French braid
Encyclopedia
Braid
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
ed hairstyle
Hairstyle
A hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...
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Description
Unlike the simplest form of three-strand braidBraid
A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibres, wire, or human hair...
, in which all of the hair is initially divided into three sections which are simultaneously gathered together near the scalp (also known as an "English braid"), a French braid starts with three small sections of hair near the crown of the head; these initial sections are 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.
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.
History
It is unclear when the hairstyle originated, or how it became associated with FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the English-speaking world; in the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, the same hairstyle is called tresse africaine ("African braid") or tresse indienne ("Indian braid").
The phrase "French braid" appears in an 1871 issue of Arthur's Home Magazine
Timothy Shay Arthur
Timothy Shay Arthur was a popular nineteenth-century American author. He is most famous for his temperance novel Ten Nights in a Bar-Room and What I Saw There , which helped demonize alcohol in the eyes of the American public.He was also the author of dozens of stories for Godey's Lady's Book,...
, 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.
Variations
Variations on this hairstyleHairstyle
A hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...
include:
- Dutch braid - A Dutch braid (also called an inverted French 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. This style was called the "Grecian braid" in the 19th century.
- Variations of this braid are also used to prepare horses' tails for showing, poloPoloPolo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
and polocrossePolocrossePolocrosse it is a team sport that is played all over the world. It is a combination of polo and lacrosse. It is played outside, on a field , on horseback. Each rider uses a cane stick to which is attached a racquet head with a loose, thread net, in which the ball is carried. The ball is made of...
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External links
- How to French-Braid – step-by-step instructions on the technique.