Mermaid braid tutorial

[Arctic]

This looks like a great style that might be relatively easy to do on yourself after a bit of practicing. I am going to try it, but the tutorial says it's best for thick and long hair, so I won't have my hopes up it'd work for me. But, since we have many member with thick and long hair, I thought to share this.

Fun, big, messy, bohemian style for the end of summer days! No french braiding skills needed, just the ability to make a basic 3 strand braid.

I assume the curling and teasing are optional, especially for those who have wavy/curly, voluminous, textured hair naturally. I think a topsy tail tool would be handy.

Link to tutorial: http://www.more.com/beauty/hair/braided-hairstyles/messy-mermaid-braid-your-new-must-try-hairstyle


***
ETA later: I did manage to make this with my thinner and shorter hair, but even though I was happy with how it looked, I ended up not really liking it. Based on my own experience I'm not sure I can really recommend this style, although it might of course work perfectly on someone else's hair. I feel bad now for posting the tutorial, I wouldn't have posted had I tried this myself beforehands.

[Decoy24601]

That looks awesome! Thank you for sharing. I'm so glad messy braids are in style, because I'm not too good at braiding (neatly anyways) :lol:.

[Arctic]

Your welcome! You would certainly have the thickness and length to make this!

I hear you on the messy braids trend; with my layers and texture I can't make them very neat :D I am actually enjoying this at least right now, I used to have very different hairtype: fine, straight and sleek, and it was impossible to make messy styles no matter how much I tried. Now I am taking back that time, ha ha!

[Decoy24601]

I think I might try doing it tomorrow actually, if I don't end up being too lazy :p. It would be a nice change from the usual LWB. If I do wear braids outside, it's usually an over the shoulder fishtail, so this should be kinda similar.

Well, as 1c/2a I imagine you have the best of both worlds in terms of the benefits of being straight vs. wavy, as much as possible anyways :D.

[ephemeri]

This braid is so pretty. I'm bookmarking it for when I'm at a more workable length.... Thanks for sharing. :o

[Arctic]

I think I might try doing it tomorrow actually, if I don't end up being too lazy :p. It would be a nice change from the usual LWB. If I do wear braids outside, it's usually an over the shoulder fishtail, so this should be kinda similar.

Well, as 1c/2a I imagine you have the best of both worlds in terms of the benefits of being straight vs. wavy, as much as possible anyways :D.

My hair's more in the 1b/c to 2b (sometimes even 2c-ish) range ha ha, multitextured mane especially as the strand thickness also varies, as well and strand smoothness. :silly: But yeah it's a type I can enjoy wearing both more sleeker and more textured, with just a little changes of the washing and styling methods.

I hope this braid works for you!



This braid is so pretty. I'm bookmarking it for when I'm at a more workable length.... Thanks for sharing. :o

Yes it's very pretty! I could see it being dressed up with flowers or something too!

I just made a quick test before washing my hair and it's very easy to do. I need to test again with clean hair, but it felt like my length might be more of an issue for me, but I could tuck the tail under the braid or something? Definitely needs more testing! (Mine wasn't as massive as hers either because my thickness but it didn't look bad. I hope I can replicate it with clean hair.)

[Arctic]

Guys this does work for my lower ii, APL hair! I don't think it'll last all day though, but I did get it to work! It of course isn't as massive as in the tutorial, and no doubt I could have practiced it few more times, but I did snap some photos of my attempt. I'll post them in my blog (and link here) later today. PS Topsy tail tool was very helpful! PPS. I didn't tease, curl or use products. PPPS. It worked for me better to start with an proper halfup (leaving sides out and allowing my face framing layers to glide off) rather than circular section.

[Arctic]

Oh and one thing that might be a deal breaker for some: this braid rubs against the neck, and if one is irritated from this - like I actually am - then the braid is not fun to wear. It took me about 10-15 minutes to notice this, and I'm not sure if I can keep the braid without folding or bunning for long. I'm guessing an hour will be my maximum tolerance limit. I can't stand it braids or buns rub my neck.

[rmani]

Thanks for sharing! I pinned this for when I have the length.

[Arctic]

How long's your hair now rmani? If it's APL-BSL range it's maybe worth to give this a try.


