Friday's Film: French Braid

We've gotten many requests for a video tutorial on how to create a French Braid.  I figured I better post this one as soon as possible because it's a standard that we use in a lot of our hairstyles here at Princess Piggies.  Hopefully the video will help and give you some tips to make it easier for you!

Pulling it back from ear to ear is a good tip for you beginner braiders.  This will help give you a good chunk of hair to work with.
Also, if you're a fan of the HUNGER GAMES movie, here are some French Braid hairstyles that we've done in the past that appear on the movie:

These are our Low Frenchies as worn by Prim.  The only difference is that hers are not combined at the bottom.   

This is our Slanted style that seems to be getting more and more popular thanks to the movie. 

Combined Braid Bun

This is a fairly simple idea but it's fun to add a little twist onto it.

I've started by creating two separate sides to work with. 

 I began on the larger of the two sides and created a Half-French Braid by only gathering hair into my bottom strand of the braid. 

 I continued this braid around the back of the head and just past the middle point.  I then continued plating my braid without adding any hair in and had my princess hold that braid while I moved to the other side. 

I did another Half-French Braid and gathered all the remaining hair that was down.  Once that hair was gathered I finished plating that braid as well.  I took both of my braids and twisted them around each other and bobby pinned them into place. 

 I had some loose strands hanging out over my braid bun so I curled those and let them fall loosely over the bun. 

I added some flower hair pins to finish it off. 

Cupid's Heart

We have come up with a new hairstyle that is perfect for Valentines Day.  We call is "Cupid's Heart" and it is VERY easy - don't let the pictures fool you!  :)

Start with wet hair.  It will not hold nearly as well if the hair is not wet.  Create a part directly down the middle of the head so that you now have two equal sections. 

Using a rat-tailed comb you will create half of a heart on the left side of the part.  (We started the inside of our heart about 3.5 inches back from her bang line.)  The half-heart will start and end right on the middle part.  Comb the hair outside of the heart down an have your princess hold the hair that is inside the heart.  Now move over to the right side and create the other half of your heart.  It needs to be a mirror image of the left side so make sure you take your time and really have it look nice.  Make sure that all of the hair outside of the heart is combed down and then tightly smooth out all of the hair inside the hear and combine it right in the middle with an elastic to create one ponytail.  You should be able to see your heart-part really nicely now.  The hair outside of the parts should still be divided into two sides with that original middle part.  Go ahead and divide your ponytail into two equal halves as well, one for each side.  Temporarily tie off the right side (ponytail and hair) with an elastic so that you can work on the left side without that hair getting mixed in. 

Start on the top-middle part of your heart and begin french braiding by gathering three small sections from the hair not inside the heart.  Gather hair into your braid each time you plate. 

The outside will be gathered from the hair that is loose and the inside will be gathered from the ponytail.  Have your braid lie directly on the hear part so that you can keep the shape that you want.  Continue gathering hair all the way down that half of the heart and tie it into a temporary elastic when you finish at the nape of the neck. 

 Move over to the right side and repeat the steps.  When all of the hair is gathered and you are down at the bottom of the head, remove your temporary elastic from the left side and combine both sides together in one final elastic. 

 You can finish off that new ponytail however you like but we have chose to do a Quad Braid here.  (You can find the video for a Quad Braid here.)  Add some fun Valentines hair clips and give it a good spray with hairspray. 

It takes a good 15-20 minutes to complete but the idea is quite simple.  :)   

Holiday Hairstyles: Santa Hat

This is a hairstyle created from the original hairstyle called Half-Down French Braids.  We've just added some fun accessories to make it a Santa Hat.

These are the supplies that we used but you can find anything that works for you.  There is red ribbon, a plastic yarn needs. some extra large white wire-ribbon, and a white puff ball that we've glued to a hair pin. 

Create your Half-Down French Braid hairstyle first.  The directions can be found here.  Now grab your red ribbon and your yarn needle.  (You will want to make sure the ribbon is long enough to weave on both sides of your braids.)  Feed your ribbon through your top elastic so that the exact middle of the ribbon is folded at the band.  

Start with one side of your ribbon and weave it back and forth through both sets of braids - making sure to alternate your left and right sides.   When you get down to the bottom of the "French" part of your braid, secure that ribbon by tying it around the braid and then knotting it.  Cut off any excess ribbon.  (This part will be hidden later.) 

 Move over to your other side of ribbon and repeat the steps.  Be sure that this new side of ribbon is exactly mirroring your previous side. 

After both ends of ribbon have been tied off and the excess had been cut, you are ready to use your white wired-ribbon.  Wrap it behind both braids at the nape of the neck and then bring it around the front and tie it in a bow.  (Make sure the white ribbon is covering those ends from your red ribbon.)  Shape your bow until it looks the way you like.  (This is the reason for using wired-ribbon.)  Take a bobby pin on each braid and run it through the ribbon to secure it to the hair.  The final step is to insert your puffy white hair pin into the top elastic. 

 Now your princess is festive and ready for Christmas!  :)    

Holiday Hairstyles: Candy Cane

It's "Candy Cane Day" at my princess's school and we did this hairstyle in honor of that.

Begin by making a curved part starting over behind the left ear.  Have it curve up about two inches from the bang line and then come down to a straight part in the center.  (I wish that my curve would have been a bit more defined so make sure it is exactly how you want it before continuing on.)

