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View Full Version : Which way do you naturally braid on yourself?



Alix
January 1st, 2011, 09:11 AM
If I'm not thinking about what I'm doing my hands naturally make a dutch braid. It took me a really long time to figure out the mechanics of doing a french braid on myself.

On other people its the opposite though, I can do french braids easy, but it takes me a while to do a french braid.

How about you?

leoninnu
January 1st, 2011, 10:08 AM
French braid. I have difficulties trying to do Dutch and my brain goes broke from trying so I generally stay away from styles requiring it :headache: I should really try to learn though. Maybe I would learn better if I tried watching videos of Dutch braid making instead of just text and pictures?

bunzfan
January 1st, 2011, 10:23 AM
I can only braid my own hair which is very strange.

HairColoredHair
January 1st, 2011, 10:25 AM
French is easiest on myself and others...

If I try to do Dutch for whatever reason the moment my attention wanders I'm doing French again and the braid goes all topsy turvy.

jaine
January 1st, 2011, 10:26 AM
I still have a lot of trouble french braiding or dutch braiding my own hair but I can easily do braids on other people - french, dutch, lace braids, 5-strand, or even a basket weave. It's so much easier for me on other people's hair. I feel like my own hair is too slippery and too short to stay in the braid. Maybe at APL I'll be able to braid my own hair!

GoddesJourney
January 1st, 2011, 10:30 AM
I English braid behind my head and up. I can French it okay. I have to think about Dutch braiding, but if I'm just doing it over my shoulder it can go either way.

trillcat
January 1st, 2011, 10:30 AM
I can French braid without any thought, Dutch, not so much. I can do it, but it takes a lot of concentration and once I flip the braid over my shoulder to finish it, my brain completely shuts down and forgets left from right and up from down and it isn't pretty at all! Weird that just a simple change of direction can slam my brain shut like that.

firefly42
January 1st, 2011, 10:45 AM
i can do either one with ease so it just depends on what kind of braid i want for the day. I english braid my hair at night.

Angeletti
January 1st, 2011, 10:45 AM
Dutch for me, I found it was easier for me when taking the outside pieces underneath the middle when I first started braiding.

Crackaleen
January 1st, 2011, 10:57 AM
Neither, I can't French or Dutch braid to save my life. :( The most I can do is a simple English braid. My fingers just aren't coordinated enough and I think it has to do with how I originally taught myself how to braid. After watching lots of braiding tutorials, I've realized the way I hold and maneuver the strands is different.

Vorvolaka
January 1st, 2011, 11:24 AM
I can French braid without really thinking about it. Dutch braiding needs some concentrating, especially at the nape of my neck. But, because I need to think about it, my Dutch braids are usually neater and better looking.

meishkamooshka
January 1st, 2011, 11:35 AM
Dutch braiding came to me more naturally than French braiding. I sometimes still have a little difficulty with French braiding even though I learned it first and have been doing it longer!

Madora
January 1st, 2011, 11:50 AM
When I was younger I prefered a French Dutch braid.

Now that I'm less limber, I use the my lace english method for my crown braid while standing bent over, with all my hair in front of me. It's easier on my arms and the results are easier to achieve. I prefer to lace English braid my hair crown, although I can lace dutch it also.

Dani
January 1st, 2011, 12:01 PM
French is easiest on myself and others...

If I try to do Dutch for whatever reason the moment my attention wanders I'm doing French again and the braid goes all topsy turvy.

I am exactly the same as all this. :D :p

pepperminttea
January 1st, 2011, 12:11 PM
French. My Dutch braids still need work; they don't feel at all natural to my hands.

spidermom
January 1st, 2011, 12:25 PM
French, Dutch, and herringbone braiding are easy and feel natural. I have more trouble with 4-strand and more strand braiding.

LissaJane
January 1st, 2011, 12:36 PM
French is easiest for me- I've never done a dutch braid. I am slowly convincing myself and picking up the courage to try and attempt it.

Kat
January 1st, 2011, 12:49 PM
Yup, when I do an English braid, i cross the strands under. That translates to a Dutch braid. I don't like a Dutch braid so well as French, so that gives me problems. I've tried French-braiding myself before....disaster! Trying to keep track of which way to cross the hair is a chore all in itself, and then when you add in trying to remember if I've already added side hair...way more than I can keep track of!

Nessie_
January 1st, 2011, 12:58 PM
I automatically do a French braid when I'm braiding. Dutch braids come easily too, but I do have to remind myself while I'm braiding that it's supposed to be a Dutch braid.

maus
January 1st, 2011, 02:35 PM
I can French braid without any thought, Dutch, not so much. I can do it, but it takes a lot of concentration and once I flip the braid over my shoulder to finish it, my brain completely shuts down and forgets left from right and up from down and it isn't pretty at all! Weird that just a simple change of direction can slam my brain shut like that.
I'm a "Frenchie", too, but found that whenever I braid Dutch and get to the point where I would flip it over my shoulder I bend at the waist instead and finish overhead. Seems to work better. ;)

eezepeeze
January 1st, 2011, 09:30 PM
French, Dutch, and herringbone braiding are easy and feel natural. I have more trouble with 4-strand and more strand braiding.

