A brush A hair tie Hairspray (optional)
If you have any particularly stubborn tangles, pull the difficult hair into a semi-ponytail. Then, take your brush and work out the tangles, moving from the bottom of the strand of hair to the top. If your hair is being particularly stubborn, use a detangling spray or leave-in conditioner to help with the process.
To help separate your strands, use small rubber bands to essentially make 5 ponytails. Place the bands about halfway down the length of the hair section, and slide them down as you braid. Your hair may not be completely equal. That’s okay. As long as one strand is not obviously bigger than the others, your braid will still turn out all right.
Think of the leftmost strand as strand one. Move to the right, numbering each strand as you go. Keep numbering until you reach the rightmost strand. This is strand five.
It’s very important strand one goes over strand two and under strand three and not the other way around. Strand one should now be between strands 3 and 4.
Strand one should be at a sideways angle, near strand five. After passing strand five over strand four, pass it under strand one. You should begin to see the roots of a braid forming.
Make sure you remember that you always pass a strand over first, and under second. Over and under is the pattern of the five strand braid. So, make sure strand two goes over strand three, which is the middle strand, and then under strand five.
Take the leftmost strand and braid it over the first strand to the right, and then under the second strand to the right. Take the rightmost strand and braid it over the first strand to the left, and then under the second strand to the left. Continue this process until you have braided all your hair together.
Instead, begin with a tight braid. This will make sure your braid stays tight during the braiding process. Then, loosen the braid when you’re finished. You can use your fingers to pull at the braid to create some slack until you have the desired loose effect.
