How to Braid Your Own Hair

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Braids will add a fun touch to your hair and are perfect for when you don’t have much time to style your hair. It will take a lot of practice to get smooth and even braids. Besides, you can try many different hairstyles. Take the time to practice how to braid your own hair using the 3 popular styles shown in this article.

Table of Contents

Traditional braids

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Brush hair. This will help keep the braid smooth and in place. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Use a round or long comb to comb your hair evenly, using a round brush will make your hair smoother.
Brushing your hair before braiding will help you avoid tangles during the process.
Don’t braid your hair while it’s wet. Hair will swell when dry and may break in braids.
Avoid using a lot of hair product when you start braiding, but you can try using dry shampoo to style your hair if needed.
Use dry shampoo if you have trouble keeping your hair in place. Clean and dry hair is usually very smooth, so it will be difficult to hold while braiding. Dry shampoo will improve the texture of your hair making it easier to hold your hair in place. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Decide where you want the braid to fall from. Before you start braiding your hair, you need to decide where the braid is located. The position of the braid can be changed to match the outfit and event you attend. For example, create braids that are convenient, natural or graceful depending on where you will be braiding.

Pull your hair to the left or right if you want a side braid. Comb all of your hair towards your chosen side and make sure it doesn’t get tangled up. This will create a neat, graceful hairstyle that will help you stand out when going out at night or suitable for office fashion.
Practicing braiding with side braids will be very effective for beginners. You will easily see and control what you do with the side braids.
You can braid your hair at the back of your head by gathering your hair back in a low position. This will create a graceful classic braid that looks natural and elegant.
You can also gather your hair into a ponytail in the middle or at the top of your head. This way, the braid will be held in place and create a natural, simple style.

Divide your hair into 3 sections. Gather and hold hair in hand. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

You will hold a section of hair in your left hand, a section of hair in the middle, and a section of hair in your right hand.
Hold the hair in your left hand with your index finger and thumb.
Hold the section of hair in your right hand with your index finger and thumb.
Let the middle hair fall freely.

Start braiding your hair. Braid your hair by bringing the right section of hair to the middle section. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Hold the right section of hair after you have brought it to the middle with the index and middle fingers of your left hand.
Hold the middle section of hair with the index finger and thumb of the left hand.
Pull sections of hair in both hands to secure the braid. This way, the braids will be even and without gaps.
If you have long hair, you can use your fingers to comb it along the length of your hair to make sure it doesn’t get tangled while braiding.

Continue braiding the rest of your hair. You will now rotate your left wrist to bring the left side of the hair to the new middle section. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

Hold the left section of hair with the index and middle fingers of your left hand after you bring it to the middle section.
Hold the middle section of hair in place with the index finger and thumb of the left hand.
Tighten sections of hair in both hands to ensure even tightness while braiding.

Repeat the above two steps. Continue doing this until all the hair is braided. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Bring the right section of hair to the middle section, then bring the left section to the middle section until braided the entire length of the hair.
Don’t forget to pull your hair tight while braiding.
If your braid is too long to continue braiding in the back, you can pull your hair over your shoulders and repeat the braid with the front section.
The ponytail holds the ponytail in place. Remember to tie the braid tightly. If the tie is too loose, parts of the braid will fall out.

French braids

Brush for smooth hair. This will help keep the braid even and in place. In addition, you also reduce the condition of your hair being tangled while braiding.

It will be difficult to divide your hair into small sections to braid if your hair is tangled.
Smooth hair will be easier to braid and avoid creating tangles.
Note, you should not braid your hair when it is wet or use too many hair products. If your hair falls out of the braid, you can apply some dry shampoo.

Take a section of hair in the front near your forehead, just above the top of your head. Use a sharp handle or comb to grab the top section of hair.

French braids are often more complicated than traditional braids because you’ll start with the hair at the top of your head and gain more hair while braiding.
The first section of hair will be taken from the temples to the position above the top of the head.
You can also get this section of hair by using your thumbs to pull the sides of the hair to the back of the head from the temples.
Comb this section of hair from front to back until it is smooth.

Separate the hair on the top of the head to braid. Divide your hair into three sections, keeping it high on top of your head.

Holding one section of hair in one hand and the other two in the other, separate sections with your index finger.
It is often more effective to hold two parts in your left hand and one in your right hand.
You should make sure to secure all three of these sections of hair.

Start braiding your hair. First, you will bring the right section of hair to the middle section.

Bring the left section of hair to the current middle section as you would a traditional braid.
This is the first part of the braid. You should do it from the top of the head and the braid will look like a traditional braid.
Tighten sections of hair to make sure the braid is evenly braided and not too loose.

Continue braiding the right side of the braid. You will do this by taking a small section of hair and adding it to the right section.

Take a small section of hair on the right side.
Add the hair you just took to the section of hair that you are holding in your right hand. Then, bring the right section of hair to the middle section.
Tighten the section of hair as you braid to make sure the braid is even with the same tightness.

Continue braiding the left side of the braid. This step is similar to when you braided the right side of the hair.

Take a small section of hair on the left side.
Add the hair you just took to the section of hair that you are holding in your left hand.
Bring the left section of hair to the middle section.

Fishbone braids

Brush for smooth hair. This will help detangle your hair and make it easier for you to braid. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

This braid is easier to do when you have long hair. If you have short hair, you can extend your hair to make it easier to braid.
Make sure your hair is not tangled or knotted before you start braiding.
Use a paddle or long comb to comb your hair at this step.
Braiding fishtail braids when practicing braiding for the first time will be easier. Multi-layered braiding will make it difficult to do at the back of your head when you are not familiar with the process.

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Divide your hair into two sections. Use the sharp handle or comb to divide the hair from the center of the head into two large vertical sections. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

You should part two equal sections of hair for an even braid.
If you want, you can comb each section of your hair to make sure it’s not tangled and evenly divided.
This braid is different from traditional braids and French braids, which usually use three main sections of hair.

Start braiding your hair. You will take small sections of hair about 1.2cm thick from the outside of each side of the hair to braid this hairstyle. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Take a small section of hair in the front, which is the outermost of the right section of hair.
Use your index finger to separate this small section of hair from the large right section.
Move the small section of hair you just took to the right and combine it with the hair on the left.

Do the same for the left side of the hair. You will need to hold both the left hair sections with your left hand and the two right sections with your right hand. ^{[10] X Research Source}

After you have combined all the small outer sections of hair, you will continue to braid the two sections of hair below.
This type of Tet is more complicated than other types of Tet. Therefore, you should work slowly and carefully so as not to drop small sections of hair out of the braid.
This herringbone braid is different from the others because you only use two sections of hair and create a third while braiding instead of using three sections of hair throughout the process.
For a more elaborate braid, you can use smaller sized sections.

Continue braiding hair according to the instructions as follows. Alternately change sides during Tet. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Bring the small, rightmost section of hair closest to your face to the center.
Combine this small section of hair with the large section of hair in your left hand.
Bring the small, leftmost section of hair to the center.
Join this small section of hair with the large section of hair on the right.
Remember to tug on sections of hair for a tight and neat braid.
Repeat the process until all the hair is braided.

Secure the braid with a hair tie. You can use a small transparent hair band or a large colored one if you want. ^{[12] X Research Source}

Once you’ve finished braiding your hair, you can style the braid by gently pulling sections of hair out to make the braid look thicker. ^{[13] X Research Source}
Be careful when doing this step as you may end up loosening some parts of the braid, causing the hair to fall out.
For a slightly tangled braid, use your fingers to gently slide into the braid and pull out a few small sections to create a cloud look. ^{[14] X Research Source}

Advice

When braiding your hair, you should remember that the first thing you need to do is comb your hair to make it easier for you to braid.
Wash and dry your hands before braiding. This will help remove any remaining hair products or lotions from your hands so they don’t stick to your hair.
You can also braid your hair on one side and pull it to the other side and use bobby pins to hold it in place.
To keep your hair in place, you can spray your hair with hairspray to prevent it from falling out.
While braiding someone else’s hair is a good practice, it feels very different when you do it on your own. TRY TO TRY A LOT!
Wet hair will make it slightly frizzy, making it easier to part your hair and very effective when you want to do traditional braids.
If you have trouble following these steps, try practicing braiding in front of a mirror. However, some people think that on the first try, braiding without using a mirror helps them understand what it feels like to braid their own hair. This improves muscle memory so you can do more complex braiding techniques in the future. ^{[15] X Research Source}
Enhance your hair by using clips to hold the ends instead of just using elastic bands. You can tie your hair up and then attach more clips to the knot. This keeps the ends of the braids neat and natural looking. ^{[16] X Research Source}
Don’t braid your hair while it’s wet. Wet hair is usually heavier and will swell when dry. Therefore, this will cause hair loss and damage to the hair. ^{[17] X Research Source}
When braiding, use as little hair product as possible. The product you add can make your hair stiff and difficult to braid. ^{[18] X Research Sources}

Steps

Traditional braids

French braids

Fishbone braids

Advice

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