Hairstyles with memories

Sometimes when you do a braid you can remember exactly when you did this braid before. It can be because you recently mastered the braid and you can remember the first time the braid turned out the way you wanted or it can be because you did this braid for a special occasion. This special occasion can be anything - a party, a celebration, a graduation... Most likely, if the braid was for a special occasion, you'll have photos of the hairstyle or at least the hairstyle in a photo. When you look back at the photo, you'll probably remember the moment exactly: what you did or said, what happened and where the photo was taken.

Vacation photos can bring back memories too, of course. For me, vacation photos also means hairstyle photos, so when I look back at a hairstyle photo, I'll remember exactly where we were, if we liked it there and if anything special happened that day. One of the vacation hairstyle photos below, for example, was taken on the day my boyfriend proposed to me. Now, when I have that same hairstyle again, I always remember that day.

Do you have hairstyles / braids with a memory as well? I'd love to hear about it in a comment below or on the Facebook page of Miriam's Vlecht Lessen!

A braid with a memory: the first time my 7 strand ribbon braid actually turned out the way I wanted it to turn out!

Another braid with a memory: with this hairstyle I became a finalist in an Instagram braiding contest for the first time.

I remember this day exactly: we took the train to go to a vacation event, but the train broke down and we had to wait on another train station. When we finally arrived at the vacation event, I booked a trip to the USA & Canada, a trip during which I met my boyfriend. When we came back home after the event, my mother's bike was stolen from the train station. A day I won't likely forget!

Another special braid: this was the hairstyle I did when I went to my grandmother's funeral. She always loved my knotted bracelet braid, so I did it for her.

Not a hairstyle I'm really proud of, but the memory is nice: this photo was taken in Sri Lanka when we visited our first temple. It was raining a little bit and we just had a bit of thunder and we had to walk around barefoot on top of a mountain. The view was beautiful, though, and this was one of the best moments during our Sri Lanka trip.

Taken in Yellowstone during our last vacation trip. This is where my boyfriend proposed to me, right next to the Old Faithful geyser. This hairstyle is now my favorite hairstyle! I wonder why... ;)

One last fun memory: I always love 4 strand slide up braids as they're quick, easy and great to see, but the background is even more special - it's where they're building our very first house. This was when we were allowed to visit the ground for the first time. The house should be finished in April/May/June 2019, so I'm sure I'll have another fun hairstyle photo with a memory coming up then!

Ladder braid

The ladder braid is a combination of a waterfall braid / waterfall twist (or a feathered braid) and another braid. This other braid can be any braid you like: a twist, a lace braid, a 5 strand braid, a knotted braid... For the waterfall braid you can also use any technique you like: a regular waterfall braid, a fishtail waterfall braid, a 5 strand waterfall braid... The most important thing for a ladder braid is to add the waterfall strands to a new braid. This creates an effect that looks like a ladder and gives the braid the name ladder braid!

The technique:
Ladder headband braid tutorial
Waterfall snake braid tutorial

Ideas:

The ladder headband braid as explained in my tutorial.

Two ladder braids, both made out of a waterfall twist and a lace braid. Combined with a small fishtail braid.

A ladder braid made out of a knotted waterfall braid and a lace braid.

A ladder braid made out of a 4 strand waterfall braid and a lace braid.

A ladder braid made out of two 4 strand ribbon waterfall braids.

A fun variation: a crossed ladder braid. For this effect first add waterfall strand 2 to the lace braid, then waterfall strand 1. Then waterfall strand 4 and then waterfall strand 3, and so on.

Waterfall twist

The waterfall braid is a very populair braid that's not that difficult either. But if you want to make it even easier, then try the waterfall twist! Simple and quick without complicated techniques, but with loads of possibilities. Below you can see some examples.

The technique:
Waterfall twist braid tutorial
Ribbon waterfall twist braid tutorial

Ideas:

The original waterfall twist, as explained in my YouTube tutorial, combined with a simple ponytail.

The waterfall twist with ribbon, as explained in my YouTube tutorial. Beautiful with red and green ribbon for Christmas, but of course there's all kind of combinations possible. You could use the colors from your favorite sports team or match the ribbon colors with the clothes you're wearing with it!

Use the waterfall strands from your first waterfall twist to easily create a second waterfall twist, which creates a ladder braid!

When you've tried the double waterfall twist, it's easy to create a third. In the photo the waterfall strands have then been added to a lace braid.

An easy variation: do braids in your waterfall strands. Of course all techniques are possible!

A variation that's a little more tricky: a woven waterfall twist braid. Take the first strand, cross it under the second, over the third and repeat under / over until you've had all strands. Then do the same thing with the second strand (under the third, over the fourth, and so on) and the other strands until you've used all waterfall strands. Then put an elastic around all the hair you've used for your braid.

Instead of doing the waterfall twist from the right to the left (or left to the right) you can also go top to bottom. The waterfall strands can then be added to a braid.

Animal day

Tomorrow it's World Animal Day, a day to give some extra attention to animals. That's why today's post has some photos of hairstyles with animals included!

Happy Animal Day tomorrow!

