Easy Braid? Don't mind if I do!

I'm am not the worlds greatest braider. Promise. I literally only learned to braid AFTER I was finished with cosmetology school. I was working at a full service salon and a little kid's salon, called Cookie Cutters, right after I finished school. When little girls came in to Cookie Cutter's, they ALWAYS got a style of some sort. So learning to braid was a must! I worked with some girls that were really awesome braiders and they taught me some cool tricks. Doing a wrap around braid and finishing with a messy bun (braid'n a bun) became one of our 'signature' looks people always requested. Yes, I just said all of that, referring to a shop in a strip mall filled with screaming children.

Stuff I'm using today...

So to begin, I had my roomie Kashlie blow dry her hair and sit on the floor in front of me. I teased her hair just a little at the crown and smoothed out any that you could see. Homegirl was only going to church so I didn't want her to look like Prom Barbie. I decided to start her braid on the same side that she parts her hair (i.e. the side with less hair). I started with a vertical section about a half and inch thick, put that into 3 sections and started the braid.

NOW before you pick up your next sections, I'm going to share a little trick with you... Only pick up hair from the bottom and add into that section. DO NOT add into the top section like you normally would with a french braid. I'll tell you why... Unless you are AMAZING at braiding(which, I am not), the top part of the hair will look messy AND your braid will be an 'innie' braid instead of an 'outtie' braid. Which is what I want. Also, it is tre tre easier to do than adding to the top and bottom.

Sorry, crappy picture!

Back to the braid! Just keep adding into the bottom and then doing the braiding. If you are standing. move with the braid to keep the angle right. I just had Kash turn her head a little as we went along because we were too lazy to stand up.

When you get to the point you want to do the bun, stop braiding (obviously) and put the hair in a pony tail as gently as possible. If you pull too hard you will have a mess( and I kinda did, but i fixed it with the tail of a comb and covered the rest with my bun!)....

SO, you could just leave this, ala 80's style, or do a messy bun. I wanted it to look a little fancier so I did this loopy bun I like the looks of. First, take a section like this...
Tie is in a knot(yes, I said knot). It will look like this...




Stick a bobby pin in it...









Push it into your hair...











Just keep repeating that all around, spacing them out until they hide the ponytail and look pretty! So easy, huh?! When you are done with that, I just gave it some hairspray and you're done!




One more tip, If you want this to look more grown up, keep the bun behind the ear or lower. If its for a little girl, do it wherever you want!

Until tomorrow!
Les






Hair Do's

• Smooth out the section you are putting into the braid or it will be a hot mess



• When you get to the point you want to start the bun but your hair is so thick/ heavy your afraid the ponytail will fall out, put it into 2 ponytails (or 3!). Just use your loops to cover it up!



• Once again, SDH(aka, second day hair. Don't be too impressed by me right now) works best!

Hair Don'ts

• Don't fear the braid! It just takes practice!

Todays Post was brought to you by:

-Noodles &Co. (YUM!)

-Discussing National Pie Day with Sarah and Celeste

-A Peach Fanta