Here's link to my blog where I posted photo of mine:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=127076

I'm pretty happy how it turned out, I was afraid of my lack of length and thickness making this difficult for me to pull off. I am very unhappy about the rubbing against the neck, that always bothers me so much it drives me crazy. I ended up folding this braid under itself and securing with 2 spin pins at the nape. Looks nice that way too, and is something that works for those with shorter lengths.

[Robot Ninja]

I actually really like how it looks as a half-up, in the fifth picture. You wouldn't need a lot of length or thickness to do it that way, either.

Thanks for linking, Arctic.

[samanthaa]

I like it. I may have to try it. But it may end up in the "hair too thin" pile, along with so many other cute styles :(

[Arctic]

You are right, Robot Ninja, the half up version would be nice too!

I also like the tucked under version I ended up making, but I didn't take photo of that. That's doesn't need tons of length either.

[Arctic]

I like it. I may have to try it. But it may end up in the "hair too thin" pile, along with so many other cute styles :(

I was pretty pleased how mine turned out to lok. I'm at the lower end of ii. You might find like I did that starting with a halfup (made of the hair growing at the top front to crown, but leaving sides out of it) works better than making a circular section.

[Arctic]

UPDATE: I have to say that I didn't become a fan after all. My neck skin seems to be super sensitive today and even after I had folded up my mermaid braid the loose fluff kept irritating my neck. I ended up taking the whole thing down just now, and while I did so I noticed my hair was pretty tangly. I'm not sure why it was tangly, as I was very careful with sectioning and used a topsy tail tool as help. Seemed like it's just the nature of this braid to tangle hair.

There were just too many minuses for me to take this into my regular rotation, even though I did like how it looked.

I feel bad now for posting this tutorial, but it's always possible it will work much better for someone else with different hair and not so sensitive neck.

[missrandie]

It looks like the kind of style for a day when wearing a high collared silky shirt! :p

Don't feel bad, Arctic. I get irate with things on my neck too. It's part of why I obsessively wear my hair up and wear silk scarves around my neck.

[Arctic]

Yeah, mermaid tails and turtlenecks! Let's choose a nautical, stripy fabric for the turtleneck so we have a theme going on! :giggles:

I think it's one of the reasons I wear my hair up often too, the irritating feeling of hair rubbing against my neck.

[Decoy24601]

So, I've run into a bit of an issue while doing this braid. I don't think I can get the main braid long enough, because I'm growing out face framing layers. All of the hair on the top of my hair is a lot shorter than the rest of my hair, so I might end up with a very long tail to this braid or something. I'm not sure how it'll go yet, because I'm still doing it.

ETA: Yeah, it's not going to work.

[Arctic]

Sorry to hear that Decoy. I have short face framing layers too plus layers all through my crown/top hair, and the circular crown sectioning just didn't work. And my braid was on the shorter side too because of this. Maybe it would make a half up style for you if you otherwise liked it? Although after experimenting with this myself yesterday I'm not sure I would recommend this one to anyone, it caused so much tangling.

But it is pretty and very "now", I still might consider this as a special occasion braid/style, just not for everyday use for myself.

[Arctic]

Beborani told me that her mom had made a cage braid on her hair on wash days when she was young, and that the cage braid reminded her of this mermaid braid. She was kind enough to make few variation and snap photos. You can see them in her blog: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=127100&bt=698078 They are all beautiful and inspiring! And definitely are a great replacement for mermaid braid, and much more hair friendly.

I also got inspired to try cage braid - I might not have tried it before because it wasn't that trendy when I had my last long hair (and yes, I do care about that kind of stuff :)) and I might have been thinking my hair is not thick or long enough. But turns out cage braid is doable on my hair too (APL, on the thinner side of ii) and looked great! It has the same kind of wideness as the mermaid braid has but it's more tidy, for the lack of better word, whereas the mermaid braid ws more messy (even without any teasing, etc).

It also is much more smoother against my neck than the mermaid braid was, and while I might not be able to keep it all day (we shall see!) I think I can keep it several hours without irritation.

Like Beborani pointed out, mermaid braid has good sides too compared to cage braids: no need to know french braiding and the ability to make the braid as slowly as one wants. One can put their arms down in the middle of the braiding to rest without ruining the braid. It also is more voluminous.

Whereas cage braiding needs french braiding skills and one needs to make it from start to finish without much arm resting inbetween.


