Is this not one of the
prettiest hair styles you’ve seen in a while? It is in my books. As soon as I saw this picture of an update on the classic French braid, I instantly thought about how many times I could wear it in the summer. Weddings, the office, beach days, summer cocktails on a patio … and thank goodness I’ve decided to
grow my hair out longer so I can actually try this hair style out! It’s the braid trend we’ve seen over the past few seasons (remember Alexander Wang’s messy side braid from spring 2010?) with a sweet and sexy spin thanks to this Valentino knockout originally created by Redken Creative Consultant Guido Palau.
Our tips on how to recreate this pretty braid yourself come courtesy of celebrity stylist Susana Hong who is also a spokesperson for TRESemmé. If you’re not an expert braider (like me), you might need a bit of assistance until you get the hang of it. “I love it because once you’ve achieved it, it’s pretty low maintenance,” explains Hong. The look works best on
long, straight hair with very few layers. “If you do have curly hair, just blow dry straight but do not use a flat iron because that will flatten the cuticles too much making the hair harder to grip for the braid,” recommends Hong. And nix the flat iron, since it can make hair difficult to work with. “Hair with heavy shorter layers might prove difficult to style for this particular do. Though it can be done, it will take more product and hand strength to ensure the layered ends stay put in the braid,” says Hong.
Short hair tip: “You can use extensions, but the traditional ones that are clipped in most likely won’t work. You can use ‘braid’ hair – hair that is not attached to any sort of weave, it’s just loose hair. You would add that at the start of your braid, but it’s pretty advanced stuff for the average gal. But the best thing about this look is that it doesn’t have to be perfect,” says Hong.
To get the step-by-step on this hair style …
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