Video: How to Create a Fishtail Braid

Thu, 21 June 2012 10:37AM

Primpettes, if you hair is suffering from the winter woes and you’re popping it up in a messy bun on the top of your head by noon, then I’ve just got just the hairstyle to inject a little personality back into your ‘do – a fishtail braid. From Blake Lively, to Nicky Hilton and Natasha Poly, and the runway at Pamela Love S/S ’12, they can be worn tight, sleek and sexy or messed-up and undone for a softer, more romantic look.

Or, for my personal favourite and most recently spotted, Natasha Poly, which shows the style works equally as well for you finer beauties, too. Seriously smokin’, wouldn’t you say?

Now I must confess, I have been attempting this ‘do for yonks, and never managed to get it quite right, but trust me it’s actually much easier than it looks. In fact, I’ve always had trouble completing a traditional braid, let alone a fishtail one. But no more. Here it is Primpettes, all encased in a shiny how-to vid. Check it out!

Now for those of you who can’t view the video just now (I can just picture your boss peering over your shoulder), here are a few easy steps to follow.

• Begin with second-day hair. As you would know, the majority of hairstyles work best when they have a little grit and texture, so if you need to soak up any oil, go to town with your dry shampoo.
• Part your hair on your chosen side or in the centre. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect, you can always go back afterwards and neaten it up.
• Divide the hair that you want to fishtail braid (don’t forget, you can create this style on individual sections as well, not just all of your hair) into two even sections, holding them tightly in one hand per section.
• Begin the fishtail braid by holding the right section with your right hand and the left section with your left hand. Then, depending on how thick you want the braid to be, delicate or chunky, using your left hand, pick up around a 1 – 2cm width of hair from the outside of the left section and cross it over to the inside of the right section, ensuring that you hold it tightly and don’t allow the hair to slip to behind.
• Then onto the other side. Hold the left section in your left hand. Use your right hand to pick up a chunk of hair from the outer right section and cross it over to the inside of the left section. Repeat this process until you get to the end.
• Quick tip: the most important thing to remember is that while you are braiding, you need to keep pulling the sections tight – you can soften it later for a more undone look, but keep it tight to begin with.
• Then, secure with a small silicone elastic. Depending on the look you are wanting to achieve, you can gently pull out sections of the hair to loosen the style, and then you can experiment with your fringe if you want to add a little more texture and volume.

How did you go Primpettes?

Could you follow the video and/or the steps to create the braid?

Love this style?

Let me know if you have any further questions on the how-to!

Hayley x

Posted by: Hayley Bennett

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Tags: braid, braid trend, featured, fishtail braid, how to, natasha poly, pamela love, plait, runway trends, video