easy braids for beginners?

[softheartedandl]

I really want to start braiding my hair more. Right now it's right at tailbone length. I can do the typical three strand braid and a (very weak) herringbone. Are their any beginner-friendly braids/braided hairstyles you could recommend?

[lapushka]

I really want to start braiding my hair more. Right now it's right at tailbone length. I can do the typical three strand braid and a (very weak) herringbone. Are their any beginner-friendly braids/braided hairstyles you could recommend?

ladollyvita333 or ladollyvita33 has a braid-dictionary among her videos. I'll see if I can find it. Very useful resource!

This is it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ifoTyHoA4

[softheartedandl]

Thank you so much!

[lapushka]

You're welcome! :D I hope it helps!

[_fred_]

Hey :) I'm learning braids right now (though my hair is nowhere near as long as yours!), and I found this video really useful:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey8xFcqe9Qs&t=318s

The presenter is a little intense, but if you skip the beginning there are some good instructions for different types of braid. I always skip the pulling out stage, and I've managed to get some really neat and tidy styles from this. Once I've got more hair I might try the more relaxed looks though!

Best of luck!

(Edited to fix my poor copy pasting!)

[softheartedandl]

Thanks so much!

[browneyedsusan]

Hawser and cable braids are easy, but look complicated. (My favorite!)
Rope braids are easy too, but shred amost immediately for me -- I make it work with barely damp hair, and by the time I get the hawser or cable done, it's ready for some hairspray. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN6vViQJBWQ&t=513s

[Otempura]

Fishtail braids are pretty easy! They take a while though, especially if your hair is longer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be6jGqWmu4g

That's a pretty good video :D

[AmaryllisRed]

_fred_ thank you for sharing that video! There was one in there I've been trying to figure out for a long time!

[spirals]

Here's my tip: if you are doing a French, think right over [middle], left over [middle] and if you are doing a Dutch, think middle over [left], middle over [right]. Those words still go through my mind 30 years after learning those braids.

[Lady Stardust]

Here's my tip: if you are doing a French, think right over [middle], left over [middle] and if you are doing a Dutch, think middle over [left], middle over [right]. Those words still go through my mind 30 years after learning those braids.

That’s a fantastic tip, thank you! I get totally confused with Dutch plaits but just saying “middle over” makes it easy peasy.

[softheartedandl]

Thanks so much for this tip! It makes things so much clearer and I love dutch braids so I think I'll try this out as soon as possible!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

That’s a fantastic tip, thank you! I get totally confused with Dutch plaits but just saying “middle over” makes it easy peasy.

I have always remembered them this way too! :D It makes it so much easier when doing them.

[spirals]

OK, here's another: when you get to the point of 5-strand braids, think of it as doing a Dutch on one side and English on the other. So let's say you start out on your left side with 3 of the strands. Do a complete set of turns English. Take the right-most strand and pull it over to the right for a braid over there. But you are going to do a Dutch, so on that side the middle needs to cross over the others. So whenever you are braiding on the left it's English and on the right it's Dutch. The two braids you're doing keep passing a strand back and forth. I hope that makes sense. :hmm:

[Spikey]

I'd second rope braids, those are easy once you start them. Just make sure you're twisting the individual strands counterclockwise and twisting them both toghether clockwise, and then it becomes really easy. I also found four strand braids to be on the simple side, but they do take a bit of practice. Good luck!

[Kat]

I did my first four-strand weave pattern braid today! Easier than I thought. Pretty, but I bet most people wouldn't even notice it's not a regular three-stand... (I used to do the four-strand "x" pattern braid too, but even I could barely tell it wasn't a three-strand braid so I didn't think it worth the effort).

I totally failed at herringbone/fishtail braids today, though. I almost never do them, and haven't in a couple of years, so that is probably part of the problem. I don't recall having any trouble with them when I did them before, though...

[Simsy]

I totally failed at herringbone/fishtail braids today, though. I almost never do them, and haven't in a couple of years, so that is probably part of the problem. I don't recall having any trouble with them when I did them before, though...

Fishtail braids are a bit hit/miss. I can’t do them because my hair rather violently objects to that particular braid pattern. The length isn’t much help for getting them to work either. They look pretty though; which makes it more of a pity.

Tip for braiding, most people won’t notice the complicated 4 or 5 strand efforts simply because it looks like “just a braid”. They also tend to be completely oblivious to the sheer awesomeness of a intricately braided bun, because it looks like “just a bun”. I personally still like to try 4-strands and the occasional 5-strand if my hair is happy to be fiddled with, but more often than not, I’m in straight English braids for work.

The muggles really don’t notice much about hair if it’s in a updo, which does annoy me occasionally. Like, dammit, I spent an hour making this updo; a comment that “it looks nice” would be appreciated.

[ravenskey]

I totally failed at herringbone/fishtail braids today, though. I almost never do them, and haven't in a couple of years, so that is probably part of the problem. I don't recall having any trouble with them when I did them before, though...

A tip for fishtails is too make a ponytail and then topsy it before braiding - the pony means that you don't have to worry about the top being loose(a problem I always have) and the topsy means it's not too obvious as the shape kind of blends with the braid.