Simply Regal: Waterfall Braid

Welcome to a new year of hairstyles!

I’m providing a tutorial today on an asymmetrical braided half up-do! This style is very versatile, and looks great on a variety of hair lengths. Bailey, my model, has hair a little bit passed her shoulders and it braided just fine into the braid. 

Honestly, the great thing about half up-dos and a hairstyle like this is that it keeps your hair out of your face, which I always like. I think it makes the face more visible and beautiful, as well as being practical when one doesn’t want hair in her (his?) face. 

To prep the hair (and this is optional), I created some flat iron curls in Bailey’s hair. I won’t go into too much detail about this, but I will provide a quick breakdown: I coated the hair with heat protectant and sectioned off the bottom. I then took a chunk of hair, clamped the iron near the root, turned the iron 180 degrees, and pulled it through the hair with gentle pressure. I pulled some chunks quickly and some slowly for a variety of curls. I also curled the hair in various directions.

Here is a link to a great tutorial on flat-iron curls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRguzj0AJag 

Now for the braiding!

1. I created a deep side part and sectioned off a triangular section of hair on the heavy side of the part. Then, I split the section into 3. 

2. I’m going to create a waterfall braid on angle. To do this, cross over the section of hair over the centerpiece. On the top sections of hair, incorporate another section of hair, pulling hair from the other side of the head. On the bottom section, drop the piece and pick up a similar sized piece from behind; cross this piece into the braid. Continue the all the way down to the center of the head, incorporating (as I said) hair from the other side of the part. Secure with a small elastic. 

Here is a link to two tutorials on waterfall braiding on YouTube (DIY version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y90s6neUKEY

Now, you can leave the hairstyle as is. It’s beautiful this way and still leaves some hair framing the face. But, if you’re feeling fancy, you can continue to the next steps. 

3. Pick up a small section near the hairline, right under the current braid. Be sure to include a section of the waterfall braid. Split this section into 3. 

4. Begin to create a French braid. I only incorporated the waterfall sections on the top of part of the French braid; this creates a cool, woven pattern. On the bottom sections, I only included some sections of hair from above the ear and then stopped including bottom sections; this leaves more hair free along the bottom and keeps the hair as a half up-do.

5.To finish off the braid, I removed the elastic from the first braid and put the two braids together and secured them together.

And that’s it! Feel free to accessorize as you like!

Have a great day! Thanks for reading.

• clu
• Simply Regal