Loose French braid tutorial for long hair

This loose French braid tutorial is what my hair dreams look like. This braid tutorial is perfect for long hair or hair with long layers.

Last week I had the best time staying with the gorgeous Sonia of Sonia Styling. It was a blog-fest in Adelaide for Little Blog Big and in between planning and work I managed to shoot some new tutorials with Sonia.

It’s so much fun playing with someone else’s hair as I get to try more complicated styles. Not that this loose French braid tutorial is a difficult style, but I created some new looks that are not as easy to do in your own hair. Also Sonia has a lot of hair so it’s brilliant to style.

First up is the easiest style for you to try. It’s a great stepping stone into braiding if you’re not that confident yet. It’s a cross between a regular three-strand braid and a French braid. You only add in hair a few times so you can make this braid as random as you like.

I love the uneven sections in this braid tutorial. I was inspired by this braid but wanted to make it more natural and loose. There’s a trick for covering your hair elastic in the styling tips below too.

Loose French braid tutorial for long hair

What you need:

• Small hair elastic
• Bobby pin

Step-by-step tutorial:

1. Brush your hair before you braid to remove any knots or tangles.
2. Start your braid near your crown. Take a good-sized section of hair at the top of your head to your crown and split it into three.
3. Make a regular braid for 4 turns, then add hair from your hairline the way you would with a French braid. Sweep it back into your braid. Just pick up a section from the hairline, allowing the rest of your hair to fall next to the braid.
4. Do the same on the other side and add hair from your right side hairline.
5. Now continue the regular braid for another 2 turns then repeat stage 3 and 4 where you add in French braid sections. Make the sections as large or as small as you like. Keep it loose so that it sweeps across to the braid.
6. Finish in a normal braid (plait) and secure the end with a small hair elastic. You can cover the elastic with a piece of hair to conceal it.

Styling tips

• To cover your hair elastic – take a small piece of hair from the tail of your braid and loop it around a bobby pin. Wrap the hair around the elastic and push the bobby pin up the braid to hold it in place. The trick is looping the hair around the pin first so that it stays put and won;t slip out during the day.
• Sweep the sections across – don’t add in hair from next to the braid, pick up a section at your hairline and sweep it over to the braid. That’s why this style works best in long hair or hair with long layers as you need the length to reach the braid at the back of your head.
• Don’t try to be too perfect – this style is meant to be free and fun so go with it! Embrace messy hair.

I hope you liked this loose French braid tutorial and thanks so much to my beautiful friend Sonia for letting me play with her hair. Go and check out her blog and say hi from me! I have a couple more tutorials we shot together I can’t wait to share with you.

If you try this style, I’d love to see a photo of your hair! Tag me with the hashtag #hairromance on Instagram xx