Corn Rows

I am going through a craze at the moment where I LOVE corn rows! As practise makes perfect I have been practising them on my friends, my self and my hair head mannequin. 

This hair style is just lots of tiny dutch braids done in equal sized rows down the head. It is perfect for summer as it is cool and compact and it isn't heavy on your head at all.

These ones were done without a comb so the part lines are a bit messy:

As I am loving them at the moment I got my mum to do them on me!

I think this is a very summery look and ideal for long, thick hair like mine.

Just a little update!

Sooo.... I got 20,000 followers on instagram! How crazy is that!? I haven't done any new braids recently as I sometimes just do the same braids on different hair or on a different way. But on instagram I post what ever braids I do. I wasn't sure what to do to celebrate 20k but I'm thinking of a contest maybe? I'll post it on inst when I decide :)

I went to a friends party the other day and had lots of hair to braid on:

 

 

 
 
 
 
 



Braid Drawings!

If you are reading my blog posts you are probably aware that I also have an instagram where I post all these hairstyles (@braidsnfashion). I have over 19,000 followers on there and some of them have drawn my braids! I love each and every drawing and if I see them I always repost them. It occurred to me that I hadn't shared them with my blog readers so here they are next to the actual photos:

By @jaaaanak



 By @iridescent_sketches and @giving_life_colours

 

 By @bu_doodles

 By @potato_draw

By @color_with_creativity

 

These are just some of the recent ones! To see more go to my instagram and scroll though :) I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post today xx

Crimped Braids

One of my all time favourites 

I have been crimping my hair for as long as I can remember! It'll always be my favourite heat tool for hair and I love the texture it gives. Another great thing about crimping is the way it looks when it's braided, different and volumious! I personally love to just wear it with my hair down and all crimped but you can braid it or even just crimp the very roots of your hair for more volume. If the whole crimped look isn't your cup of tea then the tool can still be used to create volume without back combing.



Play around with crimping and find which styles you think work!

Stacked Braids

This braid is so simple to do and adds a dash of detail to a style. There are as many variations of this braid as you can think of, the only limit is your imagination with this one! You could even stack more than two braids and add an extra one on top. For my two examples below I did a dutch braid with a smaller version on top and for the second one I did a simple side braid with a fishtail detail (with a guest appearance of my sparkly nails done by my mum).

How to:

1. do one stitch of a regular braid.

2. take a small section from the centre section and hold it out the way.

3. then use the rest of the section to do one more stitch of the braid (to make it french or dutch add some more hair in.

4. with the new centre bit take a small section out and continue braiding).

5. keep taking out small sections for every new centre piece until you run out of hair.

6. go back to the top of the braid and start a braid with the hair left out of the previous braid.

7. keep adding in the hair left out until you run out of hair and tie it with the same hair band at the bottom.

Half-Up Bows

Cute and simple

Bows have become my new hair obsession! I've been practising Bow Braids, Bow Buns and these Half-Up Bows for a while now and they are definitely getting easier. This style may look simple but it is tricky to perfect. I need at least 6 bobby pins before I'm happy it's nice and secure.

Just a short post today :)

French Braid + Rosettes

Fancy up a french braid

I love how this hairstyle is just a fancier version of a french braid. Perfect for special occasions and for a girly touch.
 

How to:

1. Split the top section into three and do one stitch of a regular braid.
2. When you cross the next section over leave half of it out of the braid and add some hair under it to the french braid.
3. Do another stitch of a regular braid (remembering to pick up layers to make it a french braid).
4. Repeat step 4 (making sure it is on the opposite side).
5. Do another stitch, then leave one more section out on the opposite side to the previous one.
6. Finish off the main braid and tie it off.
7. Braid all the left out sections individually.
8. Twist them round to make little rosettes and pin them into into place how you like them.

The Starburst Braid

One of my favourites!

The pains of having long thick hair have been solved in this one hair style. 

I have very long and thick, heavy hair ~ which is beautiful ~ but it can be a chore to just tie it back. Pony tails are out of the question as they weigh too much and give me a head ache. 

However, all is not lost as this hair style is really light and doesn't put any pressure in one place. If you can do a french braid you can do this. 

It is perfect for summer when it is too hot to have your locks flowing loose and creates lovely no heat over night waves.

There are so many ways you could change this braid and make it your own; add an extra lace braid around the front, use a twist instead of a braid or you could experiment with a four strand instead!

 

 

To do this braid:

 

1. Brush the hair and make a small pony-tail on the crown of the head. Leave hair all the way around the edge.

2. Split the pony-tail in half and tie it into a bun; this will stop you from using up the hair in the centre too quickly and running out at the end.

