We think this one is actually easier done than said. Grand’s April Guerra takes us through a beautiful 5-min updo with hints on product and technique for achieving just the right volume, height and texture.
Read the full transcript here:
Hi I’m April, and I’m here to teach you how to do the fancy fluffy French braid in under five minutes. One of the best things about this updo, is it can be done on clean hair, dirty hair, previously curled hair, curly hair or just fresh hair. Fresh hair doesn’t stay as long, so my hair is only one day dirty. I’m gonna add some texture by using this Does It All hair spray from Bumble, and mostly spraying the mids of the hair and nothing too specific. This is a styling spray, so it’s used in my style building on itself and it kinda of gives the hair more texture and grit. So your braid doesn’t slide out.
I’m gonna do a simple French braid that goes down the center of my head and I’m actually gonna do it quite tight, even though the end result is gonna be really fluffy and loose. So I’m just gonna start with the middle section, give myself three parts, feel them for balance and then start the French braid. The French braids are the type that are under, a Dutch braid would be the type that goes over the top. I’m gonna just quickly and smoothly add all my hair into this one braid, maintaining the tightness of the braid all the way down. And once I get to the back of my hair, I’m gonna start holding the braid off my scalp a little bit and that just keeps you from getting those little annoying tight hairs through your nape. And I just have a long bob, so as long as you’ve got hair that’ll reach back into a pony tail, you can most likely do this updo. I’m using my elastic to button up the end this braid for safe keeping. Make sure I don’t have anything pulling. And now, I’m just gonna place my fingers on the braid and slowly pull forward. And I want it a little fuller so I’m gonna relax it and then pull forward one more time, and use one hand to hold the braid, one hand to grab the bobby pin.
Here’s the best part. You use the bobby pin open a little. You follow where your fingers are and I’m gonna stab into the scalp. I’m gonna lay the bobby pin flat against my head, scrape some of the braid and maintain tightness along the back of my head there. You only need to add a bobby pin where each finger is. I’m gonna do the same thing, open the bobby pin, stab it down to my head, move it smoothly across my scalp and incorporate some of that braid that my finger’s on. Now I’m up to above the crown. I’ve only used three bobby pins, stabbing down towards my head, moving across my scalp, you’re basically just pining the braid straight to your head. Now for the top, gonna stab it directly to my scalp, turn, incorporate some of the braid, flatten out. Now from the front I like the volume. I’m gonna just pull on some of these hairs here to give me a little bit more of a pompadour look. And I’m liking the profile from the side.
Some of these loops will happen and that to me is just more fun. Now the little tail, we’re gonna tuck under. And there’s little hole specifically it fits in, and I didn’t like this loopy thing here so I’m just dragging it in towards that braid and I’m gonna use one more bobby pin. And I’m gonna do the same thing. Stab it down towards the scalp, grab some of that braid and just push it through. Now you don’t have a little tail sticking out. You have good volume. Now once I’m happy with the overall height and the volume, I’m gonna use the same working styling spray to finish it up, hold those pieces in place. Styling spray is not a finishing spray, so it will still have these loose edges that I like. Kinda softens it and makes it look, you know like I did it myself.
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