Simple & Pretty DIY Hairstyle Using Lace

Time for the third installment of our Roses & Ribbons DIY series!

(First up was this peony headband then this cute way to ask that all important question, will you be my bridesmaid?)

From halo braids to my own Marcel wave style hair do for the Rock My Wedding party on Tuesday, I’m rather hair obsessed lately and this DIY hairstyle ticks all my boxes.

Simple. Pretty. Lace. Yes, yes and yes.

All you need is a length of lace ~ about 2 yards (more or less depending how long/thick your hair is) and an elastic hairband.

That’s it. There’s no fancy braiding necessary, just a criss crossing technique to create a ‘faux braid’ effect.

From start to finish it probably takes about 90 seconds.

This hairstyle was a bit of an accident…

My initial plan was to create a simple headband + lace side braid (a standard braid with 3 sections) but when I tested it out, the lace was obscured by my hair throughout most sections so you could only see a hint of lace throughout. Not such a good look.

So I tried out this criss cross method and it looked rather lovely indeed so we rolled with it!

My lovely new San Francisco friend, Mayu, was our beautiful model and Jessie of Simply Jessie Photography took the step by step photos.

Step 1 Tie your hair back in a loose ponytail using a hair elastic.

Step 2 Find the center of your length of lace and hold it up to your head (leave your fringe / bangs out) wrap both ends around your head and tie in a double knot underneath your ponytail.

Step 3 Slip your hair elastic off but still keep the ponytail shape then criss cross the two pieces of lace over each other.

Step 4 Continue criss crossing till you get as far down as you wish then tie in a knot / pretty bow.

Step 5 Pull a few pieces out at the sides to fatten up your ‘faux braid’.

There you have it ~ an easy peasy pretty ‘do perfect for bridal showers, garden weddings and, with a bit more prep, it could even make a lovely boho bridal hairstyle too.

Here’s a few ideas to jazz up this lovely lace hairstyle:

~ Take more time to prep your hair beforehand by backcombing to create volume at the crown and throughout the lengths to make your ‘faux braid’ look a little more full.

~ Curl your hair with tongs to add texture and tie off the lace early to leave lots of tumbling curls out at the bottom for a romantic look.

~ Use a longer length of lace and create a double headband effect by wrapping it round your head twice then tying the two ends together.

~ Tie thicker lace around your head, knot at the back then take out your ponytail and leave your hair down. You can’t get much simpler than that!

~ For a more intricate braided look, tie another, shorter length of lace around the back, where the lace headband is knotted into place so that you have 4 ends to play with. Create a fishtail braid weaving the lace ends in every other section.

~ You don’t have to use lace, why not use a contrasting coloured ribbon instead (black velvet looks amazing on blonde hair FYI.)

~ More DIY Tutorials on Bridal Musings + More from the Roses & Ribbons DIY Series ~

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