Ever wonder how to get that mermaid-inspired braid that looks effortless? You know, the ones you see all over Pinterest or on that random girl you saw at the mall once who must be a wizard—or at least gets her hair professionally done every day before setting foot outside. But who has time for that, right? Wrong. Turns out we all do! In fact, this effortless look is exactly that. We didn’t believe it at first, but hairstylist Michelle Oliver proved us all wrong with her simple tutorial — she swears it’s easier than the French braid!
Here’s how to get the look:
Waterfall braid:
- Brush your hair through thoroughly to make sure there are no tangles. If you are planning to curl your hair, do that after you create the braid.
- Run an anti-static hair product through your hair to polish the hair before you begin. This will also make it easier to handle the braiding.
- Look for three clean pieces of hair around the face (closer to the top of your hairline).
- Take your three pieces and separate them with your hands. Take the farthest piece away from your forehead and place it over the middle piece. Pinch the middle piece to keep it in place and take the very front piece (closest to your hairline) and place it over the new middle piece and pinch all three. This should look like the beginning of a normal braid.
- From here, take more hair from the top of your head to join the farthest piece. This is typically what you to for a French braid.
- Rather than continuing with the French braid system, let go of the front piece so it falls beside your face and pick up a new piece underneath your braid.
- Continue braiding until you get the style you want.
- From here, pin it into place and style the rest of your hair as you please.
Running braid:
- Same goes at before: brush your hair and find three clean pieces around your hairline.
- Continue your braid but make sure you are always picking up from the top of your part and joining it with the farthest strand.
- This time, the front and middle strand will always be in the braid and will never pick up or lose more hair.
- Braid it up as you see fit, pin it, and rock it!
For a visual demonstration of this, check out exactly how Michelle does it in her segment below:
Courtesy of Michelle Oliver