Questions about braiding thick hair

[JennyLue]

Hello, this is my first post. I have really thick hair and can never get my fishtail braids to look right. They look horrible in fact. But when I braid someone’s hair with thinner/normal hair it looks fine.

Does anyone have any tips/tricks to make this look good? My regular braids never look right at the top either. Do you ladies know of any (YouTube) videos I can watch on this subject?

[ravenskey]

Check out this video https://youtu.be/ht8w19Oulio. I believe she has a 5-inch ponytail circumference.

I myself have a 5.5-6 inch ponytail and can do a fishtail easily now, BUT it took practice. Like any plait, it will improve through time and patience.

[lapushka]

Hello, this is my first post. I have really thick hair and can never get my fishtail braids to look right. They look horrible in fact. But when I braid someone’s hair with thinner/normal hair it looks fine.

Does anyone have any tips/tricks to make this look good? My regular braids never look right at the top either. Do you ladies know of any (YouTube) videos I can watch on this subject?

What's your ponytail circumference? :)

[lucid]

I think it has more to do with it being more difficult for you braiding your own hair, than the thickness of your hair.

It's generally easier getting braids to look nice with thicker hair. I'm sure there is an upper limit where the thickness gets difficult, but imo that would require very, very thick hair.

Wavy hair tends to be a bit easier, as small imperfections blends in nicely, whereas in straight hair, small imperfections will be very obvious. I don't have any experience with curly hair :)

[ravenskey]

I think it has more to do with it being more difficult for you braiding your own hair, than the thickness of your hair.

It's generally easier getting braids to look nice with thicker hair. I'm sure there is an upper limit where the thickness gets difficult, but imo that would require very, very thick hair.

Wavy hair tends to be a bit easier, as small imperfections blends in nicely, whereas in straight hair, small imperfections will be very obvious. I don't have any experience with curly hair :)

I think it depends on how long your fingers are too. I have pretty small hands in general and find that actually holding the strands can be hard, fishtails were terrible for this at first because as I held on to one big strand and the small strand I would drop the other thick strand, just my take on it YMMV.

[Kat]

I think it depends on how long your fingers are too. I have pretty small hands in general and find that actually holding the strands can be hard, fishtails were terrible for this at first because as I held on to one big strand and the small strand I would drop the other thick strand, just my take on it YMMV.

Yup, I find this too, and I think my hands are considered "small."

[g_lou]

Have you tried making quite small sections? Less than 0.5cm works best (for me at least!), although it does take much longer. I'm also a fairly thick-haired, fishtail braid lover but I find it's easier to take sections from the outside rather than the underneath. It's super important to make sure you're not picking up the strand you just added in too and pull the braid tight as you go - you can always loosen it later. Also starting with brushed-out hair if its wavy or curly and applying water/leave in/oil/styling cream helps to flatten the hair and stop it being so 'big'. Hope this helps :)

Maybe my 'big' hands are finally becoming useful...

[JennyLue]

What's your ponytail circumference? :)

About 5.5 inches

My braid is about 2 inches wide and one inch thick

[JennyLue]

I just measured and that’s correct. I guess I need more practice but I’ve tried probably 50 times so I thought maybe was doing something wrong

[JennyLue]

My hands are small.... never thought of that!

[JennyLue]

Thank you so much

[lucid]

I think maybe this girl can be of help to you. She has lots of braid tutorials for long, thick hair:

This one is a hybrid braid, kind of resembles something in between a fishtail and English braid.
https://youtu.be/ZTqf0rdOaBk

[lapushka]

About 5.5 inches

My braid is about 2 inches wide and one inch thick


My hands are small.... never thought of that!

That's a lot, and those 2 combined; I can understand why you're having some trouble.

No suggestions from me, but 5.5 inches is quite thick!!!

How long is your hair right now? Have you thought about perhaps doing buns. My circumference is 4.25 inches and I could bun my hair comfortably as of (about) hip length so you might need to wait for more length with 5.5 inches.

[JennyLue]

That's a lot, and those 2 combined; I can understand why you're having some trouble.

