There’s no excuse to wear your hair in a top knot or ponytail every day. Especially when curls, coils and waves are this versatile! Here are 30 different braided hairstyles to get you out of your topknot rut.
Many women curl their hair before starting a braid because they find that it helps give them the hold and volume that they’re looking for, but if you have naturally curly hair you can skip that step and get right into the fun part!
1. Easy Messy Side Braid
You don’t have to hide away your gorgeous curls in your braid. This quick, messy side braid by HoneysCurls lets you show off all of that curl definition.
2. French Braid
This tutorial by Luhhsetty will show you how to do one of the most basic braids there is: the French braid. Getting a grasp of this template will help you achieve many of the other braids on this list.
3. 2-Minute Half Crown Braid
You may (mistakenly”> assume that a braided hairstyle has to be a time-consuming. That’s not true with this 2-minute look by Hair Romance.
4. Ghana Braids
These braids go by many names, banana cornrows, Cherokee cornrows, invisible cornrows – just to name a few. No matter what you call them, they look gorgeous on J’AdoreMyCurls, who is lucky to have a sister who knows how to braid.
5. Inverted Braid
Once you’ve mastered the 3-strand braid, you are so close to being able to do an inverted braid! With a couple minor adjustments you’ll have two braids in your toolbox, just watch FarahDhukai’s easy tutorial.
6. Double Dutch braids
A Dutch braid is another name for the inverted French braid. Once you know how to do one, you can easily do two to create Jasmine Brown’s gorgeous double braid style.
7. Faux Goddess Braid
If you want the big, full braids that you see on Pinterest or Tumblr, but you don’t have long or thick hair, you can create the look with Kanekalon hair. In this tutorial Yolanda Renee covers up her own twist with braided Kanekalon hair.
8. Waterfall Braid
This waterfall braid by Sandra aka Just Curly is another great way to showcase your curls, while keeping your hair out of your face.
9. Milkmaid Braid
If all you know is a simple 3-strand braid, you can still create an enviable look with this milkmaid style. We like that AsplashofDR left a few of her curls out in the front like bangs.
10. Lazy Curly Braid
If you love the look of a big, loose braid but you find that your hair is always falling out of the braid and you have to re-do it partway through the day, this hack by CurlsBeauty could change your braiding life.
11. Braided Bun Loc Hairstyle
Whether you wear your hair in locs or not, this braided bun by Chescalocs will save your everyday bun from getting boring.
12. Braided Faux Mohawk on Short Natural Hair
Just because you have short hair doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the fun of rocking a mohawk. In this video both Sadora Paris and Yolanda Renee show how they create a braided fauxhawk on their natural hair.
13. Jumbo Braid
Even if you have short hair, you can be whipping a long braid back and forth with Marley hair and a couple of minutes if you follow ShineStruck’s tutorial.
14. Box Braids
This style will take some skill to section evenly and time to complete (4-6 hours”>, but once you do you’ll have amazing box braids like ForeverCryssy!
15. Half Up
If you love to wear your curls down but hate the feeling of having hair touch your face, this quick fix by MaddieCuan will give you the best of both worlds.
16. Space Buns with Braids
When you want to get your hair out of your face and don’t much time, this is a quick and easy style from ChellisCurls , remember it doesn’t have to be perfect.
17. Boho Braided Loc Style
This half up braided style by Locs of Love works best on a braid out. We love that you can get more life out of your braid out to extend the number of days between washes.
18.Trendy Braided Sleek Ponytail
Spice up your everyday ponytail by adding 3 braids and gold cuffs to make a statement. You can follow Kenzey_Cooper for the ultimate curly girl slay.
19. African Fulani Inspired Braids
When you want to keep your puff and rock braids, this look by Luchi_Loyale is perfect. Whether you’re hair is long or short, she shows you how you can add hair extensions to get more volume and length.
20. Micro Braids on Your Own Hair
Sometimes it can be hard to see the steps in detail when it comes to braiding videos. That’s why Breanna Rutter’s detailed tutorial on how to micro braid using blonde hair as a demonstration is so helpful.
21. Rope Braid for 2nd Day Hair
It doesn’t get much easier than Waterlily716’s rope braid. If you haven’t gotten the hang of a 3-strand braid yet, give this a try.
22. Half French Braid Ponytail
Do you wear a ponytail every day? Be honest. If you do, this quick embellishment by JustCurly can take your go-to style to the next level.
23. Bubble ponytail
Here is an alternative for those who don’t braid. Naptural85’s bubble ponytail creates the appearance of a jumbo braid, but secretly it’s not.
24. Cornrow Your Own Short Hair
YouTuber Cynthikay Obi says this technique takes a lot of practice to master, but keep trying because it’s worth it. It works on most lengths, including short hair.
25. Fishtail Braid
Your Pinterest is full of fishtail braids, but they just look so… complicated. Hair Kandy breaks it down in this easy to follow tutorial. She uses close ups and different camera angles to make sure you really know what’s going on.
26. Dutch Fishtail Braid
You could call this look by Fancy Hair a Dutch fishtail braid, but most people call it the Elsa braid (from Disney’s movie Frozen“>. If Elsa were real, this is how she would have styled her hair.
27. Box Braids Fishtail
Once you’ve installed your box braids you have so many options to play with them. Here is one easy look by MyBlackHair.
28. Flat Twist + Double Bun
This is such a cute hairstyle when you’re on the go! It’s also a great way to rock you’re day 4 hair and not quite ready to wash your hair. This look from lipstickncurls for school, work or even going to the gym.
29. Spicy High Puff
This hairstyle is definitely one of my favorites and can be a great go-to for my curlfriends who are in the awkward phase and want to switch up their everyday puff. Try this style from Chev B. to spice up your puff.
30. Easy Braided Updo
This is not your normal pineapple, but such a fun way to rock an updo. Also, I love the wand curls MyNaturalSistas added, but you can even use perm rods, flexi rods or do a braid out for heatless options.
Which of these braided styles is your favorite? Let us know in the comments if you’ll be trying any of these to switch up your look.
This article was originally published in 2015 and has been updated for grammar and clarity.
