THE ULTIMATE FISHTAIL BRAID TUTORIAL

We can safely say that the fishtail braid or plait is a Beautylish favorite. Whether perfectly neat or purposely messy, the texture and seemingly complicated pattern of this sea-inspired style provide a refreshing visual twist on your typical 3-strand weave. We're here to bring you even better news: This 2-strand braid is the simplest of them all! The fun doesn't stop with a single plait, and it's easy to experiment with multiple braids, styles, and accessories. But before you go braid-crazy on your locks, you've got to learn the basics. Turn your hair into high-fashion form—once you've mastered our fishtail fundamentals. Here's an easy fishtail braid tutorial to get started:

STEP 1 

Brush & Section

Detangle and brush out your hair so it's easy to handle. If you need to, smooth out flyaways and frizz with a grooming cream. You don't have to have stick straight locks to rock this look, just keep things knot-free! Divide the hair into two even sections starting from the middle of the scalp.

STEP 2 + 3

Weave From The Right

You can begin braiding from either side, but we're starting from the right. Use your pinky and ring finger to grab a small section of the hair (approximately 1/4" inch) from the back of the right side. Add this section to the left side by folding it over with your left hand.

STEP 4 + 5

Weave From The Left

After you've added a strand to your left side, take your left pinky and grab a 1/4" strand from the back of the left section. Fold it over and add it to your right section. Make sure these first few strands are tighter so you get comfortable with the process and nothing falls loose.

STEP 6

Continue Weaving and FInish Up

Continue weaving strands from the left and right. You're going to be weaving more or less depending on the thickness of your strands. But trust us—the fishtail effect looks so much better when you weave thinner pieces instead of thicker. It make take longer, but it's worth it!

Once you're at a comfortable place to end your braid, secure it with an elastic band or a clip. If you feel like your braid is too tight, loosen it by gently massaging the strands with your hands. Grab both hands simultaneously and gently pull away from the braid. This technique gives the braid that casual and effortless look.

OPTIONAL

Add Personal Touches

Styling elements add a dash of whimsy to this relatively simple design. Incorporate ribbon, feathers, barrettes, headbands, or whatever hair flair you may own. For longer hair, don't stop with a basic side braid—experiment with different styles! Try twisting your fishtail into a gothic-looking updo or add more flair by adding a headband. With a handful of bobby pins and hairspray, the possibilities are truly endless.

            HAIR BOW INSPIRATION

Girlie, youthful, and fun, the ultra-feminine bow can also be a creative way to add a dash of dainty to your hair look. Make the classic accessory fit your ladylike style with new DIY effects that work for the everyday.

HOW TO DO A WATERFALL BRAID/CASCADE BRAID

The waterfall braid also known as the cascade braid recently exploded as the new "trend braid" of the season. The waterfall effect looks cool and complex, but it's easier to style than you think. Give this beautiful braid a try when Beautylish takes you through the how-to!

STEPS 1 + 2

Section Off

The waterfall braid works best on straight or loose waves. Brush out all the knots with a wide tooth comb. Part your hair how you normally would, and begin your braid on the right side of your part. Grab the top section and divide into three strands.

STEPS 3 + 4

Braid As Usual

Braid your strands regularly three times, beginning from the right strand. When you get to the left strand (the part closest to the middle of the scalp), add more hair to it like a French braid and fold that strand to the center.

STEP 5

Drop the Strand

This is where it gets tricky. After you've French braided your left strand (now center), drop the right strand and let it fall down. Pick up another small section of hair next to where your original strand fell—that's your new right strand.

STEP 6

Step and Repeat

Repeat this process—French braid the left strand, drop the right strand, and pick up an adjacent new piece. Gradually cascade the style towards the middle of your head.

STEP 7

Pin and Secure

Once you've reached a comfortable point to stop your braid, secure it to your scalp with bobby pins. You don't have to pin up your hair perfectly in this section since you'll cover up the pins with a hair accessory later.

STEPS 8 + 9 + 10

Fishtail It!

Braid the remaining piece of hair left from your cascade into a fishtail braid. Not sure how to create this mermaid-inspired style? It's easy with this helpful fishtail braid tutorial. Secure the braid with a thin hair tie.

STEP 11

Accessorize

Add a cute bow or flower to hide your bobby pins and give this look some extra hair flair. Secure your barrette tightly to your scalp and braid for a firm hold. 

Take the extra strand of hair on the opposite side of your face and pin it back into the flower barrette so it blends in with your cascade. Spritz with a light-hold hairspray, and you've got yourself a beautiful and romantic summer hair style!

If you love the waterfall braid as much as us make sure to upload a photo once you've tried this gorgeous braid!

DIY SCENTED BATH SALTS IN 3 MINUTES!

