How to French Braid Your Hair

If you have long and beautiful hair, you have no worries except to keep it untangled and managed properly. You like to flaunt your hairs by letting them untied. But, it is always safer to tie your hair in an attractive way that can grab others' attention towards you. And if you do a French braid, it is sure going to be noticed. Also, doing a braid is rather simple. Doing a French braid is not at all complicated as it seems to be. If you have the patience to practice, you will have a set of perfect braids to show off at your work place or wherever you go. Here’s how you can get your French braid done on your own.

Complexity Level: Basic

Time Required: 10-15 minutes

Resources Required:

1. Comb

2. Scrunchy

3. Bobby pins

4. Hair setting products (if required)

Instructions:

1. Get the hair ready

• Shampoo your hair a day before you want to do your French braid.
• You should also know how to do a simple plait as that will help you to do a French braid even better.
• Make sure the hair is very wet or slippery as too wet or slippery hair doesn't make a beautiful braid.
• Untangle all the knots in your hair and if needed use a setting product (if you feel your hair is extra smooth or slippery).

• You should know how to do a simple plait as that will help you to do a French braid even better.
• If you are trying it for the first time, you might have to practice a bit before getting it right.
• You can either practice on your own hair (though it may get tiring after a while) or someone else's.

• You can either start from your forehead or you can first clip a part of your hair from the forehead and then braid from your clipped hair.
• First of all, you need to separate a section of hair from where you want to begin braiding. (Imagine drawing a V with the tip of your index fingers).
• With your fingers, divide them into three strands.
• Doing a simple braid, start by crossing the right strand over the middle strand which goes under the left strand while the middle strand now comes to the rightmost.

• Hold the three strands (using your left hand) separately with your thumb, index and middle finger (such that, the index has the original left strand, the thumb holds the original right strand and the middle finger holds the original middle strand).
• Now, draw a line through your hair (with your right index) from the right side of the head to add some more strands of hair to what you hold in your left middle finger.
• And together repeat the process by plaiting the same way as in the last step.
• Now, when you hold onto the three sections with your right hand, repeat the process of drawing more hair from the left side of your head and adding in to the right hand that you’re holding onto.
• Repeat till you reach the bottom.

• Make sure you leave a part of hair at the bottom and secure the braids with a scrunchy.
• If you find loose hair in between secure them neatly with some bobby pins.
• You can now look at the wonderful art that you've mastered and enjoy your friend’s envious looks!

1. How to make French braids tighter?

To make the French braids tighter, you need to make sure that your hair is not too slippery. If they are, apply some hair setting products like mousse or styling gel. The note to make your braids tighter is by holding the braids closely to the scalp and securing them rightly with your fingers. Pull each strand while braiding as this will help you to get a neat plait.

2. Are there any variations of doing a French braid?

There are plenty of variations. You can also find out by yourself. One method is by doing the process inside out. That will make your braids stand out. This is also done with a lot of practice. Another variation is by letting go of the strand that you need to add to by taking a new strand and adding it to the old one. This will make the strand fall down and appear like it wasn’t being used for the plait. But, this method is not feasible if you want your braids tight. You can even braid up till the nape of your neck and tie the rest of the loose hair into a pony instead of braiding it till the bottom.

Quick Tips:

1. Untangling helps you to get your strands easily. If hair is knotted, you’ll only end up getting more tangles in your hair.

2. Add ribbons of different colors within your strands to get a trendier look.

3. Make sure the added strands are always of the same amount. Else each section will look different as the size may differ and the whole braid may look messy.

4. Use a good hair spray after you braid to avoid loose hair. Else secure loose hair with bobby pins.

5. If you’ve done 3 or 4 sections and still haven’t reached the nape of your neck and you got tired, it is fine. You can secure the braided hair with a scrunchy and leave the rest of the hair open.

Things To Watch Out For:

1. When holding the braid with your hand, make sure you hold them tightly.
2. If you find it tiring after a while, rest by bending forward to release the strands all the while holding onto the braid with one hand.