We asked hair’s head honcho, the ever fabulous Anthony Nader, to give us a blow-by-blow, or strand-by-strand of le braid.
Anthony’s magic fingers have tended to the tresses of everyone, including Gisele Bundchen (who, for the record, has the most perfect hair – sigh), and juggles the strands of the star-set with his own hair HQ, urban haven Raw in Sydney’s East.
“These plaits are back on our radars, thanks to celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin, who of course waved her magic finger tips to none other than Kim Kardashian,” says Anthony.
“Needless to say, when Kim K made her public first appearance with this intricate plait, the paparazzi went crazy with excitement and images were plastered all over the Internet for the world to see within minutes.
“So without any further adieu, I’m going to give Carousel readers my latest how-to tips so you can make your plaits paparazzi worthy.”
Kim K (and North) would be most impressed.
- If you’re wanting a more slick / polished vibe, start with damp strands and use a silky serum from roots to ends and comb through evenly. If you’re wanting more of an ethereal / romantic soft look, skip the damp hair and spray in dry shampoo on the roots and mid lengths and massage in.
- Take your desired, precise, clean sections and to make it easier (so you don’t get in a tizzy), clip each of the sections as you go making sure you leave one section out to start with.
- Now with your first section you need to think a little different from the regular braid – instead of going “under”, you now want to take your three strands “over”. This is what gives the illusion of that really cool, stand-out ghetto plait that we are after. Remember girls this “over” technique is the absolute secret here to achieve this effect.
- Once you have completed your plait then tie the ends with a snag free elastic, then start your next section and do the same here again, and so on.
ANTHONY’S HANDY HINT FOR BRAIDS
To ensure you get that super slick appearance in your plaits when you take each strand, comb it smooth from the root area to the ends.
When you’re going for the soft romantic look, you can be a little more relaxed with this approach, as you need a “puffiness” to your strands.
