Fishtail Friday

Hello, My name is Vanessa and I have severe braid envy. I never really learned to “do” my hair, anything beyond putting it up into a ponytail is beyond my skill set. My hair (which I named Bianca years ago, long story) is long, straight, and pretty thick, Bianca doesn’t like to do anything but remain long, straight, and pretty thick. Bianca takes about five minutes to tame every morning, requiring little more than a good brushing and a light spritzing of hairspray. She doesn’t like change. Once, years ago, I decided to get a spiral perm (’twas the 90s), Bianca said, “hell to the no”, and the curls just refused to take. Just like that, hours of marinating my hair in toxic chemicals washed down the drain.

So when my beautiful friend Dana started talking about wanting to try some braid tutorials, I felt that all too familiar pang… it just won’t work, Bianca won’t allow it. Armed with a brush, some hair ties, and unbridled enthusiasm, Dana decided to take on the challenge. We turned to one of the braid tutorial queens, Lauren Conrad, for guidance.

 

We watched the video a couple of times and dove in…

She made it seem so easy in the video, I thought – there’s no way. But after just a few minutes of practice Dana had the hang of the fishtail back and forth!

We even stopped for some Snapchat filter antics. Sidebar: aren’t we just about done with the dog filter? You guys know how crazy I am about dogs, but come onnnn.

I asked Dana to do a half up, half down brain because I have severe hair up anxiety. If I don’t feel hair covering my neck or down my back I get a little nervous.

Color me shocked, Bianca let herself be tamed! Truth be told, I’ve been using a sub-par shampoo and it’s left the old girl a little weighed down, that made her a little more docile and open to being braided. Once I get a good dose of clarifying shampoo in her and take her in for a trim, she’ll be meaner than ever.

But let’s hear it for trying new things, even something as simple as a braid! Follow a tutorial, or just make it up as you go along – if it doesn’t work, no biggie. Don’t be afraid to refresh your hair/makeup/clothing routine once in a while.