No suggestions from me, but 5.5 inches is quite thick!!!

How long is your hair right now? Have you thought about perhaps doing buns. My circumference is 4.25 inches and I could bun my hair comfortably as of (about) hip length so you might need to wait for more length with 5.5 inches.

Thanks for your input. Your hair is really pretty.

My hair is too heavy to wear in a bun. It’s about 1.5 pounds and to the middle of my butt. I don’t know how to add a picture but I will research it when I get home and see if I can add one.

I appreciate all your comments and can’t wait to go watch the videos when I get off work!

[lapushka]

Thanks for your input. Your hair is really pretty.

My hair is too heavy to wear in a bun. It’s about 1.5 pounds and to the middle of my butt. I don’t know how to add a picture but I will research it when I get home and see if I can add one.

I appreciate all your comments and can’t wait to go watch the videos when I get off work!

Thank you so much!

I understand. Braids seem like it would be a good style for you then.

Have you considered layers to get some "air" into the hair, and lightness? My 4.25 circumference is the reason I layer my hair (my layers are waist to classic and you can see it in my signature).

[spidermom]

Maybe stop being so critical of your braids?

[JadedByEntropy]

use proportionate chunks to your hair thickness. those thin fishtial only work on thin hair. a nice thick fishtail looks even more awesome, but you have to section it right with larger chunks and pull from the back in the right place.

[JennyLue]

https://preview.ibb.co/mVnn1z/C8789365_35_D7_4_B4_A_8_D50_9_DABFE758_DC5.jpg (https://ibb.co/kxBEgz)

Here is an example of how my regular braids look. (Hopefully if it loads correctly)

[JennyLue]

Thanks, I will give that a try

[lucid]

https://preview.ibb.co/mVnn1z/C8789365_35_D7_4_B4_A_8_D50_9_DABFE758_DC5.jpg (https://ibb.co/kxBEgz)

Here is an example of how my regular braids look. (Hopefully if it loads correctly)

That looks great :)

[JennyLue]

That looks great :)

Thank you ❤️

[JennyLue]

This was such a great tip. I was using much too small of sections and it kept getting bunched up. This is the best fishtail I’ve ever been able to do. So thankful I came and asked for help :)

https://preview.ibb.co/kD7NKK/DFA517_F0_B18_B_48_B2_8_F8_E_134_A6789_F2_C0.jpg (https://ibb.co/dmaWDe)
agneepath poem (https://poetandpoem.com/Harivansh-Rai-Bachchan/Agnipath)

[ravenskey]

Your plait looks great JennyLue :)

I just measured my plait: 6cm across the top, 2cm in thickness, and 14cm circumference. This is also on super oiled, compressed hair, it can get waay bigger if I dry brush it.

Here's a picture for reference.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33545&d=1538753658

[JennyLue]

Your plait looks great JennyLue :)

I just measured my plait: 6cm across the top, 2cm in thickness, and 14cm circumference. This is also on super oiled, compressed hair, it can get waay bigger if I dry brush it.

Here's a picture for reference.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=33545&d=1538753658

Thank you! It sounds like we have a similar hair thickness. Do you know how much your hair weighs? Mine hurts my neck which is one reason I love the side braid.

Unfortunately I can’t see a picture and can’t view your profile because I haven’t been cleared by an administrator yet (I’m new)

[ravenskey]

Thank you! It sounds like we have a similar hair thickness. Do you know how much your hair weighs? Mine hurts my neck which is one reason I love the side braid.

Unfortunately I can’t see a picture and can’t view your profile because I haven’t been cleared by an administrator yet (I’m new)

Yes, I thought the same about the thickness - we're thickness twins!

I'm not sure how much my hair weights but I would guess not as much as yours because mine isn't as long - yours is about Tail Bone Length from what you said above and mine is Hip Lenth+.

The reason you can't see the picture is because you can't see profiles yet. I use the LHC photo album which is attached to the profile - I forgot you wouldn't be able to see it!

[lapushka]

Your braids look awesome, BTW! :)

[JennyLue]

Thank you! 💕