3 Strand Fishtail Braid Hairstyle

An intricate variation of a fishtail braid, which is surprisingly easy to create! 

We have been slightly obsessed with Instagram lately and have been excited to showcase some of the amazing braids and braiders that we have come across on there recently.  Today's tutorial is a fishtail variation inspired by a braid we first saw on a fabulous account called "braidingzoe." I knew this braid was one that had to be shared immediately when I saw it!

We love that this "3 strand fishtail braid" or "slide up fishtail" looks much more complicated than it actually is. This braid is surprisingly quite quick and easy, even though it doesn't look like it would be (not to mention, gorgeous!) I'm seeing this as another one to add to our "hairstyle for school mornings" list.

When we first saw this, the Princess and I thought the pattern of this braid looked almost fake or unnatural... almost too intricate to be made of hair! More like something you would see on a rug, a basket, or maybe a woven rope.  I think it is pretty much inevitable that you will receive many comments and compliments on this hairstyle if you try it!

 As shown in the photo above, this braid tends to want to twist itself up throughout the day (and we have tried this braid several times with the same result each time.)  Not sure if this is just the way I braid, or if I am pulling one side of the braid too tight... or what.  At first, we tried to fight this twisting by loosening the braid up and flattening it out (which did work.)  Then, we decided that we both actually liked the twist in the braid and thought it looked pretty cool!  So, if you have a twisting braid on your hands, you can decide for yourself if you want to leave it, or try to fix it.  ;)

As you will see in our video tutorial below, this braid is half "dutch fishtail or reverse fishtail" and half "regular fishtail."  This can also be made into a French braid type of style, by starting the braid up higher and bringing in hair from each side as you braid.  A few weeks ago we posted a tutorial for a woven fishtail braid (which was also an Instagram find.)  This "3 strand fishtail" is made in a very similar way.  Although, I find this 3 strand to be much quicker, easier, and more of a durable braid than the woven fishtail.  I know I say this a lot, but this is definitely one of our new favorites! I'm predicting this will be a popular braid in the near future.

Supplies needed:

• One hair elastic to tie off the braid at the bottom.
• Damp hair, pomade, gel, or hair wax (to help control flyaways.)  If you are wanting more of a messy/bohemian type of braid, I would suggest braiding the hair dry.

Three Strand Fishtail Braid Video Tutorial: Click here to watch the video directly on YouTube.

P.S. If you didn't already know, we now have our very own hairstyling app available!  Find it here:

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