French braid - wikipedia French braid Classic French braid A step by step creation of a basic braid using three strings. A French braid, or French plait is a type of braided hairstyle. The French braid includes three sections of hair that are braided together from the crown of the head to the nape of the neck. Variations on this hairstyle include the Dutch braid and the Fishtail braid. Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 Variations 4 See also 5 References Description In the simplest form of three - strand braid, all the hair is initially divided into three sections, which are then simultaneously gathered together near the scalp. In contrast, a French braid starts with three small sections of hair near the crown of the head, which are then braided together toward the nape of the neck, gradually adding more hair to each section as it crosses in from the side into the center of the braid structure. The final result incorporates all of the hair into a smoothly woven pattern over the scalp. If the main mass of hair is initially parted into two or more sections along the scalp that are kept separate from one another, multiple French braids may be created, each in its own section. One unique feature about the French braid is that an individual can braid their own hair without the help of others. The difficulty of braiding can depend on the type of hair the individual has, some styles of hair are easier to braid than others. The length of hair also plays a role in the ability to braid ; shorter hair can be more of a challenge. Bobby pins can be useful when braiding shorter hair or hair with many different layers to keep all of the hair in the French braid in place. There are many different ways of French braiding that make it unique ; a person can braid at a slant, braid into a bun and only braid the bangs are just a few examples. Compared to the simplest form of hair braid, a French braid has several practical advantages : it can restrain hair from the top of the head that is too short to reach the nape of the neck, and it spreads the weight and tension of the braid across a larger portion of the scalp. Its sleeker appearance is also sometimes viewed as more elegant and sophisticated. However, a French braid is more difficult to construct than a simple braid because of its greater complexity ; when performed on one 's own hair, it also requires a more prolonged elevation of the hands above the back of the head, and leaves more tangled hair along the scalp when unbraiding. In this style of braid start on top of the head and braid it till the end of the hair. Braiding in this manner can be done with different braid types but the most popular are the classic type and the fishtail type. Sister braid to the French braid is a Spanish braid. The Spanish braid is a French braid but in the beginning instead of grabbing three sections of hair, like a fishtail braid, grab two. History See also : Braid The oldest known recordings are from North Africa. It was also depicted in art from early Greek and Sung dynasty periods. The phrase `` French braid '' appears in an 1871 issue of Arthur 's Home Magazine, used in a piece of short fiction that describes it as a new hairstyle ( ``... do up your hair in that new French braid... '' ). However, no visual illustrations are provided for that context, making it impossible to tell whether it refers to the same hairstyle described above. In French language, the hairstyle is natively called `` tresse française '' ( i.e. `` French braid '' ). Variations Variations on this hairstyle include : Dutch braid : A Dutch braid ( also called an inverted French braid or pineapple braid ) is created when the three hair sections are crossed under each other, instead of over. It results in the look of a braid standing up from the rest of the hair, instead of being under the hair. Fishtail braid : A fishtail braid resembles a French braid in its smoothly woven appearance, but divides the hair into only two sections instead of three. A small piece of each section is passed over to the other section over and over to form the braid. This style was called the `` Grecian braid '' in the 19th century. Variations of this braid are also used to prepare horses ' tails for showing, polo and polocrosse. Multiple small, separate, parallel French braids are known as cornrows. Play media Video demonstrating Dutch braided corn rows See also Cornrows French twist ( hairstyle ) Double Dutch Braid References Jump up ^ `` Braid Guide with Explanations of Braids / French Braid '' Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ March Westland ( 1871 ). `` Our New Congressman ''. Arthur 's Home Magazine. 37 - 38 : 222 -- 223. Jump up ^ `` Comment faire une tresse française ? ''. Wikihow.com. Jump up ^ `` Comment faire une tresse française ? '' ( How to French Braid ) on YouTube Jump up ^ `` Chapter LX. -- The Hair. Part I -- Arrangement. 888. Fillets ''. Ward and Lock 's Home Book : a Domestic Encyclopædia Forming a Companion Volume to `` Mrs. Beeton 's Book of Household Management '' : 538 -- 539. 1882. Jump up ^ Braiding and Plaiting Your Horse Retrieved 2010 - 2 - 20 Human hair List of hairstyles / facial hairstyles Classification by type Lanugo Androgenic Terminal Vellus by location Nose Ear Eyebrow Eyelash Underarm Chest Abdominal Pubic Leg Human hair color Hair color Black Blond Brown ( varieties : Chestnut Auburn ) Red ( varieties : Auburn Titian ) White / Grey Hair coloring Blue rinse Grecian Formula Hair dye stripping Hair highlighting Henna Hydrogen peroxide Blue hair Other Disappearing blonde gene Fischer -- Saller scale Fischer scale Melanocortin 1 receptor Hairstyles Afro Asymmetric cut Bangs Bald Beehive Big hair Blowout Bob cut Bouffant Bowl cut Braid or Plait Brush cut Bun ( odango ) Bunches Burr Businessman cut Butch cut Buzz cut Caesar cut Chignon Chonmage Chupryna Comb over Conk Cornrows Crew cut Crochet braids Croydon facelift Curly hair Curtained hair Devilock Dido flip Digital perm Dreadlocks Duck 's ass Extensions Feathered hair Finger wave Flattop Fontange French braid French twist Frosted tips Hair crimping Harvard clip High and tight Hime cut Historical Christian hairstyles Hi - top fade Induction cut Ivy League Jewfro Jheri curl Kinky hair Kiss curl Layered hair Liberty spikes Long hair Lob cut Marcelling Mod cut Mohawk Mullet 1950s 1980s Pageboy Part Payot Pigtail Pixie cut Pompadour Ponytail Punch perm Princeton Professional cut Queue Quiff Rattail Razor cut Regular haircut Regular taper cut Ringlets Shag ( Shaggy hair ) Shape - Up Shimada Short back and sides Short brush cut Short hair Spiky hair Straight hair Standard haircut Surfer hair Taper cut Tonsure Updo Undercut Waves Wings Facial hair Beard Chinstrap Designer stubble Goatee Moustache Fu Manchu handlebar horseshoe pencil toothbrush walrus Neckbeard Shenandoah ( Chin curtain ) Sideburns Soul patch Van Dyke Hair loss Cosmetic Removal waxing threading plucking chemical electric laser IPL Shaving head leg cream brush soap Razor electric safety straight other Alopecia areata totalis universalis Male - pattern hair loss Glabrousness Hypertrichosis Management Trichophilia Trichotillomania Pogonophobia Haircare Products Brush Clay Clipper Comb Conditioner Dryer Gel Hot comb Iron Mousse Pomade Relaxer Rollers Shampoo Spray Wax Haircare Techniques Backcombing Crimping Curly Girl Method Perm Shampoo and set Straightening Documentaries My Nappy Roots : A Journey Through Black Hair - itage ( 2008 ) Good Hair ( 2009 ) Related Topics Afro - textured hair ( Kinky hair ) Bearded lady Barber ( pole ) Eponymous hairstyle Frizz Good hair ( phrase ) Hairdresser Hair fetishism ( pubic ) Hair follicle Hair growth Hypertrichosis Trichotillomania LCCN : sh85016317 GND : 4466248 - 8 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=French_braid&oldid=813983873 '' Categories : Braids Hairstyles Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Articles containing video clips Talk Contents About Wikipedia Aymar aru Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Boarisch Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Français 한국어 Қазақша Lietuvių 日本 語 Polski Русский संस्कृतम् Српски / srpski Svenska తెలుగు Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 6 December 2017, at 07 : 44. 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Question: in london it could be known as a french plait
Answer: French braid