4 strand French / Dutch braid

When you've mastered the 4 strand braid, you can try adding in hair. You'll get a French / Dutch braid, because you're adding in hair and crossing it over on one side (like a French braid) and under on the other side (like a Dutch braid).
There's also a way to do a full Dutch braided version, but I'll explain that in another article.

The technique:
4 strand French / Dutch braid tutorial

Ideas:

The 4 strand French / Dutch braid, as explained in my tutorial. The French braided section is on the left, the Dutch braided section on the right.

A variation, in which not all of the hair has been added. Great to combine with a bun.

The same variation as above, only pancaked. The braid has been finished as a fishtail.

In this variation the strand you don't add hair to (the third strand, counted from the side where you start braiding) has been turned into a rope braid before doing the 4 strand French / Dutch braid. Of course, instead of a rope braid you can also use loads of different braiding techniques...

... like a 4 strand ribbon braid!

Box fishtail

A box fishtail is similair to a 3D split braid, only you're using a fishtail braiding technique instead of a regular braid. Divide the hair into two, take a small strand from one section, split this strand into two and cross one half over and one half under the section and add both halfs to the other sections. Keep repeating this to create your braid.
You can also add in hair for a hair Dutch version of this braid: then first do the splitting part (small strand, one half over, one half under, add both to the other section) and then add hair by crossing it under the section you took the strand from and adding it to the section you just added your halfs to as well.

The technique:
Box fishtail tutorial (By PrettyHairIsFun, starts at about 3.00)

Ideas:

A melting braid with a box fishtail - you can basically add a box fishtail to any ponytail or to an accent braid hairstyle!

A very messy version of the box fishtail - fun for an older girl!

A half up box fishtail

Another half up box fishtail, combined with a bun

The box fishtail as headband braid by adding in hair - check out the How to to learn how to do this exact hairstyle!

A slightly pancaked version of the box fishtail with hair added in

Autumn braids

With the weather changing from sunny to rainy and windy (here in the Netherlands at least) I always start thinking about autumn. For me, autumn is the leaves changing colors and of course Halloween at the end of the month. So why not add that to your braids?

Since Halloween is something different, I won't mention it anymore in this article. Instead, I would like to give you some ideas to add an autumn vibe to your hair.

The first and simplest idea is to add some decoration:

An autumn leave is a fun decoration in your hairstyle! I've done a double waterfall braid here and then added a Dutch braid on each side with the strands from the waterfall braid. I finished off the style with a regular 3 strand braid.

An autumn leave is definitely easy and fun, but it probably won't stay in during a long or active day. A bow is a great alternative:

This pumpkin bow has autumn feeling written all over it! I've done a waterfall braid and then added the waterfall strands to a ladder braid. I then took all of the hair together, tied it into a ponytail and braided that ponytail with a 3 strand braid. I then turned the braid into a bun and added the bow.

Another fun way to add an autumn feeling to your braids is adding ribbon. Orange is usually a real autumn color, but red and yellow can work as well. The fun thing about ribbon braids is that you can use as many or as little strands in your braid as you like: a 3 strand braid can already be turned into a ribbon braid by replacing one of the strands with a ribbon. Add 1 ribbon or 2... the possibilities are almost endless!

Autumn ribbon colors in these flower braids! I've done three 4 strand braids with a single ribbon and then turned them into flowers.

I hope you have some ideas how to give your hairstyles a little extra autumn feeling. If not, here's a few more ideas!

A 6 strand braid with 3 ribbons, one of the ribbons being orange. For me, this hairstyle isn't even that much about autumn, but the background really gives me that feeling.

(Note: the YouTube video link is a 6 strand braid with micro braids, but just replace the micro braids with ribbons for this hairstyle)

If one piece of decoration isn't enough, then why not add two? I've used my pumpkin bow on top of the ponytail, that is an intricate 5 strand braid. I've used three regular strands and two braided sections: each braided section is a 3 strand braid with one of the strands being an orange ribbon.

This background just screams autumn (apart from the parked cars of course! :P). The hairstyle is a 5 strand Dutch ribbon braid. I've stopped adding in hair when I was at the ears, but I did continue the 5 strand ribbon braid all the way down. With the leftover hair, I've done two 3 strand pancaked braids. At the end, I tied all of the braids together with an elastic.

How to: Challenging stacked braid

Helpful tutorials:
Pull through braid tutorial
Pancaking tutorial
5 strand intricate braid tutorial

You'll need:
Small elastics (the exact number depends on how many you use for the pull through braid)
Bobby pins
A flower or a bow if desired

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Part just off centre.
2. Take a section of hair (not too big and not too small) and bring this to the side. This is the hair you're going to use later for the braid on top of the pull through braid.
3. Now start a pull through braid. Make sure you pancake a lot!
4. Continue until you've added all of the hair and then add one final elastic.
5. Now take the hair you've seperated off in the beginning and do a 5 strand intricate braid with this. In the photo only 1 micro braid has been done (the strand that stays in the middle), but of course you can also do 2 as in the tutorial.
6. Continue braiding until the end of the strand of hair or until the end of the pull through braid (depending on the length of the hair). Then put a small elastic around the braid.
7. Use bobby pins to pin the 5 strand braid to the pull through braid.
8. Put a final elastic around the 5 strand braid and the pull through braid together and add a flower or a bow if you like.

