How to Milkmaid Braid Your Hair

Prepping and Parting Your Hair

Prep hair for styling. Brush your hair to get rid of any knots and tangles. If your hair is frizzy, you may also want to apply an anti-frizz cream or serum before your start styling. Make sure your styling product is evenly distributed throughout your hair before you move on to the next step. Deep conditioning your hair before you braid it will make it easier to work with.

Create a center part. This hairstyle looks best with a perfectly straight center part all the way from your forehead to the nape of your neck. Use the pointy end of a rat-tail comb to trace your part and separate the strands. If you don't have a rat-tail comb, you can also use a pencil or a pair of blunt scissors to separate your part. Double check that you have the same amount of hair on both sides.

Decide if you want to leave any hair outside of the braids. This hairstyle can be done in two different ways: you can braid all of your hair or you can leave a small amount of hair outside of the braids in the front to frame your face. The choice is entirely up to you. Braiding all of your hair will result in a sleeker, more polished look, while leaving some strands out will result in a looser, flowier look. If you have short bangs, you will probably need to leave them outside of your braids.

Consider securing your hair with elastics. Once your hair is parted, you will have to decide if you want to use elastic ties at the base of your braids. If you do use them, they will be visible in the finished hairstyle, so use small ties that are either clear or the same color as your hair. Using elastic ties will make it easier to braid your hair, so you may want to try it if you're new to braiding. If you don't want to use elastic ties at the base of your braids, you may still wish to secure one side of your hair with a tie while you work on braiding the other side. This will keep it out of the way so you don't accidentally mess up your perfect center part. You could also consider cutting the elastics once your style is complete. This allows you to begin your braid better and makes it easier to grip your braid. Then, once you finish, simply snip the elastics so that they won't be visible.

Braiding Your Hair

Decide how tight you want your braid to be. No matter which type of braid you decide to use for this hairstyle, you can choose to make your braid either very tight or a little looser. If you want your finished hairstyle to look very polished, try to make your braids tight, but if you want it to be a little messier and more casual, make them looser. You can always loosen you braids up a little later on, but you can't make them tighter without redoing them.

Use a classic braid. You can use any kind of braid you want with this hairstyle, but a classic three-strand braid is the most popular. This is also one of the easiest braids to create. Start your classic braid by dividing the piece of hair that you want to braid into three equal sections. Use your fingers to keep these sections separated as you work. Cross the left-most section of hair over the center section so that it is now between the two other sections. Then cross the rightmost section over the center section. Each time you cross a section over, it will become the center section. Continue following this pattern until you reach the bottom of the braid. Then use an elastic hair tie to secure the braid in place and move on to your next braid.

Consider a fishtail braid. A fishtail braid is similar to a French braid, but it has one extra step. For an interesting twist to this look, you can braid each section of your hair into fishtail braids instead of classic three-strand braids. These braids may look complicated, but they're really quite easy. To start your fishtail braid, divide the portion of hair that you want to braid into two halves. Use one of your index fingers to keep the two halves divided. Next begin braiding by taking a very small section from the outside of one half and crossing it over to join the other half. Alternate back and forth, taking a small section from the outside of each half, until you reach the bottom of your braid. Secure the end with a small elastic hair tie to keep the braid in place, and then move on to your second braid.

Try a rope braid. Another simple way to change up the look of this style is to use a rope braid. This is a simple braid that actually involves more twisting than braiding. Get started by diving the section of hair that you want to braid into two equal halves. Hold each half in one hand. Next start twisting both of the strands individually. This will be easier to do if you are holding each section at the very bottom. Once each piece is twisted, started twisting them around each other by wrapping one section on top of the other, then underneath and around. Continue doing this until you reach the end of the hair, and then secure with an elastic band. When you're done, move on to your second braid.

Finishing the Up-Do

Secure the braids on top of your head. Once you've finished both braids, take one and place it across the top of your head, securing it behind your opposite ear with bobby pins. Then do the same with the opposite braid, placing it just behind the first one and securing it behind the opposite ear. You can experiment with how close to your forehead you want the braids. Once your braids are secured on top of your head, you may decide that you want them a little looser. If so, use your fingers to gently pull the outer loops a bit until you have the look you want. There's no need to take the braid off of the top of your head to do this.

Hide the ends of the braids. When securing your braids, do your best to hide the elastic bands and the ends of your hair that aren't braided. You can do this by gently tucking each end under the opposite braid. You may want to use a few extra bobby pins to keep the ends in place.

Style the front of your hair. If you chose to leave a few strands of hair outside of your braids, you can style them however you like. Loose waves look excellent with this kind of look. You can achieve this by spraying the loose strands with a heat protector, then gently wrapping your hair around a curling iron or straightening iron, and then spraying it with hairspray.

Finish with hair spray. To keep your hairstyle in place and prevent flyaways, spray on a bit of hairspray when you're done styling. Now you'll have a stylish braided look that will look amazing all day long.