A French braid or plait is a popular hairstyle and received the name because it was invented in France. There are several ways to style a French braid depending on the hairstyle you want to obtain. You can French braid:
– the whole head in a single plait in order to achieve one single braid from the top center of the head downwards. This is the most common French plait– one side of the head and the rest of the hair left loose or pulled up in a pony– both sides of the head and join the two braids in the back of the head
In order to be able to style a French plait you need to have medium to long hair. The technique is relatively easy, but you will need a little bit of practice before you will be able to style the French plait neatly and evenly.
To start, decide on the part of hair you wish to plait and start from the area closest to the scalp working your way down by:
– separating a section of the hair you want to plait and divide it into 3 even parts– braid the 3 parts of hair like a normal braid, right over center, left over center– as you braid, take some extra loose hair from the sides and add them as you cross over. Make sure you take the same amount of hair from both sides to get an even braid– keep braiding and adding hair until you reach the desired shape or the nape of the neck if you are doing a regular French plait and braid as regular– secure the end of the braid with an elastic
Tip:
Keep the same tension as you braid so your French plait will not look tighter in one place and looser in another. Once you have learned to master this technique try other designs like a Grecian goddess or bohemian look.