Heidi braid help please!

[tanya222]

Ok so I'm experimenting with Heidi braids tonight hoping to perfect it so I can wear my hair like this to work tomorrow.

But I'm having a problem ~ they keep slipping back. I've got about 4 or 5 bobby pins in there and as I'm sitting here I can still feel them slipping back. This won't last 20 minutes let alone an 8-hour shift.

My hair is not freshly washed at all. My last 'wash' was a scalp-only and that was 2 days ago. I can't even recall the last time I washed the length. I do have quite a bit of coconut oil in the length, and some Lush Okra conditioner used in my jaw-length bangs as a leave-in conditioner, but that's it.

What can I do to make them stay? I really don't want to have to resort to putting 'gunk' in my hair, like pomades, waxes, etc. because I'll have to wash my hair more often, as they attract dirt (I know, I used to use them..)

Is there a special way of pinning the braids that I haven't figured out yet? Help!

[Beets]

Man, this was one of the first styles I posted about when I first joined--I can't remember exactly what my question was, but it had to do with fixing the braids for sure!

I tend to have to experiment each time I do this style, but I can tell you that I've had the most success anchoring from the bottom of the braid to the top. So, when I start my braids low, behind my ears, I pull the braid across the top of my head and my first pins are at about the top of my ears, from back to front. I go from there, working up with a pin every inch or so until I use probably six to eight for the whole style.

That said, my most rock-solid Heidi braids have been the ones for which I used Flexi-8s on each side. But Flexi-8s have a particular look to them, a "bling" that I'm not often going for with my styles, so I usually take my chances with the pins.

Good luck. Your hair is beautiful!

[milagro]

My advise - when you braid the pigtails direct them upwards, this way they are not so willing to return in the default position :) and when pinning, grab strands from both braids under one grip. I usually use small claw-clips for that. HTH

[Panth]

When you loop the plaits around your head, are you bending them back on themselves? If so, you could angle the plaits, like the poster above suggested. Or, seeing as you have a fair amount of length, you could do as I do - take r. plait in r. hand and l. plait in l. hand, put the l. plait over your back and in front of your r. shoulder & vice versa. Then start making the crown shape by bringing the plaits forwards and around your head.

... I hope that makes sense.

Basically, instead of just having the plaits arching over your head in a headband shape you end up with a full circle of plaits wrapped around your head. The plaits are lying in a direction they want to go, rather than being reversed, so are less likely to want to escape.

I can usually get away with 4-6 bobby pins if I do that method.

Another thing - is the circle your plaits make more parallel to the floor or perpendicular to the floor? Depending on your head shape you may have different success rates with different angles. When I do heidi braids, my circle holds best when it is closer to being parallel to the floor (i.e. plaits started low behind my ears, circle extending almost to my hairline at the front). When I make one english braid and pin it up faux-crown braid style it stays better if it is more perpendicular to the floor (i.e. looks like the ex-Ukranian Prime Minister's).

Hope that helps you!

[RitaPG]

I can't do Heidi braids either, for the same reason. I'd have to use a LOT of pins and at some point they hurt. Stupid slippery hair!
I found that hair taping lasts all day, though. Might be a little more trouble if you're not used to it but works for me :)

[Madora]

To keep your braids snug and secure, use crimped hairpins.

Bobby pins will not hold securely!

My avatar pic shows the heidi braids style. I used about 8 3 inch hairpins.

[tanya222]

I did also try the "Elizabethan hair taping" as found on Youtube, and I couldn't even get that to stop slipping back long enough for me to tie the ties, as soon as I would start to pull it a bit tight the whole thing would slide :(

My bobby pins are sort of crimped, the longer bar (the bottom bar) is flat but the top bar is crimped (wavy) I found those at a dollar store and got 3 packs just in case they don't get more!

I think I know what you mean Panth, you mean crisscross them behind my head first? Then start wrapping them? That's what I did. If I just took each one and pulled it up and over my head there were two lumps of hair that stuck out at the base of each braid, even though I tried to make the base of the braids taut and snug. So I crisscrossed them first. I hope that's what you mean?

Yeah I don't know how the ex-Ukrainian PM's braids would 'stand up' on her head, mine just automatically lie flat (not perpendicular to the floor). (Sometimes I joke that us Polish people have thick skulls, perhaps we have weird-shaped skulls too LOL)

I did purchase a bunch of U-pins on ebay, they are partly crimped on the sides, but I find that they are so widely spaced they aren't helpful (I tried those with another attempt at a cinnabun and they just didn't hold). I will try them out with heidi braids though!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I won't have the technique down for work today, but I'll keep experimenting!

[enfys]

My fine slipery hair demands a horribly huge amount of pins to hold heidi braids. Upwards of 20. I have to stitch the braids together for them to not slide apart. Crossing two pins in an x shape helps. The best of all is a heavy duty clip just above each ear; I have just ordered two flexi 8s for this purpose!

[spidermom]

If I do a pinned braided style while my hair is still damp, it holds much better.

[eezepeeze]

To use the u pins and get them to stay, slightly squeeze them together, insert the pin going away from your bun to grab a little hair, then turn it into your bun. That way, you are grabbing some scalp hair and they hold better. Don't just jab them in or they will slide out.

[tanya222]

To use the u pins and get them to stay, slightly squeeze them together, insert the pin going away from your bun to grab a little hair, then turn it into your bun. That way, you are grabbing some scalp hair and they hold better. Don't just jab them in or they will slide out.


So I was using them wrong! That's a great idea, if I wasn't so tired from work and my hair wasn't already coiled up for bed I'd try that out right now! Thanks for the help!

[Arya]

If you leave little strands at the top of your head out of the braid, you can braid those in to the length as you wrap, using them to anchor the braid to your head. If you're not a tenderhead, it's a good solution to cut down on pins and have the braid support itself.