"How long does it take you to braid your hair?"

[gossamer]

When a curious woman asked me that at a party last week, I honestly had no idea! I wanted to respond, Lincolnesque*, "as long as it takes." But then I would have been a smart aleck and that wouldn't have been friendly. :p

I told her about a minute or so, but today I decided to video myself (http://youtu.be/Zj4ba5O2ZMI) braiding to see how long it actually takes.

Seems like 1:30, if you count from when I begin separating strands. 2 minutes plus if you count some detangling first.

Now I have an answer! :D

How long does it take you?

-----------
*Apocryphally, the story goes that Abraham Lincoln was asked, "How long should a man's legs be?" And he replied, "Long enough to reach the ground."

[RapunzelKat]

Goodness, I wish I could braid that fast! :agape: I am in awe of your skills :D

For me, it takes about 3-5 minutes for a plain English braid, if my hair is cooperating. Including detangling, about 7-10 minutes. Again, depends how tangly it's feeling that day. Oh, and this is also assuming I don't have to start over because my strands are wildly uneven in thickness :D

Any other type of braid takes significantly longer - I am a slowpoke :D

ETA: Oh, I can do a nautilus bun or a bee butt bun in probably less than a minute though, so it's not all bad :p

[Laylah]

Ok I just tested it out for this thread... for a single dutch braid down the back, tailbone length, already detangled so it's just braiding time: 1min35sec

[Darkessa]

Mine takes about 30 seconds... haha.
Shorter hair. :P

But seriously... Your hair is absolutely stunning.

[skaempfer]

Mine takes about 30 seconds... haha.
Shorter hair. :P

But seriously... Your hair is absolutely stunning.

Mine only takes 25. :(

[Roscata]

Wow your hair is gorgeous. :thud:

I have very short hair so it takes me about 10 seconds to braid it (I timed it). :D

[Venefica]

For me it takes I do not know, one and a half minute I think for a normal, English braid, unless I mess it up and have to start again. I have classic length hair but my hair is thick so I only have around 15-17 bumps on my braid however so it do not take long to get it braided.

[Becky9679]

I just timed myself and it takes about 45 seconds not including detangling but my hair is significantly shorter than yours and I don't have to deal with any backbraiding issues yet!

I love your hair :)

[Teazel]

About the same as you, gossamer - I just got DH to time me! :D My hair is 56" long and it took just under 2 minutes to plait. I've got more taper than you, so that means a few more "bumps" to make.

Oh, and might I add, your hair is just stunning. :thud:

[Renate]

My hair is BSL and it takes between 1-4 minutes, depending on the braid. A simple English braid takes less than that, but I never make them. A French braid takes a minute. A Katniss Everdeen's diagonal french fishtail braid takes about 4 minutes :)

Also, lovely hair you have! Looks so soft.

[Aeltt]

31.61 seconds ! ^^
Not counting the time searching for a hair tie..

[jacqueline101]

I'd say five minutes or less.

[Madora]

You have beautiful, healthy hair, Gossamer!

The time it takes to braid my hair depends on the braid. My bed bun braid takes less than 25 seconds.

My multi braided braid takes about 45 minutes.

Thanks for sharing!

[Darkessa]

Mine only takes 25. :(

Awwwe... Haha
I want mine to take over a minute!
Thats my new goal. Haha.

[Manzanilla]

Your hair is just...wow. It is so thick and healthy :flower:
I take less than 30 seconds to braid mine.

[holothuroidea]

Oh my hair isn't long enough for this yet, but Gossamer I want to be just like you when I grow up. :D

[IndigoOptimist]

It takes me about 30 seconds! But I have short hair ;) However I do redo it about 4 times because I'm funny about how it feels and looks ;)

[christiner]

wow very nice! and i like your outfit in the video too:)

[longNred]

omgosh gossamer, your hair is beautiful!

mine takes a couple minutes, most is fighting with my layers to get in the braid.

[gossamer]

About the same as you, gossamer - I just got DH to time me! :D My hair is 56" long and it took just under 2 minutes to plait. I've got more taper than you, so that means a few more "bumps" to make.

Oh, and might I add, your hair is just stunning. :thud:

I can just imagine that conversation with your DH. :D Thanks for participating!

[gossamer]

My hair is BSL and it takes between 1-4 minutes, depending on the braid. A simple English braid takes less than that, but I never make them. A French braid takes a minute. A Katniss Everdeen's diagonal french fishtail braid takes about 4 minutes :)


Oh, yeah it would take me ages longer to do a French braid, particularly because of backbraiding. I wish I could still do a Fishtail! They're my favorite braid of all, but way too time consuiming!