Nobody loves bath time more than me. All year long, almost every day—if you want me, you can find me in the tub. Winter? I'm in a hot bath, steaming the deep chill away. Summer, I'm in a cool bath, floating down the chilly lazy river of my mind, washing away boob sweat and sand and mosquito bite itchiness. I have a whole cupboard full of stuff to put in there, from scented oil to bath bombs to Mr. Bubble to fancy soap flakes shaped like rose petals.

I’m serious about bath time. I even have a wooden bath desk that has a spot for a book and a glass of wine. I have a waterproof notebook and a pen that writes underwater. On a recent trip to Whole Foods, as I was scooping bulk lavender-scented bath salts ($12.99 a pound) into a bag, I realized they looked a whole lot like Epsom salts. Which are cheap! Very. So I looked it up online and decided to try making my own recipe. My first batch turned out perfect! And now you can try it, too. It makes an awesome gift!

DIY Scented Bath Salts

You will need

2 cups of Epsom saltEpsom salt is a mild pain and itch reliever, and helps draw impurities from the body. You can find it at drugstores, usually in the foot-care aisle, in a carton or giant bag.

2 teaspoons of fruit or vegetable oil of your choice
I used jojoba oil, but you could use almond, olive, apricot, grapeseed … you name it.

5–10 drops of your favorite essential oil
I used tuberose, but you could use sandalwood, lavender, eucalyptus...again, any smell you like.

Optional: a drop or two of liquid food coloring
If you want a tint to your salts, use just a tiny, tiny bit of liquid food coloring. It may give bath water a bit of a tint, but it's safe! Here, two drops of teal coloring turned the salts soft cyan. 

Optional: 1/4 cup sea salt
It somehow makes the water feel silky, and the salty steam can leave hair with a lovely beachy texture. 

A glass jar with a lid

Steps

1: Mix all the ingredients together with a fork, making sure to break up clumps.

2: Sniff the salts ecstatically. Go take a bath with them or give them to someone you want to impress. Make sure to package it nicely with a little ribbon tied around the lid.

We already showed you how to create big, beautiful buns. While the DIY sock bun may seem intimidating, it's actually one of the easiest—and quickest!—techniques to boost the volume of your topknot. Kate Bosworth, Jennifer Lopez, and Beyonce have all rocked the polished wrap for big events, and the elegant style works everywhere from the red carpet to the weekend. Why not try this sock bun tutorial for yourself!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 1 sock
• A pair of scissors
• Bobby pins

Any sock made from a thinner fabric will work. Opt for a brown or taupe shade (something that resembles your hair color, although it doesn’t have to be an exact match) as a white or a bright-colored sock might peek through your strands and give away your bun’s secret.

STEP 1: CREATE SOCK DOUGHNUT AND PONYTAIL

Cut off the toe area of the sock, and roll the fabric tube from the inside out into a doughnut shape. Pull hair back into a high ponytail and secure with elastic at the crown.

STEP 2: PUT DOUGHNUT ON PONY, THEN TUCK AND ROLL

Place the sock doughnut around the base of the ponytail and pull all of your hair through the hole. Then, pull the doughnut from the base of the head all the way to the ends of your pony. 

Starting from the end of your pony, begin tucking and rolling the ends around sock doughnut. You should use the same motion you used to roll up the sock in the first step—flip the bottom side of the doughnut upward from the inside out with both hands. While you tuck and roll, try to disperse hair evenly all the way around the doughnut, but don't worry about completely covering it. Your hair will naturally spread out as you work.

STEP 3: ROLL SOCK DOWN TO BASE

Continue to slowly roll the sock (along with your hair) down the ponytail until you reach the base. As you roll, tuck loose strands underneath the doughnut. When you reach the base, fill in gaps in the bun’s structure by gently spreading hair out.

STEP 4: SECURE HAIR WITH BOBBY PINS

Tidy up loose ends and strands by pinning them around the base. To make the bun fuller, gently tug and tease strands from the center portion of the bun outward.

You're ready to go!

JUICE YOUR WAY ... TO SHINIER, HEALTHIER HAIR!

Today, we’re juicin’ our way to healthier, shinier hair. Give your hair optimal nutrition from the inside out, so it can be its most gorgeous self and break less often!

Healthy, Shiny Hair Juice

Note: If you don’t have a juicer, this would work in the blender. The juice would be a lot thicker, but the raw nutrients will still be there.

You will need

4–5 big Swiss chard leavesSwiss chard is mild-tasting and loaded with vitamins A and C, which, among other things, help boost the production of sebum, otherwise known as your scalp’s natural conditioner. Shiny, soft locks!

1 peeled lemonLemons help sharpen the juice’s flavor and provide vitamin C, something your body needs to absorb iron. If you’re not getting enough iron, guess what? Your hair gets weak and dries out.

1 large, peeled naval orangeMore vitamin C!

1 large peeled (if you’re blending) or unpeeled (if you’re juicing) sweet potatoSweet potatoes are chock-full of beta-carotene, a substance your body converts into vitamin A—the stuff that keeps your scalp from getting dry (dandruff, folks) and prevents dullness.

