Okay, it’s time for the last holiday hair tutorial! Before I started Nicole’s hair, I was discussing with the other women at this shoot how braids just disappear in dark hair. Dark hair doesn’t show the intricacies that blonde or lighter hair does, and we were lamenting about spending time on detailed styles that just get lost in photographs!
But I wanted to take on the challenge with Nicole, who has rich, dark brown colored hair. And the trick is to focus on a single braid, and stretch it out so it’s nice and big!
I started with Nicole’s hair in soft curls.
Then, from the right side, I started doing a dutch braid, directing the braid to the back of her head.

Secure it with an elastic and then stretch the braid out from the bottom up.
With the hair remaining in front of the ears, criss cross it backwards and pin in place on either side of the braid.

From here, you can leave it down and just wrap a bit of hair around the clear elastic, or finish with a loose pony like I did.

This is such a simple updo, and I love the surprise of the braid when you see it from the back!

Lip color: NYX soft matte lip cream in Budapest, Shirt: Old Navy, Earrings: The Dotted Poppy
I had so much fun working with makeup artists Sam Ray & Teighla Norris, and photographer Jordan Maunder on this shoot of Holiday Hairstyles! The earrings were provided by The Dotted Poppy. Also, big thanks to my beautiful models: Blonnie, Nicole, and Michele!
More dark hair...