Braiding Ends

[spidermom]

I like to braid my hair all the way to the end. I thought you might like to see how I bind it.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/tools.jpg
A Goody ouchless elastic
About 2 inch strip of ribbon.

Wet ribbon and wrap around the ends. Apply elastic.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/braidtaper.jpg

O.k. -that came out way bigger than I expected. Anyway, this is how I avoid getting a crimp at the end. The ribbon both protects the ends and gives the elastic something to grip. I remove the binding by pinching between 2 fingers and pulling down.

[Shirlpunzel]

Good idea Spidermom :)

[Druid of Alba]

Thanks for sharing! I will certainly try this when my hair grows :(

[Lixie]

Really good idea, thanks for sharing!

[Kunzang]

Thanks! I'm going to try it right now....

[getoffmyskittle]

Wow, I'm impressed with how little stick-outage you have. I'd never be able to pull that off. :lol:

[LydiaMarie]

Great idea , I just tried it and love it , Thanks

[Yari]

A neat solution! I prefer ribbon to hair elastic or scrunchy.

[spidermom]

Wow, I'm impressed with how little stick-outage you have. I'd never be able to pull that off. :lol:

Hey - 10 minutes after scanning my braids were beginning to resemble those brushes you clean the inside of baby bottles with. A couple of hours after braiding, and I will have single hairs as long as 6 or 8 inches hanging free. They slither out on purpose; I know they do! I've got to add an aged braid scan to this thread later on.

[Jason]

I'm very impressed! That's amazing that you can braid it right down to the very ends.

[Xandergrammy]

I love this idea, spidermom! Do you have any pictures of the whole braid??

[Curlsgirl]

Why do you braid it to the ends? To protect them or to keep them from getting that little indent in them? Just curious! Great idea.

[littlemiss]

IV never really thought about it before but do you think I could be damaging my ends when tying them with just simple ouchles ties??

[Meli]

This is great! I have also some problems with bent/broken hairs where I put the elastic. I just have to try this!
*wanders off to find some ribbons*

[angelthadiva]

Interesting idea; and I just happen to have some ribbon on hand...I love it when that happens!

[Anje]

That's very impressive! I always have a strand or two run out before the other(s), so I don't have much luck getting to the ends. I suppose that's the peril of a U-shaped hemline, but I don't want to go to blunt until somewhere past classic.

[mommy101405]

good idea good idea

[Sam-I-Am]

Excellent idea! Those type of elastics have given me breakage in the past, but I love how you've used them with the ribbon to protect your ends better.

[Nat242]

That's such a great idea!

If I want wavy hair, I put my hair in lots of little braids when wet. My hair looks great when I do this, except for that funny kink at the bottom. Thanks for solving my problem, Spidermom! :flowers:

:cheese::cheese::cheese:

[psvzum]

I LOVE it! What a great idea and pretty too!

[Moezland]

I really like this idea too, what a great way to protect the ends:agree:.

[eresh]

That's a great way of tying the ends, I'm always fighting with an elastic to get it round the ends and it slips away because it's so thin in the ends there's hardly anything to "grip", but the ribbon bit does the trick I see!

Funny that you put your braids under the scanner :)

[jojo]

thats a really good idea, thanks for sharing

[spidermom]

Why do you braid it to the ends? To protect them or to keep them from getting that little indent in them? Just curious! Great idea.

I braid it to the ends for both reasons. Also because when I take it out, I don't want a sharp line of demarcation in my waves where the braid ended and the tassle began. A lot of times, after I braid it, I bring the ends around the top of my head for my avatar style, and it all tucks much nicer if it's braided to the very ends.

[1nuitblanche]

This is such a good idea! Thank you so much for sharing!

[Silver & Gold]

OK, this is my favorite new idea. Thank you tooooooo much for sharing!

[AprilElf]

Thanks for sharing your great technique, spidermom!
This is something I will have to try. :)

[WritingPrincess]

I love this idea, and will have to get some ribbon. I remember another method that was mentioned awhile back, where someone would add strands of yarn as she braided, so that by the time she tied off, the tassel was entirely yarn. Just thought I'd share.

[Stagecoach]

Wow, thanks for the tip Spidermom!!!

[sahiba]

Thats quite an idea. Thanks for sharing it.

[spidermom]

You're welcome. By the way, I scanned the braid picture before my trim in March to document how thin my ends had become. A few days ago, I scanned my current braid ends to compare.
Current braid ends (fuzzier because they've been in a couple of hours):
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/agedbraid.jpg
Former braid ends (not fuzzy; immediately after braiding):
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/braidtaper.jpg
Quite a difference!

[Katze]

wow, your braids look great. Hair long enough to drape on a scanner, or a table...sigh...!

Braiding to the ends but covering with ribbon might be the solution for me too. I love braiding, but hate how it "ruins" the look of my ends. Hmm, wonder if I have any of that ribbon left that BF's mom gave me...

thanks for this!

[brok3nwings]

really beautiful! When i start braiding my hair i wish i remember this sugestion! I could only french braid right now and i really cant do it by myself AND noone nows how to :( eheh but anyway, i really like this...and green would actually be one of the colours of choice for me

[longinthehair]

Great idea - of course had to try it; first could not find an appropriate piece of ribbon, but found a piece of cotton binding type length..worked great, except it was leaching the green dye - argghhh - scrapped that...
I then cut up some worn, shall I say undergarment material - stretchy white, doesn't fray..made some little rectangles - and now voila, I use this method when braiding for sleep, and used it the other night for my tai chi class. Love how now the ouchless elastics don't even have to touch the hair. Plus you can keep the end damp..been adding shea butter and misting just before binding at night - works great! Can put the clear or colored ouchless elastic over the whitish nylon material - looks neat and very interesting - super practical to protect my ends! Thanks so much for this wise tip!

[spidermom]

So glad to help, longinthehair.