What is the minimum length for braiding

[keepmyhair]

I am sure my hair is nowhere close to being long enough to braid, but was just wondering, what is the minimum length required to do a braid?

[Nastasia]

Depends on the thickness. Thick hair would need to be longer than thin hair. You could also try doing two braids - that takes less length.

[CarpeDM]

I wasn't able to braid my hair until it got to shoulder length, anything shorter didn't work out too well.

[aenflex]

My hair is just about 17 inches rougly and I can do a decent french braid that ends right at the nape of my neck. I have no layers, though my hair is cut at an angle where the front is a little longer than the back, this really helps the 1st part of the braid to take hold.

[alwayssmiling]

Yes mine was shoulder length to do two side braids, but it looked pretty pathetic and scrappy until my layers had grown out. Now they look thick and neat, I like the way braids look with my winter hats too.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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[2peasinapod]

It definitely depends on the thickness. I wasn't able to do a single braid with my thick hair until almost APL (and even now the short layers at the front always fall out). I could do two braids at a little past shoulder length, but they looked stubby and again with the pieces at the front falling out! :mad:

[Angelica]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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No! I laughed at the title as well! lmao! I don't know if anybody else has noticed!

I have seen braiding done on jaw length hair as well. You don't need your hair to be that long to braid.

[Alix]

It really depends on the thickness. I'm past APL and I can barely do a single french braid. I can do twin braids though, I think I was able to do those at shoulder, and I have a lot of hair.

[Shorty89]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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I did too :lol:

If you can french braid you can braid pretty short hair. I've braided not quite shoulder hair in french braids.

[CrisDee]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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Hee hee hee, I thought it was just me! Didn't realize a lobotomy was an LHC technique :laugh:

[2peasinapod]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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LOL, I clicked on the thread just to see what on earth the title was actually supposed to be! :p

[CrisDee]

Hahaha, a moderator must have seen it and changed it! :) Ok, now back to the actual topic (braiding):

Some people can French braid amazingly short hair. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people. Pictures from someone who is? :)

[alwayssmiling]

Hahaha, a moderator must have seen it and changed it! :) Ok, now back to the actual topic (braiding):

Some people can French braid amazingly short hair. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people. Pictures from someone who is? :)

Me neither :(. I have tried and tried - I just don't have enough fingers and pairs of hands it just gets me cross lol. I think its such a neat and tidy braid I would love to be able to do it.

[auburn]

it can be made with medium bob.

bit it only looks good from shoulder or more.

[KittyLost]

I was able to french braid and normal braid at 15inches.

French braids work better but a normal braid I could only get the hair around once. It worked a bit better in pigtails too. For reference I have a blunt cut with a side fringe! No layers.

[ingvild]

My shortest layer is is about shoulder length now, and I'm still not able to do (in my mind) a decent French braid. Or, it looks good for a very short while, and then it all withers away. :P I can do two braids though, that hold well. :)

What I did a lot when I had shorter hair (and still do, really...), was do a deep side part and do a French braid across my forehead and towards the back of my head. I think that looks really good, and it keeps the fringe away. :3 You can have it go into a ponytail or just pin it to your head.

[Anje]

French-braided pigtails can be done pretty short (above shoulder length). If you do lots of smaller braids, you can do it even shorter than that. Search for "cornrows" for an example of what I mean. With enough braids, eventually almost any length can be braided. But a single braid in back takes a bit past shoulder, I think.

[ddiana1979]

I think if it's long enough to get into a ponytail with an inch or two hanging loose (& your hair's not layered), you can braid it (although you may only have one or two "braids" sequences, if you will. You may need some aloe or hair gel to keep stray pieces from popping out.

If you can French or Dutch braid, you can probably get away with even shorter than that.

[jojo]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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no i LOL too braining! ha ha!!

[MandyBeth]

When I joined with not quite jaw length, I could do two French braids.

At 17" or so, or just around SL - collarbone in the front - I can do a single French that mostly stays in, the front few stands fall out.

English braid. *heehehehehehehe* Sorry, not even close. Not close in my wildest dreams. I can get ONE cross over, and even then half of it falls out.

[pepperminttea]

I used to have my hair put into twin French braids after a haircut which usually took my length to shoulder (this was quite a while ago, before I could do them myself). If you can't do braids with all your hair yet, you can still do accent French/Dutch braids at the front for practice and some fun detail. :)

[teela1978]

I used to do twin french braids with a chin-length layered cut. Needed a few bobbypins to keep it all back though. Braiding is possible before a ponytail in my experience.

[IcarusBride]

I've seen some people do cornrows with hair less than an inch long, I was shocked! I don't have that kind of skill... I have a hard time doing braids on my sister's shoulder-length hair!

[christine1989]

My hair is at BSL and still won't go in to a good braid :(. I think waist is my minimum length for braiding.

[Spike]

On my hair it's BSL. Any shorter and there's not enough "twines" to hold the ends in place.

[Lianna]

I have layers from chin to shoulder. I can do a french/dutch braid, or pigtail braids.

[keepmyhair]

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am i the only one who giggled at the title? :D

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OMG I must have been really tired when I posted this :D Sorry if it caused any confusion... I am sure it must have been quite entertaining :p

I guess the consensus seems to be at least shoulder length to be able to do a French braid (or maybe two), and APL for an English braid. ok I guess I have a bit of a wait, since my hair is still a couple inches shorter than shoulder length.

[Mexibeach]

Hmmm, my hair is now at shoulder length - but with all the dandy layers I have in it, it will need to be a bit longer for braiding. I can get a nice french braid started.... DARN these layers!!!

[LawyerGirl]

Before my hair was long enough for one braid (shoulder-length-ish) I could do two french braids that met at the nape.