Braids 2.0

To be perfectly honest, it's annoying to me how magazines, stylists, websites, etc are still talking about french braids and fish tails as a new trend. Um, no...they're not. Obviously they were really popular in the 80's and 90's and then hit a lull for a while, but it's been about 6 YEARS now since they've resurfaced. Meaning the babies who were born the day this picture was taken are now going into 1st grade! Don't forget your lunch little Bobby!

My first post-millennium bang braid: 2005

So please don't think this is an attempt to fill you in on something I'm sure you've known for half a decade. This is not news to anyone. (no offense if this is news to you) However- I think braids will forever be pretty. You can do them any way you'd like... inside, outside, right or left, forward or back, uptown, downtown, all around town. No matter how you twist it-they always look fly. There are a couple versions of a french braid that caught my eye this past year which I hadn't really seen before.
The first is one I've previously mentioned- the Waterfall French Braid seen here.

The second one peaked my interest when I saw one of the contestants on American Idol during auditions. I didn't pay attention to her name at the time and she didn't make it very far through the rounds, so it took me a while to track down some pictures but eventually I found an example. I literally googled "blonde girl on American Idol with crazy boyfriend and french braid"

Jacqueline Dunworth on American Idol

I love this lowered version of a braided bang. I found a really good instructional video for the look as well. The girl "Lilith the Dark Moon" who gives the hair tutorial cracks me up. English is clearly her second language, but she has a whole site within Youtube full of really good how-to's for virtually every hair style.  I call this one the Swoopy French:

Alrighty then, moving on. In 2006 I decided to put a big streak of pink in my hair.

Pinkie in 2006

I ended up loving it.  When it faded out, I wanted it back. So, I did it again with one of my best friends and we rocked our Barbie hair all over town.

HOLLA

I've been seeing that trend this year and I've kinda been itching to do it again.

image from WHOWHATWEAR

 BUUUUUT, I can't. I've been coloring my hair since I was 14 and after one too many close encounters of losing it all due to the damage, I promised myself I wouldn't touch it for ONE WHOLE YEAR. That was this past September, and I have stuck to my commitment. I've been au naturel for almost 10 months now!

What to do, what to do...

I remembered the only other time I had a crayon color on my head was when I used to get hair wraps.

 You know, the things you make your parents pay $95 (+ tip) for when you go on vacation?? They were the best. To me, they're synonymous with tan lines and Disney World. Good times.

I don't know these children. I stole this picture from a Florida travel agency's website.

I  don't know how to wrap hair with string, especially my own. But, I do know how to braid so I merged the two ideas together.

tie string to your roots and use as the third section of a braid.

this one is a little bit thicker because I braided the string and then integrated it into the hair.

THE END.

"Do not be afraid of death. Be afraid of the half-lived life!" - Laird Hamilton