French, Dutch & English Braids

Hi JanaThe English braid is probably one of the simplist braids to do. It is a simple three strand braids that can incorporate a lot of other braids styles.English Braid Brush your hair back into a ponytail with its base slightly off the crown. Divide the ponytail into three equal strands. You can either secure the ponytail with a hair friendly band or not. Cross the left strand over the center taking the center strand to the left so that the two strands trade place. Cross the right strand over the center, taking the center strand to the right, so that these two strands trade places.Dutch Braid This is basically a backwards English braid. The strands are crossed UNDER rather than OVER. Follow the same instructions for the English braid except cross the strands underneath as you braid.French Braid This is one of the best known of braids. It is essentially an English braid (braiding under instread of over) with an additional requirement that as you braid you continue to pull additional hair from the rest of your head. With the French Braid you start braiding higher up on the crown with a smaller braid and then you continually pull hair from the rest of your head as you braid downward.If you want to learn these different braids I strongly recommend the book Beautiful Braids by Patricia Coen & Joe Maxwell. The book is only about $4.95 and includes 13 classic braids like the English, Dutch, French and the French twist and invisible French.Good luck. Let us know how it goes. :-)Karen>> Can someone please explain the difference> between these three braids? Which braid is easiest> to do? I am not great at braiding but want to> try. Any help would be greatly appreciated.> JanaRelated Link:Beautiful Braids

> I must be a klutz but I can not seem to get> the hang of the French braid. Any help would be> appreciated.> JudiYou are NOT a klutz Judi. This is a really hard braid that requires lots of practice. I first learned how to do it when I was fifteen. Practice on evereyone. Try working with hair that is slightly damp. If you use any oils or conditioners in your hair before you go to bed try this for practice. Take a small amount of oil or conditioner and massage it into your hair. Comb your hair so that it is neat. Using small sections start at the front of your head and braid back making sure that each section is lying flat before you cross it. Do this for a couple a weeks and you will have the braid down pat. For more practice grab anyone (children, husbands, girlfreinds, nieces) with long enough hair and start braiding. When my husband had a jaw length bob he loved it when I would braid his hair. One thing to remember is that braiding someone else's hair is diffrent than braiding your own but the concept is the same. So any practice is good practice.Hope this helps a little.Good luck an happy braiding!