Fishtailin' It

In the 6th grade, my friend Michelle often wore her hair (and styled mine, too) in a fishtail braid, way back before they were cool.  I wish I knew where she was today so I could congratulate her on being a trendsetter 12 years ahead of the game!

You see braids everywhere these days.  My hair can be difficult to style, especially in a braid, but I finally decided to give a fishtail a try myself.  I followed this tutorial that breaks it down and makes it really easy.

Finished product!

My tips:

• Don't have a clear elastic handy?  I just used a rubber band.  You'll be cutting it out anyway!
• Keep everything very tight.  When you cut out the top elastic, the whole braid will be loose, and you want the style to stay.  In my opinion, if you actually use a clear elastic, you can just leave it in and it will look fine, plus hold better.
• When you get near the bottom and the pieces are more uneven (especially if you have layers), I recommend switching to a regular braid pattern to finish it off. 
• Hairspray.  Lots of hairspray!

I'm not brave enough to try it yet, but how cool is this braid?!  

Any other (hopefully easy) braiding styles out there that you recommend?  I'm game for a little hair experimentation!