31.61 seconds ! ^^
Not counting the time searching for a hair tie..

How precise! Also - if we'd added the time it took me to hunt down a hair tie before the video, it would be like 5 minutes. Where do they all disappear to??:confused:


You have beautiful, healthy hair, Gossamer!

The time it takes to braid my hair depends on the braid. My bed bun braid takes less than 25 seconds.

My multi braided braid takes about 45 minutes.

Thanks for sharing!

I am in awe of your multi-braided braid, Madora!


omgosh gossamer, your hair is beautiful!

mine takes a couple minutes, most is fighting with my layers to get in the braid.

aw, thanks! I don't really have layers anymore, but I do have uneven lengths partway down thanks to some face framing layers I trimmed in back when I was a teenager. Those bits still make my life dificult some days - probably more than normal layers because they were such small sections to begin with.

[gossamer]

Oh my hair isn't long enough for this yet, but Gossamer I want to be just like you when I grow up. :D

LOL. Your hair is going to be far better than mine when it's long. I didn't use conditioner regularly until 9 or 10 years ago! I washed DAILY until 4 or 5 years ago. I didn't learn how to properly put my hair up with sticks until joining LHC nearly 2 years ago. :p

[ArienEllariel]

Hmm I'm guessing it takes me 30seconds to a minute to do a regular braid. Anything fancy/involving 2 or more braids can take me more like 10-15min. But this is just guess-timation

[woolyleprechaun]

It takes me longer than that with my BSL! You are very good :)

Plus, you and you hair are too pretty, the video hurt my eyes....

[gossamer]

It takes me longer than that with my BSL! You are very good :)

Plus, you and you hair are too pretty, the video hurt my eyes....

Oh no! Please turn if off if it hurts. :p

[Vallena]

Oh gossamer, your hair is so lovely! My english braid doesn't take me 30 seconds, but that's because my hair isn't quite so long yet. About 15 without detangling, I would guess. French and dutch braids take a bit longer, because I'm not very well practiced with them!

Your hair also makes me want to grow mine even longer, but I'm not sure that is practical for me.

[Seeshami]

It depends in the braid. Regular three strand braid I would say 2 minutes. A rope braid 1 minute. 4 strand, 5 strand and french braids take 5 to 7 minutes because I am still figuring them out. I hate French braids, they are never straight when I try.... Blah practice practice I guess.

[gossamer]

It depends in the braid. Regular three strand braid I would say 2 minutes. A rope braid 1 minute. 4 strand, 5 strand and french braids take 5 to 7 minutes because I am still figuring them out. I hate French braids, they are never straight when I try.... Blah practice practice I guess.


I hadn't thought of timing my rope braid. I'd never make a video of that because I inevitably screw up the beginning and start twisting in the wrong direction.

It's awesome that you can do 5 strand braids. I've never had the courage to try something that complex! :D

[lapushka]

OMG, you have such amazing hair. Can't believe it only took you a minute or so to braid all of your length! :D :cheer:

[Bedhead]

Gorgeous Gossamer!

I had to laugh, because by the time you pulled it over your shoulder, that's the point my braid would have been done! And mine takes me over a minute. :p

[dwell_in_safety]

It probably takes me a minute or so, doing a plain English/Dutch/French braid. It wouldn't take so long with my grazing-BSL hair, but I always work to keep the strands absolutely separate so it doesn't tangle at all. I like never having tangles haha.

[darklyndsea]

I'll have to time myself the next time I braid. So far all I've timed is amish braids, which take about 80 minutes.

[whitebengal]

It takes me about 1-2 minutes (not including detangling) for an English braid

[gossamer]

I'll have to time myself the next time I braid. So far all I've timed is amish braids, which take about 80 minutes.

Yikes! That's some amazing dedication!

[darklyndsea]

Yikes! That's some amazing dedication!
Especially when you consider that it's my go-to style, so I tend to do it once or twice a week. But it stays in for 3-7 days (however long it is until the next time I wash), so the effort kind of averages out.

[Lady Neeva]

My hair's shorter, so 30 seconds. :redgrin:
(alas the dry ends)

[MaryRose]

My hair is reaches the top of my bra strap (24 inches) and it took me 1 min 10 sec to English braid my hair. This includes detangling.

[ladyshep]

LOL! Never thought of that question before. I'll have to time myself tonight.

