This is a very, very simple braid, but it is time consuming (I need about 15 minutes to make one braid and my hair is waist length) and I sometimes find it difficult to make it look neat. The fishtail braid is also known as herringbone braid. Anyway, the name is not that important, what is important is that it is a very beautiful braid and people literally stop me on the street (or wherever) to ask me how I made that braid. So, I guess it is a good conversation starter 
).
I
t is not much to say about the instructions. I made a sketch. I hope it will come useful. Basically you have to divide the hair you are about to braid into two even sections, then take a small strand of hair from the outer side of one section and add it to the inner side of the other section. Then take a small strand of hair from the outer side of this section and add it to the inner side of the first section and so on. The braid looks more spectacular if the strands you pick from the outer sides of each section are very, very tiny, but that will increase the time needed for finishing the braid. If the strands are thicker you will end up with a regular looking braid, but you will finish the braid really fast. My advice for you is to just start braiding and practice will make it perfect. My other advice – and this applies to any type of braid you try for the first time – is to make two braids, one on each side, or one side braid so you can check yourself in the mirror to see what you are doing. And don’t forget, braids can be easily transformed into dramatic hair-do’s. You can find here some simple ideas if you need inspiration.
A! And one more thing – this is important! As you braid your hair, run your fingers through the hair from time to time, because it tends to get really tangled to the ends.
This hairstyle is actually a request and I want to thank Julie for this.
So, my inspiration was Empress Elisabeth of Austria also known as Sissi (or Sisi). She was unbelievably beautiful – she was like a queen fairy; unfortunately her life was a sad one.
You can read more about her life on Wikipedia here. They also made a great movie about her life with the beautiful actress Romy Schneider in her role; you can read more about the movie and see the trailer on IMDb here.
Now, about the hairstyle:
Part the hair down the middle, then take the front section of each part (about 1/3 of each part) and braid them together – just a simple, regular braid – on top of the head, trying to keep the middle parting. Then make two perimeter braids, one on each side, starting from behind each ear.
Secure the ends of these perimeter braids at the base of the top braid, then arrange the top braid so that it will look like a crown and will conceal the ends of the perimeter braids.
On my hair (waist length with long layers), the hairstyle doesn’t really look like in the movie, nor like in the portraits of the empress, because both actress and empress, had very long and beautiful hair and without layers, but it is a hairstyle that looks nice and it is a very, very, very comfortable hairstyle.
If you want to make the hairstyle more dramatic, like in the first pictures, you can attach some flowers to a nylon thread and add it to a strand as you braid. My flowers are silvery crocheted flowers with a tiny faux pearl in the middle of each flower. Or you can just add two shiny butterflies like in the last pictures.
Always keep in mind that most of the time there are many ways to do the same thing. And I noticed that this applies to almost everything in life. So, there is another way to make a round braid with six strands and it is probably simpler. If you look at the pictures the left braid was made using the previous method (click here to read more) and the right braid using this new method I just discover. As you can see the braids are equally messy – freshly washed hair is not cooperative when you want to braid it – but they look the same.
How you do it? I hope the sketch I made is explicative enough. You take one outer strand and place it under 3 strands, then change direction and put it over 1 strand, then take the other outer strand and place it under 3 strands and over 1 strand after you changed the direction… and repeat for as long as you have to.
My suggestion is to try both methods to see what you find easier. I first made a high ponytail and if you do that too, you can then insert two hair sticks at the base of the ponytail and make an chinese bun for an exotic looking hairstyle. Obviously, you can do that with any kind of braid.
Thank you Chad Yoon and Madelyn Cotton-Kinch. I also want to thank to all my readers for their beautiful thoughts and suggestions.
This is a very, very simple braid, but it is time consuming (I need about 15 minutes to make one braid and my hair is waist length) and I sometimes find it difficult to make it look neat. The fishtail braid is also known as herringbone braid. Anyway, the name is not that important, what is important is that it is a very beautiful braid and people literally stop me on the street (or wherever) to ask me how I made that braid. So, I guess it is a good conversation starter 
I
t is not much to say about the instructions. I made a sketch. I hope it will come useful. Basically you have to divide the hair you are about to braid into two even sections, then take a small strand of hair from the outer side of one section and add it to the inner side of the other section. Then take a small strand of hair from the outer side of this section and add it to the inner side of the first section and so on. The braid looks more spectacular if the strands you pick from the outer sides of each section are very, very tiny, but that will increase the time needed for finishing the braid. If the strands are thicker you will end up with a regular looking braid, but you will finish the braid really fast. My advice for you is to just start braiding and practice will make it perfect. My other advice – and this applies to any type of braid you try for the first time – is to make two braids, one on each side, or one side braid so you can check yourself in the mirror to see what you are doing. And don’t forget, braids can be easily transformed into dramatic hair-do’s. You can find here some simple ideas if you need inspiration.
