Time needed: 30 minutes.
After French braids and fishtail braids, try out the Dutch braid to add a fun twist to your hairstyle. This simple-to-do braid is so versatile you can wear it casually or dress it up for an evening out!
Dutch braids can be hard to perfect. They look cool, but they can be difficult to make look nice without spending a lot of time practicing. I have grown up having only worn Dutch braids in my hair, so for me it is just another hairstyle. My mom always made it look easy, but for me it was super difficult until I figured out this little trick. Now not only will your Dutch braid look perfect every time you make one, but you are going to do it much faster than before.
Who doesn’t love Dutch braids? They are a beautiful and creative way to style your hair. Everyone knows French braids, but Dutch braids don’t get much love on YouTube. I like to think of Dutch braids as ‘French braid magic’. If you can do a standard French braid, then you can easily make it into a beautiful Dutch braid just by adding an extra twist!
Dutch braids aren’t just for prom or for big hair days; they are perfect for girls of all ages! Dutch braids are a type of three-strand plait that can be worn in different ways. They are especially popular among little girls but it looks great on any hair length. No matter what your hair length, you can create a gorgeous, whimsical braid like the one you see below. Give them a try and then show us a pic in the comments!
Do you want a quick and easy hairstyle for school, work, or a special occasion? If so, then try Dutch braids! They’re pretty and fun to make. Here is how to do Dutch braids with just a few steps.
- Brush
The first step to Dutch braids is brushing out all the hair. This will get rid of excess tangles and let your braid look smooth when finished. Some people like to smooth it with a brush, while others like to use their fingers. Whichever method you prefer is fine – just brush through any knots or tangles.
This will allow you to get a full look of the back of your head, which is where most Dutch braids are done. It will also help you be prepared for the next few steps.
The first thing you want to do is pull out any tangles or messy sections from your hair. You should be brushing your hair out to get it smooth. When you’re curling it, you will want your hair to be a bit longer than shoulder length, because the ends are going to curl under while you wrap your hair. So I would have at least one inch of hair in the front of my face before I started brushing out.
It is very important to start your French braids with straight hair. Taking time to brush out all your hair should always be done before braiding, curling or doing any hairstyle. Brushing out the hair will ensure that the ends are smooth and are not sticking out. This makes your braids look better when you are done.
This means that if you have a ponytail, undo it and brush your entire head of hair. If you have thick hair, do this for at least 10 minutes to make sure all the knots are gone. This will prevent headaches later!
Take out a brush and carefully take out your hair. If you have long hair, then you should tie it up so that it’s easy to take the time to brush out the hair. If you’re short on time, then use a comb to get rid of the knots. This step is very important because it’s better if your hair is not knotted and messy when you start braiding. Getting rid of all the knots will make your hair easier to braid and more attractive at the end.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Section
In Step 2 you will section off your hair into three horizontal pieces. Depending on the size of your Dutch braid, you may need more or less partitions.
In this style post, we divided our hair into four sections but you can choose to have more or less as you prefer. The choice works well for all kinds of hairstyles such as braids, mohawks, pixie cuts and so on. Just divide your hair into smaller sections if you want smaller braid styles.
Sectioning off the hair is a crucial part of Dutch braiding. You may want to begin by dividing the hair into 3 equal sections. I am going to be braiding in a circular motion, so try to choose the under section as your starting point. For this demo, I have divided my hair into three sections.
This step is essential to a well-made Dutch braid. Sectioning off a small part of hair will prevent the braid from looking amateurish and underdone. Take 1-2 inches of hair at your nape, and split it into two sections. If you want a thinner braid, use one inch of hair. If you want a thicker braid, use two inches of hair.
If you follow one piece of beauty advice, let it be this one: section your hair. When you section your hair, you keep the thickness and length uniform from root to tip, and prevent any weird discrepancies.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Section other half
In step 3, you will section off the other half of your hair. In my case, this is the right side. If you are doing a left-hand Dutch braid, simply switch left and right where appropriate. This is done as you begin by taking a short piece of hair from the section on top and moving it underneath the crosspiece.
we will section off the remaining hair. This will give us two sections for making a Dutch braid. When choosing which side to start from, simply pick the side that is more comfortable and begin from there.
Now that you have the first half of your hair divided into three strands, grab another section of hair on the opposite side of your head.
At this point, we have the three “strand” sections clear. But there are two halves of hair that will be braided into one single braid. We will use these halves to continue creating the braid “base.”
