Why Don’t You… Try Hair Braiding
- Jez Farmer
- Nov 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 7
I didn’t really know what to expect, but found a relaxed workshop and discovered that braiding can be surprisingly addictive…
So What Is A Hair Braiding Class?
It seems so self-explanatory (and it is), but perhaps because I’m a guy with sons and not daughters it also felt a pretty alien concept, probably because braiding hair has been neither a necessity nor a problem. But as I started to say hello to my fellow braiding trainees it all started to make sense, so who else was in my class and why? This was a class of 5 and we were all guys. one of us was here to review the class(!), three were here because they had daughters of primary school age and they needed to learn how to do their daughters hair for school and one was here because he wanted to help his wife to do her hair and she had restricted movement. This then was a crash course for those of us with limited experience of working with long hair. It’s worth noting that there are 3 different levels of course – Beginners (that’s us!), Stage 2, for those that can already plait hair and Stage 3 for the pro
An Evening at Megans
First up, great location – Megans, right in the middle of town – and it meant that most of the braiding trainees had a beer on their table to help them with their finger / comb / hair dexterity, which in turn meant that for a group of guys we were pretty sociable!
Our teacher, Fiona, hosted a quick round of introductions and then went through our tools. We had… a mannequin head, a brush, a smoothing brush, hair grips, a pointed comb, a selection of hairbands, rubber bands and a tool for removing them and then with that we were straight into task number 1.
A high pony tail
Followed by:
The easy bun
Followed by:
Our first plait
Followed by:
Bunches
Followed by:
Pig Tails
Followed by:
Plaity Buns
Followed by:
Crossover plaits into bunches
Followed by:
Plait with bow
Followed by:
The Dragon Braid AKA Cheat Braid (think Elsa from Frozen!)
Yes it’s true we start small with a ponytail, but the humble ponytail is important, Annis the founder explained:
"The humble ponytail is a game changer and the reason we teach it is because that helps dads to share the load on school days and also uses brushing, sculpting the pony and using a hair elastic. Something a lot of beginners/ men have never had to do if they’ve not touched longer hair before.
It can also be easily turned into a bun which is handy for dance classes and bath times when it’s not a hair wash day."
And of course the pony tail leads onwards to more, and I challenge you not to be impressed by the crossover plaits, plait and bow, and the dragon braid, and that’s the beauty of this workshop, it really will work for the novice.
You come away from this workshop and you have got some new braiding skills, but just as importantly you come away with inspiration – amazing the different things you can do with a plait and perhaps most importantly, the confidence to actually braid – the difference between our first braids and final braids was monumental, and by experimenting with tension, positioning, and strand thickness you make a lot of progress. Not so easy to carry out these experiments on real life models, so I’m pretty confident we gained a lot of experience in this short session.
Which Stage is for you?
Stage 1 If you have no experience, easy, start with the beginners. It used to be called Braid Basics for Blokes, and it is 99% blokes but not exclusively - and it's what I did for this review. You’re going to learn everything including how to brush hair properly and remove knots and cotters.
If you have some experience but aren’t too confident with your braiding then Beginners is also a good place to start – you may know some of the techniques, but there is real value in a refresher, practising and exploring a few different ways you can use the basics.
Stage 2 is French Plaits and Dutch Braids (a classic and handy duo) the most popular workshop. If you’ve done Stage 1 you’ll have what it takes, ie you can plait with confidence. Stage 2 teaches the French plait and dutch braid
Stage 3 takes your new Dutch Braid skills from stage 2 and turns them into some showstoppers the Crown Braid and Waterfall along with the all important skill of being able to Dutch Braid yourself – which to me just seems like showing off…
Should I Book Up?
I honestly think Braid Maidens is fab. I didn’t even know braiding classes were a thing until I came across Braid Maidens while setting up Hobby Republik, and so I salute Annis for spotting this gap in the market and fiilling it. It feels like one of those things that makes St Albans special – a bit quirky, open minded, fun and innovative. The Workshop itself is fun and relaxed and you are going to come out with new skills, so whether it’s for yourself, for your wife or daughter or just because you’re curious, it’s a great way to spend a few hours. Now the question is, will my wife let me braid her hair for her work meeting tomorrow…?
What You Need To Know
Braid Maidens workshops are currently priced at £35 for 2 hours 15 minutes, and take place all around Hertfordshire
Braid Maidens are also available for team building and group events (PTA’s) and do private classes too
They also sell a hair braiding kit and the mannequin heads, so if you want to practice at home you can
DO This If
You want to learn to braid or take your braiding to the next level
You want a social evening learning a new skill in a relaxed environment
DON’T do this if
You’re allergic to hair
You are looking for a weekly club
or you’re looking for hairdressing skills in general
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