I have tried and tried, but I just can't seem to do it.

[Ithonna]

I have 26.5'' of hair and I would LOVE to be able to do this, however, I can't seem to figure out how to do it on my own head.

I know there are some fantastic braiders on here and I was hoping to get some help.
I am going to try to do it again in the morning after I finish my homework, I will post a picture of my attempt then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC4VEFoilos&feature=fvwrel

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Teazel]

Woah. That's different. :bigeyes: I can't do a decent crown braid to save myself - my fingers get all confused when they have to switch from backwards to forwards - but I imagine this is similar. Only it's french instead of dutch braiding. Hm!

[mallorykay13]

Its beautiful!

[Ithonna]

Woah. That's different. :bigeyes: I can't do a decent crown braid to save myself - my fingers get all confused when they have to switch from backwards to forwards - but I imagine this is similar. Only it's french instead of dutch braiding. Hm!

I have the same issue with crown braiding. I was looking at videos for it when I found that video and I fell in love with it. I think I have been trying every Sunday for a month to get that down.

I wash my hair on Sunday evenings so I sit around all day with oil in my hair and it makes for easier braiding. I am just so frustrated with it. I will figure it out.

[darklion]

wow. I don't think I could do this on myself!!!
However, I'd love to do it on my friend's daughter!!!

[julierockhead]

:agape: You are trying to do this ON YOURSELF? Aren't you afraid of, like, breaking your fingers and putting yourself in traction? Or going insane with frustration? :shocked:

I would go postal just from trying to make the circular part for the starting ponytail. :justy:

[Ithonna]

So, I tried to sleep and I kept thinking about different ways to do this style. After countless failed attempts (usually due to poor sectioning, poor hand holds, etc, etc), I finally finished one! It looks like utter crap and I refuse to be seen by my family. But, I will show TLHC because people here understand the difficulty of doing this on your own head!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/67128550@N05/6135681982/in/photostream

You can scroll through for other poor quality photos of it.

Notes for further improvement:
Make the base pony tighter/more secure
When adding to the front section, pay careful attention to the pieces. Perpendicular is better.
Pay careful attention that the base pony is CENTERED!
Figure out how to deal with the awkward bangs/fringe.
Make base pony thicker.

I'm semi-proud. Considering it is almost 4 am where I am. It only took me about 20ish minutes. With more practice I think this will be an easy style.

[Deliciosa]

I think so too. It reminds me a bit when I started out making my first dutch and french braids... upfront they where messy but improved massively when I tried...

keep it up sista

[terryn]

It would be great if you could post a diy tutorial when you figure it out, I think this style looks amazing. I would stick a sock over the pony tail part of it to give the bun a bit more umph... in a land where I have brushable hair and can braid. ;p Ah, to be in that alternate dimension right now.

[Elph]

I have to say this should be easy. My biggest problems would be making the circular part and then making sure that you only take enough to get all the way round.

Good luck playing and I will keep this style in my mind for a rainy day or at least a wedding.

[mrs_coffee]

That is really cool and the finished product is beautiful. I'm pretty adept at french/dutch braiding my own hair but I don't think I could manage that.

[wooliswonderful]

I love that youtube channel. :) I haven't tried that style yet. I think the 8 yo might have a good length for it.

[NotInPortland]

Wow it's a lovely style! I would love to try it myself but I know there is absolutely no way I could manage it on myself fora start seeing as I can't even french braid!

[heartgoesboom]

Oh I tried this. But I ran out of hair in the middle pony 3/4 of the way so I gave up lol I should try it again!

[Buffy]

This is absolutely beautifull!!! I think it's very hard to do it on yourself though. Believe me , when it comes to hair styles, especially braided ones, THE ONLY thing that works is practice!! Just keep trying and trying and you'll get there!!
I always though i could never do french braids etc, but i practiced enough and now i can do it in a heartbeat! Good luck! :)

[Lostsoule77]

I don't think I would ever try that on myself! That being said I think you did a fairly good job of it. You just need to get the front bits a bit tighter to the scalp and all you need to do that is practice. Once you get the basic style down, which you've beautifully done, then just working on it will make the whole thing look great!