[xoxophelia]

My hair is shorter than yours and usually when I braid I do two french braids. That takes me less than two minutes. I braid very quickly though partly because my hair doesn't do the inverted braid thing and also because I used to braid my hair every morning at red lights while driving to high school when I had hip length hair XD

Oh and excuse the girl crush ;)

[Seeshami]

I hadn't thought of timing my rope braid. I'd never make a video of that because I inevitably screw up the beginning and start twisting in the wrong direction.

It's awesome that you can do 5 strand braids. I've never had the courage to try something that complex! :D

I wish I could give every one the feeling of how I rope braid. Because once you figure out how the motions of your hands and wrists then you have it and you're bam done right after you start and it's a second nature kind of thing. People stare at me in public some times when I have to re do my rope braids because the naughty mess has layers and is a mess and I pay absolutely no attention to my hair and hands.

Four strand braid and five strand are a lot easier then they sound. It is just weaving your hair like you would a basket. I cannot four and five strand behind my head, yet. :D But we'll get there once I have the feel of it. If I can figure it out in a try I am pretty sure any one can do it.

[gossamer]

My hair is shorter than yours and usually when I braid I do two french braids. That takes me less than two minutes. I braid very quickly though partly because my hair doesn't do the inverted braid thing and also because I used to braid my hair every morning at red lights while driving to high school when I had hip length hair XD

Oh and excuse the girl crush ;)

I'll excuse the girl crush only if you excuse mine on you for your clearly masterful braiding skills! :D

[Beatnik Guy]

Awesomeness of hair. :bigeyes:

[blondie9912]

Not long, probably about the same amount of time as you. My hair is fine and very 'co-operative' though, so it's not my skills that are to credit

[CurlySasha]

My hair is thick and curly, but relatively short, so 2 minutes-ish.

[gossamer]

My hair is thick and curly, but relatively short, so 2 minutes-ish.


Very interesting! I'm sure if I had curls I'd braid so much more slowly.

[PixieKitten]

Pah. Mine takes about 5-10 mins for a dutch braid! But really, my hair's only just long enough to be able to do it, so I'm not only out of practice, but I have to be extra careful I get the hair in the right place else it just falls out!

..Then I end up having to re-do it because it goes all funky at the top thanks to my bangs. -_-
I'm so jealous of your quick times, I hope I get faster as my hair gets longer!

[annamoonfairy]

A simple braid only takes a few mins : )

[coldclarity]

My hair is thick and curly, but relatively short, so 2 minutes-ish.
I'd guess I'm much the same as this. Getting the sections sorted and even and not springing in the wrong direction is the hardest part!

[gossamer]

Pah. Mine takes about 5-10 mins for a dutch braid! But really, my hair's only just long enough to be able to do it, so I'm not only out of practice, but I have to be extra careful I get the hair in the right place else it just falls out!

..Then I end up having to re-do it because it goes all funky at the top thanks to my bangs. -_-
I'm so jealous of your quick times, I hope I get faster as my hair gets longer!

I'm sure it will get much faster - all the practice will help immensely. :)

[Gladtobemom]

Doing the Y part Dianyla braid, takes me about 2 minutes 30 seconds. Then another 30 seconds to wrap it with a silicone tie and put a pretty thing on the tassel.

[Kristin]

English braids take probably 45 seconds, but French braids (with big sections) are probably twice that. The more intricate the braid, the longer it takes. Today I did a wrap-around French herringbone and it took FOREVER (actually, it took about 15 minutes, but still...).

[LadyLongLocks]

Nice video and beautiful hair!
:)
I timed myself in THIS VIDEO (http://youtu.be/Sg3D3eOtcq8) in 2010 and it took 3 minutes to braid.

[Tisiloves]

1min 8.17sec, on just below shoulder length as a) I have to French it and b) my hair is very slippery and when it's short it's very hard to get a good enough grip on it/get it to stay plaited.

[Alvrodul]

Oh, Gossamer, your hair is awesome! :thud:

Like you, Seeshami, once I get my fingers trained in the ways of a particular braid, doing it is really quite easy. When I get to that point, I don't need to concentrate on what section goes where. Now, learning a particular braid pattern can be frustrating. I need to focus on just where I am in the pattern all the time.

as for braiding - I have timed three braids - and the times given for braiding does not include detangling.
4-strand box braid - about 6 minutes. I am a bit out of practice with this one.
English braid - 1 min 50 seconds
Rope braid - 55 seconds. Yes, I do this one a lot! :D

[eresh]

Awesome video!!
I'm going to ask my husband to time me!
Hold on...

