Upside Down French Braid Updo for ‘Prom’otional Dance

It’s close to the end of the school year and ironically, it’s as busy as the beginning of the school year. We have end of the year field trips, dances, class parties, award ceremonies and graduations. It’s all so bitter sweet but so lovely to enjoy along side the children.

This past Friday was my daughter’s 5th grade dance, they called it ‘prom’otional,’ as they didn’t want it to be confused with a prom like dance. I personally thought it was a clever idea, so sweet and the children had a phenomenal time.

So, my daughter has long hair as you can remember from here and her request for the dance was to keep the hair in a ponytail. I decided on the upside down French braid and on top, to place it in a braided bun. As if my life wasn’t busy enough, right?! I looked quickly at online tutorials the night before and woke up a little earlier than usual to try to get the hair do right – as this was my first attempt at this style. So, with my caddy filled with my essentials for doing hair, here’s our end result …

1- Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

2 -Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

3 – Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

4 – Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

5 – Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

6 – Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

7 – Upside Down French Braid with Braid Bun On Top

Prime Student 6-month Trial

1. Pick up the hair half way and tie. Tip: where you end the half way pony tail is where your top bun will be/end – so the higher the half pony tail is, the higher the bun will be and vise versa, the lower you do the half way pony tail, the lower the bun will be/sit. I personally love a good high bun! Then set that hair aside by clipping it or tying it out of the way. Tip: To keep the style smooth and sleek, alternate with spraying the hair with water and using hairspray just a couple times before tying it.
2. Have her put her head on her knees or place a pillow so she’s more comfortable. Taking the section of her hair that’s not tied and starting with the low back neck area hair, wet and brush the hair smooth and begin your French braid or if you prefer, you can do a Dutch braid – keep it as loose or tight as you’d like, I kept it a little tight.
3. Continue the French braid, brush through the strands before including them in the braid to keep the hair smooth. Once you’ve reached the other pony tail, grab both pony tails and tie them together with a hair tie.
4. With the hair that was left on the pony tail, spray with water and then do a simple braid and tie at the end with an elastic.
5. Now just wrap the braid in a bun, tie it with a hair tie and pin the end with bobby pins, lastly spray some hairspray to keep fly aways in place.
6. If you’d like, finish the style with a hair bow and there you have an ‘upside down French braid with a braided bun.’

Have a great weekend!

A-

Advertisement

Easy 5 Days of School Braids On Pony Tails

My oldest daughter has long hair and one thing that we have found is that physical education/PE days can be a bit of a challenge. She doesn’t like her hair down on these days because – understandably, she finds that it gets in her face and in the way – a lot! So, we have found that the best solution to this problem is to keep her hair up in a pony tail on these particular days.

What’s in my hair bin organizer?:

Clear Bin Product Organizer  or Storage Caddy with Handle – Any of these will help. I have something similar to the clear bin, it’s essential that the kids hair products are ALL in ONE place. It makes getting hair done for school so easy!

Paddle Brush

Rat Tail Hair Comb – Great for prepping hair into sections for braiding

Ouchless Elastic – No metal and Particularly great for thick hair

Strong + Small Clear Elastic  – Clear are just my personal preference for elastics

Johnson’s Detangling Spray – Works and smells great

Tresemme Extra Hold Hair Spray  – Tried just about every brand! Tresemme will NOT leave white flakes by the end of the school day

Spray Water Bottle – Alternate between spraying the hair with water and hair spray – a few times, will ensure an all day great school hair day. Works great with my boys too!

Baby Magic Mennen Cologne – After hair is done, I’ll put this on. It smells so good on kids – my favorite!

° Tip: After you have picked up the hair with the ouchless elastic, wet the remaining hair to prepare for braiding

 

Pony Tail: 4 Braids

Pony Tail: Rope Twist

Pony Tail: Bubble Braid

Day 1 is a 4 braid pony tail, continue to divide the hair as you braid each section – not all at once and tie each as you end it with a clear elastic. Day 2 is the rope twist braid, with the rattail comb section the hair in two, begin to twist both sections to your right, continue to twist both sections to the right as you work your way on down, you can do this as tight or loose as you want. Third Image now even though this is the bubble braid – it’s so incredibly easy, that I won’t count it in my ‘5 days of school braids.’ To begin, leaving a few inches from the top, tie with an elastic and pull the hair slowly to create a bubble shape and just continue to work your way down.

 

Pony Tail: 3 in 1 Faux Fishtail Braid

Pony Tail: 3 in 1 Faux Fishtail Braid

Pony Tail: 3 in 1 Faux Fishtail Braid

Day 3 is the 3 faux fishtail braid, like the bubble braid, simple section a few inches from the top, tie with an elastic, now section the hair in two and pull the bottom remaining hair towards you and into the hole. This will give the ‘faux fishtail’ look, just continue to do this to the remaining hair.

 

Pony Tail: 3 in 1 Braids

Pony Tail: 3 in 1 Braids

Day 4 is the 3 in 1 braid, from the top I did the fishtail braid, simply section the hair in two and pick up hair from the outside in – pick up the same amount on both sides, put it on the opposite side working your way down – tighten the hair as you go and tie it with an elastic. Now the middle will be the rope twist braid, spray the hair with water, section the hair in two and twist both sections to the right and tie with an elastic. And the bottom is the three strand ‘regular’ braid, tie at the end.

 

Pony Tail: Fine Braid with 1 Fine Strand

Pony Tail: Fine Braid with 1 Fine Strand

Pony Tail: Fine Braid with 1 Fine Strand

Day 5 is the fine braid with 1 fine strand. This is just like the ‘regular’ braid, but instead of separating the hair in 3 equal parts, you’re only going to separate in 2 equal parts – leaving one thin side, not pulling on the hair tight, continue to do a ‘regular’ braid as you normally would. Now slowly pull on the thicker sections of hair to make the braid appear ‘fluffier’ or ‘thicker’ pull on the strands as much or as little as you’d like and tie at the end with an elastic. Tip: for easier pulling, finish the hair, tie at the end with an elastic and then slowly pull the thicker strands.

Happy week / school week to all!

A-

 

Photo: Celia Ortega