Hairstyle: round 3D braid into a woven fishtail, animals: crocodiles in Gambia

Hairstyle: French braid into a 4 strand braid with microbraid, animal: rhino in Senegal

Hairstyle: French braids brought together, animals: my rabbits Snoepy (the white one) and Fleur

Hairstyle: waterfall twist with ribbon, animal: my rabbit Fleur

Your age in the number of strands

If you have some more time to braid and you'd like to do something different, then why not try to create a hairstyle with the same number of strands as your age? For example: if you're 15, try to create a style with a total of 15 strands. This may sound like a challenge, but how about three 5 strand braids? Or five 3 strand braids?

The older you are, the more difficult it may be to think of a style. I am 30 for example, so that would mean I'd have to use 30 strands. Above you can see two examples of how I did that. Waterfall braids / twists are perfect for adding in extra braids for example, so this gives you a big number of strands easily.

Do you dare to take the challenge and use your age as number of strands? Feel free to share your photos on the Facebook page Miriam's Vlecht Lessen!

Need a little help?
--> How to braid with 3 strands
--> How to braid with 4 strands
--> How to braid with 5 strands
--> How to braid with 6 strands

30 strands: ten small Dutch 3 strand braids

A waterfall twist into a lace braid (3 strands) + four 5 strand braids (20) + a 4 strand braid + a 3 strand braid = 30 strands!

Mermaid braid

If you know how to do a French braid, you can do a mermaid braid too. Actually the technique is exactly the same, only now you're taking the strands you're adding in from the front. This creates an entirely different braid.

The technique:
Mermaid braid tutorial

Ideas:

In stead of starting with strands from the side you can also start at the top of the head with your braid and add in hair later.

A variation: start at the top of the head and add all of the hair into your mermaid braid.

Start a mermaid braid, but leave enough hair to create two fishtail braids underneath.

A fishtail braid can be done as a mermaid braid as well! In this hairstyle I switched between a regular fishtail braid and a mermaid braid.

A fun variation on the mermaid braid: do a waterfall twist on each side of the head. Then use the waterfall strands to create a mermaid braid.

How to: Double waterfall braid with waterfall twists

Helpful tutorials:
Waterfall braid
Waterfall twist
Twist
3 strand braid

You'll need:
Three temporary elastics
One small elastic

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Comb all of the hair back. If you'd like a very tight and neat hairstyle, then do a part left and right off centre, but this is optional.
2. Take a small strand of hair in the middle and divide this into three strand.
3. Now start a waterfall braid, but pay attention: this is a double waterfall braid! This means you'll be dropping strands and both the right and the left and replacing them with new strands of hair. Make sure to drop the same number of strands on both sides (the hairstyle in the photo has 6 dropped strands on each side).
4. When you've reached about the middle of the head, braid down a little further. Finish off with a temporary elastic.
5. Now take a small strand of hair above the right ear and divide it into two. Start a waterfall twist with this. The strand you're using as waterfall strands are the strands you've dropped on the right side of your waterfall braid.
6. When you've used all of the waterfall strands for your waterfall twist, then twist a little further down and finish off with a temporary elastic.
7. Now repeat step 5 and 6 on the left side.
8. Now take the hair from the two waterfall twists and from the waterfall strand in the middle. Remove the temporary elastics and use the three strands of hair for a regular 3 strand braid. Finish off with a small elastic.
9. If you like, you can add some curls. The curls in the photo were done by tightly French braiding the hair a day earlier and then sleeping with it overnight.

Good luck!

How to: triple ladder braid

Helpful tutorials:
Waterfall twist
Lace braid

You'll need:
Three temporary elastics
One small elastic
Hair accessoires (optional)

How to do this hairstyle?

1. Part the hair just off centre. Take a small strand of hair on the side with most hair (make sure to leave enough hair for more braids later on) and do a waterfall twist with this. Finish off with a temporary elastic.
2. Take a new strand of hair below the first waterfall twist (again - leave enough hair for two more braids). Make sure not to take hair from the waterfall strands. Do a second waterfall twist with this hair. The strands you put through the twist strands are the waterfall strands from your first waterfall twist. Finish off with another temporary elastic.
3. Now do a third waterfall twist (leave some hair above the ear for a final braid). Again use the waterfall strands you have to put through the twist strands and finish off with a temporary elastic.
4. Take the hair right above the ear and divide it into three strands.
5. Do a lace braid with this hair. The hair you're adding in, are the waterfall strands. Add the twists last of all. Once they're nicely in the braid, you can remove the temporary elastics.
6. Finish off the braid with a small elastic. If you like, add some accessoires.

Good luck!

Double

In my articles I'm often writing about 1 braid: a French braid, a Dutch braid, a side braid, a waterfall braid... But why only do 1 braid?

The double French and Dutch braids (a part down the middle and 1 braid on each side of the part) are probably the best known double braids. A fun variation is to do a double waterfall braid. This may seem complicated, but it's not that difficult:
- First do a regular waterfall braid (or a waterfall twist or a 4 strand waterfall braid...)
- Then take a new strand of hair below the first waterfall braid, making sure you do not take any of the waterfall strands from your first braid.
- Now start a second waterfall braid. The hair you're adding in at the top, are the waterfall strands from your first braid.

The photos show two examples of double waterfall braids: a double waterfall twist and a double 4 strand waterfall braid. If you're doing a double waterfall braid for the first time, I'd advise the waterfall twist as it's the easiest.

Good luck!

Double waterfall twist

Double 4 strand waterfall braid