Stacked Braids | Cute Braided Hairstyles
February 10, 2013
A few weeks ago, we posted a video called the Ladder Braid Side Ponytail, and it received a lot of positive feedback!
In fact, one of our fans, Ceridwin, adapted the feather braid technique to create a new, beautiful “stacked” braid look, and sent us a photo on Twitter!
I loved it so much that asked her to tell me exactly how she did it so that I could teach you! She agreed, emailed me her instructions, and here you go!
You simply create a large feather braid, with tiny strands coming off each stitch from both sides of the braid. You then go back and Dutch braid the feathered strands on top of the regular braid, and then pancake the latter. Further instructions are below…
Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 1 small hair elastic, hairspray {if desired}.
Time Requirement: 5-8 minutes
Skill Level: Medium
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Begin by brushing the hair and pulling it to wherever you want the braid to lay. {In the video, I did the hair straight down the back, but a side braid would also be very cute.}
- Using all of your hair, section it into three strands and create the first “stitch” of a simple braid…
- After the first stitch, on every outside edge, you will begin creating a Feather Braid… {On the left-most strand of hair, pull out a sliver of hair off the top and lay it to the side. For a DIY, you can use a clip, teeth, or extra hands to hold the strands out of the way.} Also, for this braid, I chose to feather off larger strands at the top and smaller feathers as we worked our way down…
- Now cross that outside strand over the middle to become the middle strand….
- Then, go to the right-most section of hair and pull out a sliver of hair off the top and lay it to the side, and cross the remaining strand over into the middle…
- Repeat these alternating steps until you run out of hair.
- Secure with an elastic. You should have a normal-looking braid with feather strands of hair coming off both sides of the braid all the way down. {Kind of looks like a feather, huh? LOL! That’s why we call it a Feather Braid!}
- Now, pick up the top two feather strands of the left and the top feather strand on the right.
- Begin a Dutch braid using those strands. {When you need to add hair into the braid, use ONLY the other feather strands of hair on both sides of the braid.}
- When you run out of feather strands, finish off with 2-3 stitches of a regular braid….
- Then, undo the original hair elastic and secure both braids together with that same elastic.
- You should now have two braids right on top of each other, the Stacked Braids.
- To help the Dutch braid stand out just a bit more, you may choose to “pancake” the bottom braid edges, as I did, by gently tugging on the elbows to make them a little more puffy. {This helps add to the overall illusion of braid awesomeness!}
Enjoy!
If you liked this hairstyle, please do feel free to share! Happy Hairdoing!
* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!
Feather Waterfall & Ladder Braid Combo | 2-in-1 Hairstyles
January 28, 2013
You are going to absolutely LOVE this hair tutorial because you’ll learn two amazing-looking hairstyles using essentially the same basic techniques!
This hairstyle also incorporates three braids… the Lace Braid, Feather Braid, and Ladder Braid. {If you are confused by any of these techniques, we have previous tutorials of each individual braid you can check out by clicking the links above.}
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The Feather Waterfall
Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, 1 hair elastic.
Time Requirement: 5 minutes
Skill Level: Medium
**Bonus: If you have had a hard time in the past mastering the traditional Waterfall Braid, this is a great technique that looks nearly the same… but might be easier for beginners!
- Pick up a small section of hair near the front of the part line and divide it into three strands…
- Begin a regular braid by creating one stitch…
- Now, add in some hair ONLY to the top strand. {A Lace braid is when you only add hair to one side of the braid, unlike a traditional French/Dutch braid where you would add hair to both sides.}
- Once you’ve added in hair to the top strand, cross that piece over the middle strand…
- Then, pull a tiny section of hair off the bottom strand before crossing this strand over the middle. {This is called a Feather Braid, because the tiny pieces fall off the braid much like a feather with its spine.}
- Continue to add hair to the top strand, removing out tiny sections from the bottom strand, as you work your way around the head…
- When you get near the opposite ear, stop adding in/removing hair, and continue a normal braid down the strands and secure with an elastic.
You have now created the beautiful Feather Waterfall braid!
