The Milkmaid braid is one of my favorite hairstyles to wear. I wear it a lot, and have had some people ask how to do it, which is why I decided to make a tutorial. Its simple, easy and versatile because you can wear it while you are dressed up or dressed down and it works either way. Once you have done it a few times, you can do your hair for the day in less than 5 minutes. This is also a great go-to style for dirty hair days {I have lots of those}.
1. You will need: 2 pony holders. Either clear or a color that closely matches your hair, incase they show through. You will also need some bobby pins.
2. Start with two regular braids. {I like to back-comb the crown area of my hair before braiding, but this is not a necessary step}. Make sure the braids are nice and tight {don't worry- they will loosen just enough after a few hours of wear}. You could also use 4 pony holders if you preferred, and fasten one on the base of each braid for extra security/tightness. If your hair is shorter, start the base of the braid up higher, closer the ears instead of the neck.
3. Take one braid, doesn't matter from which side, and pin it to the top of your head. My preference is to pin it as close to my forehead as I can go, but you could also pin to the crown area. Don't worry about pinning the rest of the braid for now, just the tail. you might have to re-situate the braid if you don't like the position and you don't to have to take out a ton of pins for that!
4. Now you have one braid up, one down. Take the tail of the second braid and bring it up to tuck under the first braid. You will likely need several pins for this part.
5. When both of your tails are tucked into each other and pinned where you want them, you can now pin the other areas of your braids for extra security. Just be sure to pin INTO the braid, the same direction your braid is going, so all your pins are nice and hidden :)
Voila! You are now channeling your inner milkmaid. Or your inner hippie. Or Dutch girl. Or bohemian chick....whatever you want to be for the day!
