Hair is the most important feature of an individual. It can be tamed, colored, styled, cut, blown or crimped. There are various styles that can be used to adorn your tresses in order to enhance your features and overall appearance. Braiding is one of the oldest hairstyles that never seems to be out of fashion. It is also one of the most popular hairstyles carried out be everyone at some point of time. Though it is not all that easy, it looks very good on almost everyone. The most common way of braiding is the simple three stranded braid. With some practice, you can create many braiding styles other than the popular three stranded braid, like the four stranded braid, the five stranded braid, the eight stranded braid, the twelve stranded braid, and so on. The more the number of the strands, the more difficult is the braid to do. Braids generally take around fifteen minutes. They are not very easy and need practice. A person with long or medium hair will look good with braids.

In Double-stranded braids, each section of hair has to be divided into two-strands. It is then twisted all the way down till the ends, which are somehow left slightly undone. Once you get this hairstyle done, you may think that it doesn’t look good, but after sometime, the twists seem to look beautiful. The thing about double-stranded braids is that they look very natural and pretty. If double-stranded braids are done all over the hair, they take about four to five hours to finish. This is lesser than the time taken for other braiding hairstyles which are done all over the hair. The double-stranded braids have a fishbone pattern, which gives a very different and unique look to the style.

Simple instructions for double-stranded braids:

• Firstly, the hair has to be brushed properly to remove any tangles.
• Now, the hair has to be parted in the centre and combed straight.
• Now, the hair on one side has to be divided into two strands. After you have done that, a section of hair has to be taken from the behind the back strand.
• Once this section has been taken, it has to be crossed over to join the strand at the front.
• Now, a fine section from the front of the front strand has to be taken and then crossed over the back strand.
• Next, a fine section from the back of the back strand has to be taken again and brought over to join the front strand.
• These steps have to be continued.
• Slowly, a fishbone effect will start appearing as you gradually work your fingers downwards.
• When you are satisfied with your braids, tie them with covered bands.
• A similar braid has to be made on the other side, or all over if you are looking to cover your head.

For easier braiding and better braids, just follow the following hair care tips which will make your hair healthy, resulting in beautiful double-stranded braids:

• You can wet the hair a little before braiding it for a better result.
• Make sure to brush the hair nicely first, as there should be no tangles.
• Do not make very tight braids; it has been proved that popular modern hairstyles which include tight braids can lead to permanent bald patches. If the braids are too tight, they will pull the hair away from the scalp, and hence your hair will either become weak or you will have hair loss.
• It is advised to not comb wet hair. You first need to dry your locks and then get rid of all the tangles prior to braiding.
• Never use a hard brush. Your brush should have correctly spaced bristles.
• Never twist or tug at your hair unnecessarily.
• Always brush your hair before going to bed every night.
• Always make sure that your hair is trimmed regularly. Avoid using hair sprays on a daily basis.
• Avoid exposing the hair to direct sunlight.
• Avoid excessive use of hairdryers, curling irons, hot rollers, straighteners etc.