September 6, 2010 : I Tried To Give Myself a Dominican Blowout
September 5, 2010 : The results are in…how many of you actually exercise
August 28, 2010 : Do They Make Hair Vitamins That Actually Taste Good?
August 27, 2010 : Exercise and Your Hair
August 21, 2010 : 5 Good Reasons To Take Pictures of Your Hair
Loading ...BRAIDOUT- How to Do a Braidout- Satin Method
If you are wondering what a “Satin Scarf Braidout” is? You’ve come to the right place. Below I explain what it is and why I came up with the method. And of course how to do it.
All About the Satin Braidout Method
Please note I do not use Silk, I use SATIN to do my braidouts.
What is a braid out?
A braidout is the result of undoing /taking out your braid(s), hence BRAID – OUT. It’s that lovely wave or curl pattern you get when you undo braids or cornrows. The braids or cornrows are strategically placed in order to achieve the desired amount of curl or waves. This look becomes the actual hairstyle and creating the braids is simply a means of achieving the look, not the style itself. It can be done on almost any hair type – natural, relaxed, or in between. Consider a braidout the easiest roller set ever. Okay, maybe not a roller set. The results are very different. But it is EASY and FAST.
My history with braidouts …how my braidouts used to be
When I started doing braidouts the results were always unpredictable. I mean…unpredictable bad. After some of my less than spectacular braidouts, my hair looked so bad in the morning, I had to pull my hair in a ponytail before leaving the house. When I first learned about braidouts I thought it would be a fun style to try. Unfortunately, my hair at the time was mostly relaxed bone straight, I had thinned out ends that were very uneven. No matter how I did the braidout -cornrows or braids, a lot of small braids or big braids – the results were always the same. I would end up with frizzy, inconsistently defined waves and stringy ends. Sometimes one side would come out curlier or frizzier than the other side. My braidouts were simply BAD!
Left traditional braidout. On right Satin Braidout
The problem with Traditional Braidouts
The conventional way of doing braidouts is to just braid your hair alone without weaving in a piece of fabric. The problem with this is, most people’s hair is thinner at the ends than at the base of the head. When you do a braid, the braid gets smaller and smaller towards the ends. That means that when the braids are undone, you end up with nice big waves/curls near the top of your head but non-uniform tiny waves at the ends.Â
The inspiration
Dissatisfied with the way my hair came out with tradional braidouts, I decided to find a better way. So, I started experimenting with different braidout techniques that would circumvent the problems I had with traditional braidouts – the thin wispy ends with barely any curl, the frizz and lack of curl definition. I wanted a tighter, more defined curl pattern from root to ends but could not achieve that with a traditional braidout.
Enter the strips of satin fabric…
Weaving in satin fabric with each braid or cornrow eliminates this problem because it provides a consistent thickness to braid around from root to ends. Using the satin scarf gives me great, almost perfect results every time. Bye bye frizzy braidout, hello beautiful, super defined, frizz free braidouts.
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The Satin Fabric – Where do I get it?
I started out using strips of an old satin scarf to do my braidouts. I was so excited the first time the inspiration struck that I used the only thing I had laying around that I knew would work great in my hair – A satin scarf. However, as I started experimenting with different size strips of fabric to get bigger sized curls, it became quite inconvenient to keep buying new satin scarves when I needed more satin. That’s when I decided to start buying the satin fabric itself from amazon. $5.48 for a 9ft x 4ft piece of fabric. A Bargain! I can cut as many pieces as I want in whatever size I want without worrying about running out of fabric. Check it out! You can get the satin fabric from Amazon.com Click here.
So no more asking me where I buy the satin scarf. I don’t buy scarves anymore. I buy the fabric. Check out the blog post on this “I Made My Own Satin Scarf“.
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Satin Braidout FAQs
Got more questions about my braidouts? How long does the braidout take? How long does it last? How to get a soft braidout?
Visit the BRAIDOUT FAQ page. For Questions about my hair See My Hair FAQ page.
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Satin Braidout Pictures
My braidout method is a little bit different but it totally works. The results speak for itself!
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Before You Get Started, Also Read
HOW TO DO A BRAIDOUT
Braidouts can be done in one of two ways – Cornrows or Single braids. A combination of both can also be used. If twists are used, then it is called a TwistOut and not a Braid Out.
Method #1: Cornrows / French Braids
Satin Scarf Braidout Tutorial Videos – Cornrows
Perform on dry or slightly damp hair
Results:
Instructions
- Cut long strips of fabric from a satin scarf at least 3 inches thick.
