Summertime Styles

The sun has come out! The sun has come out!

Now if you are anything like me this will encourage shedding of layers and finding hairstyles that leave you feeling cool and collected rather than hot and bothered!
I have a day at the races coming up, along with BBQ's and most exciting of all, my holidays! What are your summer plans? So with all that in mind it's time to get creative with some easy styles that can be adapted to any style, short or long.

First up we have the rope braid. I love the look you get from such a simple style. A rope braid is basically two pieces of hair, twisted and wrapped around each other. Giving a great rope effect and much easier than a French plait or Dutch braid. This looks fantastic incorporated into a bun, or just on it's own to cover up an unruly fringe. Keep an eye out later in the week for my styling of a rope twist...

Next is the gorgeous waterfall braid, this looks fantastic on long or short hair. It's a really relaxed look that has maximum effect. If you have highlights or a couple of different colours running through your hair then this really shows them off. It's a French plait, but leaving parts of the braid to hang loose giving it the term waterfall. It's a little more difficult to get the hang of, but looks lovely. I'm planning on using this on a childs hair for a wedding in summer. Some cute flowers or beads dotted inbetween the weaves make it a lovely simple look.

Braiding and plaiting hair is such a great way to give an ordinary hair do that extra something, and practice really does make perfect, most people say they find themselves feeling "all fingers and thumbs" but once you have a good routine in practice it get's easier. Generally I found when learning to braid that looking in the mirror and trying to braid/plait does not work. It confuses you, and try it out on friends to get the hang of the technique. Are you a braiding expert? or a pathetic plaiter?