For a very gorgeous look, one that will certainly turn heads when you walk around, use this Feather Waterfall hairstyle as a base and continue below …
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Ladder Braid Combo
Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, 2 hair elastics.
Time Requirement: 5-8 minutes.
Skill Level: Medium
For purposes of creating this hairstyle, you will need have the Feather Waterfall Braid done {see instructions above}…
- Take the first five feathers, or so, and flip them up and over the head to keep them out of the way while you begin your second braid…
- Pick up another small section of hair, 1-2 inches below the other braid, and begin a regular braid with one stitch…
- Now, add in hair from the top…which essentially creates another Lace Braid. {The difference is that you will only be adding in the “feather” strands from the first braid.}
- Continue braiding, adding in a feather strand into each top strand of the Lace Braid, as you go. This is creating a Ladder Braid, with the feather strands now becoming “rungs” on the ladder…
- As you braid, try to keep the braids about 1-2 inches apart to allow the ladder effect to remain…
- Continue ladder braiding as you work your way around the head.
- When you get near the opposite ear, stop adding in hair and finish off the strand into a normal braid…
- Secure with an elastic.
You have now created an unbelievable, eye-catching Ladder Braid Combo!
CGH#3 wore this hairstyle to the Kid History Episode #10 Premier this past Friday night, and women were commenting and taking pictures of it all night!
Here is the video tutorial…
If you liked this hairstyle, please do feel free to share! Happy Hairdoing!
* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!
Comment on this post »Ladder Braid Side Ponytail | Cute Hairstyles
January 13, 2013
The twins and I will be attending IMATS in Los Angeles this next weekend {Jan 19-20} and would love to meet any fans who may also be attending. For anyone who does not know. You can learn more information about it here.
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For this weeks’ tutorial, we essentially show you two tutorials in one! First, how to create a Feather Braid, and secondly, how to use that braid to create a cute Ladder Braid into a side ponytail.
{We have used this braiding technique for awhile, although we are just now filming a tutorial… and some of my hair-blogging friends have great tutorials as well, such as Princess Hairstyles, Girly Do Hairstyles, and Babes in Hairland!}
My twins are learning how to recreate this fun braid in their own hair, which is why we show you how to use it in a cute side braid… because it is easier to do on yourself that way!
The girls love this because the braid seems much more grown up than the simple ponytail version.
You will also note that this braid has a similar fun look as a few of our other ponytail combos, such as the Braided-Over Ponytail and the Side Fishtail Combo.
Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 3 small hair elastics, hairspray and accessory {if desired}.
Time Requirement: 3-5 minutes
Skill Level: Hard
Step-by-Step Instructions:
- Begin by brushing all the hair over to one side, like you are gathering a side ponytail…
- Pick up a small section of hair on the underneath side of the head next to the nape of the neck, and secure the rest of the hair out of the way with a large hairband…
- Grabbing the small section, begin making a simple braid…
- As you go to cross over the outside-left strand of hair, pull out a tiny sliver-strand of hair and leave it out of the braid…
- Repeat the same with the next stitch of the braid. As you go to cross over the outside-left strand again, pull out a sliver-strand of hair and leave it out of the braid…
- Repeat until you have 2-3 inches left in the braid, and secure with an elastic. This braid is what you call a Feather Braid.
- Now, release the rest of the hair from the large hairband and pick up another similar-sized small section of hair {this time near the front}…
- Braid approximately 4-5 stitches into this braid and then add the first sliver of hair from the Feather Braid into the middle strand…
- Complete one more stitch of the braid, and again, add in the 2nd sliver of hair from the Feather Braid into the middle strand…
- Continue until you run out of slivers to use, and then finish off with a normal braid and secure with an elastic. You should have a ladder looking braid sitting on top of the remaining hair.
- Now, reach your fingers through the bottom two “rungs” of the Ladder Braid and pull the remaining hair though the rungs…
- Remove both small elastics from the side braids, gather all of the ends together and secure with one hair elastic.
Enjoy!
If you liked this hairstyle, please feel free to share!
Happy Hairdoing!
* Note from Mindy: Don’t forget to follow us on BlogLovin, a new easy-to-use blog reader!
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