There was also this tidbit about cage braid Beborani shared, which I partially already mentioned: in her childhood cage braid was used after washing to contain long, thick hair, but the loose nature of the braid still kept the hair airy which allowed it to dry much faster than if it would have been in a regular french or 3strand braid. So all thick haired folks, take note!

I took some photos of my first cage braid attempt too, and will post it in my blog later on.

[school of fish]

Yet another style that I love the look of but know would be a disastrous mess of tangles on me - in fact that was my first thought when I saw the tutorial pic, haha!! I really love Beborani's alternate though!!!

I wonder if tangling will be the issue it is now once I have my layers grown out... I have SUCH cobwebby-textured hair and always did even before layers - I just don't remember if it was less bad back then because I wasn't paying attention to my hair back then ;) If tangling is less of an issue once the layers are grown out I'll be trying out more braiding styles for sure!!

[Arctic]

Try the cage braid, School of Fish, it basically takes only hair from the crown and the perimeter. Maybe it'd work better than you think. I think cage braid will be regular part of my repertoire from now on.

I took a photo of my first try, I liked it a lot!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=127101

[school of fish]

Oh that's nice!! I can imagine that dressed up with a pretty ribbon to tie off the braid and maybe some little pearl or flower pins - really romantic! Thank you for this!

Okay I'm going to try this tomorrow when I've got some time :) It would be really nice to have a dress-up styling option or two...

A bit off-topic but related - I finally took a couple hairtyping pics that show what my hair looks like more clearly than the siggy/profile/avatar pics I have up. They show the thickness discrepancies quite clearly so will probably help to illustrate one of the reasons why braiding causes me some problems ;) I'm hoping to put those up tomorrow and get people to chime in on what they think I should be typing as :D

[HeartofHaleth]

I tried this...I did it from vague memory of the tutorial, so it wasn't that great, and it's too dark to take a picture today, but I do have some thoughts: I think that this style does really benefit from some "texture" in the hair, like they're trying to achieve with heat styling and product. I also think that our LHC-loved hair, soft, smooth and well-moisturized, has more trouble attaining that messy look that I see a lot in these kinds of tutorials than dry, damaged hair would have, especially without he use of heat and product. I've had problems with a lot of Pinterest styles for that very reason. My hair doesn't have that matte, crispy look that seems to be popular. Anyways, just my :twocents: (and when have I ever known what I'm talking about!).

[Anya15]

So I tried the mermaid braid and it ended up pretty messy because my hair is heavily layered :p the layers kept slipping out, and it was a very fluffy braid? I think I need to take really thin sections to do it (which means it'll take forever with my thick hair), because my braid just looks like a big ball of fluff.

Picture:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=24335&d=1471533833

Didn't have a black hair tie, which is why it's bright orange :lol:

Also, the shrinkage amazes me. My hair is supposed to be WAIST LENGTH.

[spidermom]

I don't like the way that braids swing around when I'm doing something active, so I almost always pin them up. I'm also irritated by my hair at the nape of my neck, which is too bad because I really like the look of a nape bun on me. Anyway, this was interesting to look at, but I know it's something I can't personally wear.

[nijimei]

These giant-volume braids do seem to be extremely instagram and pinterest-popular. I might try this one just to see what it looks like on my hair, but I think I'll always prefer more controllable updos/buns

[Horrorpops]

Hi Artic,

Sorry to hear the braid irritated your neck so much however I personally can't wait to try this style it looks very pretty and elegant (in both the tutorial you shared and also in the photo you posted of your attempt!) thank you for sharing this!! I haven't seen any braids by this method before.... Just when I'd thought I'd seen it all with braids :laugh: clearly I still have much to learn!

[Arctic]

Oh that's nice!! I can imagine that dressed up with a pretty ribbon to tie off the braid and maybe some little pearl or flower pins - really romantic! Thank you for this!

Okay I'm going to try this tomorrow when I've got some time :) It would be really nice to have a dress-up styling option or two...

A bit off-topic but related - I finally took a couple hairtyping pics that show what my hair looks like more clearly than the siggy/profile/avatar pics I have up. They show the thickness discrepancies quite clearly so will probably help to illustrate one of the reasons why braiding causes me some problems ;) I'm hoping to put those up tomorrow and get people to chime in on what they think I should be typing as :D

Did you post your photos already? I haven't been reading here as much lately and haven't seen them. If you tried the braid I hope it worked for you!



