What's better than a fishtail braid? Two fishtail braids. This is one of those unique braid styles that you whip out when you want to feel like a mermaid.
How to:
1. Spray hair with texturizer. (Try Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, $39).
2. Part hair in the middle or slightly off to the side, then separate the rest of your hair into two pigtails just below your ears. (Optional: Secure each pigtail with a clear elastic.)
3. Split one pigtail into two equal sections. To create your fishtail braid, grab a thin piece of hair from the outside of one section and cross it over the front to join the other section. Repeat with the other section. Continue braiding from the outside in, pulling hair taut as you go.
4. Secure the braid at the bottom with another clear elastic. (If desired, carefully remove or cut off the top elastic.)
5. Repeat on the other pigtail. Finish by setting both braids with strong-hold hairspray.
Photo 5/16
Best Braid Style No. 12: Modern Milkmaid
This innocent look from Freckled Fox can be dressed up or down, depending on the occasion, making it an requirement for your braid styles back catalog. Our favorite part is how quick and easy it is — no PhD in Pinterest required.
How to:
1. Create a middle part, and split hair in half at the nape of your neck, as if you're going to make pigtails.
2. Braid the pigtails, starting from your nape underneath your ears. Secure each braid at the end with a clear elastic.
3. Cross the braids in back of your head, then pull them up over your ears (like a crown) and cross the ends again on top, tucking them underneath each other.
4. Pin the braids in place, and set with strong-hold hairspray.
Photo 6/16
Best Braid Style No. 11: Cool Schoolgirl
Polished braid styles don't have to be square. This high-end look, pulled straight from the Valentino runway, provides the perfect base for a headband or hair accessory.
How to:
1. Prep detangled, damp hair with smoother and volumizer. (Try Aveda Light Elements Smoothing Fluid, $26, and John Frieda Luxurious Volume Thickening Mousse, $5.99.)
2. Blow dry hair straight with a paddle brush and part it to the side.
3. Gather hair into a low side ponytail and secure with a clear elastic, leaving out a half-inch-wide piece.
4. Wrap the loose piece around the base of the ponytail to conceal the elastic. Secure with a U-shaped bobby pin and set with strong-hold hairspray.
5. Braid the ponytail and secure at the end with another elastic, concealing it with a piece of hair from the end of the braid.
6. Secure with hairspray all over, smoothing flyaways with hands. (Optional: Add a headband for a preppier look.)
Photo 7/16
Best Braid Style No. 10: Updated Leia
2016 has been the year of "Star Wars," so why not bring your braid styles along? These plaited Princess Leia buns are adorable, whether or not you have plans to board the Millennium Falcon.
How to:
1. Prep clean, dry, tangle-free hair with shine spray. (Try Sebastian Professional Halo Mist, $18.95.)
2. Part hair down the middle and make two equal-sized pigtails, leaving out some pieces (or your bangs) in the front. Secure with clear elastics.
3. Tightly braid each pigtail, securing them at the end with another elastic.
4. Wind each braid into a bun and pin into place. Set with hairspray.
5. Modernize the look by accessorizing with floppy hat; the buns double as a glam support system.
Photo 8/16
Best Braid Style No. 9: Desk to Dusk
This front French braid had the world aflutter when Jennifer Anniston debuted it at the 2009 Academy Awards. The look holds up beautifully — a necessary edition to your collection of day-to-night braid styles.
How to:
1. Start with wavy, texturized hair. (Try Garnier Fructis Style De-Constructed Texture Tease Dry Touch Finishing Spray, $4.29.) Create a slight side part.
2. Make a tiny (and we mean tiny!) French braid from the scalp down the side of your head. (If it's going awry, start over. This time, find and work with the section of hair that falls naturally where you want the braid. Braid in that direction.)
3. Pin the braid in place a few inches above your ear.
Braid envy — it's a thing. If you find yourself gazing longingly at the intricately beautiful braid styles on Instagram and Pinterest, you've got a major case of it. There's nothing like an afternoon spent flipping through online photos of stunning braid styles, imaging yourself wearing them all from work to brunch to your wedding.
There is one little hiccup to this whole braid fever phenomenon: If you're not a naturally gifted hair wiz, attempting complicated braid styles can be downright daunting. Luckily, it doesn't have to be.
To help give even the most clumsy among us a leg up in the braid styles department, we grilled some of the industry's most celebrated stylists and bloggers for the precise, step-by-step braiding instructions you need to pull off braiding all by yourself.
Thanks to celebrity stylist Marcus Francis, Nine Zero One Salon stylists Florido Basallo and Amber Maynard, plus a few other independent braid geniuses, we have the goods on how to recreate 15 amazing braids. From the fan-favorite waterfall braid to the classic braided chignon, you'll see that these modern and sophisticated braid styles can take you anywhere.
Still afraid you don't have the skills? Put aside any doubts you have, and remember, you're not landing a Mars rover. You're just braiding your hair. With these simple braiding instructions (and a little practice), you can master Pinterest-worthy braid styles in no time.
