This week in the midst of practicing braiding, I started to feel a bit frustrated and irritated with the whole process! Instead of just saying ‘F’ it , I felt like maybe doing something similar but not the same thing would help me stay on track but maybe be less frustrating to work on.
I figured I would go down to trying to make a braid with just two strands of hair because it seems like an easier process while still incorporating the same skills I use during the three strand braiding.
Recently the bane of my existence has been trying to keep the hair strands separated throughout the whole process. I don’t know if it is just me having clumsy fingers or being too careless but my biggest hurdle now is not the time it takes, the technique or know how but keeping everything apart. It is certainly frustrating at times because it seems like such an intuitive and easy part of the process when I watch videos of others braiding. I assume that like anything we do with our hands, proficiency comes with a lot of practice and consistency over time.
I am staying confident and staying the course because putting it in perspective when I first started braiding the whole process to me was unfamiliar and strenuous because it was not something I had much practice doing. Now that there is only one element of the process that I feel that way about I think shows the progress that has been made in these couple of months.
Practicing the two strand braiding was a nice break from the norm and I feel like it helped me brush up on my skills and confidence in the process of braiding. By the end of my 3rd attempt at 2 strand braiding I definitely felt more competent in my hair braiding abilities! (whether this was warranted is still to be seen lol) Below is my last attempt at it and i am fairly happy with the result, even the messiness of it is minimal compared to some of my three strand braids. I think this will be something I will throw in each time I practice to split up the tasks I am doing to not be the same thing everytime.
As the semester end approaches I am left with a few goals I want to accomplish through this project. First I would like to do one final braid that is tight, neat and not messy at all! God knows it will be an uphill battle. And secondly, I want to try to braid someone’s actual hair because I know it is so much different than using a mannequin especially cause you can’t just pull someone’s head around all care free. I am still using one of my original youtube resource from the first week and I am happy with that choice because it is simple and straightforward, but then if you look at that channels other videos they demonstrated how to do many different types of braids and hair styles. If I want to continue improving and expanding my braiding skills then it is a great resource that would help accomplish that.
Hi Carlos, braiding is a hard process and this is something I struggle with. I feel like I can do others hair really well but I cannot for the life of me braid my own. Maybe this is something I need to try to learn!
Hi Carlos. I totally get the frustration with braiding. I am a 22 year old girl with long hair and I still don’t understands it at all. It’s one of those things that looks easy when others do it, but once you’re in the process, it’s a whole different story. Can’t wait to hear how the hair-braiding on a real person goes.
Learning to braid is hard, and I understand how frustrating it can be when things don’t go the way that you would like them to. It’s good that you were able to gain some confidence back, and I hope next week goes even better!
Hello Carlos! I have long hair and still struggle to braid my hair. I have a very basic understanding of braiding, but my braids often don’t come out the way I want. I agree with you saying that it is hard to keep the hair strands separated while braiding! I also struggle with braiding on myself because I can’t really see what I am doing! Keep up the good work!
Hi Carlos!
I think it is great that you are sharing that this process can be challenging at times and that you kind of just needed to reset and go back to the basics so but also learning something new! This braid looks great! I always loved braiding hair whether it was mine or my sisters, but something that definitely takes lots of practice!
You are doing great!
That braid looks super cool! I do not have the patience for that so good for you!!