[Ithonna]

Thanks so much for all of the encouragement! I would be practicing right now, but alas, I have mechanical drives homework and laundry are demanding my attention. I will try again later.

[hypersensitive]

Funny how I bookmarked this video a couple of days ago to go on my 'styles to attempt' list. It does look difficult, especially since you need a good view of the back of the head in order to portion out all the hair to be braided. I think once the braid leads you to the bottom of the ponytail, perhaps tilt your head down so you don't have to work agains gravity, if that makes any sense. I'll try this braid out later! Looks really fun!

[akuamoonmaui]

Ha ha, I can manage a french braid, but I'm gonna go try this, tooo cool.

Laundry schmaundry ...


20 minutes later >>>>

Okay, my arm is tired..... but this is what I learned ~ your pony tail must be tight and it helps to quarter the pony and clip it to the outer ring hair. I was also trying to do this with a twist all the way around, but the the BF walked in and it was a rather awkward thing to explain.....

[Ithonna]

Ha ha, I can manage a french braid, but I'm gonna go try this, tooo cool.

Laundry schmaundry ...


20 minutes later >>>>

Okay, my arm is tired..... but this is what I learned ~ your pony tail must be tight and it helps to quarter the pony and clip it to the outer ring hair. I was also trying to do this with a twist all the way around, but the the BF walked in and it was a rather awkward thing to explain.....

I tried it again before I washed my hair and I over oiled it that helped a ton. But quartering the pony, I didn't think about that. I also think it it would work better (at least when doing it on myself) if I dutch braided it. Or if I lace rope braided. I haven't tried it but I think the next go round I will.

I have pictures of the last two attempts coming up. I linked earlier to my flickr account, but I think I will re-size and post them here just to make it easier on everyone.

[Ithonna]

Funny how I bookmarked this video a couple of days ago to go on my 'styles to attempt' list. It does look difficult, especially since you need a good view of the back of the head in order to portion out all the hair to be braided. I think once the braid leads you to the bottom of the ponytail, perhaps tilt your head down so you don't have to work agains gravity, if that makes any sense. I'll try this braid out later! Looks really fun!

The hardest part is braiding upside down on the opposite side of your head. I have having problems keeping that part tight. I don't like loose braids.

[Milo]

I tried this one on my daughter yesterday, I'll try to post pics. It turned out pretty good, just a little too loose on the opposite side (the upside down side) especially.

[redmj]

I can't crown braid either. My poor fingers get so confused. I want to try this bun so badly but I can't french braid my own hair either. I will keep practicing until I get it. I shall prevail.

[Mrspuddinhead]

WOW!! I wouldn't ever be able to do this. Her circle looks perfect. I couldn't do that. Heck, I can't even French braid.

[skye16]

:thud:Wow this is so pretty!! I'm hopeless at braiding of any kind on my own head, but I can do just about anything on anyone else LOL

Wonder how much I'd have to bribe my 12 year old to try this? On her I mean, she'd never attempt it on me!

I'm so jealous of all of you with flexible fingers and patience!!

[darklion]

I honestly think that your sample pics where... NOT THAT BAD!!!
This is a difficult hairdo and I think that some practice is the norm.
I can't tell you how many times it takes me just to learn a new bun.
I had to watch the messy bun video over and over to get it right.
That's NORMAL.
You should be so PROUD of finishing this complicated crown braid.
I know that I'm proud of you!!!

[Ithonna]

Thanks so much for the encouragement! With my Mon-Fri schedule I don't really have time during the week to practice. This weekend I will practice more.

[Shelly]

That particular braid would be a little more difficult than a crown braid but not much more difficult. It would be a lot easier to do on someone else's hair rather than your own. I will play around with it on my own hair and see what I can come up with to make it a little easier for someone to do it on their own hair. I'm thinking it'll just take practice.

