Plaits

oh plaiting the joys, at the beginning of the class I was dreading the precise and delicate art that is plaiting for me before I started the course the only plait I could do was the three stranded simple one we learn at primary school any other complicated creation wasn't obtainable with my brain.


Is this lesson we learnt 3 basic plaiting techniques

1. French - perhaps for me the most difficult of the 3 as I found it extremely fiddley and strangely stressful at first hah, this plait is extremely Elizabethan the people of this time did love a good braid. I wonder who first thought to plait ones hair.

for this plait the plait is in the three strand format, but after the connection is plaited you need to grab your hair from the sides that the three strands are from.... Sound confusing? Isn't to bad after practice, work down the hair using straight sectioning whilst working the hair because it's a lot easier wasn't till a lesson with Helen long into the project and she taught me to do the straight sectioning technique it looks a look neater to and organised.

this plait for me personally still needs practice It's not perfect. The day I can plait my fringe into the rest of my hair will be a happy day

Here is a typical french plait I actually found on a  hairdressing training site

2. Fishtail - this is the plait I always wanted to know how to do. I love this plait, extremely feminine and pretty.

The braid it's self is actually easy it can be fiddly but just working with your hands higher so you have more control in the hair. simple take two strands of how much hair you want for your creation and with each moment take a piece of hair from the OUTSIDE and cross over that selected strand and cross under the next strand and proceed to do this process with the opposite hair carry on taking and crossing under under a fish tale is created, does take a while and is fiddly at first but pretty easy to accomplish. For another look once the plait is complete and and secured at the end you can use your hands to loosen the hair to create a relaxed look, pl to the sides never down as that doesn't make any sense anyway.

3. Traditional plait- of course this plait is easy peasy, like all plaits it's can be messy or neat; If you have layers a messy plait will happen.

Remember the red classic plait Rihanna had for the mtv awards a few years ago? I KNOW YOU DO.

An big braid created with hair extensions 

                                        http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/Various_6.htm


In this portrait of Elizabeth of Austria, Queen of France painted by Francois Clouet not only in her hair is a jewelled what looks like a pillar box hat; the hair is in plaiting around her face in a delicate formation starting at the parting.