 Comb all of the hair below and to the left of the part down to the nape of the neck where you will create a Regular 3-Strand Braid out of it.  

Now move back up to that hair by the left ear and start creating a Half-French Braid by only gathering hair into the outside strands of your braid so that it lies directly on top of the part you have created. 

 Continue adding in hair as you plate around the curve and once you get to your straight part you can start adding in hair to both sides of your braid to create a regular French Braid the rest of the way down.  Once you've added all of the hair in you can finish it off with a Regular 3-Strand Braid. 

Now grab some red and white ribbon and a plastic yarn needle.  Start with one of your colors and tuck the end in over by the left ear - I used a bobby pin to hold it in place. 

Now thread the ribbon through your yarn needle and start weaving it around your French Braid.  Finish it all the way to the end of the braid on the right side of the head and then go back up to the top and repeat the same steps with your other color of ribbon.  Secure your ends at the bottom of your braid with another elastic. 

Now you've got a cute little Candy Cane!  

Turkey Foot

We are just getting back home from a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and wanted to share our hairstyle for Thanksgiving Day.  It's called the "Turkey Foot" because it has the shape of one of the claws right off a turkey.

Begin by creating an off-centered part on the top of the head.  Have your part go back to the crown of the head and then stop. 

You are going to create a Half-French Braid on each side of the part.  It's a Half-French Braid because you will only be gathering hair into the top side of each braid - the side closest to your part.  Continue adding hair in until you come to the point where you stopped your part.  Finish it off with a Regular 3-Strand Braid. 

 Do the same with the opposite side of the head.  Have your princess hold those two braids while you pull the hair underneath - from ear to ear - into an elastic at the back of the head. 

 Create a Regular 3-Strand Braid out of that new ponytail and comb the rest of the hair straight down.  Bring your two top braids to the back of the head and join them with your new braid about 3 inches down.  Secure it with an elastic and this will create your Turkey Foot shape.  Add any fun hair clips that you like and spray it with some hairspray for hold. 

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't damage your waistlines too much!  :) 

Half-Down French Braids

I'm so excited because my princess and I have been working on a whole collection of hairstyles that we're going to call "Holiday Hairstyles" and we'll start posting those in December.  Get excited because there are some fun ones!  :) 

This is a really simple idea that is great for school because it looks nice and it holds together really well.

Start by pulling the hair on top of the head half-up by and securing it into an elastic.  Now divide all the hair below the elastic in half by creating a part right down the center.  Clip one side out of the way while you work with the other. 

Divide your ponytail in half and then take one of the halves and divide it into 3 equal sections.  You will plate the sections once as a Regular Braid and then start adding in hair as a French Braid from the area of hair right below it.  Have that French Braid go on a diagonal from the center of the head down towards the opposite edge. 

Do the same with the other half of your ponytail and the opposite side of the head.

 Finish plating both French Braids into Regular 3-Strand Braids and secure them each at the bottom with an elastic.  I wrapped my elastic one final time at the bottom and made sure not to pull the hair completely through and that gave me these little puffs at the bottom.

  Nice and easy and she'll be set to go!

Cross Over Braids

 This is a fun twist on an old favorite.  You can do this style with either French Braids or Dutch Braids but we have used French Braids here.

  Begin my making one part right down the middle of the head.  (Starting with wet hair usually works best.)  Now create two parallel parts - one on each side - about an inch from the original part.  You should now have two long and skinny sections. 

Separate the sections into small pieces that you will cross over the opposite side in an alternating pattern.  I used a couple of over sized alligator clips to hold the crossed pieces in place until I was ready to use them.  Once both parts have crossed through each other and are now on the opposite side of the head from where they began, you can start your French Braids. 

Start on the right side of the head and begin plating the hair at the bang line.  Add in the crossed over pieces into your braid every other time you plate on that side.  Pull them nice and tight.  Once you have added all the hair in, continue plating the braid down to the end and secure it with an elastic. 

 Move over to the left side of the head and repeat the steps. 

 This hairstyle can be a bit tricky when trying to keep the crossed pieces where they belong but the alligator clips worked well for me and I just removed them as I began plating my braids.  You can see that the finished product has a really cool visual effect. 

 Add some hair clips to the bottom of your braids and you're finished.   

Rib Cage Braid Bun

*Note* Thank you so much for your comments on the last video and I will be searching for a better place to film that has more light!  I agree that video was much too dark.  I was trying to do it in a location where my 3 younger boys would not bother us as much but there is just not enough natural light so the upcoming films should be better!  :)

Today we are implementing that Rib Cage Braid in this hairstyle.

Start with wet hair and pull it all back into a high ponytail. 

Separate the ponytail into 3 equal sections and create a Rib Cage Braid out of each section.  (Remember to braid all the way down to the very ends of the hair before securing it with an elastic.)

 Pull the top bit of your braids up above the ponytail elastic and pin them into the hair so that the elastic is hidden.  Pulling up top of the braid is also what helps to flair out the "Rib Cage" part of your braid. 

Now pull the bottom of the braids up under the main elastic and pin them into place.  I have rolled these ones twice because my princess has quite long hair but that is optional.

Flair out the bits of your braid if you need to and then give it a squirt of hairspray for hold. 

You can leave it just plain or add a hair accessory to the top.  This hairstyle held really well and she was even taken down to the office at her school so they could take a picture.  (That made her whole day!)