{Birthday} #hairoftheweek: Centipede Braid

Today is my birthday! I've been celebrating here and there for the past couple of days and I have even more things planned for today and tomorrow. This post is going up a little early because I'm a busy, busy bee and I won't be home when the Sunday posts are usually posted. (I had to get up early to get this post ready to be published!) I think you're gonna like this one. Hopefully you'll enjoy today as much as I will!

The Process:

Recently I've been keeping my eyes peeled for something a little bit more complicated for my birthday and I found just the thing on Princess Hairstyles' blog. I had done four strand braids in the past where the third strand was the accent but what really caught my eye with this hairstyle was how pretty much the entire thing was an accent and the third strand was the bland one. Choosing this hairstyle for my birthday hair was a no brainer. I needed something that has that wow factor and wouldn't be frustrating to do on myself. The Centipede Braid was the perfect candidate.

The Tutorial:

Since I wanted something extra special for my birthday, I didn't mind spending the 20+ minutes on the Centipede Braid. Each part of the braid is really basic but putting them all together results in a really interesting look. As with any four strand braid, you want to section your hair off into four pieces. The third strand, however is going to be smaller than the other three. Create a regular three strand braid with this small strand and put it to the side while you move on to the hand cramping stuff. Now you're left with three equal sized chunks of hair and it's time to get fishtailing. This takes a while but it's nothing too difficult if you know how to fishtail. Once you've completed all your braiding, you have to weave it all together. There are tutorials on how to four strand braid but the trick is to guide yourself by saying "over, under" out loud so you don't lose your place. Finish it off by tying everything together and pulling out all those extra elastics.

The Result:

5.24.15 centipede braid (x)

I could, no exaggeration, stare at this braid all day. I really hope you like this one and if you do, double tap on Instagram (or just click the heart if you aren't on mobile).

The Verdict:

I love that this looks so much harder than it actually is, I actually spent a lot more time (almost 40 minutes!) creating this hairstyle for today than I did while I was practicing. I attribute it to my strive for perfection. As with any fishtail, there are little ends sticking out everywhere but I'm hoping that since the individual fishtails are much smaller, it won't loosen up as much during the day. My suggestion for creating this braid is to be patient, try to get your third strand as long as possible, and don't pancake. I'm excited to see how this hairstyle holds up throughout the day and I will be back later today or possibly tomorrow with an update on its durability.

UPDATE: This one is definitely a keeper. I was sad to take it out at the end of the day because it was so pretty and there were, amazingly, almost no flyaways.

You know the drill -- follow me on Instagram, follow this blog via email or bloglovin, and get ready for a birthday-filled Happy Hub on Wednesday! Thank you for reading xo, Yvette and celebrating my birthday (hair) with me! I'm grateful for every single one of you. 

Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette