How to French Braid

How to French Braid

French braiding is one of those skills where either you know how to do it or you don't. If you are reading this blog, you probably fall into the second category. It is a very important skill to learn however, as it opens up so many new hairstyles that are more interesting than just a simple ponytail. I will show you the steps, but in reality it will take you practicing on your own hair, with your own hands over and over until you get it just right. I will be demonstrating on the side of my head for convenience.

Before you begin, you may want to wet down the hair to smooth down flyaways and make it easier to braid. Now take a SMALL 1-2 inch section from the front of where you want to braid and divide into three equal strands. To avoid confusion with lefts and rights, I am going to name the strands 1,2, and 3 going from the front of the head to the back. To start off, cross 1 over 2 and then cross 3 over 2. This will help to anchor the braid. You are ready to start the "french" part.

Step 1: Pick up a small strand of hair and add it into strand 1

(There are two ways to do this. You can either pick up small strands or run your finger along the scalp and pick up whole vertical rows at a time. I like the piecey look that you get from small strands, so that's what I will be doing.)

Step 2: Cross the new strand 1 over strand 2

(Be sure to braid with your hands close to your head to avoid bubbles later on)

Step 3: Add a small piece of hair to strand 3.

Step 4: Cross the new strand 3 over strand 2.

Repeat these steps until there is no more hair to incorporate. Then, just braid the rest normally and secure with a hair colored hair tie. If you make a mistake, just keep going and complete the braid. This way, you can look at where the mistake was made and be able to learn how to make the braid better. When you have finished your braid, it should look something like this:

Happy french braiding!! Send me a picture of the look you want me to do next!