Hair Tutorial: Milkmaid Braid Updo

I love braided updos, especially milkmaid braids. This hairstyle looks deceptively complicated, but it’s really not that hard. All you need is hair elastics, bobby pins, and deft fingers sprinkled with a bit of patience. As long as you know how to do french braids, this updo should be a piece of cake!

STEP 1: Brush your hair to get rid of any kinks and run a smoothing pomade through your hair — this will make french-braiding a lot easier. Separate your hair in the middle into two sections and clip of one of the sections.

STEP 2: French braid one section, then unclip and french braid the other. By the end of this step, you should have two french-braided pig tails.

STEP 3: Take the right pigtail, pull it to the left, then up and to the right (see arrow). Tuck the loose ends under the braid and secure with bobby pins that are the same color as your hair. Use as many bobby pins as you need.

STEP 4: Repeat step 3 with the left pig tail, but this time pull it right, then up and to the left around the braided hair that’s already pinned to your head (see arrow). Secure with bobby pin.

STEP 5 (Optional): Tug the braids on the side of your head apart to make them a bit bigger and more dramatic. You may get some flyaways if you hair is layered, but this can be easily tamed with hair gel.