#hairoftheweek: Skeleton Braid

Dead week more like dead me. My brain knows I should be more stressed than I actually am (what is it with the lack of urgency of dead weeks this school year?!) so to make up for it, it's decided to make me a complete sloth. This week has been the most unproductive all quarter. Maybe I've burned myself out? At least there's one part of my life that isn't suffering, and that's my hair game. Not to brag, but I think this season turned out pretty great. I can officially say that since this is the final #hairoftheweek before the Fan Favorite! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've still got to take a look at the Skeleton Braid!

The Process:

I was first introduced to this technique by Cute Girls Hairstyles in one of their Halloween tutorials and while I thought it was gorgeous, I knew it'd be impossible to do on myself, so I saved the link and let it drift to the back of my mind. Months later, I was going through all the Luxy Hair videos I'd missed and I was instantly captivated by their Skeleton Braid. Their version was much less complicated and I could imagine it as a side braid, so that's what I set out to do. I like to think of it as a success.

The Tutorial:

If you want to see how to do the Skeleton Braid on someone else, the videos on Luxy Hair and Cute Girls Hairstyles will be a great help to you. To learn how to do my adapted version, keep reading! (1) Part hair however you like it and bring everything over one shoulder, preferably the side with more hair based on how you parted your hair. (2) Find the center of your hair (still over your shoulder) and pick up a half inch section. Braid this regularly and tie it off. This is the "spine" of your skeleton. (3) Locate the stitch highest up on the spine and stick two fingers through it from the back so that they poke out the front. (4) Take a piece of hair from the edge opposite side. A piece of hair from the left side if the stitch is on the right side of the braid and vice versa. (5) Pull this piece of hair through the spine. (6) Repeat on the other side and continue down the braid, alternating sides with every stitch. (7) Be careful to grab every strand of hair as you're pulling hair through. Trying to fix that mistake isn't the easiest. I also liked to tighten up the pieces of hair by tugging on the ends behind the spine to have enough hair towards the bottom of the spine and for maximum fluff at the end. (8) I stopped when the stitches in the spine were getting too tight and the pieces of hair left for me to add in were getting too short. (9) Before tying it off, gently pull apart the braid and fluff it up. Don't be aggressive with it because you really could pull the entire piece of hair out. No bueno. (10) Tie off the braid where you pulled the last piece of hair through the spine. (11) Fluff it out some more if necessary and release the elastic on the spine. (12) Since this is a hairstyle meant to be done at the back of your head, the hair on the outside will poof out when you fluff it out. Take a bobby pin and do this to the hair floating free. It's the most effective and pretty way to get that hair to stay put. (13) Bobby pin any other sections out of the way as needed (I had some hair coming loose that the nape of my neck) or as preferred (hair in my face is a no go so I pinned that hair going straight back underneath another layer of hair, if that makes any sense) and you're done!

The Result:

3.9.16 skeleton braid (x)

Although it looks like a fishtail, it's much bigger and fluffier than any regular fishtail could ever dream of being. Don't forget to give it a like on Instagram if you haven't already!

The Verdict:

It's a little disappointing that you can't see the "spine" of the skeleton as a side braid, but I think the fact that it's there at all gives this hairstyle the edge it needs to make it as a #hairoftheweek hairstyle. My hair is very straight and smooth and slippery so as I was moving around, the braid would slide back to that fishtail look and I would have to fluff it out again. Eventually, as my hair got used to being bent, it stayed in place better. There was one section where, if you look closely, you can see that the piece of hair was too short for the amount I pulled on it but the imperfection gave this look some character. The perks of having this as a side braid is how fluffy it is. I feel like I could use this braid in lieu of a neck pillow on a flight. Not sure how practical that would be, though. This would be fun to try on someone else (or for someone else to do it on you) because the effect is really cool. I fell in love with this hairstyle and I will definitely coming back to it. On an Instagram related note, this picture was a fun one because the filters made my sweater change colors so dramatically. In the end, choosing the filter came down to which color we liked best.


Let me know what you thought of this hairstyle in the comments! Would you wear this hairstyle? I'd love to know! And, just a heads up, I won't be putting up a blog post this Wednesday because finals and all, so that means the next time I'm back, it'll be with the Fan Favorite #hairoftheweek post! Rather than waiting on a blog post that'll never come, you can instead focus all your energy on choosing your favorite hairstyle of Winter 2016! You can find them all on Instagram, starting with the Rope Half Halo! Make sure you get your say if you want it! There are lots of great options for you to choose from this season. You can vote by leaving a comment here on this post, on the Instagram picture saying that that's your selection, on Twitter, or however else you can imagine to get in touch with me. Can't wait to hear from you!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette