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I was just playing with my hair in the mirror trying to find some nice styles to wear. I got two small locks of hair and started braided them by twisting together in a clockwise motion.
It looks really nice, definately something as an alternative style. I could do my entire hair with these little braids or just put random ones throughout my hair.
It looks like little ropes in my hair. I believe the user "Metal Swede" was experimenting with a similar thing a few months ago. Obviously i cannot braid my whole hair yet, too short and much too curly, but these mini braids really work.
I have a few questions :
How do you tame the flyways after you braid?
The mini braids looks nice but the flyaways come out everywhere, maybe some leave in conditioner might help, before i tie it.
What is the best way to tie the ends of the mini braid?
They obviously will not hold together if you don't tie the ends. I tried using my elastic pony bands but they are way too big and need to be wraped about 7-8 times to even make it tight.
Are there any little elastic ones especially for this purpose?
For curly hair, people often braid their hair when wet/damp, and/or with some gel. The basic idea here is to loosen the curls in the hair so as to allow braiding. I mean, you can do it on dry hair, but it might not look as good. Aloe vera gel is the one I've seen other curlyhairs use for this purpose, but I suppose any gel would do. And since hair is weakest when wet, but also least curly (for curlyhairs, anyway), I suggest putting in some gel/leave-in when your hair is damp and conditioned and then trying your braids out. Besides just making it easier to actually braid, the gel should tame the flyaways/frizz.
And actually, dude, I think you can braid all of your hair in one, or at least the bit at the end you put in the ponytail. Oren has done something like this before, and I've tried it myself, although I need more practice before my braid looks good.
Good luck, and I'd love to see some pics of this when you're done. Braids rule so hard.
Peace
hmmm, i may attempt it with wet, or even better, damp/semi dry, hair.
However, knowing the nature of my hair i think it would be less damaging to braid whilst dry. Currently, i only ever gently comb my hair when wet, for deep conditioning. My hair is just too fragile.
I rarely use gel anymore, leave-in is more beneficial and should keep flyaways down.
How should i tie the end of the mini braids?
any suggestions?
Thanks for the advice.
if you have mini braids they should stick together easily...if you use one big braid then you need an elastic band
there a mini elastic bands here in the US. you can get them at any asian beauty boutique store
You could applying a little bit of gel with wet hands - sort of rub your hands together to mix the water and gel and then take the braid in your hand and smooth it down from roots to end. Applying a little extra gel to the end can help hold it together - if the braids are super thin this may be enough to hold the ends for a good few days. The disadvantage of gel is that it can make the braids a little stiff, which is why I use water as well to thin it down. Maybe you should just let the flyaways remain - they're probably not as noticeable as you think.
Go to a haberdashery department of a store, or find a shop that does stuff for dressmaking and ask for a reel of elasticated thread. It comes in different colours and certainly black should be easy enough to get. Then just cut lengths and tie the ends to make little loops - trim the ends off close to the knots to make them nice and neat. The thread is so much thinner than any hair ties you can buy and you can make the loops as big or small as you need to work with (if you have slender fingers you will find it easier when it comes to the last few revolutions but if you start winding tight you can redistribute the slack from the final looping quite well - I hope you know what I mean, can't think of words to describe the process of binding hair with a hair tie, lol!). If you find it too fiddly to use smaller loops, or end up with too much at the end of the process to manipulate back and still have a secure tie, start with a big loop, wrap it round the end of the braid several times then cut the extra to give two loose ends, re-tie and trim the ends off. The beauty of this stuff is that you obviously get loads on a reel so it should last you a while.
Another suggestion would be to use a thin yarn and tie a reef knot (a.k.a. a slip knot), put the end of the braid in the loop and slide the knot up to secure the ends. You can then wrap the ends round a few times, re-tie to secure and trim the ends.
Hope this helps!
