A hair decoration such as a kit comprises a series of beads connectable to one another and a set of appliques. At least a portion of the beads contains one or more lights inside which are in electrical communication with one another to permit power to be commonly supplied to the lights from a battery. One or more beads includes a mechanism for attaching the beads to hair. A light circuit is coupled to the light-containing beads to drive the lights. Appliques in the set of appliques are selectively applicable to the beads by a user, have a transmissivity, and are in a path of illumination of the lights. As a result, when the lights are driven by the light circuit, the lights shine and provide illumination in the path. The illumination can be direct or backlit. A method of decorating hair is also provided.