# Do you know how to braid? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260 "2013-09-07T17:43:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/21 "2013-09-07T22:42:00Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’m a guy, and I know how to braid… But, ah, I’m not completely clear on how to finish it. Is there an “end knot” or do you just use a rubber band? > > (I learned braiding in third grade, with a cute girl who showed me how it worked. Nice and mathematical!) Trinopus and cute girl sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G First comes love then comes marriage Then comes Trinopus with a baby carriage ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/22 "2013-09-07T23:53:21Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > No human male knows how to braid hair. Not even Big Gay Al-level gay ones. I disagree. I worked as an extra on the show Big Love at least one or two episodes per season. I will never forget the nice bald guy in the hair department and his excellent French braids, as well as his apologies to us for how dorky we were going to look with the puffed-up front of the hair. 🙂 Female, I can braid my own hair or someone else’s. Only regular braids, not French braids. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/23 "2013-09-08T00:17:48Z")
I grew up with my hair to my knees, I can braid, french braid and do a decent wrap the hair around in a crown thing. I can do a ‘gibson girl’ bun and some other odds and ends of hair fixing. mrAru can braid and french braid - he was a boy scout and in the navy, so he works in cording also 😛 Since my hair is now [unbraided] almost to my butt crack, I normally keep it braided all the time. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/24 "2013-09-08T00:47:09Z")
I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. I spent summers at camp. I can braid anything, tie knots with the best of them, splice and even make rope. Lately, every job site seems to be secured requiring a prox badge. My custom braided lanyards are finding a new audience. Braiding hair is the same as braiding anything else. I taught my daughters when they were small. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/25 "2013-09-08T00:58:41Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout. I spent summers at camp. I can braid anything, tie knots with the best of them, splice and even make rope. > > Lately, every job site seems to be secured requiring a prox badge. My custom braided lanyards are finding a new audience. > > Braiding hair is the same as braiding anything else. I taught my daughters when they were small. awesome username/post combination! I am a girl. I can make a simple braid, but not very well. French braid, hah! However, I can tie my shoes with a knot that never comes out on its own and I consider that a superior skill as the vast majority of people I meet cannot tie their shoes to save their lives. Granny knots are just exceptionally common among the adult population. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/26 "2013-09-08T00:58:55Z")
I can braid, but I can only do a french braid on someone else. I can’t do a reverse french braid, my hands get all confused. I learned french braiding on my horse’s tail. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/27 "2013-09-08T01:33:41Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > I thought it was weird that he didn’t know how, since I think of braiding as a useful life skill the same way I think of knowing how to tie a square knot. I don’t know how to braid or tie a square knot. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/28 "2013-09-08T01:37:39Z")
Female. I can braid, French braid, and inside-out French braid. I can’t do a very good job on my own hair though. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/29 "2013-09-08T01:37:55Z")
female: I can make a simple plait but not a french braid. I can also braid horse manes, but I never mastered tails since they’re French (see above). Thankfully an unbraided tail was the fashion in my area and level of showing. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/30 "2013-09-08T02:23:06Z")
I’m female, and I can do a simple braid. I can’t do french braids, and my regular braids aren’t impressively neat or even, but they’re passable. I had two daughters who had long hair when they were growing up; you’d think my skills would have improved, but no. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/31 "2013-09-08T02:26:48Z")
I braid, but not my hair or anyone else’s. I braid bread dough. Regular three or four strand for traditional challah, or a six strand when I’m feeling fancy. I get the patterns from a booklet I copied back in the late 80’s, when I was at the American Institute of Baking. We had a contingent of students from Japan. Now, Western white bread was not a big deal there, at least at the time, but they did have this book with them on braiding bread dough. The craft, they told me, comes from rope braiding. I can’t read a word of the picture’s captions, but they are so detailed, with all the photos and individual strands numbered, that I have no problem using them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/32 "2013-09-08T03:01:36Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Yeah, men don’t know how to braid unless they are really into ropes. Or fancy bread, I guess. …Or have long hair. For about twenty years I grew my hair long, and I often set it in a single braid, either to wear all day or for sleeping, because otherwise my hair got terrible tangles. