Dark hair + braids not so nice?

[baaaad_kitty]

Hi everyone. I love braiding my hair, I can do intricate braids and whatever BUT my hair is dark. With henna it turned jet black. I noticed that the women who have lighter hair have it so much better! You get to see the details of the braid, unlike when you have black hair like I do, the braids look like one lump of well.. lumpy hair.

Anyone else has this frustration?

[trolleypup]

Braids in dark hair look just fine! Remember that most people will be seeing them in better light and at a better angle than you can yourself!

[EmiliaF]

I also think that braids in dark hair look great. Even if it looks like 'one lump of hair' in the mirror, sunlight outside always makes hair look great, because of the light reflections.
I also think that black hair mostly looks much glossier than blond hair, especially in a braid.
I found one really nice picture of a french braid with dark hair. I am just posting the link, because I don't want to 'steal' the picture... :bigeyes:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Z-0uXNRLnoc/TGm3Fp7qbMI/AAAAAAAACuY/A7Ua8OJlUHE/s1600/french-braids-330x439.jpg

[sweetestpoison]

honestly i think it depends. When i wear my hair in a fishtail braid people notice it's a fishtail, but if i do a braided chinese bun they can't really see the beautiful intricacy like i can. But that's just my hair, it could also be the area i live in and people around here don't pay attention to stuff like that XD

[|Xei]

I don't know how well it'll work with braids, being not much of a braider myself, but you could try coloured clip-in extensions. I think it looks awesome when different colours are woven into a braid, and with intricate braids, it'll probably look even more amazing.

[vanity_acefake]

I have very dark hair like you and yes I think in certain styles it is harder to see the detail in dark hair. The upside is that dark hair tends to look more glossy than blonde hair.
I have been blonde, red and every colour of the rainbow in-between and the darker the glossier. When I was blonde (bleached obviously) I missed the shine so much. Plus the upkeep was horrendous. It has taken me 36 years to accept my natural hair colour and I love it.
Plus I find with my darker hair you can get away with washing it less. I find my dark hair hides the greace better then when I was lighter.
I still go weak at the knees when I see amazing blonde/red/any other coloured hair than mine though!
:)

[lilravendark]

Hmmm never encountered this problem when I'm out and about people notice the braids but I do notice it when I try and take pics of my braids they have to be in good strong light or I have to up the contrast so the photos show more detail.

[sweetestpoison]

Hmmm never encountered this problem when I'm out and about people notice the braids but I do notice it when I try and take pics of my braids they have to be in good strong light or I have to up the contrast so the photos show more detail.

Oh goodness yes! In the picture i took of one of my new hair toys you couldn't see the beautiful rope braid bun i did, it just looked like a big dark mass of something o.O lol

[PolarCathy]

In my world there is nothing nicer than a shiny, smooth, dark braid. And I henndigoed two days ago.

[JulietCapulet]

I see what you are saying, but I don't feel that way and my hair is almost black.

[Sunshineliz]

I know what you mean. My daughters have dark hair and I like to do hairdos on them, but I'm often a little disappointed that the details can get lost in the dark hair. It's all the little shadows the braids make that show up better in the lighter hair. They still look good and I don't wish their hair was lighter, but I wish the details showed better sometimes. But a gorgeous dark braid is still extremely lovely.

My hair is silvering and so many colors, I don't have that problem anymore! Sometimes I like that, and sometimes I don't.

[Angeletti]

I can totally relate, when I went blonde as a teen everything showed up a lot better whether it be braids or curls. I still wouldn't trade my dark hair for anything though : )

[Madora]

Oh, brother! Sing it sister! Having dark hair is a real drawback when it comes to photography (unless you have someone skillful taking the picture!)

I do so envy the blondes, and especially the redheads, whose braids are displayed so beautifully!

This "darkness" issue also pops up when watching hairstyling videos on You Tube...a case in frustration if there ever was one because you can't see the braids being formed because everything tends to "melt" into each other!

This was not evident on the Karen Ribble braid DVD that I purchased several years ago..thank goodness!

Also, I think the angle has a lot to do with successful dark hair photography. If you can arrange to have the light fall just right on a head of dark/black hair, you'll have a stunning image!

[nucleardelusion]

I like braiding my boyfriend's dark hair in different ways while he's playing video games (bwhahaha). Although his hair is very dark, each detail seems to have it's own shine! I've always been jealous of that. Sure, you can see detail in my hair... but it never looks quite as sleek as his to me. :mad:

[Yozhik]

Sometimes this fact frustrates me when I'm trying to show off a cool updo I've done for LHC, and my camera won't cooperate. :mad:

In general, however, I love my dark hair and wouldn't trade it for any other color. It also depends a lot on the type of light (and flash ;)). Feel free to take a look at my updos album -- I think I've managed to capture detail fairly successfully there.

[faerielady]

Anyone else has this frustration?

Nope. I have dark brown/black hair and I regularly get comments on my beautiful glossy braids, even though they are still short & stumpy.

[julliams]

Oh no - I think dark hair shows up beautifully in a braid because of all that shine!!! I never seem to get any kind of shine in my lighter hair.

[elbow chic]

I guess I can see how that'd be true. BUT, on the flip side, I am blond and a pretty mediocre braider and it annoys me that my hair shows every lump, bump, stray strand and uneven division. Not to mention every bit of grease.

Merciless! Blond hair is a white bias gown, a beige sofa in a roomful of toddlers, a plush white carpet in the mudroom.

[terpentyna]

To be honest, I love fishtail braids and intricate french braids on blonde hair. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but the highlights play so well in blond hair.

