Pinchbraid as big as sausage links *PICS*
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Extension Topics
Forum Name: Hair Extensions
Forum Description: Hair Extensions can be the quick fix for short hair.
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=30155
Printed Date: August 04 2025 at 4:28pm
Topic: Pinchbraid as big as sausage links *PICS*
Posted By: amm
Subject: Pinchbraid as big as sausage links *PICS*
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 1:10am
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My first attempt. Sure is a lot of hair for four braids which is nice.
But man. Four of them took me one hour. As in 60 minutes! As in OHMYFARKINGAWD my fingers hurt. I followed Rae's pictorial (thank you thank you!) and had it right up in front of me while Cait's head was wedged between my knees for this task. Now my thighs are cramping and I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow because once I got a braid done, it was only then that I realized I was tensed up to the max. Look at these things! They're super huge and fubar. Is it just practice practice practice makes perfect? Are these normal for a first timer? Will I ever get feeling back in my fingers? These are questions I need answered. 
 ------------- http://shrinkies.net - Extension Supplies & Virgin Brazilian Hair |
Replies:
Posted By: mochachip
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:13am
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THey don't look altogether awful. In fact aside from being a
little big I don't think you should have any complaints for your first
time out. Seems like you might have a little too much extension hair in each one. I don't three way braid so I'm not really sure how small they shouldbe as a finished product. What step is taking the longest? And whihc one is making you lose sensation? OOh and what kind of thread are you using? I should totally get amodel like you have... |
Posted By: marie87
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:25am
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Hi Amm I want to try tihs too but havent got around to it yet. I did learn it in the extension class I had but that was 12 years ago, LOL. I was all so wondering about the string I sew so I have lots of different types around the house is it a special thread ( I saw it for sale on sites) or will something else work as well? I agree with Mochachip if your ex hair is less it would be much smaller. But imigian all the hair you could get on your head with them that size |
By the way while I have you hear is there a thred on how to post a photo I still want to show you that threder!!! Posted By: sherrie215
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:35am
| LOL Amm....Id let you practice on my head as long as you promise not to wedge my head between your knees! LOL. You gave me a good laugh this morning reading your post! I could see it now...you whapping me on the head telling me to hold still....while Im struggling to get loose cause my heads feels like its gonna pop from the death grip on my head! At least Cait doesnt complain ehhh! |
Posted By: AfroPuffs
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:42am
| I would try just about every exention technique on my own head EXCEPT the pinch braids. There's a definite art to it. Making sure the start of the braid is nice and taut is such a challenge for me. Like I've gotten Microbraids from the African braiders and if one comes out and I try to put it back in, it NEVER looks or feels as good as when they do it, so I know I could never master pinch braids. |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 5:57am
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Ah...you'll be a pro in no time! I think they look great for your first
try--just big. In fact, I think you should ideally be using about 1/3
of Cait's hair and 1/3 of the extension hair you're using, although it
may be easier to practice big and then get smaller over time. If it makes you feel any better, Isaac said that it takes years and a ton of practice to do pinchbraids well and quickly. He said he wasn't very good at first himself--that it took a lot of time. Now, of course, he does my whole head--100 or so braids--in 3 hours. I think it's awesome that you're learning this technique! :) |
Posted By: kateadreena
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 8:40am
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practise doing them much smaller its so much more easy to manage! |
Posted By: amm
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 10:33am
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mocha, the step that's taking the longest is the very beginning. My
braid starts slipping down and when I attempt to tighten it, the hair gets bunched at the top. I'll go smaller on my next attempt. I'm using a sewing thread that's fairly thick but not as thick as string. It's showing up in the picture a lot bigger than it really is. LOL sherrie! Serious, I had the kung fu grip on her head for an hour. I don't see how anyone could be a DIY pinchbraider. Anyone do it yet? ------------- http://shrinkies.net - Extension Supplies & Virgin Brazilian Hair |
Posted By: Syren123
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 11:21am
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Bridget Boogiemama does her whole head herself! Can you believe that? She said it takes a couple of days, tho. I was wondering if Rae does herself.