- Moisturize and detangle hair with your favorite moisturizer. I use some diluted Vo5 conditioner in a spray bottle.
- Part 3 vertical sections from temple to nape.(See Slideshow)
- Next cornrow each of the three sections. To start each cornrow, grab one of the fabric pieces and pull half of it through your hair near where you will begin the cornrow. That should be at the front of your head. (See “How to Cornrow your hair with satin scarf” video)
- Start the cornrow making sure the fabric is intertwined with your hair in the cornrow. (See “How to Cornrow your hair with satin scarf” video)
- Before you get to the end of the braid, apply more moisturizer to the ends and use a comb to detangle the ends. This ensures you get smooth, non-frizzy curls at the ends.
- To finish off and secure the end of the braid, simply loop and knot the fabric once around the end of your hair.
- I personally hate the look I get from rolling the ends with a roller, and I also hate the straight ends look with a braid out.
- Lastly, wrap your head in a satin scarf and bonnet for extra protection and go to bed.
- The next day your hair should be dry, undo the braids and satin fabric. (See “How to Cornrow your hair with satin scarf” video)
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Method #2 : Plaits /Single Braids / Box Braids / Individual Braids aka – no cornrows
Satin Scarf Braidout Tutorial – Single Braids
Written instructions to come
Before You Get Started, Also Read
- Braidout Tips
- Products I use for my braidouts
- Braidout Photos
- Satin Scarf Braidout vs. Traditional Braidouts
- Braidout FAQs
- How to Sleep on a Braidout
Latest Posts on Braidouts:
- Shorter, Thicker, More Texture and My Braidouts Never Looked Better
- Last Week's Hair - Loose Beachy Waves
- Braidout or Jheri Curl?
- My Braidout Lasted the Entire Week!
- I am sucker for punishment...the wrap lotion again
- Braidout FAQs
- Braidout Tutorial - PLAITS - Satin Scarf Method (VIDEO)
- How Long Does Your Braidout Last?
- I'm Going to Call this one The Wet Look Braidout
- What Happens When Your Braidout Doesn't Dry Properly
I live in london and like to do braid outs. I am currently transitioning. I’m trying to work out a way to stop my braid outs becoming dry throughout the day. They become dry and crunchy. What do you suggest?
My braidouts don’t become dry and crunchy at all but I don’t live in a cold climate. I use the same thing I use everytime for my braidouts, a mix of conditioner, water and a few drops of olive oil. I spray it on my hair and then braid. You can see it in my braidout videos or here http://zanandrob.com/2010/01/products-i-use-for-my-braidouts/
PS. I tried using wrap lotion to set my braidouts a couple of times and ended up with dry and crunchy hair. Conditioner will give you soft curls every time.
Hello Zan,
My issues is I am not natural however I am working on healthy hair and hair growth. However when doing the bradouts I notice that I get knots of hair that will come out when I am fluffying my hair out or it I run my fingers thru my hair during the day. Also when I am braiding my hair I sometimes have several stains or knots of hair to come out. What am I doing wrong. I have not tried the satin scraf method yet but I do intend to. Thanks In advance. Tina
Well Tina, the issues you are describing are the reasons I stopped doing braidouts that way and started the Satin Scarf BRaidouts. You already know what the solution to your problem is, try the satin scarf braidout.
I don’t get knots using this method. I used to associate braiding my hair with tangles and loosing tons of hair. Not anymore. My hair does not even tangle when washing my hair. I could go on.
Just try it!
I use to try braidouts, but my hair is thin at the ends so the curls would be smaller at the ends. I also tried the rolleres, but I didn’t like that look either. I can’t wait to try your satin scarf method. I need a summer style and I want to give my hair a break from the heat. I’ll let you know how it turns and try to upload pics. Thanks for sharing your method.
Great! Give it a try and certainly let me know how it goes. Once you got the method down right, you won’t be disappointed.
So I was so intrigued with your braidout method and decided to give it a try. The only problem is, is that I am completely natural and I normally where a press’n'curl. My hair gets very straight from this and I am able to wear it straight most of the time. The problem is now I am starting to work out alot more and I am continually sweating out my hair, so when I came across this briadout method I was so excitied that I had found a solution to wearing a wavy look that would not get messed up from my workouts. So long story short I tried the method and came out falling short
. My question for you is can people who have natural hair wear the braidout because on my end it did not turn out at all as I expected and I ended up wearing a bun to work.
