This should help you!

Hy Peotry:

 

Sparrowhawk here:

 

Poetry?  The best way to understand braids is not to do it on your own hair, but to do it on something else.

 

Take a piece of cardboard, a small piece, then staple a couple ribbons to it.  Three in a row across on this piece of cardboard.

 

Now you have three pieces.  One on the left, one in the middle and one on the right.  OK?

 

Now take the left one and put it over the middle one.

 

Now take the right one and put it over the middle one, again.

 

Then, put left one and put it over the middle one, again...

 

Then, put the right again over the middle one... as you do it you will see something interesting.  The locks of long hair actually create a pattern that looks like a braid.

 

As you practice on those ribbons, now you can do it to hair.  I imagine your hair might be long enough to braid it.  If you grab your hair from the back of your neck and have enough long hair to do this, you have enough.  DFo the same as the ribbons. If not, you can do it on a friend.  Take your own hair or your friends long hair and do that.  You will see the pattern.  Three strands make a braid as long as you take a left over the middle and right over the middle...

 

And, over again.

 

You will see how it will turn out.

 

Now, keep practicing.  You don't want a lot of space between those sections.  Try to get the sections so they seem very close together.  You might notice that some of those sections are bigger than others.

 

All that means is one of those three locks has more hair than the others.  That means of one is to big and is larger than the other, that section has too much hair.  So, try to make each section of hair the same THICKNESS. so they match.

 

If you are doing it on another girl, like a friend of yours, see if easch section is about the same length.  If you have very long hair that can be braided, do it on yourself.

 

If you have enough long hair that can go beyond your back... you can practice on your own hair.

 

Just do the same thing and keep doing it, until your braid looks like all the other girls.  Each section should be amost the same amount of hair.

 

Please, remember that trying to get each of the three sections just right is very difficult.  It's hard to do that.

 

SECRET?  You don't have to make it perfect.  It looks better if it is not perfect.  It's all right.

 

That type of braid goes from your neck down to the rest of your long hair.  Once you can do that,  You can learn other braiding... like "French" braiding.  Once you can do that, all those fansy braids the other girls do are much easier and you can learn them very easier:

 

If you can do this without any problem... it's time for an "outy:"

 

Yet, I think you want this, too:  Your underbraid is a regular braid.  Your want an outy... so the braid actually shows against the back of your head

 

Now to do an "outy" you do it the opposite way:

 

If you can do a braid the regular way, you can do and outy.  I imagine you are ready to graduate up your hair and gather hair highrer to the top of your head.  It's the same thing.

 

Gather the hair that is on top of your hair into three section just like you would do with young long hair that falls below your shoulder.  This begs the question, what if your hair only goes down to your shoulder bone.

 

OH! No we have problems!  Actually no.  If all of your hair goes down to your shoulders... even the bangs... or fringes as they are called, rest assured your OK.  If you move your head forward and those hairs that come from the top of your head are as long as your shoulders... your fine.  If not and they are shorter... you might need somethng like boby pins to make sure you hair doesn't fall in your face.  Just make sure they are out of the way for now.  Later... you can allow them to fall on your face... because it looks very cute to guys.  Since I am  a guy... but, I am concerned with you well being since I am a Dad myself...

 

If you are doing an under?  It is very simple to do an outer.  When you gather the left side of the three great locks of all your hair, instead of going over with it as you would do with a regular braid, go under.  Then take the right side and go under...and the next under so the braid appears on the outside.

 

This is called an outy which is great for a french braid.  French braids section off the top hairs up high and gather everything down father.  When you do this you see the braid right at you.  It's not buried with the other locks.  Now, you have learned every braid form you can.

 

Everything is based on those two things.  Some use more than tree locks  some go under and outer... but, they all have the same form...

 

Now you know the complete basic secret to braiding...