Dutch Braiding Dilemma

[Jcv-Shelley]

Has anyone ever had this problem before? I'd appreciated some tips and advice on how to Dutch Braid without choking my hair.

My hands get pretty sweaty whenever I do my hair for some reason. Not only that, but whenever I try separate strands; little bits I couldn't hold on to stick to the wrong places/ fall out of place. And for some reason, if I don't hold my strands very close to my scalp they loosen up on the upper half. Which means if I'm doing waterfall braids and try to pin back a dutch braid it kinda falls apart. I was thinking that maybe cones would help a bit, since it feels like my hair slightly sticks together whenever I try to braid. Or maybe I'm just handicapped in braiding.

Just a rant. :disgust:

Edit: Could anyone also suggest a product for braiding neatly? Preferably something in the pharmacy, target, walmart, etc.? Many thanks.

And I guess my main problem would be to separate the strands without pieces falling out of my grip.

[Madora]

I don't know for sure, but perhaps your sweating hands are due to your concern that the braid will turn out properly?

To help in braiding you might want to dampen down the hair slightly.

I've also found that an overnight EVOO treatment does wonders for providing plenty of slip that makes braiding so much easier!

As far as the braiding itself, the braids usually turn out crisper if you can make the crossovers as close to the scalp (w/o pulling) as possible. Of course, you can do them more loosely, but the style will look different too.

Also, the most important thing to remember is to always detangle your hair before you begin braiding, and to detangle each section EVERY time you move one section over another! Those end hairs have a nasty habit of "braiding" themselves at the bottom (unless you detangle the strands first).

How to detangle? Hold the 3 strands of hair in one hand. Take the other hand, open your fingers like you are stretching them, then SLOWLY "rake" your fingers down the length of your strands, being sure to separate any tangles you might find. Do not do it in a hurry! Take your time! Once all the hair is detangled, make your next cross over.

If you don't take time to detangle, then you'll end up with a mess, an uncompleted hairstyle, and frustration up to here! Been there..done That! It's no fun having to start over..espec. if your shoulders/muscles are killing you!

[Arya]

Everything madora said.
You don't need product, you need water. Damp hair is much easier to braid. Like just stopped dripping damp. It also holds like a rock. Oily hair is second best, but freshly washed dry hair will mess up your braids every time.

I'd also suggest starting with dutch pigtails, they're easier than one dutch braid.

[Jcv-Shelley]

I don't know for sure, but perhaps your sweating hands are due to your concern that the braid will turn out properly?

To help in braiding you might want to dampen down the hair slightly.

I've also found that an overnight EVOO treatment does wonders for providing plenty of slip that makes braiding so much easier!

As far as the braiding itself, the braids usually turn out crisper if you can make the crossovers as close to the scalp (w/o pulling) as possible. Of course, you can do them more loosely, but the style will look different too.

Also, the most important thing to remember is to always detangle your hair before you begin braiding, and to detangle each section EVERY time you move one section over another! Those end hairs have a nasty habit of "braiding" themselves at the bottom (unless you detangle the strands first).

How to detangle? Hold the 3 strands of hair in one hand. Take the other hand, open your fingers like you are stretching them, then SLOWLY "rake" your fingers down the length of your strands, being sure to separate any tangles you might find. Do not do it in a hurry! Take your time! Once all the hair is detangled, make your next cross over.

If you don't take time to detangle, then you'll end up with a mess, an uncompleted hairstyle, and frustration up to here! Been there..done That! It's no fun having to start over..espec. if your shoulders/muscles are killing you!

Haha, I do get pretty nervous whenever I focus too hard, but the sweaty hands I got from my dad. Even in a prayer circle my cousin told me my hands got sweaty real quick. For some reason, dampening my hair then putting it up causes me the frizzies. But perhaps it's because I'm pulling it too tight? I would love to try the EVOO treatment except that I've been having a strange over-moisturizing/conditioning problem lately. To the point where I'm just WO-ing now. I will try this when I'm back in balance. I always thought that pulling tightly and far away from my head would produce better braids, but it seems that it's doing the exact opposite! Next time I'll make sure to start off in the right foot. Another thing I might be doing wrong is that whenever I cross, I tighten them pretty hard (mostly out of frustration.) I did notice the tangling at the bottom, it's the reason why I didn't want to practice anymore. Thanks for breaking it down and explaining it so nicely, I'll make sure to bookmark this. :flower:


Everything madora said.
You don't need product, you need water. Damp hair is much easier to braid. Like just stopped dripping damp. It also holds like a rock. Oily hair is second best, but freshly washed dry hair will mess up your braids every time.

I'd also suggest starting with dutch pigtails, they're easier than one dutch braid.