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Take small part of hair at the front
In this stage you need to take part of hair from both sides and add it to the middle portion. The size of each single section depends upon the length of your hair. If you have short hair, then add few strands, and if you have long hair, add more strands to make it look balanced. This will also help in reducing hair damage as you are not separating your entire hair into sections for this hairstyle.
The next step is to take a small part of hair at the front and split it into three equal parts. Then pull the right part over to the middle and tie it with elastic band. Similarly, do same with the left and the middle part of hair. The back part will be left out so it is important that you start with the front section first.
You’re doing great! You’ve already braided all the way down to your ends, and now you’re back at the top where everything began. If you have a little practice under your belt, then step 4 of this tutorial will be a breeze for you. This is where we’ll start incorporating small strands of hair to create those Dutch braid “kisses.”
You will need to tie your hair up at the back of your head. Using a rubber band would be good for this. Tie it at the back of your head opposite to one of the sides of your forehead. The reason behind this is to make way for you to braid without messing up with any other hair strands at the back of your head as they might get caught on the braid being made.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Plaiting
Start doing a normal plait in the middle of your hair. The normal plait is just two sections of hair going over each other, as if making a fishtail braid.
In this picture you’ll see that you divide your hair in 3 parts. The right front part will be braided to the left back part. The left front part is braided together with the right back part. From now on it’s just like doing normal plaits.
If you can do the plait, you can do a Dutch braid. It’s essentially just two French braids put together to make a look that’s super cool and modern.
First of all, let me say that there are many ways to start your Dutch braid. If you have enough hair or your hair is naturally kinky enough, then you can do a basic 3-strand braid to begin with. You can even just do a plain braid going straight back, which looks good on some people, but it’s not my preferred method.
For this purpose, you can either split hair into three parts or four parts. If you prefer the later, then make a small strand into four parts using your fingers. your two plaits should be sitting next to each other. If you can’t see the plaits then you did it wrong. You’re going to do a normal plait with the three bits of hair in between the three separate plaits. This is basically how you make the French braid.
Start at the side of the head where you have less hair, and work your way up to the top. You may have noticed when you do regular plaits it is not easy to pull the strands because they get stuck together. This is no exception, and you will need to slowly ease your way through without breaking your hair.
Taking one side, you combine them and do a regular braid. Do the same thing with the other side of your hair. In this step, make sure you do not leave out any braids during combing. Start combing when your braids are getting thick or if they are uncombed completely. The Dutch plaits you get after this step are going to be less time-consuming and larger than Dutch braids you made till now.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Plait underneath
The fifth step of how to do Dutch braids is: plait underneath. To get started, separate the section you started braiding at. Continue braiding normally but remember to include this extra bit of hair into your braid (first photo). Once you’ve finished plaiting, use a small strand of hair to tie the two ends together (second photo) and then snip off any excess (third photo).
Pull the “tail” end of your braid through the center of your first braid. This is a very quick step and will immediately begin to finish off your plait.
Now you have all three sections of the hair plaited, they are all different lengths so they should a nice staggered effect. Now that you have them finished, bring them under to the opposite side and out through the gap that you left between the two strands of hair that we started by bringing in.
Plait the rest of your hair underneath (above your ear) and meet in the middle. Don’t worry if it’s not straight – nor will it be perfect – keep plaiting until you can no longer see the bottom layer and secure with a band/elastic inset.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial - Tie up
It’s finally time to tie up the braid in a simple knot. This is the only tricky part of Dutch braids, and I’m going to show you how.
Now that you have your three braids folded neatly over each other, you’re almost done. The key to a tight Dutch braid is to pull each one tightly as you tie it up.
Now bring the right side over to the center, and then wrap it around itself. Secure with a small clear elastic. Wrap the other side of the rubber band in the same manner as above (in step 5) and secure with another small clear elastic.
When you braid all the way to the end of the ponytail, you’ll have one small strand sticking out. If you have a short strand of hair left over, it’s okay to tuck it in. If not, just leave it out. Gather the end and wrap it around on itself to hold it in place. Then take your thumb and forefinger and twist them together to tighten the end. Then tuck that underneath so that just a very small loop is on top, under your hair.
We’ve learned the basic technique of Dutch braiding. Let’s move on to tying up the braid and securing it in place. This makes for a better hairstyle that stays put longer, but your long hair will still have room to air-dry in its natural, loose shape after using our technique.
You should always tighten your braid with hair elastics once you’re done. This is important because loose braiding hair easily gets tangled. Typically you want to make a ponytail for each braid or the top of each braid and then hide the elastic inside the ponytail.
Credits @tiannalouuofficial
