Hook And Ladder Braid Hairstyle Tutorial

A cute braided hairstyle.

Our hair tutorial this week is inspired by a photo that sort of went viral on Facebook recently (after it was shared by the popular page "Stylish Eve.") Maybe you saw it?  We are unsure of where the hairstyle originated, but we had several of you tag us, send the photo in email, and request a tutorial, so we thought we would give it a try!

This was our first guess and attempt at figuring out the braid, and as you can see... it actually turned out quite different than the hairstyle in the photo. I'm pretty sure we didn't use the same technique that was used to create the original braid. But, we both love how this turned out so much that we decided to keep it! Maybe some time in the future we will try for a more true recreation of the original. ;)

This unique "hook and ladder" braid is a combination of several hairstyling techniques; A French braid, feather braid, loop braid, and a simple twist. The "trick" to making this style look extraordinary lies mainly in pulling/stretching out the "hooks" or loops of hair that are wrapping around the twist. If these loops are left as is, the braid doesn't turn out nearly as eye catching or spectacular.

I love that this braid almost looks ruffled or "lacy." So pretty!  In the original photo, some pin curls were added in the center where the braids meet.  We opted to leave those out and added a fun flower clip instead. 

Supplies needed to recreate this style:

*1 small elastic
*1 medium elastic
*1 temporary hair tie or clip
*hair accessory (optional)
*water, pomade or gel to help control flyaways

Hook and Ladder Braid Video Tutorial (Click here to watch the video directly on YouTube.)