2 days ago
From Braids to Bows, These Dads Love Doing Their Daughters' Hair
Strider Patton says there's one moment that makes all the hours of perfecting braids and bows and high ponies worth it.
"Someone leans down to my daughter and says, 'Wow, your hair looks great today! Did your mommy do it?'" Patton, who teaches fathers how to style kids' hair on his popular @ Instagram account, tells His daughter Imogen was 2 years old at the time. "She turns around and points at me. She says, 'Dad braids.' And I was like, 'Yes! That's it!'"
In the three years since that moment, Patton's hair styling skills have improved dramatically. Now he can do lace braids, bubble braids and even a double French high pony. And he has brought almost 250,000 followers on Instagram along for the ride.
Patton is one of the many fathers who are taking on hairstyling duties and loving every brushstroke. The growing number of dads who do their daughters' hair with pride speaks to a change in the way fathers view their roles in the family, he says.
He doesn't aim for perfection. He aims for presence.
"It doesn't matter how bad your hair (styling) is," Patton says. "Your daughter's just going to love that you're there with her."
When he was first struggling with his Imogen's hair, Patton searched for hair tutorials online but most featured moms doing their daughters' hair. They sailed too quickly through the basic steps that Patton still needed to learn. So Patton started an Instagram account for dads who didn't know where to begin.
He set up a camera and shared videos of him doing Imogen's hair every morning. As a professional artist, he had a more flexible schedule than his wife, who owns a children's theater. "It's just so fun to not be an expert and just be like, 'Hey, I'm just a dad trying to learn how to do this, just like you guys.'"
Patton certainly isn't alone on his journey. chatted with several dads who have surpassed their wives' hairstyling skills. And they're not just tooting their own horn — their wives volunteered them for interviews.
Shounak Shah, who says his daughter Arya is "6 going on 15," shares that if he lets Arya choose a parent to style her hair, "she would pick me, 100 percent." He jokes, "Mommy is not the styling type."
Shah, a physical therapist, will call out to Arya, "It's salon time!" and she sits at a little desk and watches a show while Shah adds product and styles her hair.
Dad Jon Studham plays 'Baby Alive' for his 5-year-old while he styles her hair every morning.
"I was terrible at first, but she didn't care," he says. "It isn't about getting every strand in place. It's about showing up, being part of her rhythm, building the moments in life that matter and showing she can count on me."
He continues, 'One day, she won't need or want me to do her hair. But until then, I'll be there — with a brush, a bow, and all the time she needs.'
"I love finding ways to bond with my kids in so many different ways, and doing hair was just one of those creative outlets," says Scott Wormser, who heads up the marketing department at a print shop. He is so adept at doing his 10-year-old daughter Marni's hair that he's even in charge of her styles for dance competitions, which are often difficult and specific ... and must stay intact throughout an energetic routine.
"My wife would always try to do a braid on my daughter's hair, and she just wouldn't get it as tight as I could." Wormser laughs, "And I definitely have much more patience than my wife."
Patton points out that the sheer number of dads who have taken on hair duty suggests a change in our outlook on modern fatherhood.
"For quarter of a million dads out there, it's saying that I care enough to try something new," he says. "It's hard, but it's fun, and it means something. And it gives me a moment, every day, with my girl."
Patton sums it up by adding, "At the heart of this, it's really simple: dads want to connect with their daughters, but a lot of us don't always know how. We're better with tools than tea parties, better with our hands than with our feelings. Learning to braid brings those two worlds together."
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