| Before you touch the hair at all, you should plan your style.
Having in mind what your end goal looks like will help you to form a path
for getting there. You can draw a picture to help you, or make some
marks on a styrofoam wig holder.
It helps to have some hair clips or rubber bands to keep stray hairs out of the way while you're working. The best comb for parting is a "pick" or at "rat tail" comb. Hair should be clean and mildly damp but not soaking wet. Keep a spray bottle nearby. For straight hair you may need to use a hair wax that is based on distilled water, not oil. It looks sort of like a firm gel. Aquarius Wax and Ice Wax are good ones. Butch Wax may do the job, but it is a little oily. Very tightly curly hair should be treated with a moisturizer that does not break down too soon. This excludes most hair creams. The best thing to use is a hair food or hair grease, or a natural oil mixture. Remember that it is precise braiding, not pulling hard from the scalp, that makes a long lasting style. Pulling too hard from the scalp does nothing to help a style to last. It only leads to pain and hair loss. |
|
|
| After you've planned your style, part a section of hair that you would
like the cornrow to go along. Move other hair out of the way so that
you have a clear path to follow.
Then take a small section of hair where you want the cornrow to begin. Don't take too much, especially near the hairline, or you will have to pull too hard to continue safely. |
 |
|
| Make 3 strands out of the hair you've separated in order to begin the row, and then... |  |
|
| Make one or two "stitches" of a regular braid. With some practice, you can use hair for extensions as two of the strands in this initial braid. |  |
|
| Now the next time you bring a strand around to continue the braid, you will pick up some hair from the rest of the section you've parted, and then... |  |
|
| Join it with the strand you are working with. |  |
|
| Again, pick up some hair from the section and then... |  |
|
| Join it with the strand you are working with...and so on.
What you should be doing is braiding and then picking up hair as you go along. If you tuck the hair under, you are making an "invisible" track braid, and if you reach for hair from beneath outwards, you are making a "visible" track braid. |
 |
|
| The process will look something like this. |  |