The fishtail braid is back on the beauty map—and over the past week, I’ve seen it repeatedly. I first spied it on blogger Chiara Ferragni, then founder of House-Of-Nova, Liliana Nova, then twice while out and about on the streets of Dubai. More intricate than the standard braid and an edgier version of the French plait, this look-at-me style is one to watch.
Hairstylist Eugene Souleiman predicted the pending trend by doing the fishtail for the Tory Burch runway during Spring 2013. A year on, and the trend is now starting to make an appearance at street level. To recreate this look takes patience and attention to detail. Follow the guidelines below, and with a little practice, you, too, can be rocking the trend with ease. What a way to say goodbye to bad hair days—for good.
The How-To:
A step-by-step guide of how to conquer the trend, courtesy of Eugene Souleiman for Tory Burch.
1. Pull your hair to the side and split into two even sections.
2. Take a small strand of hair (about 1/2 to 3/4 cm) from the outside of the left section and pass over the right section, so it finishes under the right section.
3. Repeat step 2 on the other side—pull from the outside of the right section and pass over to the left section, so it finishes under the left section.
4. Keep repeating—from the left, then from the right, then the left…Follow that pattern.
Beauty Editor’s tip:
Keep the braid as tight as possible, and aim for there to be a central V. Use the first hair crossing as your mark for the rest of the braid and imitate all the way down the hair length. The smaller the pieces you take from the outside, the more intricate the look will become. Don’t be afraid to add in a clip-in hair extension to give yourself longer hair to play with. Finish the look with a clear elastic band at the base and wind a small section of hair around the elastic to make for an immaculate finish.
