Braids can be seen everywhere this season, from teenage girls, to children, to grown women – everyone wants to sport the coolest new braid around. With so many braid designs and options to choose from, there are styles to last every day of the week and beyond. If you only have simple three strand braid skills, or perhaps you aren’t even there yet – this article is for you. Lionesse would like to touch on a few of the more popular braid styles and what they look like to give you some cool new braid ideas to try the next time you’re bored and have spare time on your hands.

Inside Out Braid
Inside out braids are a popular new innovation in the braid world. These braids provide the look of a regular braid – just flipped inside out or upside down, depending upon how you look at it. They’re one of the simpler braid designs to learn to do. This is a cross between the simple three strand braid and a dutch braid. You can see these all over the internet, and they’ve become a popular, simple to create favorite.

Dutch Braid
The dutch braid is generally big and fluffy type of plait braid which sits anchored to the top of the head. It’s considered to be a French braid that’s exposed to the outside. These types of braids are beautiful and can be worn with any style clothes you can imagine. They look especially adorable with jean jackets and dresses. This braid can be worn as a side braid, wrapped around the head similar to a milkmaid braid, or o the back of the head like a traditional braid.

Fishtail Braid
The fishtail braid is likened to the bones of a fish tail because of its interwoven pattern. It’s built up over a central portion of the braid with small or fine strands of hair, and is considered to be an intermediate level braid that requires a bit more skill. Once you have mastered the two braids above, it may be time for you to give this baby a try. You will absolutely adore the end results!

Waterfall Braid
Waterfall braids are absolutely stunning and usually consist of a basket-weaving type of pattern that goes around the head from the frontal sides to the back. This pattern looks amazing with long hair or highlighted hair, and for added effect you can curl the ends of your hair to add something special to make this braid really pop. This is another simple style that anyone can achieve.

Ladder Braid
The ladder braid is simply two waterfall braids on top of one another, yet spaced apart by a couple of inches. This style looks fantastic when made to look crooked and cascade across the back of the hair like falling water. Again, curls or waves can be added to the bottom of the hair for extra effect, or a waved look or straight look will also appear beautiful with this style.

Five Strand Braid
This amazing braided style got its beginning while being seen at many different music festivals around the country – namely Coachella, for starters – and has become a hit sensation among Instagram and Pinterest. The look has also been seen across many beauty blog channels across the internet. With such a popular style, it seems only right to offer this one to you in hopes you’ll give it a try. It’s got a basket weave look to it, and looks fantastic with boho apparel.