Holiday Braid: All the How-To Magic with Buffalo Braid Babe
Pssst! I stumbled upon Buffalo Braid Babe (IRL: Emmily) on Instagram and have been watching her daily braids take over my feed. I love braids and so does she- match made in heaven! Emmily met up with me and gave me a gorgeous holiday braid that I cannot wait to practice! Like, I totally can be a Pinterest dream. Want to try it, too? Emmily of BBB has all the deets below!:
Whether you’re braiding your hair for the first time, or frustrated that your braids never seem to turn out the way you want, we can help.
Pre braid tips from Emmily:
- Don’t over-wash. Dirty hair is a braid’s BFF (it’s not “dirty,” it’s natural). I wash my hair once a week. If you wash your hair daily or every other day, start by going an extra day in between.
- Use DRY SHAMPOO. If it isn’t already, dry shampoo should be part of your everyday routine. Dry shampoo will freshen up the look of your hair and give your braid texture and grip, so it won’t fall out.
- A french braid is on the inside while a Dutch is outside. A french braid is created by placing the outside strand over the middle while a dutch braid is created by placing the outside strand under the middle. Today’s braid is a dutch, so while you are braiding, repeat in your head “outside under, outside under...”
- Just like with your tummy, pancakes make your braids fuller! When you have completed your dutch braid, pull on the outer edges to expand the body of the braid.
The Holiday Braid that Even You Can Do. We Promise! The Elsa Braid:
- Start with your part off to one side, if it isn’t already. Or, ‘Let it Go’ off to one side! (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
- We will be braiding the side with more hair. This is a large chunky braid so start by gathering a larger section of hair by your part.
- Split that section of hair into three sections.
- This is a Dutch braid so remember, “Outside under.” Pull the strand closer to your face under the middle.
- Pull the back strand under the middle.
- Pull the strand closest to the face under the middle again. Now this time add a small bit of hair near the face to that new strand closest to the face.
Tip - This braid will really want to migrate further back on the head, so to keep it as close to your hairline as possible, take very small sections along the face and much larger sections in the back.
7. Pull the back strand under the middle and add a larger section of hair to the new back strand.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you have gathered all of the hair from that side.
9. Now as you start to bring in hair from the other side of your head you will want to gather very large sections of hair. You should finish gathering all of this hair in two or three passes. If your sections are too small you will end up with the braid very loose in the back.
10. Finish with a standard three-strand braid and tie off with a clear elastic.
11. If you have layers or baby hairs, spray a small amount of hairspray on the braid before the next step.
12. PANCAKE TIME :) Pull on the outer edges of the braid until you reach the desired size. Focus on pulling just the edges of the braid so that your whole braid does not loosen.
13. Spray all of your hair with hairspray. Extra hairspray if you will be dancing!
14. We finished this braid off with a fun scrunchie, you can get creative here with bows and clips and accessories.
We want to see your braid! Show us your results, and use the hashtag #buffalovebirds_holidaybraid
-Emmily
A huge shout out of thanks to Vanessa of Nigh Road Farmhouse for allowing us to use her beautiful, magical shop for the scene!
Also to Lexi of Blush for the jewel-toned outfits on both myself and Emmily. Stop by any of their locations to find some holiday outfits like ours!
And to Zach Mazzochetti for capturing everything in photos for us. Follow Zach on Instagram: @poslifee
Follow Emmily on Instagram: @BuffaloBraidBabe and send her a message about scheduling her for some braids whether you have a special event or girls' night out!
