Trouble with crown braid

[WinterButterfly]

So I have tried a few times to do a decent crown braid. And it seems like my hair sticks out at every angle. But my hair is straight across the bottom. Actually my hair is very straight. Di I need more length? Or do I need to oil my hair or something first? My hair reaches to my hip. And it is incredibly straight and has very little taper. Is this the problem? I also tried to do the renessance hair taping because I thought it would be easier. And my ends are very thick and hard to hide. The tutorial I watched had the girls ends meeting in the middle of her head but mine crossed and met about 2 inches from the ears. I'm not sure how to secure my hair. I want to learn updos as I am bored with my braided bun that I wear almost every day. Maybe I just need more practice. I don't want to take thinning shears to my hair. And I figure it will taper more as time goes bye. How long does ones hair usually have to get to to do these styles effectivly? I'm stumped. And I don't want to practice too much without advice since it is very easy to accidently snap hair.

[LadyKate]

My hair is just past my waist, and I can manage the crown braid, so I don't think length is the issue. It took my quite a few tries and practice before I was able to manage it, and I'm still not always happy with it. I like Torrin Paige's video on youtube (all her videos, actually), though she starts at the back of her head, I usually start just above my right ear as if I'm doing a lace braid headband, then continue around to the lower right back, and pull the tail up and around. I try to tuck the end in under the lace braid (for me the end reaches to just behind my left ear). Sometimes I hold it up with bobby pins, sometimes I use little clips to hold it in place while I sew it down with ribbon (again using Torrin's technique). I use a lace braid technique across the top, then when I start angling down and back, I add hair from both sides. I have done the crown using both a french and dutch technique, and for me it turns out better with the dutch technique (less weird lumps at the end). Another youtube tutorial that I found helpful was Loepsie's. Hope some of that is useful!

[WinterButterfly]

Thanks for the advice! I will practice a bit more tomarrow! I watched loepsies video. Pretty good I think. I guess that I'm so used to the things I do with my hands coming quite easy to me. I will try to do it a few ways.

[LadyKate]

Oh, the other thing that I found I had trouble with was switching hands (I'm extremely right handed), so I had to adapt it so that I'm always holding the braid with my right hand and adding hair in with my left. It gets a little awkward in the back, but for me it's way easier than switching hands.

[AnqeIicDemise]

I had to start with a rope braid version before I could move onto the lace braid version. Madora left me a link on my profile that leads to the video I've been looking at until it finally clicked. I also had to take breaks over the past few months. I found myself getting frustrated and tearing at my hair, so I just stopped for a few weeks, try it again. Once I found myself annoyed, I stopped and picked up another few weeks later.

[WinterButterfly]

The crown braid is so pretty! I want one! I can't wait till I really learn it!

[darklyndsea]

I think that the stick-outy bits are going to happen on the crown braid for anybody with a blunt cut, because your hair is all about the same length, but you're adding it at different times--the parts you start out with are going to run out before the parts you add at the end, if that makes sense.

[WinterButterfly]

Its odd to me that my hair is so blunt with only one half inch trim in over a year and a half. I want a little bit of natural taper right about now. And while I'm wishing, can I get a little bit of wave too? I'm still going to try it though. The crown braid is so neato. And I'm a total fanticy/renessance/medieval ect nerd. I must get fanticy styles!

[Madora]

Do you detangle your hair and make sure it lays smoothly before starting your crown braid?

Since your hair is all one length your hair should be easier to crown braid than it would be for someone with layers.

Keeping the strands tidy boils down to straightening them every time you add a section.

If you find that you have extra hair left by the time you complete the circle, then just gently twist the remaining hair and tuck it under the braid already made.

Have you tried a lace crown braid? Here's a lovely video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPHEzUr5bWQ

Happy braiding!