Sunday, May 15, 2011

Braids Craze!

As you may have noticed, braids are having a bit of a moment! And this week, I decided to jump wholeheartedly on the bandwagon with a week's worth of braids-based styles:

1. The Braid Headband

So I've seen a lot of headbands made out of fake braids, and personally I find them a little creepy (and they never look natural). Why use a fake braid headband when making a real one with your own hair looks so much better, and is easy at that?

All I did was take a half inch or so strand of hair from behind my left ear, pull it upwards, braid it, bring it across, and pin it behind my right ear. Then, for symmetry, I did the same with the other side. Easy as cake!

2. Prairie Girl

So wrapping braids around one's head is a pretty common style, reminiscent of the olden days and simpler times, that has been used by everyone from farmgirls to alien princesses (see Leia's hair in Empire Strikes Back). My version is essentially an add-on to the braid headband.

Starting with the braid headband, I then took the rest of my hair and split it down the middle. Then, I pulled the left side up, braided it, brought it across, and pinned it behind my right ear. I did the same with the right side, and so by the end I had four braids across my head. The fact that they were all different sizes and a little messy was a plus, in my opinion. Braids shouldn't be taken too seriously! I finished it off with a flower clip for some extra spring prettiness... and...uh... to hide the splayed ends on that side that I could not for the life of me get to stay pinned down.

3. Pinned-Up Pigtails

This style looks really, really little-girl like when you begin. First, take half your hair, pull it up as high as possible (I got it to about three inches above my ear), braid, and secure with a thin elastic. Then, do the same to the other side. You'll have two super-high and cutesy pigtails that make you look like you're 6 and mommy did your hair this morning hehehe...


And if that's your thing, great! But I was going into the office, so I opted for something a little more grown-up. To that end, I brought the left braid down across the back of my head and pinned it so that the elastic was tucked up underneath my right braid. Then, I crossed my right braid over it, and pinned it so that the elastic was tucked up underneath my left braid. Et voila!

4. Braided Laurels

This hairstyle is similar in concept to the one above, in that it's two braids wrapped around the back, but is significantly more head-hugging. And although it was inspired by Princess Leia's hairstyle in Empire Strikes Back, I thought it ended up looking a little like laurels :-)

Like with the last style, I started with two braids, except this time, I started each one as close to the nape of the neck as possible. Then, I crossed the left one over to the right side and pinned it along the edge of my hairline. I did the same with the right, and there you have it!

5. The Braid Bun

And finally, the intentionally-messy casual lazy-day bun. This one's great for those days when you ant to put your hair up but don't want a boring bun, and also don't have much time for anything fancier.


First, I took a small section of hair from the front, braided it, and clipped it out of the way. Then, I took the rest of my hair, divided it into two sections, and braided each section. I twisted the two sections around each other and pinned it into place, allowing the ends to splay out as they pleased. Finally, I took the small braid and wrapped it around the bun, crossing it over the middle. Then I tucked it in, pinned it in place, and that was that!


So there you have it- a full week's worth of braided hairstyles! And the best bit- none of the involve too much time or fancy products!

~mode mare

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