new thread
I'm about to give up. I've tried dozens of times to braid my own hair, but can't quite manage to do it. The one time I thought I got it right was during a slow night at work (I'm on night shift). I played with it for a couple of hours, trying over and over again. I finally managed to get it braided and left it that way the rest of the night. It was much more comfortable than a ponytail, and I was happy with it. However, when I got home, the first thing my wife asked was, "Who braided your hair?" I proudly declared that I did it myself. She just said OK and tried to look busy. I asked her why she asked and she said it was lopsided and messy. I looked in the mirror and she was right. It looked pretty bad. She rebraided it for me, but I can't always count on her to do it for me. Anyone got any tips on technique or tricks on how to do this myself?
Braid from a ponytail...(if you use a barrette,) it is easier to divide and separate the hair evenly. That was more than half the frustration for me when I was learning. Beyond that...just practice...and don't worry how lumpy and messy and twisted it is...eventually the movements will become more natural and your braid will come out better.
Hope this new video of Lukes might be of help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sosPCf3fwI
As Trolleypup said, it's easier to braid from a ponytail to start off with. The first thing I'd advise you to do is to close your eyes while braiding. Feel each section before you start braiding to make sure they're roughly even. A lot of it is actually down to muscle memory, so the more you do it, the easier it will become.
Another thing you can do is to braid sections of the front to give yourself some practice in the actual mechanics of it, or if you have someone else you can practise on, so much the better.
Don't try braiding newly-dry hair. It's almost impossible to do a neat self-braid when it's fluffy and flyaway. However, you can calm it down a little with some oil or light conditioner.
Keep trying. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but it's worth the effort.
The more times you braid it, the easier it will be.
Make sure you get evenly divided amounts of hair in each section. Otherwise it will never look right.
I braid a pony tail, and I braid from the side -- that is, I turn my head sideways, and don't try to reach around in back and do it. As the braid gets longer, I continue down in front, where I can see in the mirror how I'm doing. But as someone else suggested, don't try to look at the mirror image and do it.
You probably are trying to do a "standard" 3 strand flat braid.
I've only been able to succeed with it a couple of times BUT I can quickly and easily do a 2 strand rope braid.
There's a fabulous tutorial on YouTube that I learned from.
Torrin teaches 2 strand rope braid
Very easy tutorial. Maybe I can get it right this time, would have never thought of starting with a ponytail and working from that.
Different types of braids hadn't occurred to me. I'll check out the tutorial.
(n/t)
Besides all the other excellent suggestions and comments already made by trolleypup and the others who replied below, I'd like to reassure you that the ONLY time I am any good at braiding my own hair myself with any degree of success (such as in this pic of me from a few years ago) is when my hair is still a bit on the damp side -- otherwise, I either have to ask someone else to do it for me, or just plain forgetaboutit!
Another trick that a local longhaired friend of mine taught me (interestingly, which he taught me during one of his SHORT-hair phases), was to turn your head upside-down once your arms reach that uncomfortable stage in trying to braid behind your own back... It works like a charm (and I find it to be much easier than bringing the braid around to one side of my chest or the other)...
Hope that helps -- and don't give up, just keep on giving it another try (after all, there's a reason for that old saying, "practice makes perfect!")!!
- Ken in SF
Nice pic!
That's exactly what I'm trying to accomplish.
I can braid other people's hair easily. I can also braid other things, like rope or wires. I can even backbraid, so I know the technique. I just can't do it blind and behind my head.
I'll keep trying.