The Simple Guide to Braiding Hair

Are you a parent, relative, or friend of a child or someone with shoulder-length or longer hair? Do you know how to braid hair? If not, why should you learn? Not only is hair braiding easy once you know how to use it, but it looks good.

After practicing with our instructions, now you, the formerly inexperienced braider, can make people happy, and feel good about your new skills, all at the same time. Don’t just be limited to a ponytail, expand your horizon and learn the simple braid- just follow our instructions, “The Simple Guide to Braiding Hair” below!

Materials Needed:

• Hair Brush

• Hair tie of choice

• Detangler (optional – see trouble shooting section near the end for more details)

Preface:

• The colored ribbons in the pictures and instructions are for instruction clarification only. You do not need to add these ribbons to the hair you are braiding.

• Braiding works best on middle length to long hair. Too short of hair (above the shoulder length) is too short and will not work as well.

Start Off by Brushing Through the Hair. – Figure 1

Helpful tip:

• If the hair is very tangled, start by brushing the ends of the hair first. Start brushing the bottom of the hair and then brush the middle half of the hair down to the ends, and then brush from the scalp down to the ends.

Pull All of the Hair Towards the Back of the Head and Split It Into Three Sections (Pink- Left Strand, Brown- Middle Strand, and Yellow- Right Strand) – Figure 2

Helpful tip:

• Hold two strands with one hand, and one strand with the other hand.

Next, Bring the Yellow Strand Over the Brown Strand and Into the Middle. - Figure 3

Helpful tip:

• Try not to ever drop a strand of hair; you should always have two strands in one hand and one strand in the other hand.

• Since the yellow strand is now in the middle, the brown strand should be on the right side.

Now Bring the Pink Strand Over the Yellow Strand and Into the Middle. – Figure 4

Helpful tip:

• Since the pink strand is now in the middle, the yellow strand should be on the left side.

Next, Bring the Brown Strand Over the Pink Strand and Into the Middle. – Figure 5

Helpful tip:

• Since the brown strand is now in the middle, the pink strand should be on the right side.

Repeat This Process Until You Reach the End of the Hair. – Figure 6

Helpful tip:

If you run out of hair for one of the strands, make sure that you are not letting the braid be too loose. If there is a gap wide enough that you could easily stick two or more fingers through, most likely you need to tighten up your braid.

Tie the Hair Tie at the End of the Braid to Secure It in Place. – Figure 6

Helpful tip:

• You can use any hair tie you choose.

You're done, congratulations!

Trouble Shooting:

• If the hair is not brushed fully, it will be very hard to separate pieces to start braiding. If necessary, use a detangler spray on the hair before starting to brush it out. (Instructions vary depending on the spray.)

• If the hair is layered, pieces of the hair might pop out of the braid, the best way to avoid this is to keep the braid tight while braiding.