Helloooo Blog-Readers! I have a confession to make. I spread myself too thin. I love to keep busy, but I have been TOO BUSY. Even for me. And the first thing that I gave up were my blog posts. I apologize but I will try to be better at it from now on!
So… what have I been up to?? A lot of things. But mostly, braiding. A lot of you guys probably just re-read that sentence because… what!? I know, I know, this is not a normal thing to be busy doing. But it’s true.
I started braiding hair when I was 18 and I was a camp counselor at a Jewish camp. I had a cabin of 20 girls, and all of them had a total of 3 hours to get ready for Shabbat Dinner on Friday nights. Inevitably, at least 12 of my 20 girls wanted French braids in their hair. I can remember hours of sitting on the stairs of our cabin braiding hair. By necessity, I got very fast at it. And by practice, I got fairly good at it.
As you may remember from my half-marathon training posts last year, as part of my pre-race superstitions, I also braid my own hair. What I didn’t know was, there is a whole #BraidingCommunity out there on Instagram and YouTube! It was all down the rabbit hole from then on.
About 3 months ago, I started to follow a few braiders on my longlegsbigcity Instagram account. I mostly followed the big names like MissySue, and CuteGirlsHairstyles. Soon, I began looking at hashtags and tried to replicate the braids I saw. I realized I was really good at it. I started to post pictures every once in a while of my braid creations. However, as I started to follow more and more braiding accounts, and I realized that many of my LongLegsBigCity followers probably did not want to see braids on their Instagram feed, I decided to create a brand-new Instagram, JUST FOR HAIR. I asked the Facebook Hive Mind for names for my new account, and I settled on my best friend’s suggestion: Braid in Manhattan. Like Maid in Manhattan! Get it!?
CHECK OUT MY BRAIDSTAGRAM! @BraidInManhattan
I am not a very artistic person, but I am VERY crafty. Again, something you may remember from my many DIY Halloween Costumes, including the Gum Ball Machine from last year. I found that hair braiding was an awesome craft because the result looked awesome, and the person whose hair you braided got to parade your craft around all day long! (Sometimes they can parade it around for two days, depending on the style.)
Once I created an Instagram, I truly committed to my new hobby. I quickly followed 30 braid accounts, and then followed the people they followed, etc. I really picked up my stride in the month of June, because I found an account JennisHairDays, and she was hosting a challenge with a different type of braid for every day of the month. I dove into the challenge head first. I probably knew about 50% of the braids, and I challenged myself to learn the other 50%! I successfully posted a braid every single day.
The first question people always ask me about my braiding is “how do you get good?” or “how do you know how to do it?” The answers are pretty easy: practice, and YouTube. But also, I have found that my unique skill is not really in the actual task of braiding, but in the recognition from a photo of what the braid is, and figuring it out on my own. Sometimes I cheat by using a YouTube Tutorial, but as I continue to hone my skills, I am able to look at a photo on Instagram, realize it’s a 4-strand waterfall braid with a ribbon, and replicate it quite easily!
The other question I get is: who do you braid? The main issue with my braiding obsession is finding people to braid! Most people in the #BraidingCommunity are moms who do their daughters’ hair daily. I don’t have a daughter. This presents a problem. Thankfully I have a lot of friends who are willing to be my hair models. More specifically, I have coworkers who spend 9 hours/day with me and love to be walking billboards for my styles! I usually spend half of my lunch break nowadays braiding my coworkers’ hair. I love trying out new styles, and they love having their hair done! I always tag my photos with #DeskBraiding.
Speaking of walking billboards, I am in the process of making business cards, so my walking billboards can hand out my contact information. I am also in the process of building a website, and hopefully by next homecoming and prom season, I will be available to do braided updos and make a little bit of extra cash! (New Side Hustle, anyone?) Do any of you out there need someone to do your hair? Your daughter’s? Bachelorette? Bridal shower? Wedding? I remember when I had my hair braided into a crown for Barrister’s Ball in law school and I paid $100!! I don’t plan to charge nearly that much, but even at 50% of that, I could make some nice mulah.
For now, I have been braiding completely free of charge to build my portfolio. I did my two friends’ hair for the Pride parade. I also recently did my coworker’s 11-year-old daughter’s hair for her 5th grade graduation, and she loved it! We met up at Barnes And Noble and I created a mini hair salon in the Starbucks café. I have a portable hair spray, spray wax texture spray, comb, and many many ribbons and elastics. A few weeks ago, I offered my braiding services for a friend’s church event with a panel of women, and they set up an adorable Braid Bar for me.
Also, last weekend I went to the Jersey Shore to a family friend’s house where I did her hair, and her daughter’s hair. At almost-4-years-old, she was my youngest-ever client! She went on my Instagram and picked out the style she wanted, plus, of COURSE the colors of elastics and ribbons. Somehow, she sat still for a full 12 minutes and it paid off! She totally LOVED her hairstyle.
I won’t FORCE you to follow my new Instagram, especially if you already follow me on 1 or 2 other accounts (I told you I’m busy!), but I do post pictures almost every single day. And I’m getting better every single day! Maybe someday I will start a YouTube channel and post tutorials, but for now I am sticking with the photos. Spread the word and help me pay off my student loans!