3 large, unpeeled carrotsMore beta-carotene! We want allllll the beta-carotene we can get!

10–15 strawberries with the green tops removedStrawberries are nature’s adorable little vessels for carrying folate (a B vitamin) to thirsty strands, making them strong and healthy. Plus, they’re full of antioxidants, and they make this juice deliciously sweet.

Wash and de-pit or de-stem everything, then toss everything into your juicer and hit the “on” button. Or throw everything into your blender and add about a cup of water, to help liquify your juice, and then hit “on.”

This recipe will make about 30 ounces of juice; if you have leftovers, keep it in the fridge in an airtight container, and stir before drinking. Finish it all up within two days, as fresh, raw juice loses its near-magical powers rapidly.

This one will be a gorgeous pink-orange, greenish color, which when mixed thoroughly together will turn a hybrid color, sort of green, sort of pink. Thanks to the sweet potato, it also has a creamy texture, which makes it sort of like a strawberry-orange shake. It’s a tasty way to start your day. I recommend drinking a glass of this while chanting “O hair, shine bright like a diamond” between gulps.

7 DIY CRAYON LIPSTICKS TO MAKE NOW

Around here, we love DIY beauty goodies and lipstick in equal measure. After seeing DIY crayon lipstick recipes around the web, we decided it was time to put our own spin on it. We tried a few different formulas, perfected the concoction, and came up with eight must-have color combinations using a trusty 64-pack of Crayola Crayons. And yep, this recipe is pretty safe. Crayons are made mostly of paraffin (found in most lipsticks or chapsticks) and non-toxic, food-grade pigments for a reason—if a kid decides to eat a crayon, it shouldn’t do much damage beyond a stomachache. Better than lead or other potential toxins, right?

Follow along to make your favorite (or favorites—you’ll probably want to do this more than once). They’re amazing for inexpensive gifts, too.

You Will Need

• 1 whole crayon or a combo of one or more colors, equal to one crayon. You can do 1/2+1/2, or 1/3 of three different crayons, 1/3+2/3 and so on.
• 1/2 tsp shea butter, available at Whole Foods
• 1/2 tsp any type of oil (olive, almond, jojoba, coconut). We used argan.
• Heat source. We used a candle.
• Large metal ladle
• Small metal spoon
• Container with a lid, such as a small empty lip balm jar, small Altoids tin, empty contact lens case, etc.*

Optional• A drop or two of essential oil (we used grapefruit but those with sensitive skin should use other non-citrus essential oils) or extract (like vanilla or almond) for scent
• Glitter, for sparkle! We used Lit Glitter in Liberace S2 in one of our combos

1: Choose your colors! You can pick one shade you like or mix it up to a desired shade. (For this how-to, we picked Gold + Red Violet and added some Lit Cosmetics Glitter in Liberace S2.)

2: Remove the paper wrapping from the crayons.

3: Put your oil and shea butter, plus a drop or two of essential oil if using, in the ladle first.

4: Add your crayon(s). If using just one single color, break it into pieces so that it melts more easily. If you’re mixing colors, you want roughly one crayon worth total (half + half, 1 /3 + 2 /3 and so on).

5: Hover the ladle over a lit candle (about 3 inches away from the flame) and carefully add in your ingredients.

4: Crayons will begin to melt in about 30 seconds. As it melts, slowly stir until all ingredients using a metal spoon. Make sure all ingredients are mixed together.

5: Remove ladle from heat.

6: If adding glitter, stir it in right after you remove ladle from the heat.

7: Using your spoon, pour the mixture into your container. Do this this extremely carefully, as the mixture will be very hot!

8: Let it cool in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

You can control the intensity of the finished product from more sheer to full-coverage. Apply it with your fingers for a tinted lip balm look, or use a brush and layer, layer, layer, for an opaque color.

*You can also do this over a stove top, using a double-boiler, instead of a ladle and candle flame.

**If you prefer yours in stick form, you can also buy any cheap lip balm in a tube. First, empty it. To do that, twist so that the entire stick of balm is dispensed, and pull off the product. Then twist the tube all the way back to the down position. When you get to step 7, use a metal funnel (will be hard to aim without this) and pour your mixture into the tube. Cool in the fridge, and you’re done!

7 Must-Have Colors!

The best part is experimenting with color! With a 64-pack of Crayolas, we mixed several custom shades. Here are our favorite combos we came up with!

• (pictured top, in how-to): 1 part Gold + 2 parts Red Violet + Lit Cosmetics Glitter in Liberace S2
• (above, left, on model): 1 part Melon + 1 part Magenta 
• (in compact, clockwise from top left): Sea Green + Turquoise Blue, Red Orange + Wild Strawberry, Wisteria + Mauvelous, Bittersweet + Peach, Silver + Violet, Magenta + Melon. Each of these was a 1:1 ratio.

One final idea: pour your crayon lipstick into a locket! Have you tried DIY lipstick of any sort? Show and tell in the comments!