Hair To: Alternative Braid by Twist Me Pretty

Well hello there gals!  I’m Abby from Twist Me Pretty and I’m here to share with you the super easy and chic hairstyle I call the alternative braid.  If these steps are a little bit confusing, have no fear, you can watch my video tutorial here.

Step one:
You are going to need some type of curling iron.  It can be a wand or an iron, whatever you use to curl your hair will work.  We don’t care so much about the curls here as we do the texture the curls create.  Once your hair is curled tease the roots just a bit to add some volume.

Step two:
Pull all your hair to one side.  I always pull my hair over to the thickest side because I prefer that look more on me.  Either side however works.

Step three:
Split your hair into two sections and twist both sections of hair towards each other with your fingers.  I like to roll the hair around my pointer fingers.

Step four:
Place the two sections of hair you’ve just rolled into your non dominant hand.

Step five:
Take the pointer finger of your dominant hand and wiggle it through the two sections of rolled hair.

Step six:
Use that pointer finger as the guide to split the hair into two new sections.  Then you’re just going to repeat these steps until you get to the end of your hair.  Split, wiggle and twist!

Step seven:
Now this is the step where the magic happens.  You’re going to tug and loosen those strands of hair with your dominant hand while you’re holding the ends of your braid with your non dominant hand.  This is where you will pull your own creativity into the style.  The shape of your braid is completely up to you depending on how and where you tug on the pieces of your braid.  Just keep in mind, the more you tug on your braid the thicker it will be, but the faster it will fall out.

Step eight:
Tie off your braid with a clear elastic.  I purchased my nice stretchy ones from Sally’s but you can get the nice ones from any beauty store.  I would avoid any elastics you get from the grocery store as they are super hard on your hair.

Step nine:
This step is completely optional.  If you end up pulling out too many pieces and your braid starts looking too loose near the nape of your neck you can grab a small section of hair from the front and a small section of hair from the back, as shown in the picture.

Step ten:
You’re then going to fold those two sections of each other and secure the strands with a bobby pin.  Again, these steps are optional!

I’d love for you to stop by my corner of the internet and say hi!  I’m a stay at home mom with the two cutest babes and I blog all about my life and the things I love.  If you’re interested in more hairstyles check out my style gallery and my hairstyle ebook!

You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and instagram @twistmepretty!

See you soon!

Hair To: Fishtail Braid

Besides being extremely healthy for your hair and a perfect solution for lazy ladies like me, washing you hair every three days forces you to try other hairstyles (day one: shower/curl, day two: dry shampoo, day three: braid or bun).  Due to multiple blogs posting fishtail tutorials, I assumed (we all know what happens when we assume) everyone knew how to fishtail braid so I didn’t even think twice about posting a hair tutorial to show the simple steps until a few Aussie friends were amazed at the weird braid I was sporting.  So here are the step-by-step instructions for them and for anyone else out there unsure how to do this easy-peasy braid.  Let me know if you have any questions or additional tips for creating the fancy fishtail braid!

Step 1:  Pull hair to one side and divide into two even sections.

Step 2:  Separate a small piece of hair from the outside of the section.  Pull it across to the inside part of the other section and repeat with the other side until reaching the end; tie off with a hair tie (my favorite here).

Step 3:  Using both hands, pull the braid apart to give a thicker messy look.  If desired, pull face-framing pieces out too.

What I’ve learned since:  Perfect to do on the go without a mirror, looks dressy yet casual, and shows off those beautiful highlights!  I pull the sections at the end too tight (as shown above), which makes pulling it apart to get the messy look difficult, the fishtail is a hairstyle that gets better as the day goes on since it looks so much better messy, and the braid stays together easier when hair is dirty and either naturally dried/styled or curly (straightened hair falls out).

What tips do you have for creating the perfect fishtail braid?