In 2017, we ended the year highlighting trendy braid looks to recreate whether it featured our CosmoBiz Beauty Examiners or our favorite Pinterest looks. Each style peaked our interests and left us wanting to recreate one of the styles with a spin. So, to start the new year, we teamed up one of the best hair brands on the market, Bobbi Boss and Seven Salons PHD, a salon specializing in protective styles in Bethesda, Maryland. Instead of focusing on braiding patterns and feed-in braids, we wanted to utilize different colors within the hair to create a personalized look with simple braids taking the whole Boss braid experience to the next level.
Seven Salons PHD sounds familiar? We teamed up with them early last year where Adrin “Seven” Washington, a former stylist for Bobbi Boss, created a custom-colored unit using the BeReal bundle collection. It was only appropriate to go back to the salon who slays the brand so well. We discovered the salon-licensed braider, Netra (@othatsnetra) who braided and SLAYED this look! The simple attention to detail…..okay let’s not spoil everything. Read along to get our full braid trend recreation makeover with Boss and Netra.
King Braiding Hair
Bobbi Boss hooked us up with an amazing quality of braiding hair to accomplish this look. The collection is called King Braid, which features an array of hair colors to blend or create any look. King Braid features non-flammable fibers with unparalleled elasticity and premium synthetic fibers.
On the packaging, the hair notes how it is “smooth and gentle on fingers for effortless braiding” for the stylist. We used seven packs splitting the following colors: TT1B/27 and 613. When braiding using the seven packs, there are a total of 61 braids installed in the hair with maintaining the natural length delivered in the package.
What we also love about the packaging are the different braiding looks on the back showing you the different styles you can wear your hair. For someone who isn’t experienced in styling and wants to wear their hair in a different style, this is perfect packaging to keep to refresh your hairstyle throughout the wearing process.
The hair was delivered before the styling day so the stylist could get a feel for the braiding hair and separate it into strands before the install. Netra hadn’t worked with this brand of hair, so we were curious about what her initial thoughts were. “The hair is very soft,” said Netra. “The softness will definitely make the braiding install easier, which will make the style even more beautiful.”
Initial thoughts turned into true confirmations after installing the hair to create the look. We asked Netra all throughout the process what she thought of the hair while completing each braid. “The most amazing thing about this hair is because it’s so soft, it doesn’t easily tangle, which I’ve noticed other brands will do.” Netra installed the hair using precise patterns, almost triangle shape, for each brand, which is simple, yet AMAZING! What’s key to braider Netra is securing the braids tightly, yet not grabbing your edges to secure your braids possibly leading to breakage. Your protective style is supposed to do just that to your hair: protect.
Braid Styles
Lemonade Ponytail: Instead of recreating feed-in braids look, this braid looks let’s us style our hair in a variety of ways just like our hair bloggers. Netra styled first throwing up in a high ponytail, recreating Béyonce’s MET Gala look where she’s famously yanking the hair at the ends. Because the hair is almost Lemonade-video long, recreating this style was definitely our favorite.
Half Bun-Half Down: If you feel like your hair is too flat, our next style is perfect to recreate. Take the hair out the ponytail and style half up in a pony and half down. Add a trendy twist by wrapping the ponytail into a bun to add height and dramatics to the look. We love this for a date night look with bae highlighting your face and those poppin’ baby edges.
No Ponytail Holder, No Problem: There’s always those days where you just forget to bring your ponytail holder or because your hair is thicker than the holder, it causes it to pop with no replacement. The next style is perfect for still removing the hair from your face to get the work done. Simply take two sections, one from left and one from right, and tie them together. It’s a simple, cute style lasting through the braid trend for ages.
