The braid picture thread

[SandyBottom]

First time with your hair length? I'm impressed. I gave up scalp braiding at about FTL. Getting to the nape gets really hard with long hair

Congrats I just learned within the last couple years as well; it's a great feeling when it clicks! I've found Dutch braids a lot easier and less tangle-prone, so I do those more often.

That’s superb for a first-timer.

Beautiful everyone!

Thank you everyone! I was embarrassingly excited Your feedback and encouragement really helps me, especially with all of you having so much more experience in styling

[shelomit]

Those tiny bumps look like rattler tails and will almost certainly let you win the count your bumps contest err thread here

Ehehehe, that comparison had not occurred to me, but now I can't unsee it!

[tuanyiji]

Just managed to put four of my braids together from last year. Which one do you prefer?

Individual close-ups are here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqYE6pdp...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[shelomit]

Ooh, I love the second one, tuanyiji! Not certain I've seen anyone do that combo before.

[lapis_lazuli]

tuanyiji, I personally love the Dutch style and the second is really unique looking! Great braids

[SandyBottom]

I like the Dutch style best also. Nice job! While looking at tutorial videos for a French braid recently, I saw that last one and it was being called different things. Sometimes it was called a Dutch Braid and other people referred to it as a Reverse French Braid. Understandable because it IS a Dutch braid but uses the technique of a French braid. Maybe it should be called The St. Martin/St. Maarten

[tuanyiji]

Ooh, I love the second one, tuanyiji! Not certain I've seen anyone do that combo before.

tuanyiji, I personally love the Dutch style and the second is really unique looking! Great braids

Thank you guys, the second braid is actually from my ABC style:
This is my 5th assignment for my second round of LHC’s ABC Hairstyle Challenge: Elling Braid or Elling Woman Braided Bun.


This is the first time I try to recreate a western/Nordic/Viking hairstyle that is actually based on archaeological evidence.

The Elling Woman mummy is a pre-Roman Iron Age mummy that was discovered in 1938 in the Bjeldskovdal Bog near Silkeborg, Denmark. She is notable both for her proximity to another bog body, The Tollund Man, and her elaborate hairstyle.
It is interesting to note the Elling Woman's clothes and hairstyle when she died, as this gives insight to the time period she lived in. Her clothes, such as her cloak and leather belt, confirm that these articles of clothing were very commonplace to that era and region. In addition, her hairstyle was a braided pigtail which was knotted at the neck, which may hold cultural significance. It extended almost a meter.

I followed Loepsie and Silvousplait's tutorial, both of them had shorter and thinner hair than I am, so here's my version.


I start by drawing a line across my crown about 3cm above my ears, you might notice this is exactly the same as the one I did the Dianyla braid yesterday, yes, because I don't want to redo my hair too many times, so I based it on what I had already done. Too much manipulation is bad for hair and I am already stressed enough with my dad's declining health and 6th hospitalization, my hair shed yesterday was terrible.


All right, so I braid this section for a few stitches to about the center back of my head, then I divide the nape hair into three equal parts, and add each strand to the first braid, essentially forming a simple French braid. I plait it to the end without a tie, and this is what the basic braid looks like.

Higher definition close-ups on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClAYNJaJ..._web_copy_link


The first braid and the following French braid form a gap or a base to hold the future wrapped bun, so I pull the braid through the gap counterclockwise and repeat this motion again and again, but I find out my hair is too slippery, so I pull my braid through the stitches of the first braid instead, and for each loop, I change a different stitch for more friction to hold it in place. I tuck the end on the base. This is what it looks like.

Higher definition close-ups on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClAYPgop..._web_copy_link


I can't say this is the prettiest bun and it's also not the most secure, even if I did pull it rather tight at the beginning. As I am doing the photo shoot, I move my head a lot to check the lighting, and during the process, the braid starts to unravel, and my photo catches the whole "bundrop" or "braiddrop" and ends up looking like this.


And coincidentally, this is probably the most correct imitation of the Elling Woman's hairstyle when she was found. Silvousplait did say her (possibly sacrificial) death was probably very gruesome and she might have been struggling during the hanging, and her braided bun loosened as a result.



Higher definition close-ups on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClAYSVGp..._web_copy_link

Crosspost to Style of the Month: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...=1#post3965306

I like the Dutch style best also. Nice job! While looking at tutorial videos for a French braid recently, I saw that last one and it was being called different things. Sometimes it was called a Dutch Braid and other people referred to it as a Reverse French Braid. Understandable because it IS a Dutch braid but uses the technique of a French braid. Maybe it should be called The St. Martin/St. Maarten

Thank you very much, I don't know much about St. Martin/St. Maarten, but in my language, the French Braid is called overhand 3+2, and the Dutch braid is called underhand (or reverse) 3+2.

This is my 6th assignment for my second round of LHC’s ABC Hairstyle Challenge: French Braid or Overhand Braid.


The French (overhand) and Dutch (underhand) braids are the most basic and classic braids that anyone interested in plaiting would come across after they learned the simplest English braid, aka, the 3-strand braid. I don’t really like to call a braid by a nation, but it’s so integrated into the hairstyle world, so I use the names for better understanding.


I start by drawing a line across my crown about 5cm above my ear tips. I divide this section into three equal strands, I place the left strand over the middle strand, then I place the right strand over the now center left strand, and the old middle strand is now on the left. I place this old middle one over the center (old right). This is the basic structure of an overhand 3-strand braid, if you place the strand under, it’s called underhand, pretty self-explanatory, right?


To make it French, I need to add hair from both sides. In Chinese, we call it 3+2. A lace braid only adds hair from one side, so we call it 3+1. Ever wonder about our maths capacity lol? We just call it what it is.


Using my fingertip, I draw a line from my left temple about 1cm below the first sectioning line, to the plaiting structure in the middle, adding the hair to the old middle strand.


Then I place the old left (now on the right) strand over the center, draw a line from the right temple, add hair to it, and repeat this motion from left to right.


If you are well-versed, you can add hair as you place the old strand over it instead of doing it separately.
If you want the braid to be tightened around the nape, you can cross the nape hair before doing the final addition of hair.


This braid takes me 3 minutes and I love how classic it looks. And I base many updo styles on this braid.



Higher definition close-ups on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClBMpTEr..._web_copy_link


I did one with blue hair extensions to spice things up on October 9th.

Higher definition close-ups on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjfS02Mr..._web_copy_link
Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjfwQ..._web_copy_link




Crosspost to Style of the Month: https://forums.longhaircommunity.com...=1#post3965378

[tuanyiji]

My mom spent three days crocheting this hat and I plaited a 4-strand braid with the leftover ribbon and modeled for her.
Of course I pancaked the Hello Kitty out of this braid, in the end it looks kind of wonky.

More details here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqZlG4sLtEI/

[shelomit]

Ah, very lovely hat your mother has made!

I have seen the "Elling woman bun" but didn't know that that braiding style was what was going on "underneath" it. To me, the braid looks nicer on its own, besides surely feeling more secure!

[tuanyiji]

Ah, very lovely hat your mother has made!

I have seen the "Elling woman bun" but didn't know that that braiding style was what was going on "underneath" it. To me, the braid looks nicer on its own, besides surely feeling more secure!

Thank you very much, it's very interesting to dive into historical hairstyles and other cultures.
I've been really into the Indian jadai style recently, and their plaiting technique combined with those gorgeous decorations is super duper.
I hope to create some of my own with golden ribbons and beads soon.