On someone else's hair, on the other hand, there's a lot that could be done with that concept. If done right it could make a beautiful spiral braid.

[SpinDance]

Interesting style. And thanks to akuamoonmaui for the idea of quartering the pony to make sure you've got enough hair for each quadrant. I do crown lace braids sometimes, although not often, because it takes 10-15 minutes and if I mess it up I have to either start over or do something different. My suggestion for crown braiding is to not have both hands on the same side of your head. I.e., when braiding the right side don't have the bottom part in your left hand. Have it in your right hand, and the upper half of the braid in your left hand. Then when you get to the back and are ready to switch which hand has which half of the braid, you aren't tangled up around your neck!

This was a 'Duh!' moment for me when I was first learning to do side braids. Not sure why my hands did it, but they did. Maybe because that's how they go when making 2 plain braids that start by the ears.

[Intransigentia]

Wow, that's just lovely! totally going to have to try it.

[Zenity]

Funny! I am a braid lover and done that style many times on myself. Last summer was wearing it all the time.

The most difficult part is to keep the circle even, but it only takes practice, just like everything else in life.

[MandyBeth]

On my own hair, I have to start on the bottom left side, that's where I'm most likely to screw up and start over or quit. But it's a bit of a PITA on myself, so I only bother if I'm having to dress up and place pretty and princess.

On J, it's easy peasy. But any French/Dutch is easy on her because I just section it out by individual curls or curl clumps. But I have to start her on the bottom, because her left-over braid is too long to tuck in neatly. Either we leave the braid hanging down or coil it up into a small cinnamon bun and use a few spin pins to hold it.

[hypersensitive]

Alright, I uploaded my first attempt. Next time, I think make a bigger base ponytail and take yet smaller sections. I ended up not having enough towards the end-that's why the top portion is missing the top "spokes"
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep13115024PM.jpg

better lighting
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep13115202PM.jpg

[hypersensitive]

Ok, retried it and looks good. =D

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep1512523PM.jpg


The hardest part is braiding upside down on the opposite side of your head. I have having problems keeping that part tight. I don't like loose braids.

Yes, I had a hard time with that too. Some suggestions overall:
This is just a variation of a crown braid, so you should try to master that first. Practice tight braiding, put your hands right up against the scalp
Try braiding in the opposite direction- if you do clockwise, try doing counterclockwise
Try starting at different places- the nape of the neck, beside the ear, the very top of your forehead... lol
I just clip my bangs away
I braid more by feel than using a mirror. It just confuses me to watch what I'm doing and that's when my fingers get all tied up.

[AnnaJamila]

Woah. Lol, I'm not exactly the bestest braider in the whole world . . . It'll be gorgeous when you figure it out, though! :)

[Ithonna]

Alright, I uploaded my first attempt. Next time, I think make a bigger base ponytail and take yet smaller sections. I ended up not having enough towards the end-that's why the top portion is missing the top "spokes"
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep13115024PM.jpg



better lighting
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep13115202PM.jpg
I really like that, the center kind of looks like a butterfly!



Ok, retried it and looks good. =D

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f305/silverstardust/PhotoSep1512523PM.jpg



Yes, I had a hard time with that too. Some suggestions overall:
This is just a variation of a crown braid, so you should try to master that first. Practice tight braiding, put your hands right up against the scalp
Try braiding in the opposite direction- if you do clockwise, try doing counterclockwise
Try starting at different places- the nape of the neck, beside the ear, the very top of your forehead... lol
I just clip my bangs away
I braid more by feel than using a mirror. It just confuses me to watch what I'm doing and that's when my fingers get all tied up.

I have never done a crown braid on myself.
It isn't until I get to the left side of my head that I have problems.
I start at my part and braid from the right to the left.
I am trying to grow out my super thick side fringe, so my fringe has some long layers and some short ones.
I have NEVER been able to look at my braid while doing it. I just look to make my parts then I look again after I am done with the braid.