vs upward like the photo on the right. This helps them lay flat on their head after application.
Select the other tool in the kit for this application step and thread the bead through, again making sure the strands are faced DOWN.
Grab a small section of hair. Tip: I like to add the beads on top of their head under another piece of hair to hide the bead. Use a barrette to hold that top hair to the side, as seen above.
Grab the hair and slide it through the wire opening of the tool.
Now, pull the wire holder with the hair so it threads the bead onto the hair.
Push the loose bead toward the top of their head. Tip: Don’t push it super tight FLUSH to the head during this crimping step as it might stick up funny once crimped.
Crimp the bead closed using the plyers, with the tinsel on the top. Release the hair from the barrette to help hide the bead.
Once hair is dry, use scissors to trim the ends of the tinsel so it’s level with the length of the hair.
Tada! You’ve now added hair tinsel using a hair bead!
Repeat these steps for as many strands as you like in whatever color combinations.
Tag me on social if you end up using this tutorial or kit to add hair tinsel to your hair! I’d love to see what color combos you chose!
Looking for more gift idea for your tween girls, like this bulk pack of flower claw clips? Check out my tween favorites list (of stuff we actually own!!!) in my Amazon storefront.
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