From long to short and from here to there, braids in the hair are seen everywhere.
Styling hair is one of the joys of having heads with hair. Whether you prefer to wear your hair in a pixie cut, the bob, shoulder length or longer, changing hairdos and hair colors is as entertaining and original to your personality as wearing different outfits.
Braided hair is a unique process that is easily recognizable to the eye. The braid is truly fabulous, and easy to identify. There are actually three extremely popular variances of the braid (the three strand braid, the French braid and the fishtail braid) and for this particular blog posting, I am going to concentrate on the three strand braid. I do believe that the three strand braid is the most simple braid to make, especially on your own hair!
A braid (also called a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three strands of hair. If preferred, more complex braids can be constructed from a larger number of strands, to create a wider braid. The three strand braid dresses up your hair without even trying! It merely looks elegant!
Braids are a common, yet classy, hairstyle.
Braid Fun Fact: If you want to crimp your hair without using heat, merely braid damp hair, and leave the braids in overnight. When you remove the braids, your hair will naturally crimp and wave. The more number and tighter the braids, the more firm the crimping will be.
The Steps to Performing the Three Strand Braid:
- Detangle your hair with a brush or a wide-toothed comb.
- Divide the hair that you wish to braid into three even sections (these will be the three strands of the braid).
- Grab the right section with your right hand and the left section with your left hand, letting the middle section hang straight.
- With your fingers, cross the left section of hair over the middle section. If your strands started out as 1-2-3, they should now be 2-1-3.
- With your index finger and thumb of your left hand, grab the middle section of hair (the original left hand section will now be the middle section).
- Cross the right section over the middle section. The strands 2-1-3 will now be 2-3-1.
- Braid the Hair: Continue to intertwine the three sections of hair, as the left, middle and right sections alternate positions, as you weave the strands into a braid.
- Secure the Braid: Use a non-rubber elastic to tie off the end of the braid (material rubber band). I also think cute hair pins or clips are a great way to tie off the end of the braid, so that the braid doesn’t unravel.
- Set the braid with hairspray, if preferred.
- Add character and personality to your braids through selected hair accessories such as ribbons, bows, flowers, etc. for extra fashion flair!
Braided hair looks fashionable and elegant when the hairstyle is worn as one long braid, or when much of the hair is left flowing down, while one or more smaller braids are styled throughout the head.
Fantastic hairstyles are made with braids.
Pretty, pleasing and playful!
Hair braiding has long been thought to have originated in East Africa. The oldest known image of hair braiding was tracked back to the burial site called Saqqara. located on the Nile River, during the first dynasty of Pharaoh Menes. The braid was a means of communication so that at a glance, one individual could distinguish a wealth of information about another, as in whether they were married, mourning, of courtship age, simply by observing the hairstyle. Certain hairstyles were distinctive to particular tribes or nations. Today, braiding hair is a social, artistic art form.
Bold, beautiful, breezy braids!
Braid Fun Fact: Braiding hair down to the scalp has been traditional in many African ethnic groups, Asian ethnic groups and European ethnic groups.
Braided hair signifies sophisticated and high end glamour!
Compared to the process of weaving, which is formed from two separate, perpendicular groups of strands (warp and weft), a braid is long and narrow, with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through overlapping the sectional strands. High styling hair made with a braid!
Braid Fun Fact: Braiding is used to prepare horses’ manes and tails for showing, polo and polocrosse.
Outshine a horse with your own braided mane!
A property of the three strand braid: Removing one strand unlinks the other two strands! This makes for removing your braids quite simple!
Parade your gorgeous head of hair around with the braid.
The three strand braid: High fashion, high energy, high glamour.
Nancy Mangano is an American fashion journalist, screenwriter and author of the Natalie North murder mystery book series. Visit Nancy on her global online fashion/style/beauty magazine Nancy Marie Mangano Style at https://nancymariemangano.com, her Facebook page Nancy Mangano at https://www.facebook.com/nancymmangano/ Twitter @https://twitter.com/nancymangano and her author website http://nancymangano.com
