3 of The Best Fishtail Braid Tutorials For The Boho Bride

Hello and welcome to Sunday Beauty School, I do love our weekly foray into the world of bridal beauty!

Fishtail braids are my latest obsession.

The messier and thicker the better.

And they've got to be on the side.

Swung nonchalantly over one shoulder with some wispy bits at the front, for softness around the face.

Boho chic perfection.

High fashion side fishtails…

Huda beauty | Buzznet | I'm Divaa

Celebrities are loving side fishtails too…

But it's brides with side fishtails that I love the most…

My obsession started with this image of the beautiful Mikelle at her bridal shoot which I featured a few months ago and I squeal with delight whenever I see other brides rocking the side fishtail look ~ which is quite rare!

Jessica Janae Photography via Bridal Musings | Ashley Rose via Green Wedding Shoes | Jill Thomas via 100 Layer Cake

I've been scouring the net for the simplest, easy to follow fishtail tutorials. I've seen the good, the bad and the just plain confusing…

Here's a couple of useful fishtail braid tips I picked up along the way:

Use An Elastic ~ Tie your hair into a side ponytail using an elastic. This means you're not dealing with such wide pieces of hair and you're far more in control. Once you finished your braid, slip the elastic out. This method results in a tighter braid but this can then be loosened up afterwards.

Create Texture ~ Curly and wavy haired ladies like the blonde bride above have an advantage in that the more texture your hair has, the thicker your braid will be. Fine haired folk like me need not despair, a bit of haphazard curling with a curling iron/straightener and/or some backcombing and we too can have chunky braids.

Kirby Grips ~ For those of you have have layers ~ when you take your hair over one shoulder, stop too many shorter layers falling around your face by pinning them back at the neck using kirby grips. Then, once you begin your braid, let them run wild ~ it accentuates the messy look and boho feel.

Don't Over-Think It ~ Once you've taken your two pieces from both sides and crossed them over, don't worry about them anymore, let them loose in their respective halves of your hair. I used to end up with lots of small sections of hair threaded through my fingers, trying to keep them separate from the rest of my hair and getting in a right muddle. But it's really not necessary to keep track of the smaller pieces ~ especially if you're opting for a messy look!

Here are 3 of the best side fishtail braid video tutorials I've found:

3rd Place ~ How to Create a Bohemian Fishtail Braid by Ashlyn M via Beautylish ~ clear and simple instructions from a sweet girl.

2nd Place ~ Low Side Fishtail Tutorial by Love Meagan ~ this lady knows a thing or two about hair and has a beautiful mane to work with.

The Winner ~ The Fishtail Braid by The Beauty Department ~ My go-to girls for the best beauty tutorials!

The Beauty Department‘s fishtail tutorial is pretty to look at and easy to follow with clear on screen instructions. The only thing I would say is be SUPER careful if you choose to cut out the elastic {you won't find me waving scissors anywhere near my hair!} I'd simply wriggle the elastic off.

Here it is: