French Braid Woes

[Synthemesc]

So it seems french braids completely baffle me. I can watch them being done over and over again, but when I try and do them (even on other people!) I just end up with a mess. Anyone else have trouble with these? And is it just one of those things that just "clicks" one day?

[spidermom]

I think so. A roommate and I used to practice on each other, and I remember having an ah-ha! moment.

[Synthemesc]

That makes me feel better, just hope I click sooner rather than later! :)

[Tiina]

I couldn't manage them either for years but repeating the mantra "...middle to left, add to left, middle to right, add to right, middle to left, add to left, middle to right... etc..." whilst braiding helps and besides that, its just a matter of not getting your tails tangled.

[tinti]

Yeah, I think it is. I also tried and tried to make a french braid, but it always got tangled and stuff. One day I just decided to do a lower one, and then it just clicked. Then I just practiced.

[Long_hair_guy]

Yeah it took me a bit to work out. I always knew how to braid but for some reason adding hair was impossible.

One day it just clicked and now its impossible to mess it up

[dropinthebucket]

Thanks to all the great advice i got in the French Braid, Explain it to me like i'm a 2 Year Old thread, i can just do it now - but i can't do it neatly, or when my hair is wet, half-wet, or nearly dry. It has to be fully dry and preferably oiled, or the hairs escape my fingers, and stick to each other, and don't want to stay in their packets, and get twisted on my knuckles, and ... anyway, i can do it now! with more practice, it will get prettier! :)

[Mexibeach]

Try to get a long-haired Barbie and practice on her - it's different than doing it on your own hair but the Barbie hair is sticky (if that makes any sense) so it doesn't slip out of place as easily as our hair does. Once you practice on that a little while, I am sure the muscle memory will kick in and you'll get a good braid in your own hair!!

[spidermom]

I also found that it's easier to learn a new braid on yourself by practicing on one side of your head (rather than in the back).

[Juneii]

I learned the french braid by making braided french pigtails. Because they're on the side (like spidermom said) you can see it easier in the mirror and will make more sense.

[squiggyflop]

i had trouble with them (read: couldnt do one to save my life) until my ah-ha moment while watching torrin paige's video on it..

im no where near great at it but i can actually do it well enough to leave the house in them now..

[MsBubbles]

I couldn't manage them either for years but repeating the mantra "...middle to left, add to left, middle to right, add to right, middle to left, add to left, middle to right... etc..." .

How does that work?! I've been doing outside to middle, outside to middle...

[Loreley]

I managed to do an acceptable french braid a few weeks ago and I tried to make one today but I couldn't. I'm not patient enough and I'd need more practice. :p

[Laurenji]

There's definitely an "a-ha" moment. I've known how to English braid my hair for years, but it was only last year that I figured out how to French braid it, even though I'd looked at lots of tutorials and had people try to help me and all sorts of things. I just had to keep practicing, and finally one day somehow it made sense. Kind of like juggling, I noticed--you can practice forever and ever and you don't seem any closer to being able to do it, and then one day suddenly (magically!) it works.

[Tiina]

How does that work?! I've been doing outside to middle, outside to middle...

Well, it goes both ways, the outside goes over the middle to be the new middle and the middle goes under the outside to be the new outside. It just depends on which way you think of it. :p

[spidermom]

Well, it goes both ways, the outside goes over the middle to be the new middle and the middle goes under the outside to be the new outside. It just depends on which way you think of it. :p

I was kind of confused, too. I always think "add to right strand, right over middle, add to left strand, left over middle"....repeat.

[Jessikinz]

Just keep practising! You will get it soon. It took me a little while to get the hang of it. You might even be able to find your own technique on french braiding. For me, I use my thumbs to grab sections of hair. Makes it soo much easier and faster, rather than holding the sections in one hand and using the other hand to grab the other sections. For some odd reason my french braids always take more time to do than dutch braiding. I prefer the dutch braid than the french one. Good luck! :blossom:

[NorthernDancer]

I started doing braids on my mom when I was 6 or 7 (it was her deal if I still wanted bedtime stories). I think I graduated to french by 9, but it was three or more years after that before I could do one on myself. Now I'm so used to doing them on myself that I need to think about it if I want to do it on someone else. :P

I had this really great flip book (that I can't remember the name of) that had all different types of braid styles and how to do them. It had a diagram of how to hold the strands in your fingers that made it really simple for me (and remember I was a kid).
Hey, I think I found it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1570540187
I'm not sure if this was the one with the diagram, but it was one of the ones we had.

[AZDesertRose]

As many have said before me, there's definitely an a-ha moment. For AGES, I could do one on someone else's hair but not my own. It took LOTS of practice before I could do a French braid on my own hair. So it may not be what you want to hear, but just keep practicing and you'll be able to do it.

[linda g]

I'm the opposite, I can do a French braid fairly easily on my own head, but for the life of me, I can't do one on someone else!

[tofuowl]

I'm the opposite, I can do a French braid fairly easily on my own head, but for the life of me, I can't do one on someone else!

Same! I can't french braid the sides of my head to save my life either. I think for most people, it's easier to learn to do pig tails. I just find it awkward to have to reach around my head like that (if that makes sense). Maybe if my hair were shorter, and the ends didn't tangle constantly, it would be easier to practice on the sides--as it is, my top arm gets tired before I'm halfway through :P

On other people, my muscle memory for how to braid behind my head definitely doesn't translate.

[Synthemesc]

Thanks for all the tips, guys! *gets back to practicing*

[Purdy Bear]

I can do a French braid, now, but I did find it hard just to work out how from videos and instructions, but that is on a styling head as I cant practice on myself just yet and I dont think my dog would appreciate it.

The hardest thing Iv found is doing a rope french braid, the rest Iv seemed to conquer and Iv just tried a rope crown braid.

I think a lot is hand dexterity and hand/eye co-ordination, once youv got that it might be easier.

[minaa]

I definitely feel like french braids are practice makes perfect, for me. My hair is too short right now, but as it gets longer I'll play with the ideas more. I think knitting or crocheting helps with dexterity a ton, and learning how to feel natural fibers in one's hands.

Otherwise, braiding is a skill. You'll get it eventually, even if there's a mental block right now! :]

[Synthemesc]

So it just happened.
I was practicing after breakfast this morning, and after a few of the usual messes tangled up in my fingers, a very messy french braid started to appear! I knit and play guitar a lot, so I have no idea why my fingers were a problem with this one. However, now I know how to go about it I had a go at the dutch braid, which weirdly I find a little bit easier.