When it comes to other braids its then a matter of quality and not just color. That's my opinion.

[Sunshineliz]

I guess I can see how that'd be true. BUT, on the flip side, I am blond and a pretty mediocre braider and it annoys me that my hair shows every lump, bump, stray strand and uneven division. Not to mention every bit of grease.

Merciless! Blond hair is a white bias gown, a beige sofa in a roomful of toddlers, a plush white carpet in the mudroom.


LOL! Especially the toddlers with the beige sofa.

I'm starting to learn that silver hair is similar to blonde in that regard. Makes me think I've got to smooth everything better.

[jaine]

I have the same frustration with my braids ... all that hard work and I can't even see the result!
I don't braid my hair very much because of it. Maybe later I'll change my mind though. I agree that other people can probably see it just fine.

[meumar]

I'm Indian so have very dark hair - I think braids look great! Plus braiding hair is a very traditional Indian look.

[meumar]

Maybe if you wanted the hair to show up more you could try highlights? Some red or caramel streaks might bring out the detail in the braids.

[triumphator!]

Hm, you could adjust the midtone on your photos. Or use backlighting behind the camera when you take pictures... My hair is almost that dark, I feel yalls pain :-/

[Madora]

@ triumphator...

I've tried adjusting the photos too..but sometimes the hair color isn't true to form. Still, its fascinating to see what you can do (with Adobe Photoshop Elements 7)!

[karenpetal]

I have darkish hair too and feel same about my hair - but I think it is more of my hair problem - braids can look gorgeous on dark hair

here are some gorgeous dark braids !!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2113/2363585904_86b6140635.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/2127818991_3835f24b30.jpg

Also braids look best on hair with color variations blonde with dark streaks for examples give lovely look to a french braid !! I once almost wanted to streak my dark hair with blondish streaks to get the look

[ravenreed]

I don't have that problem. In person, my hair is really shiny and shows braids well. How about braiding a ribbon into your hair so you can see the braid a little easier?

[pepperedmoth]

It's funny, a lot of things about my hair frustrate me, but I've always loved being a brunette.

[Fethenwen]

If find braids in dark hair nice because the shine shows up more :)

[CrystalStar]

I think some of the intricate detail of the braid can be lost, but as shown by EmiliaF, the shine that dark hair gets easily makes up for it. :D I suppose it would be a bit of a shame to spend hours perfecting an intricate multiple stranded braid for people to not be able to admire it in the same sense as they would be able to on a lighter haired person, but there are downsides and upsides to dark and light hair.

[sweetestpoison]

Hmmm never encountered this problem when I'm out and about people notice the braids but I do notice it when I try and take pics of my braids they have to be in good strong light or I have to up the contrast so the photos show more detail.


I have darkish hair too and feel same about my hair - but I think it is more of my hair problem - braids can look gorgeous on dark hair

here are some gorgeous dark braids !!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2113/2363585904_86b6140635.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/2127818991_3835f24b30.jpg

Also braids look best on hair with color variations blonde with dark streaks for examples give lovely look to a french braid !! I once almost wanted to streak my dark hair with blondish streaks to get the look


While those braids are gorgeous, they also are in intense lighting. I can't take a picture of a braided updo in my normal bedroom lighting because it is too dim, and that's when it becomes a hassle =\

[MissManda]

I have fairly dark hair and have the same problem. The lighting in my house is just terrible for photographing darker hair and adjusting camera settings doesn't help, especially if it isn't a particularly high-quality camera. My DF has even darker hair than me and even though his hair doesn't show up well indoors, it looks great in natural light.

I also love braiding ribbons, scarves, or even leather into my hair if I want to show off my braid more.

[baaaad_kitty]

Hmm ribbons, scarves? How do you get a scarf into your hair?!

[jojo]

your joking? braids in dark hair look beautiful think Pocahontas and native red Indians gorgeous hair!

[Audrey Horne]

I think black braids look gorgeous! To accept own natural colour can be tough, though. I had hard time accepting mine. I still can't wear braids because they look so terribly thin :'(

[Kristin]

I don't feel that way at all. People always compliment my braids.

[MagicAndMayhem]

I kinda feel the opposite, when I had lighter hair, my roots were clearly visible in braids! I think braids in black hair are gorgeous.

[JuliaDancer]

I think maybe you are being overly critical of your hair because of how you see it in your bathroom or bedroom. Someone mentioned and I also have noticed that black hair can often be more shiny than blonde, which gives it a different sort of dimension in braids. I have very dark, almost black hair, and I braid it all the time. Not just Pocahontas type braids, but pinned up - and people do notice! So don't worry! Maybe you just need to hang around more chatterboxes...

[ooo]

Braids do look good in dark hair, but it looks more subtle. That's probably the reason why I coloured a whole layer of my hair blue.

[HintOfMint]

True, you don't see the details as much with dark hair, although a healthy dose of shine ameliorates that.

On the bright side though, dark hair can hide some of the imperfections in a braided updo while still showing off the intricacy of it. For example, a stray hair can be tucked away with a black bobby pin, but blonde hair really shows off the imperfections and blonde bobby pins don't blend in as well.

Also, I feel that dark hair can get away with more elaborate styles without looking overdone or princessy for the reason you described. I could do a crown braid and not have anyone blink twice. My blonde roommate could do the same style and get the comment, "Hey Heidi!"

I do love a dutch or french crown braid in blonde streaked hair, it has such gorgeous dimension. But I do count my blessings for having dark hair, particularly when it comes to braids.