Every morning I wake up and feel a little bit guilty about the fact that once again I’m going to let my hair air-dry into its stick straight, boring style. But with spring sunshine here (and a lack of curtains in my bedroom) I find myself with time on my hands in the morning. What better way to spend that free time (or homework procrastination time) than by updating my hairstyle and trying one of this season’s biggest hair trends-braids. Using my beautiful roommate and RTVF sophomore Lauren Guiteras as a model I tried out some great braiding styles!
Drop-twist Braid
One style that has been all over fashion magazines and Pinterest is the waterfall braid. While this version isn’t exactly the waterfall braid it looks pretty similar while having the benefit of being easier to do.
To do this style take three pieces of hair like you would for a normal braid. Take the top piece and drop it between the other two. Twist the remaining two pieces once. Then pick a new piece of hair from the top and drop it between the two again, then twist. Continue this pattern of drop and twist until you reach the back of your head for a cute look just like Lauren’s.
Fishtail
Another popular braid variation is the fishtail braid. Often misconceived as being a difficult braid with a little practice you can master this style!
To create a fishtail start off with two big pieces of hair, then take one small section from one of the bigger sections and cross it over to the other big section. You continue taking a small section and crossing it over to the opposite big section for the rest of the braid. Once you’ve mastered basic fishtail you can make it more interesting by fishtail French braiding as shown on Lauren. The fishtail braid is especially cool for showing off cool color streaks that are all the rage this season. Check out how Lauren’s blonde streak spices up her fishtail!
The Inception Braid
I’ve definitely gotten bored with the worn-out, basic side-braid style ,so to spice it up I tried this braid-within-a-braid style. To do this sweep your hair to one side and divide into three parts. From there individually braid two of these sections so that you have one loose section of hair (I usually leave the back section or the section furthest from your ear as the loose one) and two braided sections. Then braid as you normally would, using the two braided sections and the loose one.
Twisted Loop
This style is super-fast and chic! To do take two sections of hair and twist them once, then gather a loose piece from below the two pieces and add that in, almost like you would with a French braid, except only add a loose piece on one side (the bottom). Continue the pattern with a single twist and the addition of a loose piece around your head and end with a messy bun or a chic loop, always making sure to cover the elastic.
Extra-Large Headband Braid
I think we’ve all grown bored with the mid-2000 “headband braid.” But lately runways have been sporting a revamp of this style that’s pretty quick to do.
To begin section off the front half of your hair creating a part that stretches from behind one ear to the other across your head. Then starting near one ear begin braiding a loose, fat, French braid and French braid to your other ear. From here you can either stop or continue as I did on Lauren’s to make it loop back the other way and end as a ponytail or as a messy bun.