Lace up Braid

Items Needed: Brush, rat-tail comb, spray bottle, 2 hair bands, 1 small hair elastic, and hairspray {if desired}.

Time Requirement: 3-5 minutes

Skill Level: Easy

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Begin by deciding where you want to place the braid. I wanted mine over my daughter’s shoulder, but you can also do it straight down the back if you wish.
2. Separate the hair into two nearly equal sections…
3. Now pull a 1-inch strand of hair off of one of those two sections. You should now have three strands {2 large equal sections and one small 1-inch section in the middle of the two bigger sections}…
4. Using elastics secure one large section and the small section out of the way…
5. Working with the left-most hair section {one of the large ones}, divide it into three equal strands and create a normal inverse 3-strand braid, and secure the end with an elastic…
6. Now release the right-most hair section, the other large one, divide it into three strands, and create a normal inverse 3-strand braid, and secure the ends with an elastic…
7. You should now have two inverse simple braids with a small 1-inch strand of hair in between them…
8. We now want to lace them together. Taking one braid poke your index finger and thumb through the edge piece and pull the “lace up” strand through it…
9. Go to the second braid and using the same fingers, poke a hole through the top section of stranding and pull the lace up strand through it…
10. Now pull that strand tight and the two braids should lace up right next to each other.
11. Continue to work your way down the braids, switching sides and lacing as you go down, from right to left. Each time, you poke your two fingers through a stitch of braid and pull the “lace up” strand through. {Think of as  lacing up a shoe or a boot.}
12. When you reach the end of the braid, pull the laced strand tight so that the two braids stay together, and secure the entire braid with an elastic…
13. Remove any extra elastics.
14. Pancake the outside edges of the braid, by tugging on the elbows, for added flair.