Mermaid Braid

I originally found this hairstyle through The Beauty Department, and though I really admired the style, when I tried it out for myself, I became incredibly frustrated with how vague the tutorial on the site was and how much I had to play around with it in order to get my hair to look right.

For this braid, I used a hair tie, some sea salt spray (for a more texturized and messy look), and hair spray.

Step One

Pull hair to the side as you would if you were braiding your hair normally. There isn’t much difference in the actual technique behind this braid and a normal plait, but there are so subtle differences between the two braids.

Step Two

Divide your hair into three sections. It’s useful at this point to apply some sort of texturizing gel or spray in order to give some extra texture as well as to keep the chunks of hair separate as you continue with the next step.

Step Three

Keeping the outer two sections of hair to the side, take the middle section, divide it into three sections, and make a really loose traditional plait. Tie this loose braid off with a small clear hair elastic.

Step Four

With the smaller braid you’ve just made serving as the middle, use the two sections of hair from step two to make another loose plait. Tie this braid off with a hair tie.

Step Five

Tug at the finished braid to loosen it up until you’ve achieved the desired effect, then lock strands in place with a mist of hair spray.

Step Six (Optional)

If you have longer bangs or face-framing layers, one way to add an extra touch to this look would be to either add a twist or another loose braid.

To form a twist, gather a section of loose hair along your hairline and twist it back, adding loose strands to the twist as you continue. Secure twist in place with a couple bobby pins.

Source

The Beauty Department