Five Strand Dutch Braid

A complicated dutch braid

If you can do a dutch braid this will be much easier. Try and learn how to do that first.

The five strand braid looks so different and will definitely get peoples attention!
You can do this as a french braid, a normal braid or like this (dutch).
To make this look even more beautiful, tug on the edge of each outside stitch. This is also known as pancaking and makes your hair appear thicker and more luxurious. I have previously blogged about how a fishtail looks when it is pancaked ~ Pancaked Fishtails.

1. Brush out the hair and take the top section. Split it into five sections.

2. For the first stitch, cross the left-most strand under and over the next ones until you get to the last section.

3. Start from the left again.

4. On the rest of the stitches, add a layer of hair to the left-most section and then start weaving it through. When you get to the right-most section add a layer of hair on that side to the section.

5. Continue these steps until you get to the neck, then you continue braiding without adding hair.

To make this into a french braid version: cross the left-most section over and then under the rest of the sections.

Hair Care Routines

This is quite long so I apologise, scan through to find what parts relate to you and your hair.

I try to keep my hair as healthy as possible because I have seen how horrible damaged hair can look.

Here is how I keep it healthy:

Basically... Do Nothing

Now, this may sound silly. How can I  get my hair to be healthy without helping it?

Using Heat:

But the only thing that ruins hair is doing too much stuff to it. Such as using heat on it.

Don't get me wrong, I love my hair after it has been blow dried and I curl and straighten my hair. Just not every day.

Let your hair dry naturally unless you have something you need to go to and don't want wet hair. But even then, try not to blow dry it totally bone dry. Stop the hair dryer when it is still ever so slightly damp. This way it won't dry it out as much.

Also, use a tiny bit of heat protectant on your hair before. Only a little bit as it may make it a bit greasy if you use too much.

Hate your natural hair?

If you hate you natural hair, don't use heat on it every day. This frazzles the hair so much and it is very hard to get it  back to what it was.

If you have straight hair like me, put it in dutch or french braids before you go to bed to create beautiful waves in the morning. And when this is the case, don't use too much hair spray on it to keep it wavy.

Some peoples hair hold curls better than others. Mine is useless when it comes to curling and falls out within hours. However, I know people that can curl their hair before bed and it is still in perfect curls two days later.

Naturally curly hair can be hard to manage as it gets knotted very easily. This is why when you got to bed brush it before and then put it in plaits. 
This isn't to make it wavy like for people with straight hair but to keep it tight and together so it can't spring out and tangle. This will make it much easier to brush in the morning.
If you want a way to sort out the curls you can straighten them. But this is going to dry out your hair and I think all curls are beautiful. I would do anything to have curly hair as it does look nice even when you haven't done anything to it.
Look for an anti-frizz spray in your local Boots or any hair shop. This will define the curls and stop them frizzing.
Instead of straightening with straighteners, after washing your hair blow dry it straight with a brush. I find this holds better than straighteners so you don't have to do it as often.

Washing your hair

DO NOT WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY. You need the natural oils in your hair to keep it healthy. This doesn't mean you have to let it get greasy, just let it have a day of rest in between washing.
I would advise you not to wash your hair every other day either. This is better then everyday but it still takes any natural goodness our of hair before it can use it properly.
I know that every one has different hair types and that some gets greasier quicker than others but that is partially down to routine.
If you wash your hair every day it will get greasy in a very short time. The hair will be rushing to get natural oils on it to moisturize it and make it healthy.
Washing you hair twice a week or once is best. Obviously if you do a lot of work and get your hair sweaty then it is better to wash it.
Dry shampoo is great if your hair does get greasy quickly because it doesn't wash the goodness out, just absorbs the oil to make it less noticeable.
I suggest Batiste dry hair shampoo. It is the best I have used and smells amazing.

I am not a professional in all of this but I have taken this information from experience and observation.

Mermaid Braids

An Autumn favourite

This braid is a little different because it isn't a french braid and makes the bottom of the braid thicker rather than it just being a regular three strand braid which is how a french braid ends.

I would wear this in the autumn because it takes bits from the front of the hair which is where you will have natural high lights from the summer.

It is good for the colder seasons because it keeps your neck warm and doesn't take too many layers off your head. Colder seasons are usually when it is most windy and because this takes hair from the front of the head they won't be flying around in the wind and getting in your eyes.

How to:

1. Take a small section of hair from the top of your head (not a whole layer, only a little bit).

2. Do one 'stitch' then add in a bit of hair taken right from the front of your head unless you are leaving you fringe out in which case take it from just behind your fringe.

3. Continue taking hair from the front on both sides. Do not pick up a whole layer because that will make it into a french braid which isn't what you want.

Pancaked Fishtails

Make your fishtails look thick and voluminous 

I am obsessed with pancaking!

When I started this fishtail I planned it to just be a normal one but when I started pancaking a little, it turned into a lot!

Pancaking is when you pinch the edge of each stitch in the braid and tug at it gently. This pulls the braid apart which makes it wider, this give the impression you have thick hair.

For this style I used Mini Claw Clips to hold up the small pull back fishtails whilst I fishtailed the rest of the hair. I then took out the clip once the ends had been braided into the main fishtail.

The pancaking gives the style a relaxed look. This also creates soft, over night waves.

To help hold the waves and give an even better texture: add salt spray.

To learn how to fishtail, click here to go to my previous post.

Waterfall Braid

A subtle bit of detail

This braid leaves the rest of your hair down to do what you want but adds detail and the look of effort to your hair.

This takes only 2 minutes and looks great if you have yesterdays curls left in.

From the front it looks like you have your hair simply clipped back but the back looks beautiful: great for holding your hair off your face or when you are trying to grow out a fringe.
I also find that it thins out the hair a lot because it takes the top layer up, great for in the summer and thick hair in general.

It works on any length hair which can be straight or curly.

1. Do one stitch of a regular 3 strand braid at the front of your hair.

2. Add a section of hair from the top of the head to replace the section you were crossing over the middle from the top. Drop this section and use the new one.

3. Add a tiny bit of hair from under the braid to flatten it down a little.

4. Continue adding and dropping hair until you get all the way around the the head.
5. Finish it off with a regular 3 strand braid.
6. Lift up a layer of the hair and clip this braid underneath so you can't see where the waterfall braid starts and ends.
7. Lightly brush over the hair to smooth it out.

Ribbon Braids

Add a bit more to your braids 

There are so many ways you can entwine ribbons into braids. You can add them into a section of the braid or replace a section of the braid with one entirely.
I think they look really girly and cute. This can even be done with a head scarf that was first wrapped around the head. Wearing it then into a braid would look unique and add an autumn style to any outfit.
You can do it with ribbons that match your outfit colour theme or for an event that has a particular colour logo.
I think this is a really good extra detail for spicing up your hair or bringing an outfit together.

When you replace sections with ribbons it can make patterns such as the example on the right. For that one did a six strand braid where I separated the hair into 4 sections then halved the ribbon to create two replacement sections. I had one on each side of the left most hair section and once I had done a few stitches with the ribbon it was perfectly secure.

For the left example:

1. Get the hair you are planning to braid, I went for a half up half down style.

2. Split the hair into two parts and fold the ribbon in half and hold it in between the hair parts.

3. Cross the right section over the left section so the ribbon falls half underneath and half over the hair.

4. Now cross the ribbons so the one on top is now underneath the braid and vise versa.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4.

6. This braid is like doing two rope braids crossing over each other.

Show me what you came up with in the comments :)

Rope Braids

Only two sections for this one

This elegant twist can be from a pony tail, entwined into another style, made into a french twist, twisted into a bun, or just as a side twist.

 I think it looks really pretty and different. It is simple and looks like a variation of a french braid.

The simplicity is what makes the style.

How to:

1. Tie your hair into a pony tail if that is how you want to start it.

2. Split the hair into two sections.

3. Twist them both in the same direction then wrap them around each other in the opposite direction. It has to be the opposite directions or it won't stay in a twist. 

For the style on the left simply start from the top and add in hair, make sure you twist the new bits of hair as well.