This^. Plus, rope braids, are easy, too. As is lace braiding now, although I had to work at that a bit.

I keep working on the four+ strand braids on just my ponytail. I just don't know about it...I mean, I can execute the weaving, but the braid just looks sooo...odd. I don't think I've got the knack of it yet.

I haven't even attempted a French 4 strand braid!

Plus, they really eat up my length. I only get 3-4 rotations of weaving done before I'm out of hair. I thought I was getting long enough for all the braids, but for the multi-strand ones I still need more length.

Mountaingrrl
January 1st, 2011, 09:38 PM
I usually default to a plain English braid. I tend to do fishtail braids more in the summer.

MissManda
January 1st, 2011, 09:52 PM
I can do French, Dutch, and English braids without having to think about them, but that's because I prefer braids to buns and I've had lots and lots of practice. :)

owlathena
January 1st, 2011, 10:00 PM
If I dont pay attention my hands usually make a dutch braid. I usually like them better anyway, since they are more unique than french braids.

Pierre
January 1st, 2011, 10:17 PM
If I start at the front of my scalp and go back, it's a Dutch braid. If I start at the back and go forward, it's difficult, as I have to use the last three slots and pick up hair between my ring and pinky. I use a different method for English/Spanish braids (I'm not sure which it is). I recently did my first crown braid and had to use all three methods and transition between them correctly.

If you mistakenly flip between French and Dutch braids, that's a Belgian braid. If you do that to an English braid, what is it? Belizean? Are there any Canadian braids?

ibleedlipstick
January 1st, 2011, 10:42 PM
When I go to braid my hair just to get it out of my face, I tend to instantly do a French braid. I have to actually put thought into it to do a passable Dutch braid.

Uni&Corn
January 1st, 2011, 11:38 PM
For me doing a dutch braid comes naturally. I always have to think before doing French

HoneyJubilee
January 2nd, 2011, 01:17 AM
Neither, I can't French or Dutch braid to save my life. :( The most I can do is a simple English braid. My fingers just aren't coordinated enough and I think it has to do with how I originally taught myself how to braid. After watching lots of braiding tutorials, I've realized the way I hold and maneuver the strands is different.
Same for me. I hold the strands much differently from how my mother does, which is strange because I must have learned to braid from her. I end up with the outside strands held by my middle, ring and pinky fingers in sort of a fist and then the middle strand is held by my index finger and thumb of one hand or the other (depending on which side is crossing over). I rotate my wrist so a "pinky strand" gets turned to the inside where I can grab it with the index/thumb of the opposite hand, then rotate the wrist of the hand that just grabbed the strand so that the "pinky strand" on that side can be grabbed by my opposite index/thumb. I'm probably not explaining it very well...
Mom uses some method where she pretty much holds all the hair in one hand and uses her other hand to cross the strands.

I can sort of French braid someone else's hair, but it ends up pretty messy. I don't think I've managed to do a Dutch on anyone else's hair, and I haven't figured out how to do either of them on my own hair.

luxepiggy
January 2nd, 2011, 01:34 AM
If I'm not thinking about it, I don't get a braid at all - I just learned how to both French & Dutch braid, so I still have to think about both (^(oo)^)

If I just go to put up my hair without thinking about it, I get a porkbun (^(oo)^)v

arc691
January 2nd, 2011, 02:43 AM
I can do either one just as easily as the other~ on myself! :p On others, my French braid is way better than my Dutch braid.

arc691
January 2nd, 2011, 02:44 AM
Oh, and I can do one with four strands that looks like French on one side and Dutch on the other. I've never tried that on somebody else, though, just myself. I'll have to post a picture sometime. :)

Mirsha
January 2nd, 2011, 02:59 AM
After getting the hang of Dutch braiding I realized it's much easier than a French braid for me. I now really have to think when I'm doing a French braid and remember to cross the strands over instead of under.

I think it's the way I can use my hands while braiding Dutch, since I'm also so much faster at it, lol.

This only applies to inbraided braids, regular braids are usually English.

bettylibertine
January 2nd, 2011, 03:44 AM
I find English braids and French braids to be the easiest and most natural for me. Any other braid I need to make at least three attempts before the result is even vaguely passable!

rosek
January 2nd, 2011, 03:59 AM
My natural is French. I'm still really bad at Dutch!

DARKMARTIAN
January 2nd, 2011, 05:15 AM
I can only do and english and a rope. I have to do a three strand rope though. I tried it with two and for some reason I just couldnt make it stick. I can fly through an english braid on my hair in about 15 seconds though.....:)

katha
January 2nd, 2011, 05:20 AM
I learned frenchbraiding when I was little, so that's a lot easier for me and it's what happens when I just want to "braid" my hair. I can do dutch as well, though.

aggie_deirde
January 2nd, 2011, 05:21 AM
At first I was a french-braider.But I caught myself the other day doing a dutch braid whithout ever realising

Noula
January 2nd, 2011, 05:54 AM
I've never tried a dutch braid and I don't think I know how to french braid properly, I looked at tutorials but they were just confusing so I ended up braiding like I would an english braid, just starting with less hair and adding strands as I went. Perhaps once I've had more practice the tutorials will make more sense.