I tried this...I did it from vague memory of the tutorial, so it wasn't that great, and it's too dark to take a picture today, but I do have some thoughts: I think that this style does really benefit from some "texture" in the hair, like they're trying to achieve with heat styling and product. I also think that our LHC-loved hair, soft, smooth and well-moisturized, has more trouble attaining that messy look that I see a lot in these kinds of tutorials than dry, damaged hair would have, especially without he use of heat and product. I've had problems with a lot of Pinterest styles for that very reason. My hair doesn't have that matte, crispy look that seems to be popular. Anyways, just my :twocents: (and when have I ever known what I'm talking about!).

Yes some texture is great for this style no doubt. But you know not all LHC members have smooth, soft hair. For some it's just not in the genetics, and for others, they are only starting their journey, and for some, well, they are not even thriving towards the hyper-healthy hair.



So I tried the mermaid braid and it ended up pretty messy because my hair is heavily layered :p the layers kept slipping out, and it was a very fluffy braid? I think I need to take really thin sections to do it (which means it'll take forever with my thick hair), because my braid just looks like a big ball of fluff.

Picture:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=24335&d=1471533833

Didn't have a black hair tie, which is why it's bright orange :lol:

Also, the shrinkage amazes me. My hair is supposed to be WAIST LENGTH.

Yeah messy is the adjective that goes with mermaid braids, layers or not! I like how your came out! Using thinner sections will change the look of the braid too a lot, and you probably are right that it would contain layers better.



I don't like the way that braids swing around when I'm doing something active, so I almost always pin them up. I'm also irritated by my hair at the nape of my neck, which is too bad because I really like the look of a nape bun on me. Anyway, this was interesting to look at, but I know it's something I can't personally wear.

I have the same problem of braids and buns (sometimes even my loose hair) touching my neck.



These giant-volume braids do seem to be extremely instagram and pinterest-popular. I might try this one just to see what it looks like on my hair, but I think I'll always prefer more controllable updos/buns

It might be that these types of braids are more special occasions and/or photography worthy styles. Now that I think about it, it's not often I see these massive, messy braids "live".



Hi Artic,

Sorry to hear the braid irritated your neck so much however I personally can't wait to try this style it looks very pretty and elegant (in both the tutorial you shared and also in the photo you posted of your attempt!) thank you for sharing this!! I haven't seen any braids by this method before.... Just when I'd thought I'd seen it all with braids :laugh: clearly I still have much to learn!

Thank you! I really liked how it looked too even with my shorter hair! Internet has troughly exploded the braid type possibilities. WhenI grew up there were basically english, french, dutch and occasional fishtail, all done neatly at the back with no real creativity put into them. I wonder if anyone can make ALL the braid types? I know I have problems memorizing many braids I have learned at older age. I can make them fine but I need to jog my memory first by glancing instructions.

[school of fish]

Ugh, not yet Arctic! Summer vacation with my older kid out of school and my younger kid being a 2-year-old has meant my best intentions are getting mislaid, haha!! I have my hair-typing photos waiting on my phone (not yet posted) but haven't tried the braid yet... hmmm maybe I could squeeze that in today... or maybe I shouldn't make any grand promises ;)

In the meantime I am enjoying keeping up with this thread !

[Anya15]

I tried Cage braid too, it came out decent though I have no idea how I'll get that nice cage-y effect. I took ultra thin sections of hair (any thinner and I wouldn't be able to hold them properly) and it looked a lot like a regular French braid. Thick hair problems :lol:

[Arctic]

I tried Cage braid too, it came out decent though I have no idea how I'll get that nice cage-y effect. I took ultra thin sections of hair (any thinner and I wouldn't be able to hold them properly) and it looked a lot like a regular French braid. Thick hair problems :lol: Some cage braid tutorial literally grapped the uppermost part of the "cage" and lifted it a bit towards the crown, and pinned it there. This sort of reveals the ribcage-y structure better. I tried it myself and it did work, but I found the pinning had it's own set of difficulties, ha ha.

[JadedByEntropy]

that was a whole lot of work to have a braided-over-braid kind of thing. :/ i need a tutorial..cuz that can't be right.