French 5-Strands

I've been wanting to try a French 5-Strand braid for a while now and finally had the time to sit and try it the other day.  It's actually a really fun braid - once you figure out your fingers. :)

Start by parting out a small section of hair in the front of the head and creating a small Pull-Through. 

 

This step is just to add a bit of flair but is not necessary for the hairstyle.

Now part the remaining hair straight down the middle. 

Begin with the side that has the Pull-Through entering in and tie off the other side with an elastic.  Section out some hair from the ear up to the part and include the Pull-Through in that. 

Now divide the section into 5 strands and begin your braid.  Click here if you are unsure how to a 5-Strand Braid.  To make it "French" simply add in some hair to the outside strand each time you plate the braid. 

Once you have added all the hair in, just continue your 5-Strand Braid down to the bottom of the hair and secure with an elastic. 

 Pull the other half of your hair down and section some out from the ear up to the part to begin your braid. 

 Once both of your braids are completed you can add some hair clips to finish off the bottoms.  We are snow-deprived here so my princess was really excited about her new snowflake clips. 

Something's Fishy

This hairstyle is all about the Fish Bone Braid.  If you're not sure how to do this you can check out our previous post on it here.

Start by dividing the hair in half and clipping one section out of the way.

 

Grab some hair from the top of the other half and divide it into two pieces.  Cross the left piece over the right piece and then grab a new piece of hair from the tight and cross it over the left.  Now grab some new hair from the left and cross it over to the right. 

You'll notice that a French Fish Bone is different from a regular French Braid because there's no actual plating involved.  Simply gather new hair from each side and cross it over to the opposite section.  We did this midway down the head and then secured all the hair from that section into an elastic.  Now move over and unclip the other section to repeat the same process. 

 Now you will have two ponytails hanging down that you will make Fish Bone Braids out of.  Once they were finished, secure each one with an elastic and add some bows over the top elastics. 

It's a very "fishy" hairstyle!

Halloween Hairdos: "BOO"

 Make sure the hair is really wet before you begin this hairstyle.  Grab a rat-tailed comb to make your parts - and try to keep them as straight as possible. 

First, section out the bang area and pull them tightly over to the left ear and secure them with an elastic.  Now make 3 parallel sections going from the top of the head down to the neck. 

 Pull the middle section up into a tight, centered ponytail.  Now pull the right section into a ponytail as well but keep the ponytail somewhat close to the part. 

Grab two bun molds (or cut the toe out of two separate socks and roll them into themselves to create a mold) and slide them over each ponytail. 

Spread the hair over the mold and secure it with another elastic over each mold.  Now twist and wrap the excess hair around the mold and bobby pin it in.    Move over to the left section and divide the ponytail from the bangs into two sections.  *Keep in mind that you can braid your "B" which ever way works best for you*. 

Start with the left little section and begin braiding straight down by the ear.  When you plate it down to where you can begin adding hair, start to French Braid it.  Keep going until you get to about 1 1/2 inches from the neck and start to turn your French Braid - making the bottom part of the "B".  Finish the bottom curve (only the rounded part - don't French Braid the middle section leading back to the beginning part of your braid) and stop adding hair into your braid.  Finish plating the hair you are holding with just a regular 3-Strand Braid.  Secure it with an elastic at the end and let it just hang for a minute.  Now go back up to that right section of your little ponytail and begin French Braiding that into the top part of your "B". Gather all of the hair into the braid by the time you finish with the top curve and then just finish the hair off with a regular 3-Strand Braid. 

Twist the two 3-Strand Braids together and then bobby pin them down to the head - creating the middle section of your "B".  Tie an elastic around the two braids when the "B" is finished and un-plate any remaining braid below the elastic.  Brush it out and then make just one braid of your choice with that hair. 

Tie a ribbon around the elastic right next to the "B" and you're all finished.  Stand back and look at it and you can read "BOO" across her head!

 This is the clip that we put in her hair later and it was perfect because it was a little ghost saying "BOO"!  :)

The Biggest Loser Hair

I was watching the latest episode of "The Biggest Loser" and saw a darling hairstyle on the host, Ali.  My daughter had a birthday party to go to and I thought it was a nice opportunity to give it a shot. 

Get the hair nice and wet and grab a small section of hair from the bang line.  Begin to French Braid it off to one side of the head. 

Continue braiding as if you were making a crown around the head.  Make sure that when you gather the hair on the top half of your braid that you gather just a little bit of hair from right next to it.  You want most of the hair on top to not be included into the braid.  When you get down to the bottom (right about the middle of the head) put a clip on the braid to hold it in place. 

 Comb all the remaining hair back to where the French braid has stopped  and then unclip the braid and add everything together into a ponytail. 

Grab a small section of hair from the bottom of the ponytail and braid it.  Wrap that braid around the elastic to hide it and then pull the ends through the elastic with your Topsy Tail. 