Well, as you know I am not natural. But if naturals can do regular braidouts there is no reason why they cannot do this braidout also. So my answer if yes. How it turns out is all in the technique. It may take practice to get it the way you want it. But first you have to start with what you didnt like about the way it came and out figure out what you did that could have caused it to not come out the way it should. Since you didn’t say what didn’t come out right, I am just going to assume, the curls were not as defined as you would like or your ends did not come out properly.
Did you read the Braidout Tips page?
My Tips to you:
1) Softness and Manageability: leave a little of the conditoner in your hair when wash
2) Curl Definition: Applying the conditioner mix/moisturizer is NOT optional in the braidout. It is required for smoothness, softness and hold. So try it, mix a moisturizing conditioner (one with plenty of slip), water and several drops of oil (I use olive oil) and apply to your hair like I do before doing each braid.
3) Smooth ends: Before braiding the ends, stop and apply more products to the ends and comb through with a fine tooth comb.
4) Curled Ends: Perfect the art of tying off the ends of the satin strip. Not doing this properly may cause your ends to come out trashy, frizzy or basically not smooth.
-Zan
Hi Zan. I saw your braid out tutorials on youtube and tried it on my hair. I’m not sure if it came out correctly. I took a few photos and would like to email them to you for your feedback. I have natural, long, VERY thick, coarse hair and it comes out very tight and curly when wet. Do you have an email address where I can send my braidout pics? I would greatly appreciate your expertise and opinion:)
Hi Natasha,
When you receive this msg in your email, just reply to the email with your pics. Your message will come directly to my email address.
OR
You can sign up for an account on here – join the ZanAndRob.com community. You can then upload the pics in our member album.
Hello Zan. I received your email and replied with my pics attached. I received an error message stating the email address is invalid. May you provide an alternative email address? I would prefer to send the pics via email and not post to the membership album. I look forward to your response.
-Natasha
Hey Natasha, I got your email
So don’t worry about the error.
I was at work all day and didn’t get a chance to respond until now. So I will respond via to you in a bit.
Sorry about that, I should have told you that I am super busy during the days.
Zan
does it matter how long your hair is for a braid out? Because when i do mines the front of my hair has so much curls and defintion. Then the back of my hair. Is it something i am doing wrong please. please help
Hey mslisa, no, it should not matter how long your hair is. If your hair is long enough to cornrow, you should be able to do a braidout. How long is your hair?
From my experience, the cornrow braidout works better for people with shorter hair and the single braid/plait braidout works better on longer hair.
As far as the curl definition not being consistent throughout your entire head, if you apply your mositurizer evenly throughout your whole head, you should get a consistent curl patten with good definition. But I also need to know which method you are using for the braidout, the single plaits/braids or the cornrows. And also, how many braids/cornrows do you do?
My hair is thick and coarse. When i blow dry it, it comes to my neck (maybe). And also when i do my braidout i do my hair while it is wet. And i add moisture as i go. I do about6-8 braids. When i do it wet the back of my hair just shivels, idk if you can help please do. rite i have kinky twist in my hair. And plus i no longer have a perm. I have natural for 1 yr.
Hey, The best help I can give you for your braidouts is for you to watch my braidout videos. If you want a good braidout, follow the way I do it in one of my videos, including using the satin scarf. I NEVER do braidouts on WET hair or without using the satin fabric. I have quite a bit of braidout videos, so I suggest you start with the first three
- http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=714F28C4EBC3CA5A
I don’t have natural hair, but I would suggest not letting your hair air dry first, or blowing it out a little before doing the braidout.
Also, see my braidout tips. It has do’s and don’ts when doing a braidout – things to avoid etc
http://zanandrob.com/2010/02/braidout-tips-the-secrets-to-a-better-braidout/
I am going to try this. But my hair is fine, so IDK. I’ll keep ya posted.
Yes, definitely keep me posted. My hair is fine too, so I kow all about fine hair. This should be perfect for you then. I hope it works out for you. let me know….
Thanks! this is very helpful. Since my hair is still wet in a ‘not so correct’ braid out- I think I’m going to retrace my steps and try your method!
Thank you Kris. I really hope your braidout comes great when you try the satin scarf method.
Yes indeedy those wet braidouts take FOREVER to dry. And in my experience, they end up coming out frizzy.
Let me know how it turns out.
-Zan
You know I had to run over here after you stated that you’d be doing a braid out. That is the neatest trick I’ve come across. I’ll need to read it again though because I still can’t tell how to start the braid using the fabric. Thanks so much, I’m looking for an easy style for the summer so, I guess I’ll start practicing now.
I attempted another braidout yesterday. The first one since my haircut. I tried a slightly different method. I will post the video on Youtube tonight- I hope. I’m so tired
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