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/33 "2013-09-08T03:02:55Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > There are males who know how to braid hair. Every widowed movie father with a daughter in grade school braids her hair. It’s not as good as Mommy does. At least the first time… > [@friedo](#): > > No human male knows how to braid hair. Not even Big Gay Al-level gay ones. > [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > When Princess Pepperwinkle was a little girl she had hair that flowed all the way down to her knees. Madame P. and I took turns braiding it. Seems to me that some women consider men who are comfortable with taking care of little girls to be especially desirable. The fact that he took the time to learn how to braid hair could mean that he’s not the kind of guy who will just drink beer and watch football all day. I have, on occasion, braided individual electrical wires. This can help keep them organized but not tangled up without messing with those cable ties. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/34 "2013-09-08T03:10:05Z")
Interestingly enough, the current perception of long hair on men being countercultural is modern and seems to have developed sometime in the past 200 years. Take a look at some pictures of George Washington, one of the most famous longhaired American men. Look carefully at a $1 bill. That thing behind his neck is actually a hairbow. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/35 "2013-09-08T03:19:36Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > (I learned braiding in third grade, with a cute girl who showed me how it worked. Nice and mathematical!) I’m a girl, and I learned in the second grade when my best friend, who was in the third grade, taught me. I have very short hair, but when it starts to grow out a little, I will make really short little random braids in it when I’m bored. I also used to bake a lot of braided challah. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/36 "2013-09-08T03:40:45Z")
I know how to braid, French braid, reverse French braid, 4-strand, and all that. For me the hardest thing on my own hair is dividing it into equal thirds. Much easier to divide it into half/fourths. But I don’t know how to French braid 4 strands. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/37 "2013-09-08T03:42:21Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > I disagree. I worked as an extra on the show Big Love at least one or two episodes per season. I will never forget the nice bald guy in the hair department and his excellent French braids, as well as his apologies to us for how dorky we were going to look with the puffed-up front of the hair. 🙂 Hey, cool. I was a big fan of that show. (Until the last season when it blew significant goats.) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/38 "2013-09-08T04:05:09Z")
Fishtail/herringbone, 2 strand (which is a twist, not really a braid, but whatevs), 3 strand, 4 strand (which makes a cool cord, not a flat braid) or 5 strand regular, French or Dutch (“reverse” or “backwards” French). I can do more strands if I have helpers to provide additional hands for holding the extra strands until I need them, but 5 is the limit with my own appendages. ---
**Author:** ![48Willys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/db5fbb/32.png) [@48Willys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/48Willys)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/39 "2013-09-08T04:06:40Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > No human male knows how to braid hair. Not even Big Gay Al-level gay ones. I have been told that I am not human by other folks. I am most assuredly male, and I know how to braid, so you must think that I am not human. Could be. I used to braid, my little sisters’ hair, wire bundles, my beard, bread, vines, cords, winch lines, and “piggin strings”. Now I mostly only braid things when I have to. Usually lately it has been winch lines for the Caterpillar tractors. My wife says that my hair braiding is sub-par, none of my sisters ever complained. Yet I think that my wife is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2013, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260/40 "2013-09-08T05:12:35Z")
Female here. I never did any of the girly stuff (like makeup, hair stuff, fashion, leg crossing and whatnot) and in fact most of it seemed, and still seems, like magic to me, but for a long time in my teens I braided my hair. Just a simple 3-strand braid down the back though. If I’d had YouTube back then, that would have been awesome! This thread got me to go looking for braiding videos and watched so many with amazement. I had no idea how these were done, and it turned something magical into something doable (not for me, but my husband, whose hair is much longer than mine, better watch out). It was like watching a magician explain a trick. > [@Baker](#): > > I can’t read a word of the picture’s captions, but they are so detailed, with all the photos and individual strands numbered, that I have no problem using them. There’s a series I just found that are, I assume, Russian, and I can’t read or understand a word, but this woman is phenomenal. [Here’s one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk7RhK95WUM) that’s especially beautiful in its finished state, though it looks messy during construction. (Warning, there’s cheap pop music playing so you might want to turn your speakers down before clicking) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-how-to-braid/668260.md?page=3)