Anyone else rubbish at doing their DDs' hair?

[ThomasRichard]

This French-ish plait is as complicated as I can get. I'd love to be able to some of the gorgeous hairstyles on YouTube but I just can't seem to get a parting right, let alone a Dutch braid. DD is only 4 so her patience for sitting still is also limited. How do you learn to do these things?!

I'm rubbish too. My friend does my daughter's braids. I'm all fingers and thumbs. Think I need one of those dolls heads things hairdressers practise on.

I struggle with ponytails so there is officially no hope for my poor DD!

Fwiw that lools fab to my unruly eye.

In the photo I'd done her hair while it was a bit damp. That's a lot easier than dry as the bits don't spring out quite so easily.

My daughter is nearly 11 and I'm still hopeless at doing her hair. I've watched and tried to copy numerous times from YouTube videos but it never works and always looks awful.

You are one up from me then I can only just manage a single plain pigtail.

You watch YouTube videos, practice, fail, swear a bit (under your breath), give up.

Then you find that the ballet teacher requires a certain style and will be horrible to your daughter if it's not perfect, so you go through the whole YouTube videos, practice, swearing process multiple times until you can do it.

That is why I can do really quite good ballet hair (many varieties of buns), but still can't do a French plait.

I feel slightly better reading these I can do a bun, plait and ponytail. Bunches look rubbish because I can't do a straight parting but that's 3 styles. Four if you count leaving it down!

Me!

Dd is also 4 and hates me doing her hair. I can barely get it in a high pony tail let alone much else. Her hair is fine but lots of it and it's curly. Fucking nightmare.

She goes to school in September where long hair must be tied up so that will be fun five mornings a week.

How are you doing your partings OP?
I don't have any DD's but DS is mixed race and won't have his hair cut so I spend huge amounts of time maintaining his mane.
Do you have a comb with a pointed end use this to part hair and use a big clip or hair band to keep the sides separate as you work on one side

I tend to brush it down and then use my fingers to draw a line down the middle before tying one half of it up while I work on the other half. I used to have a pointy comb for my own (fine, straight) hair but still couldn't do a decent parting. How do you use it?

Okay I'll try make sense, so:

Use the pointy end of the comb to draw the line down the hair as you are doing so also go along with your fingers making the parting neater. If there are still bits of hair in the way use the top teeth of the comb to Nick those hairs and put into the correct sides. You could maybe do some product investigating also? I'm not really sure for straight hair as mine are curly haired but we use KidsCare range which are non damaging ingredients but really help.
Honestly though in terms of French plaits/Dutch braids/Canerow it is purely practice. When I had DS 4 years ago I could barely even do a nice ponytail on myself, now I have to plait his hair (he usually has 2 Dutch braids) every few days. It takes me the maximum of 3 minutes now but when I first started it was half an hour easily. If you want to practice on her could you give her your phone with a video of her choice on it just whilst you get to grips with it? You've made a good start!
I have once mentioned DS's hair on a thread before and someone was up in arms about a little boy with two Dutch braids but I think it's beautiful and he loves it
Oh bonus of French plaits done well (especially two starting from the front) is that they stay put really well. So you don't have to fart about doing hair every morning, you could do it with damp hair of an evening and leave it for a good few days! Hope I was some help

You need to by a metal ended tail comb, it is the only way to part hair properly. Mine was £5 in Asda best £5 I have ever spent. It has to be metal tail the plastic tail combs are crap. I can French/Dutch braid in all different styles the tricks is pulling the hair very very very tight and adding very small sections of hair. From your photo I would say the sections of hair you have added are way to big. I will take a picture of the top of dd hair when I have done it for school today.

I've been looking at the French braider hair tool on Amazon which is supposed to make plaiting easy. Has anyone had success with these gadgets?...Has mixed reviews

One style I can do is a sort of cheat French plait. Take small sections starting from the top and secure with a band, gather small sections from the sides, putting a hairband in each section instead of plaiting.

My DD is currently rather challenged in the hair department as she is only 10 months, but as her dad is Jamaican and I have curly hair she is likely to have some pretty unruly curls when it finally sprouts. I've been practicing doing braids on DPs hair using YouTube. Some of the braids they do on Afro hair are incredibly intricate and fiddly but I'm starting with the basics. I'm not very good yet but hopefully by the time she is old enough to want a hairstyle I will be capable. My DM couldn't do French plaits I always had to get other mums to do it at ballet exams and have never done anything with it of my own accord so I feel I need to do some serious catching up.

Photo as promised, it is 2 small Dutch braids across the front section of her head, round into a ponytail. To do a Dutch braid you weave and add the hair underneath each other instead of over the top of each other, hope that makes sense. The photos are of each side of dd head, from a border view looks a little like a halo shape.

Birds eye view that is meant to say!

I've started practicing on DD2 (DD1 has short hair and won't let me near it!)
She's only 12m so hopefully will get better 😂

I can't do French plaits, but I do normal plaits in various sizes which actually gives a reasonable amount of choice: ponytail, ponytail with thin plait at the front, half-up ponytail, half-up plait, normal bunches, plaited bunches, two thin plaits joined together (Maid Marian-esque).

I don't care about hair or make up but DD1 luckily seems happy enough with my meagre offerings.

Also, I hate the bloody things, but a JoJo bow (or fake version) covers all manner of sins.

Hairspray helps keep french plaits in. Thats my only trick so far!

She has lovely thick shiny hair, it appears? It's harder to plait it when it's very clean, easier as you say when still a bit damp though. Try it in a day or two when it's a bit dirtier or try experimenting with some product if she'll let you!

I've been braiding my hair for a while and you get a good idea of the tension you need and the direction you have to take the braid in. If you've got hair in a bob or longer you can try it on yours?

BearRun That really is a work of art. It looks beautiful.

There are lovely photos on this thread!

Snowballs to the untrained eye that looks like a torture device :o

Ok, so I need to buy a comb with a lethal pointy metal handle and practice.