hair

SUMMER BRAID 5

photos: Kristin Ess

Yesterday I asked you all for a little help on our instagram page. Wasn’t 100% sure if we were in love with this string wrapped braid and wanted you guys to weigh in! The responses were mixed but there were plenty of you who asked for it to be posted that we decided it go ahead and put it up! Next time we do this, I think we’ll use another material and we’re excited to try it again. But that’s my little sister in the photo above so in my eyes she looks like a warrior goddess, obviously. The step by step tutorial is below and here are some options that I think could be fun alternatives if you want to try this using something else.

We’ve used a bobbypin in place of a needle in order to weave in and out with ease. You’ll need two different bobbypins. Tie one side of your string to the bottom of bobbypin #1 where the “u” shape is– that’s what you’re going to pin in at the top behind your braid (see steps). Now tie the ends of your material to bobbypin #2, as you’ll be using that to weave in and out.

Here are the steps we took to get this exact look, but feel free to do your own variation (and if you do, please share it with us on instagram or twitter!)

1. Create a braid anywhere you’d like. Here we did a dutch braid along the hairline down into a regular braid.
2. Use our favorite texture powder for braids.
3. Gently pull at the braid to make it a little wider and fuller.
4. Now tuck the anchor bobbypin in behind the braid. This will secure your material at the top so make sure it’s nice and snug. If you need to add another bobbypin for hold, go for it!
5. Use side two to weave the material in and out of the braid.
6. Here we switched colors, but that’s optional. When you run out of string, lace or material, just tuck the pin into the braid where it stops.
7. Once you have all of your materials in where you want them, you may want to add a little more texture powder before pulling it apart further.
8. This look should have a lot of texture! Pick it apart, tuck things back in, the more the better!

Once you’re finished, add a light mist of medium holding hairspray!

Thanks again for all the feedback yesterday. Stay tuned for more summer braid ideas.