This is where they finished it on the show but my princess was going to an Alice in Wonderland party so we added a few more things. 

 We braided the rest of the ponytail and added some coordinating hair clips. 

You have to wear Alice to a Wonderland party!  :)
*HALLOWEEN HAIRDOS BEGIN TOMORROW*

Meet in the Middle

This is a traditional double French Braid with a bit of a different look. 

Start by parting the hair into two sections.  Set one section aside and begin with the other. 

French Braid that side down to about the middle of the head and then secure it with an elastic. 

 Now have your princess lay on her tummy on her bed to make it easier for the bottom half.  Start the bottom French Braid at the neck and braid all the way to the end of the top braid. 

 Combine the two together with an elastic.  While you princess is still on her tummy, start the bottom braid on the opposite half. 

Tie it off with an elastic in the middle of the head again and then finish off by French Braiding the top half and combining it together with the bottom by securing it with an elastic. 

You should now have to piggies that both have two French Braids feeding into them. 

You can leave the piggies plain like we've done here or finish them off with braids, Corkscrews, or buns. 

Gathered Here & There

I like to do this hairstyle when I've got a bit of left-over curl in the hair from braids the day before. 

 You can also curl the hair with an iron when you're finished. 

Begin by gathering a small section of hair right at the front middle part of the hair.  Divide it into 3 sections and create a braid.  Plate it about 5 times and then add in a small section of hair to both of the outside strand of the braid. 

You're going to get the hair by grabbing another small section on each side of the original section - along the bang line. 

 Once the hair has been added into the braid, plate it again about 5 times and then repeat the gathering step.  Make sure you grab hair from along the bang line each time. 

 Continue plating and adding until you've gathered down to each ear. 

Stop gathering and just plate the rest of the braid.  Add a flower to hide the elastic at the bottom and you're all finished! 

Jail Bird Braid

I love the look of this one and my daughter said it looked like the braid was in jail - hence the name.  :) 

 First you'll want to part off one inch all the way along the bang line.  Now divide that inch strip into 7 equal squares.  (Be sure that one of your squares is in the very center.)  Tie each square back into a small elastic and when all of them are done, sweep them forward and out of your way.  Now divide out 1 1/2 inch strip of hair right along side your first inch of hair so that they are parallel.  Set the new section aside with the 7 little ponies and pull everything else back into a ponytail and secure it with an elastic. 

 Now go back to that 1 1/2 inch section and begin at one ear and create a French Braid all the way to the other ear.  Finish plating that braid all the way to the end of the hair. 

Now pull that braid back into the ponytail and secure with a second elastic. 

Go ahead and bring those front 7 small ponies over the French Braid and pull them back into the ponytail as well.  This gives you the "jail bars" look.  :) 

We finished off her ponytail by doing an Uneven Braid but each time I plated the thick strand, I would pull at it a little bit to make it stick out farther.  This gave it just a bit more of a defined look. 

And there you have your Jail Bird Braid.

Meet in the Middle

I just came across these pictures and I think this hairstyle was done sometime in January.  It's fairly straight forward but there are some helpful tips for you. 

Start by parting the hair down the middle.  (I've pulled some of her bangs into one side in the front as well.)  Now that you have your vertical halves, divide each into half horizontally so that you now have 4 sections.

  Tie off 3 of the section with elastic and begin to french braid the 4th section.  Braid all the way to the end of the hair and tie it off with an elastic.  French braid all the sections and tie them off.  (Tip:  for the bottom French Braids, have your princess lay on her tummy on her bed so that her head is upside down over the edge of the bed.  This will make doing the upside down braids MUCH easier.) 

(Okay - this part could've definitely been straighter! ha ha) Now that you have your 4 French Braids completed you'll want to combine the top and the bottom on each side by twisting the two braids around each other and forming a bun.  Secure the bun with a tight elastic.  Do the on the other side as well.  Now just choose your favorite ribbons and wrap them around the bun, creating a bow,  to finish off. 

Ribbon Braid

This one is really pretty but it has a bit of a learning curve. Start by parting the hair. Choose your ribbon in any color you like and attach it to the hair with a small elastic. Now gather a small section of hair from the top and divide it into three sections like you would a normal braid. The ribbon will be next to the middle strand of your braid. (Your ribbon will never move - the hair will braid around it.) Take your left strand of hair and go over the adjacent strand of hair and under the ribbon. Now take the right strand and go under the adjacent strand and over the ribbon. Grab the new left strand and repeat the steps. If you would like to make this a French Ribbon Braid you just add in hair to each side strand as you braid it. I did two French Ribbon Braids here and tied them off with elastics at the base of the head. I trimmed the excess ribbon and tucked the ribbon at the top of the head inside the braid with my rat-tail comb. I braided the rest of the hair and added some flower clips. This is what it will look like at the end. Kind of neat huh!