Rapunzel Hair Braid BTS Beauty Tutorial Starring Joan Smalls

The Long Thick Braid Guide

I began by protecting and infusing vitamins into Joan Smalls’ natural hair and scalp with my custom formulation of organic beauty oil that I have been testing for years onset with my celebrity clients. The oil smells like a South France dream, can you guess what the essential aroma is? Stay tuned for when this divine beauty product drops.

I detangled the hair and fluffed up the texture with the legendary Mason Pearson brush. Pssst … a little industry secret. This is the brush that every single hair stylist backstage at fashion week has in their kit! It really is that good! Both a classic and modern staple for all hair types.

Next, I used the Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium 1 1/4” Professional Marcel to add some loose waves and movement to Joan’s hair from the roots to her shoulders, sparing the ends of unnecessary heat since they will be plaited into a braid.

via GIPHY

I began the braid by gathering all of Joan’s hair at the nape of her neck, I took three rather even sections, leaving out some natural pieces of hair to frame the face. 

Stitch it! I overlapped the left section overtop and in between the middle and right section. Then, overlapped the right section overtop between the middle and left section. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Take note that every time a new stitch is created, the section in your hand will always end up being the new middle section.  

Reminder: Every time you stitch the next section, be sure to always overlap over top the middle section. If on accident you begin to stitch underneath the middle section at any random moment, the braid will no longer look nice and that stitch will need to be undone and fixed before continuing down the braid. 

I recommend using Perfect Locks Bulk Hair for Braiding to add thickness and length to any braid hairstyle that is meant to last more than 30 minutes on a photoshoot.

Creating the extra long and thick braid for a quick photo op I relied on using loose synthetic braiding hair to create this major hair moment!

It’s very helpful to prep the loose hair on a work station, before starting the braid. Remove the hair from the packages and pull apart from the bundle a thickness that is desired each time extra hair is added to a stitch.

I knew that the body length braid will need tons of hair, so we used too many packages to count! We prepped all of the pre-portioned sections on a large table. The braid I created was extra thick… therefore we portioned the sections to have the diameter of a nickel and we added hair into the stitches frequently.

I used my judgement of when the perfect time was to begin adding in the loose braid-in hair extensions. When the hair began to thin out and need an extra boost of thickness or length… it was then the right time to add more.

I held the loose hair bundle with one hand in the middle of the length of the bundle, my other hand holding onto the braid. Then I added the bundle by combining it with the outside left and right sections, making sure to leave the center section overtop and completely left out and separated from the newly added bundle piece. Now braid as usual.

In other words, the hair extensions were only added to the outside pieces of the braid and the middle did not have any extensions added to it.

In the video, you will see key moments of when the ends of the extensions try to pop out and how I take the time to address the ends with some patience to tuck and hide them when needed throughout the braid. Good thing a messy braid was the look I was going for to make it an easier and less time consuming hairstyle to create.

Super important to have a brush nearby to detangle along the way… the loose hair has a tendency to tangle.

The rapunzel length literally had me on the floor to finish the look! As the hair packs officially ran out it was time to secure the very end of the braid with a hair tie. We used professional loose elastic that needs cut and knotted, but I also recommend these elastics for DIY.

Lastly, due to the hair extensions being synthetic, it was important to not ruin my expensive hair dresser scissors on the hair, so I used a pair of crafting shears to slide and point cut the end of the braid to create a choppy look.

As we finished the stitches, Joan needed a quick bathroom break before stepping on set.. I will never forget how funny it was to see her pile up the braid of hair in her arms like a baby to use the restroom! Good times!

Does braiding your hair make it grow faster?

I grew up hearing a couple of times that braids help hair grow, but is it true? The bottom line is there is no evidence that confirms that braiding hair makes it grow faster. I think the most important concern to note is that people will sometimes braid their own or their children’s hair in EXTREMELY tight cornrows or ponytails.

This is a very big problem because the one factor that is definitely true is that hair loss can occur from pull stress from often wearing tight ponytails, braids or buns. This is called traction alopecia. See ‘Do braids cause hair loss?’ FAQ below.

Conclusion: I think everyone can agree that we would rather have hair that supposedly grows slower than permanent balding.

Do braids cause hair loss?

Absolutely yes! This doesn’t mean that every single person that wears tight and heavy hairstyles will notice hair loss. But a good general rule of thumb is that pull stress from often wearing tight ponytails, braids, dreads, weaves or buns can cause traction alopecia aka bald spots and receding hairlines. If you don’t intervene at first signs of symptoms, the hair loss may be permanent.

I have seen a lot of women STILL wearing very tight ponytails with 3 inches of balding hair on the edges of their hairline. I wonder if they even realize that the reason why they are severely balding is because of the tight hair style choices they continue to make.

Conclusion: Save wearing tight ponytails or braids for only special occasions to prevent permanent balding. If a hairstyle hurts, gives you a headache, tingles, or visibly lifts up the scalp, remove immediately the hairstyle and opt for looser looks.

Fact Check Reference American Academy of Dermatology Association

Does braiding damage your hair?

Though tight braids can be a very bad idea for the scalp. See the ‘Do braids cause hair loss?’ FAQ above. I tend to lean into the train of thought that braids that are not painfully tight can be great a protective hairstyle. A protective hairstyle basically means that because all or part of the hair is braided, then that hair does not require other damaging routines for the hair like harsh heat styling, product buildup, and can even help delay touchups of chemical processing like relaxers for people who use them.

Conclusion: Braiding hair can be a great protective hairstyle that actually prevents damaging the hair by other causes, just avoid tight painful braids to protect your scalp too.

How to make a braid on yourself?

Braiding your own hair is much more challenging than braiding someone else’s hair. I recommend practicing on someone else or even a mannequin to begin with until you understand the rhythm of braiding. Perhaps try using a mirror and if it helps. Take note that using a mirror might make it more confusing for some people. Check out Step 4 above for more tips and tricks. It’s super easy to learn a basic 3 strand braid, give yourself a little patience and it will be a skill that will stick with you for a lifetime, much like riding a bike.

How to braid short hair?

Super short hair can be pulled into different types of braided hairstyles if you part smaller sections, use a nice workable gel on the strand that you are about to start braiding, and use your fingertips to grab and braid the strands. This is can be more challenging for sure and time consuming but with plenty of practice and patience it can be a new skill to be proud of.

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