Hair style|This is a French Braid's World!

A French braid, or French plait, is a type of braided hairstyle. The hairstyle has been used for thousands of years.
It was depicted in art from early Greek, Celtic and Sung dynasty periods. It was also depicted in rock art in the Tassili n�Ajier mountain range in Algeria almost 6000 years ago. The French braid includes three sections of hair that are braided together from the crown of the head to the nape of the neck. Variations on this hairstyle include the Dutch braid and the Fishtail braid.

In the simplest form of three-strand braid, all the hair is initially divided into three sections, which are then simultaneously gathered together near the scalp. In contrast, a French braid starts with three small sections of hair near the crown of the head, which are then braided together toward the nape of the neck, gradually adding more hair to each section as it crosses in from the side into the center of the braid structure. The final result incorporates all of the hair into a smoothly woven pattern over the scalp. If the main mass of hair is initially parted into two or more sections along the scalp that are kept separate from one another, multiple French braids may be created, each in its own section. One unique feature about the French braid is that an individual can braid their own hair without the help of others. The difficulty of braiding can depend on the type of hair the individual has, some styles of hair are easier to braid then others. The length of hair also plays a role in the ability to braid; shorter hair can be more of a challenge. Bobby pins can be useful when braiding shorter hair or hair with many different layers to keep all of the hair in the French braid in place. There are many different ways of French braiding that make it unique; a person can braid at a slant, braid into a bun and only braid the bangs are just a few examples.

Compared to the simplest form of hair braid, a French braid has several practical advantages: it can restrain hair from the top of the head that is too short to reach the nape of the neck, and it spreads the weight and tension of the braid across a larger portion of the scalp. Its sleeker appearance is also sometimes viewed as more elegant and sophisticated. However, a French braid is more difficult to construct than a simple braid because of its greater complexity; when performed on one's own hair, it also requires a more prolonged elevation of the hands above the back of the head, and leaves more tangled hair along the scalp when unbraiding.

In this style of braid start on top of the head and braid it till the end of the hair. Braiding in this manner can be done with different braid types but the most popular are the classic type and the fishtail type.

History
Although called a "French braid", this hairstyle did not originate in France. In French, the hairstyle is natively called tresse africaine.

The phrase "French braid" appears in an 1871 issue of Arthur's Home Magazine, used in a piece of short fiction that describes it as a new hairstyle ("...do up your hair in that new French braid..."). However, no visual illustrations are provided for that context, making it impossible to tell whether it refers to the same hairstyle described above.

This three-strand gathered plait has been depicted in rock art in the Tassili n'Ajjer mountain range in Algeria nearly 6,000 years ago.

This hair style has also been depicted in art from the early Greek, Celtic, and Sung dynasty periods.

Variations
Variations on this hairstyle include:
Dutch braid: A Dutch braid (also called an inverted French braid or pineapple braid) is created when the three hair sections are crossed under each other, instead of over. It results in the look of a braid standing up from the rest of the hair, instead of being under the hair.

Fishtail braid: A fishtail braid resembles a French braid in its smoothly woven appearance, but divides the hair into only two sections instead of three. A small piece of each section is passed over to the other section over and over to form the braid. This style was called the "Grecian braid" in the 19th century.

Variations of this braid are also used to prepare horses' tails for showing, polo and polocrosse.
Multiple small, separate, parallel French braids are known as cornrows.

Source: wikipedia.com

Gallery

Video tutorials




The longest French Braid ever!

Read more

Hair style|Everything you need to know about coloring your hair!

So, you want to have some color in your hair but you find it difficult to explain your needs to your hairstylist? This guide is for you!





Highlights:

They can be narrow, medium or wide, made with the use of foils or a hood. They always start from the root of your hair having a different color than your hair base. They provide a nice brightness effect to your face!


Lowlights:

Lowlights seem to be less popular, mostly due to the lack of knowledge for this particular technique. But they can do "magic" on your hair! If you love brightly toned glance but do not want a dramatic change in your appearance, then lowlights is the technique you should choose. Narrow or wide spaced tufts, separated from the remaining hair and painted two tones darker than the rest of your hair. I recommend adding lowlights every third time you do highlights. This will help you interlock your highlights to your natural color and have a more natural overall look.


Babylights:

Also made with the use of aluminum foil or free hand. They look like the effect that summer has on our hair. Small thin tufts brightened up, no more than two tones of your natural color. Babylights remind us of our childhood when our hair was softly brightened because of the sun light!


Ombre:

Ombre trend made its dynamic entrance in hairdressing just a few years ago and most of the women with long hair would try this technique at least once in their lives! Dark base with gradual lightening towards the tips, is what ombre is all about. The procedure is done with either aluminum foil or free hand. Your hairstylist should know this technique well enough and avoid creating color "bars" and abrupt transitions in color.


Sombre:

The substitute for ombre has a name: sombre! It is almost the same technique with the only difference that in sombre we have smoother color gradations. The difference in root and the tips are no more than 2 tones and the colors are more sweet and warm.


Balayage:

Having a French origin, this technique developed in the 1970s and is a free hand method where the color is applied by hand instead of using the traditional techniques of foil or hood. It is a "low cost" option because it does not start from the root of your hair and thus you don't have to repeat it regularly. It can be done in short hair as well, but the best results are achieved when the hair is below your shoulders. Balayage can be combined with ombre and give some amazing results to your hair!


Stencil Box:

Stencil box is to color specific sections of hair and add light, movement and volume to the hair. The result? A unique, almost-pixelated effect, that was first introduced by Terrence Michael Renk, Global Artistic Director for ProRituals by Jingles and Marilyn Brush.


Smoky Blonde:

2015 will be the Year of the bobs! Low bobs, assymetrical bobs, short bobs are already dominating hair fashion. The need to differentiate a bob haircut is also here. A contrast, strong color, which would make it stand out from the ordinary. This technique is dedicated to all of us who have shorter hair and can not follow the trends of ombre, sombre etc.




Of course there are plenty of other hair coloring techniques. But most of them only differ in color. You can convert an ombre from brown-to-strawberry-blonde to brown-to-blue or change the contrast of a smoky blonde to pink shades. If you fully understand the above techniques you can "play" and create by combining colors and techniques!

Article source: www.xtenismata.gr

Read more