Braids have always been popular, but lately, it seems like their popularity has doubled. Everyone you know either has their hair in a braid, knows how to braid or talks about braiding like it’s the simplest thing in the world. With some first-hand experience, braiding isn’t really that easy and sometimes it feels like you need another person there just to hold your hair. However, fishtail braiding is one of the easiest types of braids to do after you get the basics down and one that can turn your bad hair day into a great hair day.

Find a clear and detailed tutorial.

One of the biggest mistakes before doing any braided hairstyles is not having a good hair tutorial. If you’re a beginner at doing the fishtail braid, you need someone who is going to explain everything step by step and walk you through, not someone who assumes you know what you’re doing. Videos are typically easier to follow than pictures or just written directions, so here is a video that is pretty easy to follow and has directions throughout to help.

The Luxy Hair channel has a lot of different hairstyles videos, but this classic fishtail braid is very straight-forward. She explains the instructions simply and show a more simplified version that can be worn on a daily basis instead of a long and drawn-out tutorial that might confuse some people.

Try creating a ponytail at first

This trick is always one that helps me when I’m having trouble. If you feel like you’re getting overwhelmed trying to braid with just sectioned hair, put it in a ponytail. It will help when you have to split your hair in two and your hair will all be in one place in case you end up missing a section or something. Using a ponytail will also help when you’re doing a side braid because if you have long enough hair,  it will sit on your shoulder.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

One of the biggest mistakes that braiders make is just giving up. While it might be frustrating at first, never just give up on it. If you really want to make the braid, you have to be determined that you’re going to fishtail braid and tell yourself that you can do it. If you do happen to get too frustrated, taking a break is absolutely necessary because you don’t want to rip your hair out just because your braid won’t work out.

Fake it until you make it

If you just can’t get a fishtail braid down, don’t worry. There are ways to get around how you traditionally do a fishtail braid, but it will really only work if you have longer hair or if you use hair extensions. Another alternative to a regular fishtail braid is doing a chunkier reverse fishtail braid that’s basically like a dutch braid for fishtails.

The “faux fishtail braid” is probably the easier of the two if you just can’t pick up the steps. Much like the regular fishtail braid, the only things you’ll need are a brush and elastic ties. Make sure you have a lot of elastic ties, though because you’ll need quite a few for that look. She also gives clear and step-by-step instructions that make it easy to recreate.

The second video features a reverse chunky fishtail braid. This fishtail braid is pretty much the opposite of a normal fishtail braid. Instead of taking sections from the front and moving them to the other side, you take them from the back and move them to the other side. Some might find this method easier than the normal fishtail braid.

Hopefully, these tips have helped you to achieve the fishtail braid and if not, hopefully, the last two videos helped you also. If you do end up achieve one or even all of these braids, make sure to pancake it out and massage it to make it look bigger and more volumized. Happy braiding!