Considering that our Glammie Ashley always comes with a gorgeous braid in her hair no matter the occasion, it only made sense to have her teach the demonstration for our braid course at the Glam Squad Academy. With braids being one of the most popular styles right now it is so important for any stylist (bridal or other) to know just how to execute them! And Ashely did a phenomenal job! For those of you who don’t know her already Ashley is such a vital part of our Glam Fam and she is amazing at both hair and makeup (double threat in this industry) and we are so lucky to have her!

When she isn’t out getting brides ready for that special day she is at home with her husband and little man Maddox (who is very great friends with sweet baby Benjamin!) And we are so happy that her family is willing to share this amazing woman with us!

The current wedding trends are all about the braids and I wanted to give you a few tips (that I might have stolen from last nights class listening to Ashley) to create a braided hairstyle for day to day life (don’t worry it’s our job to spice up the braids in to fancy hairstyles not yours!!) At last nights class Ashley taught the students how to create four types of braids!

1. Fishtail- the fishtail braid became extremely popular a few years ago! It’s name coming from the way the plait lays on ones head and looks like well…a fishtail. Instead of the standard braid, which uses three different sections of hair, you use two and continue you to overlap the two strands with each other. Ashley even took it a step further to teach the girls how to do a french fishtail (a mouthful but absolutely gorgeous) a braid that even I find hard to execute sometimes!
2. The Classic French- and no I’m not talking about the kissing, but rather than the braid. What I love about french braids is that they are timeless and classic. The french braid consists of three strands and each time you overlap one strand you pull more hair to add into the braid.
3. Dutch Braids- Dutch braids are most easily described as an inside out french braid. Instead of crossing the strands under each other and adding more hair, you just simply reverse the direction. The three strands get crossed over top of each other with more hair added with each cross over
4. Waterfall Braid- Waterfall braids seem extremely complicated but they really aren’t! They are probably the most loose and flowy braid that you could ever do and that aspect of them only adds to the charm! When doing a waterfall braid you pick one side of the head to start with and pick up three strands of hair, instead of just braiding normally throughout the entire section of hair, you drop one strand and let it hang before picking up a new one and adding it to the braid and then repeating the stage.

Ok, I’ll be honest with you guys. Everything you just probably just seemed like gibberish. Although braids are a staple for hairstylists they can be difficult to master and the only way to do so is PRACTICE (our students have homework to practice, that’s how quickly you can forget how to execute a braid after learning!)

After Ashley went over these basic braids with the students she decided to step it up a little bit by challenging the girls into styling an updo. The first one was standard, a french braid that moved into a smoothed (but extremely teased) bun in the back! After the girls KILLED their first task Ashley threw another curve ball their way.

Ashley challenged the girls to create a braided updo from their imagination and to let their creativity run wild! It was amazing getting to learn a few more tips from Ashley on how to create the perfect braid. But there are two tips during this class that are extremely important!

The first, pancaking so I’ve known what pancaking is however I did not know that was the “official” name for spreading out the sections of the braids in order to make the hair look looser and the braid appear thicker.

But the best tip that I have for you all in regards to braids is for my girls with thin hair, but are braid crazy. Instead of going for a dutch braid opt for a french braid, this gives you more room and flexibility to give the illusion of thicker hair!

Creating the perfect braid isn’t possible because there is no such thing as a set ideal for what makes the “perfect” braid. However with a lot of practice, the amazing talent of the Glam Squad Academy to back you can create the perfect bride for your particular bride or bridesmaid!

 

If you are obsessed with braids as much as I am, and learning the techniques from Glammies as amazing as Ashley don’t hesitate to come to come to our open house for the next session on December 1st. You will get more than just a few tips but be in a hands on environment to learn step by step how to achieve the looks that you see all over our social media!