Good luck!

5 strand ribbon braid

If the 5 strand braid with 2 ribbons is easier or more difficult than the regular 5 strand braid is something people can differ about. Personally, I think the 5 strand ribbon braid is easier as you can see more clearly which strands you're braiding with. The 5 strand ribbon braid is also a favorite of mine as a ribbon makes such a huge difference in a hairstyle. You can choose to take 2 ribbons of the same color (this will make the braid look more complicated than it really is) or you could take 2 different colors, giving you all kinds of combination possibilities. You could choose colors that go with a season (red + green for Christmas) or choose the colors of your favorite sports team!

The technique:
5 strand ribbon braid tutorial

Ideas:

The 5 strand ribbon braid as explained in my tutorial, only done on the side of the head. Ribbon colors: yellow and black for my favorite sports team (corfball).

Do a 5 strand ribbon braid as explained in the tutorial, but stop adding in hair when you've reached the ear. Then braid until the end of the hair without adding in hair. Use the hair you have left to do two regular braids and pancake these.

Do the 5 strand ribbon braid as headband braid! More details: How to: a 5 strand ribbon braid with accent

Start the 5 strand ribbon braid by adding in hair only on the left side, as a lace braid. Switch after adding in hair on the left about 8/9 times to the right side and add in hair 3 times. Then continue braiding without adding in hair.

Only add hair to your 5 strand ribbon braid on the left side, like a lace braid. Split the bottom strand into two every time and drop half of the strand. This creates a sort of waterfall braid.

Fun for carnaval / crazy hair day: 4 ponytails with 5 strand ribbon braids!

How to: Slide up braids with flower and regular braid

Helpful tutorials:
Slide up braids
Dutch braid
Pancaking
3 strand braid (regular braid)

You'll need:
Two temporary elastics
Three small elastics
Bobby pins

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Start with a part left and right off center.
2. Create a third part from the left part to the right part so you'll have created a square.
3. Bring this hair to the side for now - you'll braid with this later.
4. Take a small section of hair on one side of the head and do a 4 strand slide up braid with this. Finish off with a temporary elastic.
5. Take another small section of hair on the other side of the head and do another 4 strand slide up braid. Again, finish off with a temporary elastic.
6. Bring the slide up braids together and put an elastic around them. You can now remove the temporary elastics.
7. Take the hair from the square you created at the beginning and start a Dutch braid. Only add in the hair from the square and then continue braiding without adding in hair. If you like, you can pancake one of the sides of the braid for a more beautiful flower.
8. Now turn the braid into the shape of a flower and pin it into place with bobby pins. Try to hide the elastic from the slide up braids with the flower.
9. Use the rest of the hair for a regular 3 strand braid. If you like, you can finish off the braid with a bow, flower or another fun hair tie/hair clip.

Good luck!

Vlechten met nat en droog haar // Braiding with wet and dry hair

Vlechten met nat en droog haar

Vaak krijg ik te horen van mensen die gaan vlechten dat de vlecht niet mooi blijft zitten. Het haar pluist te veel of de vlecht wordt niet mooi strak. Het advies dat ik dan geef, is vlechten met nat haar.

Toch is vlechten met nat haar niet altijd even mooi en handig. Daarom een aantal voordelen van vlechten met nat haar en van vlechten met droog haar:

Vlechten met nat haar:

• De vlecht blijft beter en strakker zitten. Ideaal dus als je een kapsel doet wat de hele dag mooi moet blijven zitten!
• Je hebt minder last van zogeheten 'fly-aways': kleine plukjes en haartjes die uitsteken. Je vlecht ziet er dus mooier en netter uit.
• Het haar pluist minder, waardoor het makkelijker te zien is welk haar bij welke pluk hoort. Handig voor als je met veel verschillende plukken vlecht!
• De vlechttechniek is duidelijker te zien. Denk hierbij bijvoorbeeld aan een kantvlecht of een laddervlecht. Voor deze vlechten werk ik altijd het liefst met nat haar.

Vlechten met droog haar:

• Omdat de vlecht minder strak is, is het makkelijker en mooier om te pancaken. Je krijgt zo een veel mooiere brede vlecht dan wanneer je pancaket met nat haar (geen aanrader!).
• De vlecht lijkt wat losser. Dit geeft een wat meer volwassen vlecht. Leuk dus voor wat oudere meisjes en tieners!
• Het haar is minder glad dan wanneer je vlecht met nat haar, waardoor het soms net iets makkelijker is om vast te houden.
• Je kunt haarlak gebruiken om de 'fly-aways' weg te werken. Haarlak spuiten op nat haar maakt het haar vaak wat plakkerig.

Er zijn dus genoeg redenen om met nat haar te vlechten, maar ook om met droog haar te vlechten. Mijn advies: kijk per kapsel wat je het fijnst en mooist vinden - vlechten met nat haar of vlechten met droog haar!

