Learning a new braiding technique

Okay, so you know how to do a 3 strand braid, you've done a few French and Dutch braids... And then what? You're ready to try out a new technique, but when you start braiding, it doesn't look anything like that beautiful photo you've just seen online. And all those tutorials on YouTube make braiding look so easy... How come your braid doesn't turn out the way you want then?

The truth is that - like with everything else - any braid needs practice. Some braids are easier than others, it's a fact. And the more techniques you learn and try out, the easier it will get, right? Well... that's not always true either.

Knowing a lot about different braiding techniques can definitely help you see how a hairstyle has been done quicker. You'll recognize the technique, you know how the braid works and you can imagine how the style was done. But even then it doesn't always turn out the same way when you try it out yourself. It makes a difference whether you do the braid on yourself or on someone else, there's a difference between braiding with wet or with dry hair and the hair itself makes a difference as well.

Another tricky thing is the challenge you give yourself. The more braiding techniques you know, the more you'll want to try out. Or better said: the more difficult techniques you'll want to try out. And when you do and it doesn't turn out the way you want, you feel like you're back to square one and you've only just mastered a French or Dutch braid.

Don't give up there, though. Just keep practicing and one day that braid will finally turn out the way you want. Maybe not the second time or the fifth time, maybe not even the twentieth time, but one day it will and you'll feel so proud of yourself. You've done it!

How you practise, is up to you as there's loads of different ways to do it (on yourself, on someone else's hair or - my personal favorite - on a mannequin), but just make sure you practise. The saying isn't there for no reason, right? "Practice makes perfect"...

An example of my practice: trying out the 7 strand ribbon braid on my mannequin.

Then the next step: trying it out on myself. On the left, you can see the first time I tried out the braid on myself after practicing on my mannequin. It looks okay, but if you look closely, you'll see there's mistakes in the beginning. I continue to practise and then did the braid again, as you can see on the right. Very happy with how this turned out!