French Braid request

[Lara Croft]

Hello everybody :) I joined the forums a while back but have only just become interested in really looking after my hair. At some point I will post up a picture of my hair right now. Its not in a great state. I have layers that are not level, my hair is very dry at the ends but otherwise fairly ok. Its shoulder length :) I'm not sure if its important but im indian and my hair is black

I want to be able to plait up a nice long french braid much like my username suggests--just like lara croft from the tomb raider games. But i don't know how long it needs to be for this.

I've read from other users that the french braid really eats up alot of length. So please users of the long hair community help me out ^^ how long should i set my final goal. how long will it take and how long should it be.

Also if you yourself have REALLY long hair if you could, please please do a french braid for me and post a pic so I can build up some french braid inspiration too :) thnx in advance everybody!!

[Renate]

A braid on my hair eats up 8 cm :( So just add about that to the lenght of the braid you want to have and that is your goal. I'm guessing tailbone lenght.

[Yozhik]

I think a lot depends on the thickness of your hair -- the thicker it is, the more braids (and other updos) eat up length.

I have around waist+ hair, and my french braids go to around BSL, for a reference point.

Hope that helps! :flower:

[rock007junkie]

You might want to look at this thread for an insane amount of pictures of different braids. Welcome!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=45350

[Phalaenopsis]

Oh no, your hair doesn't need to be that long to be able to do it :) Shoulder length will already do ;)

[heidi w.]

Actually hair around midback to tailbone length is a really nice length for french braiding. If it's uber long as mine is, most of the french braid ends up being regular braiding anyway.

There are a ton of youtube videos that demonstrate how to french braid hair. Having a person here post a picture will not help you create one for yourself. While finished results are nice to look at, it isn't helpful information if you want to learn how to do it yourself.

French braiding is very easy: it's simply a 3 strand braid begun and then you pull in hair at each portion of the weaving and proceed. Repeat, repeat, repeat til all your hair is in a braid. You can tuck the length under and pin if you like.

heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Oh no, your hair doesn't need to be that long to be able to do it :) Shoulder length will already do ;)

I saw a youtube video earlier this week of a super short, layered gal french braiding her hair. She got it done.

heidi w.

[spidermom]

You can start french braiding now.

[Phalaenopsis]

I saw a youtube video earlier this week of a super short, layered gal french braiding her hair. She got it done.

heidi w.
I've braided other people's heads an entire day from short till long and shoulder length is the most comfortable length to start trying it, especially when you've never done a French braid on yourself before. :twocents:

[bunzfan]

I've braided other people's heads an entire day from short till long and shoulder length is the most comfortable length to start trying it, especially when you've never done a French braid on yourself before. :twocents:

I agree and Phalaenopsis ^ also has a great video on French braiding:) this lady also does the front a bit like Lara croft

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

[Diamond.Eyes]

I started french-brading at this length. It only ate up about 2 inches when I had SL hair.

[Lara Croft]

first of all thank you so much to everybody that has posted a reply!!
i didnt think i would get that many responses
also its my fault for not properly saying in the post
i know how to french braid :) just wanted to know the length i needed for a swinging lara croft like braid ^^
i've checked out the braids picture thread and i think aiming for 40 inches is reasonable. again thank you for responding!

[nessa454]

It seems like your question is answered, but I will just add the measurements of my braid ;)
I'm now past classic lenght but my braid is about hip lenght. Braiding eats up so much lenght :(
http://img.webme.com/pic/n/nessa454/frenchlang.jpg

[doctorvkp1]

It seems like your question is answered, but I will just add the measurements of my braid ;)
I'm now past classic lenght but my braid is about hip lenght. Braiding eats up so much lenght :(
http://img.webme.com/pic/n/nessa454/frenchlang.jpg.
wow..... u have an amazing n beautiful hair....... could u share ur routine with us....... atleast it may help stop my shedding....

[torrilin]

From what I can see scanning the stills, Lara's braid ranges from BSL to classic. There just isn't a lot of hair consistency. Not surprising for a video game character :P.

Unlike a lot of game characters, her hair type seems to be a fairly consistent 1b or 1c, C and I'd guess the thicker end of ii for thickness. Very few of the stills have braids as thick as Ultrabella or Dianyala seem to manage :). Generally women modeling as Lara Croft seem to do a banded caterpillar style to imitate the look of the animated "braid" rather than a real French braid. Getting sections of ii hair to look as thick as the animated braid just isn't doable without hair pieces. (I usually blame all video game characters' hair on the fact that most gaming artists are male, and they don't tend to pay a lot of attention to hair)

As a practical matter, you can start wearing your hair like Lara today. And I don't really see a lot of point in waiting, since on average hair grows about 0.5" per month, so to get to 40" would take 2-3 years with no trims at all. More realistically, you're looking at 4-5 years.

[DancingQueen]

My first decent french braid that would actually hold my hair, my hair was two or three inches past my shoulder. I still put in a few pins, just in case, but I think it would have helped.

A small tip: When you want to french braid hair a shorter length, make your hands wet, and run them through the top part of your hair, in the direction you want it to go. The hair should not be soaking wet, but a little more than damp. This makes it a lot easier to braid, especially for wurlies/curlies. You can also blow-dry it real quick in the same direction you just made it wet, this hold a little better. But the heat-free method works just fine :)