Kant vlecht met nat haar

Lace braid with wet hair

4 plukken vlecht met droog haar

4 strand braid with dry hair

Braiding with wet and dry hair

Often I hear beginning braiders complain the braid doesn't stay in well enough. The braid will slip out or they'll have loads of fly aways. The advice I always give, is to braid with wet hair.

Still braiding with wet hair isn't always the solution. That's why I'll give you some reasons to braid with wet hair and to braid with dry hair.

Braiding with wet hair:

• The braid will stay in better and tighter. Ideal for when you're doing a style that needs to stay in all day!
• You won't have as many fly aways as when you're braiding with dry hair, so your braid will look more neatly.
• The hair isn't so frizzy, which makes it easier to see which strand the hair belongs to. Very helpful for when you're braiding with a lot of strands!
• The braiding technique stands out better. Think about a lace braid here or a ladder braid. For these braids I always prefer working with wet hair.

Braiding with dry hair:

• Because the braid is less tight, it's easier to pancake. You'll get a much nicer big braid than when you're pancaking wet hair (not something I'd advise!).
• The braid looks a little looser. This gives it a more grown up look. Great for a little older girls and teenagers!
• The hair is less slippery than when you're braiding with wet hair, which can make it easier to hold.
• You can use hairspray to control fly aways. Using hairspray on wet hair can make the hair a little sticky.

As you can see, there's enough reasons to braid with wet hair, but also to braid with dry hair. My advice: choose per hairstyle whether you'd like to braid with wet hair or with dry hair!

Bloemen // Flowers

Bloemen

Om een vlecht of kapsel iets meer kleur te geven, kun je altijd een bloem als accessoires gebruiken. Een andere leuke optie is om zelf een bloem te maken, maar dan van een vlecht.

Een bloemvlecht kan van allerlei verschillende vlechttechnieken gemaakt worden. Mijn favoriete bloemvlecht is die gemaakt van een gewone vlecht. Hierbij pancake je één kant van de vlecht, zodat je echt een mooie bloemvorm krijgt.

Een bloem kun je op twee manieren maken: de vlecht in een bloemvorm brengen door een rondje te maken met de vlecht en daarna de rest van de vlecht eromheen te wikkelen. De andere manier is onderaan de vlecht beginnen en de vlecht op te rollen. De eerste manier is mijn favoriete manier.

Tips:
- Gebruik zoveel schuifspeldjes als nodig om de bloem stevig vast te zetten. Probeer ze te verstoppen onder de vlecht.
- Gebruik je de pancake techniek, pancake de vlecht dan niet helemaal tot onderaan. Vaak wordt het haar hier namelijk iets dunner en krijg je veel losse plukken.

* Tip: in mijn boek Miriam's Vlecht Lessen (te bestellen via bol.com) leg ik stap voor stap uit hoe je een bloemenknot maakt. Leuk voor een bruidsmeisje of gewoon voor een speciale dag!

Flowers

To make a braid or hairstyle more colorful, you can always use a flower. Another fun option is to make the flower yourself, but then from a braid.

A flower braid can be done with all kinds of different braiding techniques. My favorite flower braid is the one made out of a regular braid. You can pancake one side of the braid so you'll get a real beautiful flower shape.

A flower can be done in two ways: turn the braid into the shape of a flower by making a circle and wrapping the rest of the braid around it. The other way is to start at the bottom of the braid and then to roll up the braid. The first way is my favorite way.

Tips:
- Use as many bobby pins as needed to secure the braid. Try to hide them under the braid.
- When using the pancaking technique, don't pancake all the way down. The hair will often get thinner here and you'll get a lot of fly-aways.

Pancaking

Photo 1: a 'regular' Dutch braid

Photo 2: a Dutch braid that has been pancaked

Pancaking

The title of this article might seem as little strange, but pancaking is a word that's being used often in the braiding world. It has nothing to do with pancakes, though, but everything with making a braid bigger.

When you're pancaking, you're pulling on the edges of the braided stitches. That way you kinda pull the braid apart, which makes it look bigger. Compare the two photos: in both photos I've done a single Dutch braid, but in the second photo I've pancaked the braid. This makes the braid look bigger.

Tip: do you want to make a really big braid? Then start pancaking while you braid. Braid a few stitches, pancake, braid another few stitches, pancake, and so on. If you wait until you've finished your entire braid before you start pancaking, you'll find that it's much harder to make the braid a lot bigger.

September 11

It has been 14 years already, but we still all know what happened. On September 11 two planes crashed into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, resulting in the death of many people. The towers collapsed, the New York skyline changed forever.

As this is a hair blog, I don't wanna talk too much about the details. Instead I'd like to share two photos with all of you. The first one is to remember - two Dutch braids into a bun with an American flag bow. Even now, 14 years later, we still remember what happened that day. Such a small detail - the American flag bow - could be a nice way of showing you remember the people that gave their life that day.

The second photo was taken during my vacation in the United States last May. I started my trip in New York, where I did a boat tour with a view of the new city's skyline. The new Freedom Tower, built where the World Trade Center once was, can be seen clearly in this photo. I wanted to share this photo to show the city has built itself back up again, but that the attack will never be forgotten.