How to stop braids from slipping in fine hair – Reader Question

Do you find your braids slip out of place?

Brenda sent me a lovely email:

I love the braid book! It is fantastic and has totally inspired me. I never really mastered the french or reverse french braid until your instructions.

But I have a dilemma. I can never manage to get the braid to stay where I start it. If I start it at the hairline on the top of my head by the time I finish and tie the braid, the beginning of it has slid back to the crown of my head! This makes it very difficult to do braid one, which is my favorite, and a lot of other styles.

I have very thin hair. I’ve tried “braid one” on day old hair, but it gets so oily and gross and sticks together at the roots giving me bald spots, and day old braids didn’t help with the slide back problem. Freshly washed seems to always work the best and look the best when I braid, but even with teasing and hairspray to texturize, the start of the braid slides back.

Do you have any suggestions for us thin haired girls? I’ve tried starting small with the braid to keep it tight, I’ve tried starting big and loose with it teased and hair-sprayed to try to retain that braid and poof in the front. Nothing seems to be working….I’d be happy to have zero volume and just get the braid to stay where I start it and I can figure out the volume later…

Firstly Brenda, thank you so much for purchasing my book and so excited that you’ve learnt to braid because of it!

Now this is the braid that Brenda’s referring to as the Day 1 of my 30 Braids in 30 Days. I obviously have much thicker hair, but keeping your braids from slipping can be an issue for both thick and thin hair.

How to stop your braids from slipping in fine hair

• Prep your hair.
  This really is the most important step for doing any updo. You want to add some volume and add some “grip” to your hair. This will stop it moving before you start to braid.
  Try using dry shampoo in clean hair. I find this really helps to add some texture without weighing your hair down. If you have dark hair and are worried about white marks from dry shampoo, there are some good coloured ones available like Batiste or label.m.
  Section your hair and use a flexible hairspray like Elnett and blow dry this into your hair using a round brush. Not only will this add volume but will help your braids to stay where you want them.
• Add grip with styling powders.
  This is a superfine powder that adds instant volume to your hair. You’ll love this for when you wear your hair out, but it will also add “grip” so your braids won’t budge. Schwarzkopf have a fantastic styling powder that’s cheap too. You only need to use a small amount. Sprinkle it on your hair like salt and work it in with your finger tips.
• Keep a hold of your braid.
  It’s important to maintain tension in your hair while you braid so that the sections stay tight. Once you’ve finished braiding, you can then come back and stretch out the braid to make your hair look thicker.
  When stretching out the sections, pinch hair out from the centre of the braid as well as pulling gently at the edge of your braid.
• Use bobby pins.
  Put a bobby pin through the first section of your braid to hold it together and to hold it in place. You can buy shorter bobby pins which work beautifully in fine hair as they sit under the braid and won’t poke through.

Hope these tips help Brenda. If you’re looking for more fine hair braid inspiration, Diane Kruger is your girl. She has gorgeous fine hair and knows how to rock a braid or two.

What’s your trick for getting braids to stay in place in fine hair?

Image via About.com