Waterfall Twists into Mermaid Braid | Cute Hairstyles

May 12, 2013

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Many fans have emailed or tagged me in photos from Pinterest and Instagram asking me to film a mermaid braid tutorial.

To be honest, I haven’t loved the style enough to film one because I didn’t particularly like how the strands pulled into the braid from the front and sides.

Thinking about it for some weeks now, it hit me that we should create a hairstyle combination using the Waterfall Twists as a base for the style… and then use the falling strands of those twists as the “add-ins” for the Mermaid Braid!

When I tried it out, as soon as I released the braid… it nearly took my breath away! We L-O-V-E-D it!!!

CGH#3 wanted to be my model knowing that today is Mother’s Day, and she asked to do the video introduction as well! Isn’t she adorable???

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 1 small hair elastic, hairspray, and accessory {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 8-10 minutes

Skill Level: Hard

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by brushing hair, and making a center part right down the head…
2. Complete a waterfall twist on both sides of the head, beginning near the temples and ending at the back of the head…
3. Take the ends of both twists {you should have 4 strands total} and create three strands from them {I do this by joining together two strands, one from each side, to create one strand}…
4. Now begin a simple braid….
5. After one complete stitch, pick up the nearest waterfall strand {the hair running through the twist} on the left side of the head and add it into your left-most braid strand…
6. Now pick up the nearest waterfall strand on the right side of the head and add it into your right-most braid strand…
7. Next, complete a regular braid stitch without adding in any hair {this will space out the stranding and create the mermaid braid look}..
8. Repeat Steps 5-7 by adding in the waterfall strands until you run out…
9. After all waterfall strands are included, finish the rest of the hair off into the simple braid…
10. Secure with a hair elastic…
11. Add any accessory or ribbon as desired.

Enjoy!

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think, and as always… feel free to share!

Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, so if you want to follow our blog… you can do so at BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader for women!

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Reverse Fishtail Braid | Cute Braid Hairstyles

May 05, 2013

Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to see BrooklynAndBailey‘s recap of the 2013 Radio Disney Music Awards, and enter their first giveaway… OPI Minnie “Minis” nail polish!

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I know that Fishtail Braids are all the rage these days, especially any that are variations of the original fishtail braid.

Recently, we have found photos on Pinterest of this cute Reverse Fishtail hairstyle, but we did not know how to recreate one. {I also just found out that Princess Hairstyles has a good tutorial on a French version of this braid.}

As you know, the stitches on a standard Fishtail Braid have a distinct “v” herringbone pattern.

Well, a Reverse {or Inverse} Fishtail Braid has an inverted “^” pattern which is very different than what you see around.

I spent a few hours a week or so ago perfecting this hairstyle on my mannequin head, and as I completed the first five stitches or so, it seemed like I was doing something wrong! Just as I figured on giving up, all of the sudden… the braid popped out perfectly! A beautiful inverse herringbone pattern!

 

I then recreated it on CGH#3 that day, and had her go show it to Bailey, her older sister. Bailey quickly asked… “How did you do that? I want to learn it!” So, last week, we were pretty much wearing reverse fishtail braids every day!

Hope you enjoy, and if you do… please feel free to share!

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 1 hair band, 1 small hair elastic, hairspray and accessory {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 5-8 minutes

Skill Level: Medium

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by combing all the hair into a high ponytail or desired location of the fishtail and secure with a hair band {I sprayed the hair with water first, to make the ponytail clean and crisp}…
2. Separate the ponytail into two equal sections…
3. Take a small sliver of hair from the outside edge of the right section, and take it behind the rest of that same section and combine it into the inside edge of the left section {in a regular fishtail braid, you would go over the section of hair, and not under}…
4. Now take a small sliver of hair from the outside edge of the left section, and take it behind the rest of that section, and combine it into the inside edge of the right section {simply the opposite of Step #3}…
5. Continue Steps 3 & 4 over and over again until you run out of hair…
6. When you get to the end of your braid, secure it with a hair elastic.
7. You may tug on the edges of the braid to soften the fishtail, and create a more romantic look, if desired.
8. Add any desired hair accessory {such as a bow, ribbon or clip} to finish it off.

If you liked this, you may very well love our other Fishtail Braid tutorials!

Please feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think, and as always… feel free to share!

Happy Hairdoing!

* Note from Mindy: Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1st, so if you want to follow our blog… you can do so at BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader for women!

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