:D same time, also very close to 2 minutes

[GRU]

It's official, gossamer has to braid my hair at this summer's Chicago LHC Meet! ;)

My hair's Medusa-snakes like to grab each other when I'm braiding (think reverse-braiding-while-dreadlocking), so I usually don't even bother trying. I have to actually bring each section up over my shoulder for "safekeeping" with every turn. :rolleyes:

I can, however, put all my snakes into a Nautilus-type bun with a hairstick in under ten seconds. Needless to say, this is my go-to bun... :D

[spookyghost]

Im almost embarrased to say this but I have never braided my hair. And Im 45! Im really backward when it comes to hair styles and braids. Its really a pain too. I have friends who have had some bad hair cuts that they hated but they are so good with their hair that they styled it so nice that you would never know it wasnt what they wanted! That is not me. I cant even do a simple braid. I can however put my hair in a ponytail-Lol! Haha

[gossamer]

Doing the Y part Dianyla braid, takes me about 2 minutes 30 seconds. Then another 30 seconds to wrap it with a silicone tie and put a pretty thing on the tassel.


I love the final detail! Hooray for pretty things to tie off pretty hair. :)

[gossamer]

It's official, gossamer has to braid my hair at this summer's Chicago LHC Meet! ;)

My hair's Medusa-snakes like to grab each other when I'm braiding (think reverse-braiding-while-dreadlocking), so I usually don't even bother trying. I have to actually bring each section up over my shoulder for "safekeeping" with every turn. :rolleyes:

I can, however, put all my snakes into a Nautilus-type bun with a hairstick in under ten seconds. Needless to say, this is my go-to bun... :D


I have seen GRU do this bun in person and if you blink, her hair is already up and away!

[SwordWomanRiona]

I think a standart three-strand braid takes me half a minute or so...a minute at the most. A French braid takes me much longer, as my hair decides to try to get tangled every time I cross sections!

I'll have to time myself too :)!

[GRU]

I have seen GRU do this bun in person and if you blink, her hair is already up and away!

I have to give demonstrations in my nursing classes, b/c people just cannot wrap their brain around the concept of how I can put up "all that hair" (their words) into such a compact bun! We all have "nursing watches" (with a sweeping second hand for counting pulse/respiration rates) and they time me doing my hairstick bun! :lol:

I don't have NEARLY as much hair to put up as gossamer does, though.... her hair is truly thud-worthy, online and in person! :thud:

[gossamer]

English braids take probably 45 seconds, but French braids (with big sections) are probably twice that. The more intricate the braid, the longer it takes. Today I did a wrap-around French herringbone and it took FOREVER (actually, it took about 15 minutes, but still...).

15 minutes of braiding can definitely feel like FOREVER. :p


Nice video and beautiful hair!
:)
I timed myself in THIS VIDEO (http://youtu.be/Sg3D3eOtcq8) in 2010 and it took 3 minutes to braid.

I remember that video! It's one of the first things I thought of when the woman at the party asked me how long my English braid had taken, actually.


1min 8.17sec, on just below shoulder length as a) I have to French it and b) my hair is very slippery and when it's short it's very hard to get a good enough grip on it/get it to stay plaited.

A French braid on short slippery hair in 1 min and 8ish seconds is amazing, you know. :)



I have timed three braids - and the times given for braiding does not include detangling.
4-strand box braid - about 6 minutes. I am a bit out of practice with this one.
English braid - 1 min 50 seconds
Rope braid - 55 seconds. Yes, I do this one a lot! :D

I really must practice the box braid. I learned it last year when it was style of the month but never got it down to habit like you have. Amazing!


Awesome video!!
I'm going to ask my husband to time me!
Hold on...

:D same time, also very close to 2 minutes

:D I'm amused at how many significant others seem to have been asked to get out a stopwatch for posters in this thread. Thanks for playing!

[gossamer]

I think a standart three-strand braid takes me half a minute or so...a minute at the most. A French braid takes me much longer, as my hair decides to try to get tangled every time I cross sections!


Oh, me too for the French braid. I had to decide a while back that I can only do French braids on perfectly behaved hair - which happens about once or twice a year. Otherwise the tangles I get end up doing more damage than it's worth!

[darklyndsea]

I'll have to time myself the next time I braid. So far all I've timed is amish braids, which take about 80 minutes.
english braid: 65 seconds
rope braid:71 seconds

[Vasilissa]

Wow! That's some interesting topic... I timed myself twice today - with my current waist length it takes me about 40 seconds to divide and braid my hair, brushing time not included.

Now we now! :D


ETA: Forgot to say... Your hair is SO BEAUTIFUL! Love the texture, colour, softness, length... everything! You look so incredibly feminine! I was pressing the replay button several times just to see again that mane of yours! Stunning! We want more videos with your hair! Full length! :D