Way to go, amm, on the pinchbraiding! |
Posted By: mochachip
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 11:40am
| I do four ways with my hubby's help sometimes. I tried three ways and found that I can get the fours tighter to my head. of course box braiding is inherently easier to get tighter to your head. But i couldn't imagine doing box/4ways on my one head without an assistant. |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 2:10pm
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First off- looks good for a first attempt, Amm! Marie87: the thread type doesn't so much matter; it should be thick enough to work with easily, but not so thick that it would be bulky, like using string or yarn would be. I use weaving thread, but you can also use upholstery thread or extra-strength sewing thread. And actually, no, I don't pinchbraid on my own head! The hardest thing to DIY it is actually seeing the thread, so you can tie it properly. I've also never tried it because I have natural dreads underneath my extensions, so there's no point in pinchbraiding as my hair is bulky anyway. I usually just do a normal braid and tie off with a small rubber band. Though I'm going to brush out my dreads soon, and may try pinchbraiding on my loose hair then- will let you all know how it goes. And it does take a really long time; it takes me about seven hours or a full head. Isaac's got several years of experience on me, so hopefully when I've been working as long as he has I'll be as fast as him. Okay, so Amm: yes, definitely smaller sections. That scalp section should be no more than a half inch tall by a half inch wide. For the amount of added hair, it should be the same thickness as the bit of synth that you're braiding with, or else the tension in the braid will be uneven and the human hair will snake out of the braid, as you can see in the second-from-front braid especially. Or, if you want to add a whole ton of hair, you can make the strands of extension hair thicker, but you have to re-divide the strands a few turns down to even them out; that is, put some extension hair into the client's-hair strand, so that it's thicker. One thing I've learned since making the tutorial (which I should really put up there- it's due for revision) is that the thread-wrap part is really imporant. Apparently it's not just a way of tying the thread off, but also of holding the extension hair onto the human. Try to wrapa round at least four times before tying off- and then tie off three or four times, since wear can cause the the knot to loosen, so you want to have some backup knots in the thread. The slippage thing is very hard- though it's actually a function not of pinchbraiding, but braiding in general. One helpful thing to know is that you can actually just shove the braid up the human hair if it slides! Just grab the strand(s) that has the client's hair in them (and only grab the clien'ts hair, not th synth that maybe mixed in with it), hold onto it tightly with one hand, and with the other push the braid up towards the scalp. If there's human hair in more than one strand, just grab the client's hair in the other strand and tighten there too. Also, to minimize slippage, when you're holding the strands, try to pull them more "outwards" (away from each other) and less "down" (close to each other). This keeps the tension of the strands pulling against each other (keeping the braid tight) instead of pulling against the scalp (which will cause the braid to slide down). Oh, and keep the most tension on the strand of the client's hair, especially if it's a little bit thinner than the extension hair; you can pull tightly on the strand of human/client hair all you want, but if you pull too tightly on the strands of extension hair, they'll just slide down the strand of human hair. Uhhh, I think that's all I meant to say. I'm a little groggy, so lemme know if any of these explanations were incomprehensible. And keep at it! There's nothing to it but practice. -Rae ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: marie87
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 6:43pm
Thank's Rae ! very helpfull indeed I wish I had just one day off where I could play around with all the things I learned here!!!!!
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Posted By: eKatherine
Date Posted: April 25 2005 at 7:07pm
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You definitely need to get yourself one of these.
http://www.wilshirewigs.com/pagedocs/accessories/wig_clamps.html - Mannequin head clamp My Sophie sits firmly on the edge of the kitchen table, and causes me no grief at all. |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 1:00am
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Oh! Yes, those are awesome. Or, if you don't have a table edge with a
normal lip (would you believe I don't, in my entire house?) they also
make those stands mounted to suction cups. Um, wait, now I am tempted to get a bunch of those and mount my mannequin-heads onto the wall. I think it's bedtime for Bonzo. -Rae ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: MERGUTHRIE
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 1:27am
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not that bad amm!
you can go into business b4 you know it
------------- i love plastikhaar |
Posted By: plastikhaar
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 1:47am
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yeah pinchbraiding definatly need practice : )
just be very patient with yourself. i developed my own pinchbraid technique and doing that now since more then 3 years. so by now im doing around 40 braids each hour. and i like to do them very very tiny ; ) do a whole head of pinchbraiding on a mannequin head. thats was the best way. doing thousends of them ; ) i used to do my entire head myself.. but ehh: life is much better with an assitance ; ) now i only do the front myself and she does the rest. good luck! sara ------------- need some great hair? http://www.plastikhaar.ch/shop - plastikhaar hair.supply |
Posted By: amm
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 2:33am
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Wow, thanks for your help everyone. Can anyone take the class or do you have to be licensed? I'd love to learn.
Merg, that's cool. I am just fascinated by this method. I see yours are up high. Do they show easily? Do they hurt at all? How many do you have in? Is there really absolutely no damage to your own hair when they come out? Do you lose any? Can they be ...umm....errrr... pulled on and still stay in? I'm asking for a friend. ------------- http://shrinkies.net - Extension Supplies & Virgin Brazilian Hair |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 5:49am
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AMM: I think Mer was being, um, facetious posting that pic. She went to
Dollylocks once but was very unhappy with the job and doesn't go to her
anymore. She goes to Kris Topher now, and has also gone to Jenna at
DareYourHair.com in PA, both of whom she recommends. And
looking at the pics, those braids are way too big, Mer, especially for
the top of you head; the sectioning also doesn't look that neat
(although it's hard to tell). I can see why you were
dissatisfied. It doesn't look like a very professional job, frankly,
and I can only imagine how piecey and sparse that must've looked after
one washing. With your thin hair, I can't imagine those big braids
could've been concealed that high, either. By contrast, these are the ones Issac did for me last time after about 2 weeks' wear and washing (and they're even smaller this time, with no loose hair between the connections). They only go about 1 1/2 inches down from my crown and 2 inches from my middle partline. With thin blonde hair, I doubt you could go higher than that, unless you want to make them all visible on top, which is another story of course:  :) |
Posted By: MERGUTHRIE
Date Posted: April 27 2005 at 3:25pm
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yea, sorry, i was being facetious, but she has a lot of repeat customers so maybe you could once you get it down a wee bit better.... (and i wasn't kidding about the NOT BAD AMM PART!!!!! IMHO you did a really good job and I am jealous. You give me inspiration to try it.) Jenny, No, I could not hide the braids at all, and my hair that was left on top could not be blended at all. ------------- i love plastikhaar |