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View Full Version : Braids: one section ends up way shorter than the other two?



Larki
May 28th, 2014, 09:33 PM
This happens like 90% of the time when I braid. Does anyone know what's causing this? Am I doing something weird, like maybe separating the sections wrong? I have a blunt hemline, so this isn't supposed to happen, right?

Shorty89
May 28th, 2014, 09:45 PM
I think sometimes it just happens. I don't have an explanation. Maybe you're adding unevenly or braiding crooked? :shrug:

Lirona
May 28th, 2014, 09:49 PM
Weird! Maybe just experiment with section sizes? I found that if I make the middle section a little thinner than the sides (for a three-strand at the back of my head), it comes out more even. And you can't tell one section is slightly smaller.

LauraLongLocks
May 28th, 2014, 09:50 PM
I blame it on my face framing bits.

Aderyn
May 28th, 2014, 09:53 PM
When that happens to me, I just steal a little piece of hair from one (or two) of the other strands and move it to the shorter/thinner strand. :p

Larki
May 28th, 2014, 09:54 PM
Lirona, I'll have to try that, thank you! LLL, that might be the cause for you, but I don't have any face-framing hair.

darklyndsea
May 28th, 2014, 11:29 PM
Different-sized sections can definitely cause that. Also, you might have a section of hair that isn't as long as the rest (not necessarily from growing out bangs or layers; sometimes hair just grows unevenly, or takes more damage in one area), which can make you have a section that thins faster than the others--no matter how you section your hair, it ends up being uneven. Stealing hair from longer/thicker sections is the best solution I've found.

quiltlady
May 29th, 2014, 05:48 AM
Weird! Maybe just experiment with section sizes? I found that if I make the middle section a little thinner than the sides (for a three-strand at the back of my head), it comes out more even. And you can't tell one section is slightly smaller.
This happens to me often when braiding my hair. Next time, I will try making the middle section smaller. I would try stealing hair from other sections, but I never notice one section is shorter until I am very close to the end. My hair is MBL, so maybe at a longer length, I would notice it soon enough to steal hair from other sections.

Long_hair_bear
May 29th, 2014, 05:59 AM
Happens to me too! :/

ashke50
May 29th, 2014, 08:01 AM
Happens to me sometimes too, and other times I get all the way to the end without issues. Just depends where the longest bits of hair end up when I separate. When it happens I either tie off the tassel early, steal from one of the other ones, or sometimes (especially if it is a sleep plait or going to be bunned) tie off the plait where I run out of hair and plait the tassel separately.

StellaKatherine
May 29th, 2014, 08:10 AM
That is something that i experience too often. One strand is slightly shorter than the two other. Indeed like others said i just steal a little bit from the other strand to make them even and continue braiding :)

Chromis
May 29th, 2014, 08:47 AM
I've braided my hair every night for sleeping for years now (however long I've been here lol). I don't have layers or fringe, or such and I still get this all the time :lol:

I do the same as others have suggested, just "slurp" a little from the other sections. With time, you will feel when one is thinner much sooner. I recommend slurping little bits over if you are wearing it for the day as just a braid otherwise it can look a little wonky. For braided updos it isn't usually noticeable.

Narya
May 29th, 2014, 09:01 AM
It happens a lot to me too, and I blame it on the sectioning and where I start the braid from. A blunt hemline on loose hair does not translate into a blunt hemline on gathered hair, and the other way around: if you put your hair in a ponytail and cut the ends blunt, your hemline when you let your hair loose won't be blunt/straight (how it is exactly would depend on where the ponytail was: the higher up in the head/the closer to the forehead, the more pronounced layers you'd get). Thus, I find uneven length braid sections from a blunt hemmed hair perfectly normal. I have to say, though, that I'd expect one being longer (the center one), so I clearly don't have it completely right :lol:

It may be tension too, but I think your braids would look wonky it that was it.

I generally do what others already said: add hair from the longer section/s to the shorter one and keep braiding. Sometimes I just join the short with one of the others and turn it into a rope braid from there until the ends: it looks kind cool on buns!

PrincessIdril
May 29th, 2014, 09:16 AM
Happens to me quite a lot, usually because I'm very lazy when it comes to checking my sections are even!

SkyChild
May 29th, 2014, 09:31 AM
Is it not because where you start the braid at your scalp isn't straight, but curved, so sections higher up/further forward on your scalp end up shorter? I think this is what happens to me. I tend to steal little sections from the longer one to even it out.

Anje
May 29th, 2014, 09:47 AM
Happens to me constantly. My hem isn't quite blunt and I have a few shorter sections, but a bigger part of it (happens even when I don't have sections) is that not all areas of my hair grow with the same thickness or at the same rate. One side thins out faster than the other -- it's not enough to be obvious when the hair is down, but it's noticeable to me when I braid.

I just steal chunks from the other sections to compensate and call it good enough.

Kaya
May 29th, 2014, 09:48 AM
FieryPha did a video about this very topic. I remember watching it awhile back. :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJXm1K2LxJ8

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJXm1K2LxJ8

mira-chan
May 29th, 2014, 10:15 AM
Happens to me all the time as well as my front section are naturally shorter. I grab from other sections to even things out.

Sharysa
May 29th, 2014, 11:21 AM
People with thick hair often have this problem, and I found that letting my ends fairytale and switching to a moderate U-shaped hem helped a LOT.

Kimberly
May 29th, 2014, 11:40 AM
I usually end up with three spiral fairytails for a tassel, each a different length. This is one of the things I like about my hair. :) I do leave the tassel a bit longer, and I take care to end the braid aesthetically (I usually don't want the shortest spiral in the middle).

Schneckschjen
May 29th, 2014, 12:17 PM
When that happens to me, I just steal a little piece of hair from one (or two) of the other strands and move it to the shorter/thinner strand. :p
This is was I do, too.

MINAKO
May 29th, 2014, 12:55 PM
I don't section vertically, but make a smaller bottom section and a larger top section that i split in half, works pretty well for me, although i do have some shorter hairs in the front.