July 23, 2012

If you have a Pinterest account, you’ve probably seen more fancy up dos, buns, twists, and braids than you knew existed. Sure, these hairdos are fun to look at, but the question is, are they really doable? And better yet, are they achievable by someone like me, who is strictly a ponytail or hair-left-down kind of girl?
Inspired by the pin above, I decided to take on a less intimidating hairstyle for my first go: the braided headband. For this look, you will need two hair ties, four bobby pins, a hairbrush, comb, and hairspray (optional).

1. Take about a one-inch section of hair from just behind your left ear and separate it from the rest of your hair. If you have layered hair like mine, make sure to grab hair from your longest layer.

2. Braid your hair all the way to the bottom and secure it with a hair tie.  If it is easier, you can pin back the rest of your hair while you braid the one-inch section.

3. Now, do the same thing with the right side. Separate one inch of hair from behind your right ear, braid it, and secure it with a hair tie.

4. Make the braids look a little bigger by gently fluffing each one. Pull (gently) on both sides of the braid until it looks slightly larger.

5. Spray any flyaways with hairspray, if desired.

6. Take your braid from one side of your head and form the headband by placing it to the opposite side. Secure it with two bobby pins (or however many are needed). Do the same thing with the other braid to form the complete headband.

7. If you have longer hair, you may only need to braid one side of your head, as it should be long enough to form the whole headband. As you can see, my hair is too short to do that, so I needed to use both braids.

Here's my finished look.

Even though I don't think it ended up quite as glamorous as my Pinterest inspiration, I was still pretty satisfied with my results.

Want more? To add a little extra volume, you can take a section from the back of your hair and tease it. Alternatively, you could try curling the remaining hair to give it a different look.

What’s your favorite braided look? What hairstyle should I try next?