Simply adore your 4 strand braid style
A 4 strand braid is harder to think about than it is to accomplish. While conventional braiding uses three strands of hair, working with four strands only requires a bit more concentration and practice. That is because hair sections are crossed under each other instead of over!
Once you have got the hang of it, it is possible to braid with any even number of strands. The only limitation would be how fast the fingers can plait.
While this braid style can be done in short to medium length haircuts, it works best with longer hair that grows past the shoulder blades. If you really want to try it with shorter hair than this, then you can let the hair near the nape of the neck hang loosely while you braid the upper sections of the crown.
There are at least two variations of this style: twisted and flat.
- Twisted 4 strand braid looks like a complex two strand twist, with the braid seems to coil around itself. Some people consider this a flaw and have done a lot of practice to make the braids lie flat. What can be so bad about a bit of coiling? It gives the braid personality!
- Flat 4 strand braid will not coil and requires that you hold the four strands in a square pattern (holding two strands upwards and the other two downwards) instead of side by side as you would for the twisted version.
Because this approach needs fingers that are more nimble than the average person, many shy away from it. Do try it, though! We would love to see how it turned out and whether or not you used hair extensions.
If you have been following along, you will note that sections of hair need to be gathered during the braiding process. That makes this technique a good introduction to cornrowing and other African hair braiding techniques.
Links (each opens a new window)
