How to Braid Hair: 10 Tutorials You Can Do Yourself

Step 1: Brush out your hair and decide which side you want your braid, then split it into two even sections.

Step 2: A fishtail is much easier than it looks; essentially you’re just bringing a piece of hair from one section over into the other. Start by taking a small piece of hair from one side and bringing it over and adding it to the inside of the other side. Repeat on the other side, grabbing from the outside part of the section each time, and continue all the way down your braid. Potempa recommends keeping your hands right above where you’re braiding to keep it clean, and to not let go of your hair, using only your pointer fingers to move the hair across.

Step 3: Continue all the way down your hair and secure with a hair tie. Once the braid is secured, “pancake” it by tugging at small pieces of your braid so they loosen up and create more volume.

Step 4: Using the Beachwaver, curl any shorter layers or bangs.

Step 5: If you have any longer layers that didn't make it into the fishtail, braid them into a three-strand braid, and tuck and pin it into the fishtail.

Editor tip: "The only braid I can confidently do is a standard three-strand, so even this simple braid felt like a challenge. I had a rough start at first, but once I stopped thinking so hard and just repeated Sarah's mantra, 'little piece here, over to the side,' in my head, it was easy to jet through the braid." —Bella

How to Do a Dutch Braid

Level of difficulty: 5

Time to complete: 10 minutes