3. Start a french braid behind the ear using hair from the centre pony-tail and hair around the edge.

4. Once you get half way around the head take down the rest of the pony-tail.

5. Continue all the way round then finish with a regular braid.

6. Tie off the braid and tuck it under the hair and wrap around the pony-tail hair band. Use a bobby pin to keep the hair tucked in.

Bow Braids

So cute and easy to do on wet or dry hair

There are lots of different variations of this braid that can be done to suit the occasion and style you want. For a girly and practical style do two braids to hold all the hair up and back. For a more relaxed style have half the hair down and a smaller braid across the front, you could continue this around and end with a side braid or continue it as a lace braid to keep half the hair down.

I got a practise head for Christmas which I am so happy about so I will be able to practise even more styles! It is also good for pictorials because I can easily move it to the angle I want.

Here is a tutorial for the bow braid(I did one side already):

1. Split the hair in half down the middle.

2. Take a thin section vertically next the centre parting and clip it away to use later.

3. French braid the hair.

4. Use a bun pin and hook it under a bit of hair in the braid.

5. Use another bun pin and take the hair that was clipped away for later.

6. Pull a loop of hair through the first bun pin.

7. Pull the first bun pin through the braid and gently pull both pins on either side to make a bow; the tiny bit of hair sticking out underneath will be covered by other bows.

8. Continue to do more bows all along the french braid until you run out of hair down the centre, finish with a regular braid.

Zipper Braid

So Unique

This very unique and interesting braid is definitely only for people who want a bit of a challenge. I saw photos of this braid floating around Pinterest, We Heart It and Instagram for a while before I tried it. I thought it looked easy enough so when I tried it 3 times before getting it right (and still thinking it looked too messy) I just had to show it off! My friends, my mum and my mannequin head have all had to suffer as I repeat this braid and constantly have to restart it over and over again.
 

However, don't be put off because now I know how to do it it's easy and after a few stitches I can do it with my eyes closed.

I've seen lots of pictorials for this and they all looked too complicated and were hard to follow so here is the best video tutorial I could find: Cute Girls Hairstyles Zipper Braid, 

Ladder Braids

I love how this braid looks on high lighted hair - it brings out all the beautiful colours in any hair and makes a gorgeously simple hairstyle. The braiding techniques for this braid can be used in so many different ways to create more braids or even to add to simpler braids.

 

1. Start at the front of the hair and do one 'stitch' of a regular braid.

2. Continue braiding around the head; every time you cross over from the top add a section of hair like you're doing a french braid.

3. Every time you cross over from the bottom, take a small section from the strand a leave it hanging underneath the braid (you will use this later).
4. Finish this braid with a regular 3 strand.

5. Start another braid on the same side as the first one just underneath it.

6. Add the previously dropped pieces of hair from the first braid into the second braid every time you cross over from the top.

7. Finish this in a regular 3 strand.

Upside Down Dutch Braids

Turn it on it's head

Easy and quick to do on your self, this hairstyles looks both casual and elegant depending on how you dress it. 

1. Clip up half the hair on top of the head.

2. Flip the hair upside down and start a dutch braid at the base of the neck.

3. A dutch it like a french but instead of picking up hair and crossing over, cross under so the braid looks raised.

4. Braid to the crown of the head then take out the rest of the hair and put it into a high pony tail.

5. For the style on the left I did lots of small curls then used some bobby pins to clip them into a bun shape around the hair band. For the style on the right I simply left it in a pony tail and did one curl. I think this looks more casual and will look great if you are doing some kind of sport where your pony tail will swish around.

Braided Fishtails

Triple up the tails

I don't think this style has a name so I just call it a braided fishtail.

This style takes a long time to do because fishtails take ages and you have to do 3 of them! But the result is worth it because it looks stunning and detailed.
Have a look at some of my previous posts to see more variations of fishtails: Fishtails For All, The Fishtailed Bun

1. Split the hair into three equal sections and put a hair band around two of them.
2. Split the third one into two and take a small piece of hair from the out side of the left side and cross it over and add it to the inside of the right section.
3. Take a small piece of hair from the right section and cross it over to the inside of the left section.
4. Repeat 2 and 3 until you run out of hair.
5. Do the same to the other two sections.
6. Cross the right fishtail over the centre fishtail and then cross the left fishtail over what is now the centre fishtail, repeat this (a regular braid).

The Heart Braid

Pretty and as simple as they come

This is a gorgeous style and can easily be done on yourself in the mirror. Wear a smaller one on the side of your head or keep it at the back so you can style the front however you like it.
I also used this braid a while ago in a post called Pretty Pull-Backs.

The only thing you need to know is a simple 3 strand braid.

This is so simple having a tutorial for it seems pointless!

1. Split the top layer in two.

2. Braid both sections.

3. Wrap them around inwards and clip them in place.

4. Use a clear elastic to tie the braids together at wherever you think makes it look like a heart shape.