I always believed that damp hair is easier to work with, but I'm not fond of the uneven braid waves I've always been getting. I try to wait a few days before braiding but sometimes I can get a little impatient. :p

[Mrspuddinhead]

I find that I can grip the strands and pieces better if my hair is either wet or slightly damp. Other then that I have no advice to offer. Try that and tell us how it goes.

[Tea Lady]

I found torrinpaige's youtube instructions (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Th69mzcBA) to be extremely helpful. I now use a Dutch braid a lot. She tells how to hold the separate sections. I also like how she uses the index and middle finger in a "V" to scoop up hair to add to the braid.

Tea Lady

[Arya]

I always believed that damp hair is easier to work with, but I'm not fond of the uneven braid waves I've always been getting. I try to wait a few days before braiding but sometimes I can get a little impatient. :p

Here's how I get perfect braidwaves
1. start with damp hair. comb through it so there are no tangles at all, and part hair. I often do a side part (not too deep) when making dutch braids with the intention of getting braid waves. If your hair is really prone to frizz, consider smoothing a little aloe vera gel, jojoba oil, or coconut oil to weight the frizz down.

2. Start dutch braiding, making sure you're gathering even amounts of hair. If one strand looks bigger than the others, compensate by adding more hair to the other strands and less to that one to even it out. Even braids are key for even waves. Make sure that you're crossing the strands over as high as possible on each other without pulling on the strands to 'tighten' the braid. This will create frizzies like crazy, and is damaging to your hair.

3. To ensure your braidwaves start high and don't go wonky, try to braid as high as possible, that is, as close to your part as possible (mine are usually about an inch from my part. This means you'll be pulling the lower strands farther up your head, and the top strands will braided close to the root. You'll have to angle down when you get to the back of your head, but try to keep it as high as possible until that point.

4. Braid as far down your hair as you can, almost to the ends. You should have an inch or less of tassle, no more, or it will look weird. If you were careful about keeping your strands even, this shouldn't be a problem, but if you see that one strand is shorter, feel free to steal some hair from other strands to keep the braid going. It's very hard to tell, most people won't notice.

Take out when completely dry. Tadaaaa perfect braidwaves!!!

[lapushka]

I learned to braid using my thumbs to gather sections. That's what helped make it easy for me when I was a kid. It helps hugely! I suck at explaining in detail how to do this, but I bet there are YouTube vids with braiders using the same technique.

[Mrspuddinhead]

Everything madora said.
You don't need product, you need water. Damp hair is much easier to braid. Like just stopped dripping damp. It also holds like a rock. Oily hair is second best, but freshly washed dry hair will mess up your braids every time.

I'd also suggest starting with dutch pigtails, they're easier than one dutch braid.


See I find it just the opposite. I do better with one single Dutch braid verses two. I managed to do doubles yesterday for the first time after reading some reviews on here especially the one about using your fingers as a V to rake the strands. Thank you Torrin!! :) I still cannot get my part straight and my neck fuzzes drive me insane!!!

[Mrspuddinhead]

I learned to braid using my thumbs to gather sections. That's what helped make it easy for me when I was a kid. It helps hugely! I suck at explaining in detail how to do this, but I bet there are YouTube vids with braiders using the same technique.

On my right hand I use my first and second fingers to form a V, I have difficulty doing this with my left hand so like you I use my thumb and 1st finger. :)

[ravenreed]

I braid or lightly oil my hair to help it behave. I also have to stop every couple of turns just to comb out the ends because they tangle up as I am braiding. I have really naughty hair!

[JuliaDancer]

I learned to braid using my thumbs to gather sections. That's what helped make it easy for me when I was a kid. It helps hugely! I suck at explaining in detail how to do this, but I bet there are YouTube vids with braiders using the same technique.

I use my thumbs to gather the hair as well. I love pigtail braids! I do them when my hair is either damp or oily.

[podo]

I use my thumbs when I braid my hair, and my fingers when I braid someone else's hair. ;)

I developed the habit of separating the section I just plaited as I release it to pick up the next one. I do this with each hand on every plait so I never end up with the "braid braid" at the bottom. ;) Now it's almost a method of braiding in and of itself! :eyebrows:

In the Articles section there's a piece from Ursula about braiding... basically for a "tight" braid, you don't want to braid tightly; instead you want to braid snugly. I was going to copy/paste some of it here, but there's a drawing which will help clarify what she's saying, and there are a bunch of other good tips to be had.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=59

I highly recommend this article, as it answers just about all of your braiding concerns. It's an excellent source for tips for an "intermediate braider" - which means someone know hows how to braid but still has trouble being consistent and/or getting things just right. ;)

[Jcv-Shelley]

Thank you all for these lovely advices! I will be sure to try them all. :crush: