French Braid Tips for Medium & Short Length Hair

One of the things I miss the most about not having super long hair, is not being able to quickly fishtail or french plait my hair on the go. I can still plait my hair at home when I have a few minutes to spare, but it’s not as easy to do it in a hurry now that my hair is much shorter (read about my medium length haircut). Nevertheless, it’s still possible to do a french plait on medium and short hair, so here is how I do it, and my tips & tricks:

• Use a mirror so you can see what you’re doing at the back, and if it doesn’t look right at the beginning, it won’t sort itself out at the end. Start over again.
• Have a small hairband (ideally one that matches your hair colour) on your wrist ready to secure the ends once you’re done, and tie it firmly so the plait doesn’t come undone.
• Plaiting ‘dirty’ hair is easier than freshly clean hair; clean hair can be very soft and slippery, making it harder to tuck in all the little bits of hair into the plait. For this tutorial I have 3rd day hair (unwashed for 2 days) because it gives me much more texture and control over my layers.
• Practice whenever you have time! You may not get it right the first few times, but you’ll get the hang of it!

If you have layers, the secret is to work the smaller layers in with the longer layers, that way you get less loose ends sticking out of the plait. Inevitably, there will be some stubborn pieces that just won’t cooperate with you, especially at the ends, so you’ll have to tuck them into the plait with your hands and maybe use a bit of hairspray to hold them in place.

If you have long hair, I have done lots of hair tutorials in the past, which you can see here. I hope you guys liked my little tips & tricks to french plait medium and short length hair! Let me know if any of them worked for you :)

Click here to pin the full version of this tutorial on Pinterest.