hair

BRAID PASTE

PHOTOS/POST: KRISTIN ESS

Braiding can be a daunting task for even the most nimble fingers. I found something a while back that’s helped me teach people how to braid their own hair. Some super duper helpful stuff called  BRAID PASTE! There are tons of molding pastes on the market, and as I’ve showed you many times before, and I still love/use those as well! But sometimes you have to cocktail a paste with some shine serum because the paste by itself can be a bit too mattifying, causing hair to look a little dull. But braid paste has been helpful on pretty much all hair types when braiding, leaving it shiny but giving it soft hold so the braid doesn’t slip out as you go. Basically the cocktailing of paste and serum are already done for you!

For fine to normal hair: I like to use a pea size dab of paste to start and go back in if I need more. Put it in your palms and warm it up. Go middle to ends and then if you need any up toward the root, just use whatever is left on your hands.

For thick or coarse hair: When I braid thick hair, I usally break it up into two sections to apply paste, otherwise I feel like it gets concentrated in certain places and there’s none in other places. I break it up from ear to ear, horizontally, applying to the bottom half first and then the top half. Depending on the thickness, I would use a pea size or slightly smaller per section. Warm it up in your palms and then apply middle to ends. If you need some at the root just use whatever is remaining on your hands after you apply everywhere else.

After the paste is on the hair and you’ve done your braid, like a FISHTAIL BRAID, a ROSETTE BRAID or any braid for that matter, you can now loosen it up with ease knowing that the whole thing isn’t going to slip apart as you work some texture into it. It’s just a cool, very helful product to add to your arsenal if you love braiding or if you want to learn how to be a better braider.

Do you have any favorite products for braiding?