I cannot braid my own hair for the life of me!

[Ruvie]

I am always so impressed when I see pictures here of gorgeous braids and hairstyles, and I would love to re-create them..but I cannot do my own hair for the life of me! I cannot braid my own hair very well either, and lord knows I try. How do you master all of these styles? My hair is just above waist and I cannot even manage a simple sock bun :(

[Gumball]

Trust me I'm in a similar boat. I can do buns, and I can do regular three-strand braids, with the occasional dutch braid on heavily oiled (see "hair that won't hold onto itself like a security blanket") hair. For anything fancier braid-wise I have my girlfriend bubbleguppy to do it. I can braid hair on other people just fine, so I just taught her how to do it. Hehe.

ETA: It's all about practice until either you gradually improve your skills enough where it gets easier or it finally just "clicks" and you figure it out in a snap. I love when things just click. Finding good instructions that work with your brain are really beneficial, too.

[MsBubbles]

I have no advice for you but a boat load of empathy. I just got done spending about 2 hours on and off today trying to french braid my hair. I pulled out about 100 hairs. It got so badly knotted I thought I was going to have to cut the knot out.

If you have anything that works at all, that's good!

[karenpetal]

Ruvie, you are not alone - it took me almost 1 year before I could even do a straight french braid !! Practice Practice and more Practice -

TIll date I can braid other peoples hair very well but not my own :(

[itheleniel]

I can regular braid my hair, but anything fancier, nope. empathy to all who can't french, dutch, rope, braid their own hair.

[pepperminttea]

When I first started learning how to braid my own hair it was so I could sleep without it tangling so much. The great thing was, no-one saw these attempts, and after a few weeks of doing one every night, it became much easier, faster, and neater.

I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon - keep trying! :flower:

[danacc]

Practice. That's the most important thing. For braids--especially French braiding--it helped me to practice, practice, practice on someone else first. Hairstick styles I learned to do on the back of my own head first.

I personally cannot use a mirror. I have a hard enough time getting my brain to visualize what I'm doing on the top or back of my head. Trying to visualize it while a mirror is flipping everything around is beyond my capability. I'll complete the style, and then look in the mirror to either tweak it or learn what I need to do adjust.

[squiggyflop]

um well have you seen torrin paige's videos? i couldnt french/dutch braid until just 2 weeks ago.. i practiced on a styling head too.. practice practice practice.. try doing it before bed.. that way if the braid looks bad no one will care because you will be sleeping on it..

um i cant really use a mirror when im doing it.. it screws my head up..
eta: um with i/ii thickness a sock bun would be very difficult anyway so it may not be a lack of skill