Still on the lookout for the perfect style? A braided look might be what you’re after.
They can be romantic, bring out your inner bohemian side, and be a bit messy but still just fine.
No matter what the current fashion trends are braided hairstyles seem to always be in style, don’t they? The look is popular with women of all ages and is great for many occasions – special or otherwise.
And guess what else? Many of them are not all that hard to create. In fact some are actually quite easy.
Of course you may remember when you were younger, sitting around with friends or cousins and braiding each other’s hair to arrive at the just right amount of pre-teen hair cuteness.
Before that your mom may have looked at braiding your mane as a great way to keep it up, keep it looking neat and to keep it free from pesky snarls that can sneak up on a girl while at school, playing sports or just relaxing on weekends.
However, braided styles are certainly not just kid’s stuff. There are many women who simply love to put their tresses up in a stylish braid from time to time. Some do so for convenience. Others braid their hair to add to their repertoire of hair styles suitable for the office. Others still do so when the occasion calls for a more formal look.
Anyway if you are a fan of braided hair but you are scared to try to create one of them on your own hair, no worries. Today there are all sorts of helpful online tutorials that take you step by step through the process of creating head turning braids that will add a fast and flirty twist to just about any look that you are trying to achieve. All you really need is a good brush or comb, hair ties, a mirror and possibly some detangling spray and you are on your way to creating great braided hairstyles. In fact you’re going to see just how easy some of these are to do. Starting right now!
Okay now since there are many braided hair styles that wouldn’t be around today if it weren’t for the simple French Braid paving the way, let’s quickly look at how to do that one.
Then too since this is something that’s more easily learned from a demonstration, let’s roll the video and see a well done, step by step tutorial on how to French Braid your hair. In less than three minutes you’ll have the general idea and will only need practice a bit to perfect your French braiding skills.
Braid To Order: Going French
You can see why we start here. The French Braid is fairly simple making it a great place to begin your braided hair journey.
The process is set in motion with tangle free hair that is down.
You may want to brush it first for a smoother effect. Or leave it unbrushed for more of a textured look. For even more texture, apply a texturizing cream to wet hair; blow-dry some then scrunch your mane before braiding.
There are two ways you can go about this. Either separate out a top section of hair and put a clear elastic around that and grab a section of hair on each side. Or just split the top part of your mane into three parts. Basically you’re always working with three pieces, bringing a new piece of hair into each of the three parts as you braid your way down to the nape of your neck.
- Take the right section over the middle and make it the new middle.
- Add hanging hair to the left section and the put it into the middle.
- Then add hair to the right section and put it in the middle.
Anyway, continue alternating adding chunks of hair to the left and right sections and moving the new strands of hair to the middle.
Yes, initially your arms might get tired. But you’ll build up to where you won’t even notice.
Once you’re run out of hair to add, if your hair is long enough pull what you’ve got over one of your shoulders and just braid it like a three part braid down to the ends. And secure things with a clear hair tie.
Five Brilliant French Braiding Styling Tips
- Styling Tip: French Braids are a great second day or dirty hair styling technique.
- Styling Tip: Don’t strive for perfection. And don’t stress over yours not looking perfect. Just get your hair braided. You’ll get better at this the more you do it.
- Styling Tip: Now you can either wear it tightly as braided or you can loosen the braid a little with your fingers for a more relaxed more bohemian look.
- Styling Tip: Try not to look in the mirror when you are just learning how to do this. Sounds crazy. But it really is good advice because the mirror image is backwards and can sometimes throw you off.
- Styling Tip: You might also want to pull out a few, or many, strands of hair around your face for a cute, somewhat tousled, face framing look.
There you go. Almost everything you wanted to know how to French braid, right?
Then another braided hairstyle that builds on the French is the dazzling Waterfall Braid. It’s an elegant and sophisticated style that looks more complicated than it is. Again don’t worry…if you can French Braid, with practice you can produce a fun, stunning, gorgeous looking Waterfall Braid. By yourself.
