When I wear a braided updo, people automatically think I’ve made a huge effort with my hair. It’s really not the case at all!
What they don’t realise is that for messy hair, updos are much quicker and easier than wearing your hair down. It’s true!
If you’ve got curly or wavy hair, the effort to blowdry and style your hair can be completely undone if it starts to rain. An hour of styling goes out the window as soon as clouds appear.
This is an updo I made up to hide my messy hair when I was in Italy. I usually take some styling tools away with me but I didn’t want to spend all day on my hair. I quickly pinned up my hair so we could escape to Lake Como for the afternoon. It was one of the most perfect days.
Braided updo tutorial
A basic braid is one of the most versatile styles. This braided upstyle is made up of four braids (plaits) twisted and pinned in place.
- Split your hair into four equal sections.
- Braid each section into a basic braid (plait). I wanted this style to sit low at the back of my head so I braided the top two sections from the tops of my ears. The bottom two sections are braided from the neck down.
- Secure the ends of each braid with small clear hair elastics. This will be easier to hide in the finished style.
- Twist or fold the braids across the back of your head and pin in place with bobby pins. Tuck the ends of your braid underneath to hide them.
Styling tips
- Do neat, tight braids if you want a more polished updo.
- Stretch out your braids before you pin them in place to make your hair look thicker.
- Experiment! This style doesn’t need to be perfect and you can play around with other ways of pinning the braids for so many different looks.
My husband Jim took these photos at Lake Como. Did you know we’re now blogging together at Mr and Mrs Romance?
Next time you wake up with messy hair, try this hairstyle and let me know how you go!
I love this look!! Just a quick question though…did you use clip in extensions for this look?? If not, do you think it would work just as well with extensions??
Thanks!!
Hi Robyn, I didn’t use any extensions but this style would work really well with clip ins x
This is so stunning! And I love all the different colours in your hair, Such a pretty effect.
Thanks Gio! xx
That looks so pretty, especially with your different colors showing through! I think it is funny that people think I go through great effort with my hair, too. It takes much longer to straighten it than it does to do a braided undo. I can braid pretty fast, and once you know how to secure your hair with pins so it doesn’t move, the possibilities are endless. My hair is pretty similar to yours today, too! I just did two braids, though. 🙂 What a great location! Looks like a wonderful vacation. 🙂
Thanks Stacy! I can’t imagine how long it would take to wash and dry your hair, braiding would be so much faster! 🙂
This is really great! I’m going to have to try it out. Thanks for the tutorial. I’d love to see a video!
Thanks Molly! It’s next on the list to shoot xx
I ? this version & yes I think that it looks amazing!
Thanks Gauri! xx
Stunning! It’s so beautiful.
Thanks lovely! x
Wow.. this is incredible! I would have no idea how to do something like this but this looks so pretty!!!
xo Mel
turquoise blonde
Thanks Mel! I didn’t shoot a full tutorial as I was away but I’ll try and make a video tutorial for this one x