How-to: side fishtail braid with hair extensions.

I’m so excited to share a fun little holiday hair tutorial with you today.  I know a lot of hair-styles this time of year are very formal and swept up, but I love the idea of a pretty side braid, especially when it’s done in a fishtail.  Plus this hair style would be so pretty really in any season, and it’s super quick/easy to do.

I don’t use hair extensions daily–I have pretty thick hair naturally, so I don’t really need them.  Post-partum hair loss definitely thinned me out a lot over the last couple years, not enough to want extensions on the daily, but I like my braids to be fuller, so when Irresistible Me hair extensions approached me about trying their line, I was very excited to test them out and see if it upped my braid game.

I’m so glad I did.  They really do make a huge difference.

First of all the hair is so pretty and really high quality (there is so much of it!).  They can custom match to your hair, but I found a brown close enough to my natural color so it worked out nicely.  You can order varying lengths/thicknesses depending on what you’re looking for (adding length vs. adding thickness.) I was more interested in adding thickness than length, and I love how much more substantial my braids are when I use them.

So let’s get braiding shall we?

extensions c/o IRRESISTIBLE ME.

A few tips before you begin:

-This hairstyle works best on dirty hair, not freshly washed hair, so it’s a great one to pull out on day 3 or 4 (or 7).  The braid just goes in much nicer.

-I like my hair to be curled not stick straight (think yesterday’s curls), it holds the braid nicer and looks better on the ends.

-Spray with dry shampoo first.  (actually, just use dry shampoo everyday you don’t wash.)  Total game changer.  This one is my new favorite, but I used this one for years and I still love it.

-tease your hair at the roots before you clip the extensions in.  They stay in a billion times better.

-Check the back to make sure your clipped in extensions are properly hidden.

-You don’t need a lot of extensions to make a big impact.

Now here we go:

Step 1:  Part hair in a deep side part.

Step 2: Pin top sections up.  Tease at the roots.

Step 3: Add extensions. I use one 3 clip section in the back and two one clip sections on the sides.

Step 4: Let the rest of the hair back down.

Step 5: Gather top section of the hair up, starting from the deep part side, twisting just a little to the back.

Step 6: Divided the gathered hair into two sections.  Begin to braid by pulling a small section of hair from the outside of one side,

to the inside of the other, repeat on the other side.

repeat twice.

Step 7: begin pulling pieces from the bottom hair into the top hair as you braid down.  (making it a french fishtail). Repeat twice.

Step 8: After you get close to the bottom of the hair, turn the braid to the front/side, and continue braiding until you’ve pulled all the bottom hair into the braid.

Step 9: Once the hair is all pulled in, continue down with a traditional fishtail, pulling the outside of one piece into the inside of the other.

Step 10: Finish off the braid with an invisible hair band, then go back and pull the braid out a little to make it look fuller and a little messy and more natural.

Step 11: Add body to the top of your hair by pulling it out and up just a little at the roots, pin side swept pieces into the braid with bobby pins if necessary.

Step 12: Add a pretty bow at the bottom (red for the holidays!) and finish it off with a holding spray.  I like this one because it controls the flyaways, but it’s very light weight.

Et, voila!

Sweater: Target. (similar here and here.) Shirt: JCrew Factory.

If you have any question, feel free to ask in the comments section!

my favorite hair tools/products: