What is good to practice on for braiding?

[Fingolphin]

I'm not a good braider at all. I need much practice. I would like to get better so that by the time my hair is long enough again for braiding, I'll be ready! I was just wondering what would be good to practice on for honing my technique, besides an expensive hairdressing bust/head. Ropes? Strands of yarn tied together? What is good for practice? Any good tips would be appreciated.

[vanillabones]

Another person's head I think would be the best :) string/yarn just wouldn't give the same effect especially if you're trying to French braid and grab more pieces. I need practice too.

[Fingolphin]

Another person's head I think would be the best :) string/yarn just wouldn't give the same effect especially if you're trying to French braid and grab more pieces. I need practice too.

For the most part, I don't really have those around me with the patience for that. ;)

[vanillabones]

Hahaha unfortunately neither do I... my sister has BSL hair. She is 20 and doesn't even know how to do an english braid, and she won't let me touch it.

[jasper]

If you just need to learn braiding patterns, yarn would work. And if you're trying to practice a style, you need a head to work on. Preferably, your own. It is so different working on your own head, though, that I don't know what else to suggest. As soon as you get enough length, and it doesn't take as much as you might think for little accent braids, you could start trying out french or lace braids.

http://youtu.be/hmoQKAZfrp8

[AuburnTresses]

Since you're learning on yourself I'll pass on this advice, it sounds backwards but is so true. Practice your braiding away from mirrors. Don't look in any mirrors while you braiding and you'll have a much easier time of it. Trust me, mirrors make everything look backwards so you're going to mess up more.

My hairdresser said practice while watching a movie or tv. That could help once you have the basic idea of a braid in your head, since then you would be relying more on muscle memory, and sometimes that can make it easier.

Hope it helps. Mainly stick in there braids usually come to those that persevere!

[chenille]

I second AuburnTresses. I learned how to French braid many years ago by lying on my bed with my hair hanging off the end (so I didn't have to worry about holding it up). I had to basically teach my fingers what a braid was supposed to feel like. Once I had that down, then I was able to do it in a mirror and worry about keeping it neat, smooth, etc. But I still really only look at the mirror when I'm starting a braid...after that my focus shifts to how it feels in my hands.

Although, back to the original question...if you just want to see what a braid looks like/feels like in front of you, maybe buy a cheap old-fashioned mop head, the kind with the strings?

[Nini]

I'd suggest plain scarves if it's just to practice basic braiding. They have a little more body to them than yarn does.

And as others have said, braiding yourself vs others, big difference! I manage half decent stuff on others, while my own come out fairly nice. (No wonder since I haven't really had the chance to practice much on others...:))

[berr]

Practice braiding them behind your head. LOL Cos it's backwards to doing it on someone else.

[Angeletti]

I second the braiding on yourself. I also never look in mirrors when I braid, I just let my hands do the work and it helps me focus more on what my hands are doing.

[rocket_surgeon]

You might want to try getting cheap clip-in "hair" extensions. They sell them at Claire's, Ardene's and dollar stores and I've seen them in pretty much every colour. You could clip them to something else to practice braiding in general, or clip them to your hair (or a headband) to practice braiding on your own head.

[anniebelle]

Yourself, a friend, or even yarn.:)

[Kristamommyx3]

I learned how to braid, French braid, etc. On one of those almost life-size Barbie heads that are made to style their hair. I got very good as even as a child because she held so still! Lol.

[Lostsoule77]

For just learning to do braids, I second getting a larger doll of some sort. I used to practice on my cabbage patch doll and it worked pretty well. Of course, it is completely different from braiding on your own head. If you specifically only need to braid your own hair (which it seems the case) then you need to just practice on your own head. If your hair is too short to braid the whole length just practice doing smaller, accent type braids. For me watching youtube videos of people doing their OWN hair really helps when I'm trying to learn a new style.

[lapushka]

I'd use somewhat wide ribbon or large bits of string or wool for learning the technique. Bits big enough to easily grab at. Tie them together at the top (strands of 3 or more, whatever the braid is you're wanting to master) and fasten them somewhere (pin underneath your laptop, stick in between a drawer) to practice. Later, clip the whole thing to your head (front, back). It makes it a bit more challenging.