VIDEO: The half-up, half-down fishtail braid

Recreate the style inspired by TRESemmé’s NYFW runway look

Beauty Crew Editor / January 19 2017

A few weeks ago I went to New York with TRESemmé to see what the talented team of TRESemmé hairstylists were creating backstage at New York Fashion Week.

The Rachel Zoe show was all about the fishtail braid, with the intricate style created on either side of the hair part and joined together at the back of the head, and then again down the back of the head.

Inspired by TRESemmé Hair Stylist Jeannie Syfu’s work, I created my own take on the look, and here’s how you can do the fishtail braid, too.

1

Create volume and texture

To give your style some lived-in texture and oomph, apply a mixture of TRESemmé Perfectly (Un)Done Wave Creating Sea Foam and Perfectly (Un)Done Sea Salt Spray from roots to tips, and dry off.

2

Start your first fishtail braid

Section some hair next to your part and split it into two even halves

How to do a fishtail braid split hair in half

3

Create the fishtail braid

How to do a fishtail braid can be tricky, so we’ll try break it up for you.

With your hair section halved, take a small section from the outside of the back half, bring it into the centre, and join it to the front section of the front half. Then take a small section from the outside of the front half, and bring it into the middle, joining it to the inside of the back section. If this is a bit confusing for you, we highly recommend watching the video above to see the process in action.

How to do a fishtail braid step

4

Repeat the braiding technique

Continue this process until you get to the end of the section.

How to do a fishtail braid

5

Pin the fishtail braid back

Use a bobby pin to secure the fishtail braid at the back of your head.

How to do a fishtail braid

6

Fishtail braid the other side

Repeat steps 2-5 on the other side of your part.

How to do a fishtail braid

7

Spray for hold

To keep your fishtail braids in place, use a hairspray that offers superior hold. We used TRESemmé Salon Finish Freezehold Hairspray.

TRESemmé Salon Finish Freezehold Hairspray

If you feel like you’ve mastered how to do a fishtail braid and are game enough, create a third fishtail braid that runs down the centre of the back of your head where your two side-fishtail braids meet – just like the one seen created by TRESemmé’s Jeannie Syfu at Rachel Zoe.

Carli was BEAUTYcrew’s Editor from launch in 2016 until May 2020. You can find her words right here on BEAUTYcrew, and previously on beautyheaven.