Anyway after screening a number of vids on how to do this one, we felt this one was the best…
Quick Waterfall Braid Tutorial
WARNING: Admittedly this will take some practice to master. So don’t expect your braid to look this good after one time.
Since you almost need three hands, this also is easier if have a helper doing it. But that’s not to say you can’t do it by yourself. You can. You simply use your mouth to hold your hair. Weird, huh? Yet that will make more sense after you’ve watched the video.
- Step 1: Part your hair on one side.
- Step 2: Take a section of hair at the front of your head maybe an inch to two inches wide and divide that into three parts.
- Step 3: Start to French Braid that section until you’re like to the side of your face. The idea is to braid far enough this way so the first section of hair waterfalling down doesn’t hang in your face – which can be very annoying.
- Step 4: Next hold the front most section of the three in your mouth. Grab a new section just behind it (from the hair away from your face) to include in your braid. Remember the idea here is to keep grabbing sections of hair about the same size so the braid looks well put together.
- Step 5: Repeat – adding another section to the hair in your mouth and adding another section into your braid.
- Step 6: You can repeat this as often as you wish. Usually once you have five to seven sections of hair making up the water fall, or about half way towards the back of your head, you simply stop adding new sections.
- Step 7: Complete the French braid as close to the ends of your hair as you wish to create a tail end.
- Step 8: Hold that together with an elastic.
- Step 9: Take the braid and secure it to the back of your hair with a bobbie pin. You can tuck the end of the braid into the hair at the back of your head to hide it if you wish. Leaving you with a look that’s quite put together and on purpose looking.
Again you’ll seriously need patience and practice to get the hang of it at first. And it won’t be perfect on your first attempt. But it is a totally awesome way to braid your hair. The undeniably bold, dramatic yet flattering results are worth the time it takes to learn how to do this one.
So that’s two down which would suggest there’s one more to go.
That’s right, there is one more super cute yet super simple braided hairstyle I thought you might love to learn how to do. Then you’ll love doing it. Let’s queue up the video.
Effortless Fishtail Braid
Again this may look complicated but the video selected makes it as easy to pull off as the other two.
Same rules apply as with the French braid. Brushing produces a smoother looking braid. For something a bit more messier, more relaxed leave your mane untended after shampooing.
First, pull all you hair to one side and create a side pony securing it with a clear elastic.
Divide the pony into two sections – think of it as a front and back section.
Take a piece of hair from the back half and pass it to the front. The reverse things taking a piece of hair from the front half and pass it to the back half. The video shows how easy this is.
Repeat this process keeping the hair in the braid rather tight.
This is important. Don’t overcomplicate this. In other words don’t look for perfection. Celebs don’t. So once a piece has been crossed over to the other side, let that one go and turn your attention to grabbing the next piece of hair.
Use an elastic to hold the ends in place. And then snip the first elastic you put into your side pony without cutting a hunk of your hair.
That’s all there is to this elegant and classy braid.
And if you stop and think about it, maybe this IS why you see countless celebrities, musicians and models with one great looking braid after another. Perhaps this is because braids are not only easy and fun, they are also a great way to effortlessly create a sleek and supremely chic look.
In fact many Hollywood types can be seen on the red carpet with their hair braided at the top and falling down into a sea of curls. You may even notice that some of the beautiful people braiding their hair and adding in a splash of color from ribbon or hair extensions in a variety of colors. All done to make their outfit pop.
Whenever you feel you want to try out your own braided hairstyles, simply remember to not stress. Have fun with it. After all, these are fun and flirty styles that are meant to be wearable yet a bit messy too. And if you need more inspiration here’s a gallery of styles set up for just that purpose.
Just don’t expect to become an expert at this overnight. Take the time to sit in front of a mirror and practice, practice, practice!
Or do like you did when you were a kid and invite a couple of friends over. The time invested will help you to not only learn how to create some of the braided hairstyles that you have seen in magazines or on TV, but you might even find yourself creating your own unique braid.
Regardless with a little bit of trial and error, you too can wear your hair in a fun, sassy sophisticated braid that everyone will admire and envy you for.
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