Creating a 'Fishtail' braid...

This week I am going to walk you through creating a Fishtail braid, also known as the Herringbone or Fishbone braid or plait as I like to call it. This plait always looks very elaborate and time-consuming, but it's actually really easy to do and can be done with many different variations.

Today we are going to start with all your hair in a low ponytail secured with a covered elastic band tight at the nape. The plait will be done on the ponytail itself as this is the easiest way to learn. Once mastered you can plait the entire head following the same steps outlined below or even design your own style!  Let's get started...
1 - Start with all of your hair in a low ponytail secured with an elastic band tight at the nape and then separate the ponytail into 2 equal halves (if your hair is long enough you might want to bring the ponytail in front of your shoulder so you can see what you are doing).

2 - Now from either half of the ponytail, pinch a 1/2" section of hair from the outside (very important to always pull hair from the outside), cross it over the ponytail and add it to the opposite ponytail half.

3 - Now from the ponytail piece you just added too, pinch a new 1/2" section of hair from the outside, cross it over the ponytail and add it to the opposite ponytail half.  You should always maintain and control just the 2 halves of the ponytail in your hands.

4 - Repeat this process of pinching, crossing and adding 1/2" sections back and forth until you have completed the plait or simply have run out of hair to plait. Secure the ends with a covered elastic band.

5 - A few extra pointers.....always take the same size sections when pulling hair from the ponytail halves.  Smaller sections will create more detail and might be better for thicker hair while larger sections are best used for finer hair. Experiment with plaiting the hair tighter and also looser, each will create a different variations.