00:01When you're out in the desert for a week, braids are essential.
00:04If my hair is down, being windblown, and there's dust in it,
00:08I will have to cut off all my hair.
00:11Hi, I'm Amanda.
00:13Today I'm going to be getting a single braid
00:15with pink and purple extensions and glitter accessories
00:19for festival season.
00:20I'm so excited to get back to festivals this year.
00:24I've got face jewels, I've got glitter,
00:26I've got fur coats ready to go.
00:29My first festival ever was in 2017.
00:32I love performance and costumes and music.
00:37Be able to express yourself,
00:38it's so important to be able to live in your authenticity.
00:41And when you're at a festival,
00:42it's like the perfect place to do it.
00:44I think that there have been a lot of conversations
00:47around braids and cultural appropriation and festivals.
00:51It's important to acknowledge the history of all of the things
00:54that you're incorporating into your style,
00:56into your wardrobe, into your hair,
00:57and to just be aware.
00:59So I'm testing out this hairstyle today
01:02because it's a style that I've never gotten before.
01:05If I have my hair done, then I can go play
01:08and I don't have to spend so much time getting ready.
01:11And I can't wait for my friends and dancing and adventures.
01:14Like, that's really what festival season's all about.
01:17Hi guys, I'm Tessara.
01:19I am the owner and braider of House of Braid Los Angeles.
01:22My own journey with curly hair brought me to where I am today.
01:25I definitely didn't know how to care for my own curly hair
01:28because I think growing up it wasn't as popular.
01:31It led me to braiding because I felt like I didn't feel like doing my hair curly all the time.
01:36So I just like went straight to braids.
01:38I started braiding out of my house.
01:40I started to create a vibe where I'm like braiding all different types of people.
01:44And that's how I really got started in the braid world.
01:47Hi.
01:48Hi, I'm Tessara. Nice to meet you.
01:50Amanda, nice to meet you.
01:50I'm going to be braiding your hair today.
01:52Yay!
01:52We're going to do like a braid with extensions.
01:54We can add some fun colors such as pink and purple,
01:57something very festival-y and summertime and springy.
02:00We'll make it fun.
02:00So I'm going to give you like a nice little surprise,
02:02something you've never done before.
02:04And you're going to look bomb.
02:04I'm so excited.
02:06I'm excited.
02:09What's beneficial about braids when you're wearing it to festivals
02:11is that you don't have to do your hair.
02:14Braids, they last so long, you can just quickly get up and be ready.
02:18Just put your makeup and just walk out the house.
02:20First thing I'm going to do on Amanda is brush out her hair, most importantly,
02:24and then try to sleek it up as much as possible into a sleek down ponytail.
02:30Using got to be hairspray, I basically spray it all over her head
02:34and then I also use even edge control to lay down any of her edges
02:38and I apply it all around her hair just so that I can get that snatched look.
02:42It takes about like 10 minutes to lay all the hairs down,
02:46but I basically just snatch it up and then tie it as tight as possible with a ponytail holder.
02:52Once I have the ponytail centered, I use hair extensions to wrap around the hair tie
02:57just so that I can give it a nice thick cover and then that way the braid will blend better
03:02with the hair extensions we're going to add to it.
03:04I use hairspray and then I use a hot hair dryer.
03:07That's how you're going to seal it and melt the extension together.
03:10And once that's done and set, basically I'll start like a three strand braid.
03:14I will take the hair extensions that I like split apart
03:18and I will use it as a way to add to the braid.
03:21And as I'm going down, I'm adding the extensions so that everything is even
03:24when it goes all the way down to the end of the ponytail.
03:35So braiding with extensions differs from braiding without extensions
03:39because braiding with extensions takes a lot of time and patience.
03:42With extensions, you have to make sure that everything is clean and tidy and looks blended.
03:48And I think that's the most important thing.
03:51Once all that is done, I basically have to dip the hair.
03:55I will take a hot boiling water and dip the braid in the boiling water
04:00and use a towel to basically dry it out.
04:03And that will basically help loosen up the braid because it's synthetic.
04:08Applying heat to the braiding extensions is what will cause the braid to loosen up.
04:13Once I'm done with that, I will take a rhinestone strand that I usually carry with me
04:18and I will wrap that around the braid itself all the way down to the bottom.
04:23And then I tie it out with a little clear rubber band.
04:27And then once that's done, I want to start glittering up and rhinestoning the top of her head.
04:33I take these like sticky little rhinestones and I use eyelash glue and I apply the eyelash glue on her
04:40scalp like little by little.
04:41And then I take rhinestones and individually I'll put that all over her head and then I will spray hair
04:47spray all around her hair.
04:49Then I use a hair dryer with the heat and blow dry the rhinestones down so it doesn't move.
04:54She's then ready to attend her festival.
04:57Here we go, are you ready?
05:00There you are!
05:02Oh my gosh!
05:03Whoa!
05:06Wow!
05:07Wait, I'm obsessed with this.
05:09I'm literally never taking it out.
05:11And then I'm just going to like...
05:21I love my hair.
05:23My face hurts because I've been smiling since she finished it, but it's so cute!
05:29I've never had a look like this one before.
05:31I've never been confident enough to have all of my hair pushed back.
05:36I usually do looks with more like pieces in the front.
05:38So this was definitely bold, but I love it!
05:44I love the way Amanda pulls off the look.
05:46I think it really matches her personality.
05:48She's very bubbly, fun.
05:50It was actually my first time doing this specific style.
05:53I was able to take control and do something that I liked to do and make it different just for
05:59her.
05:59She mentioned the rhinestones and I was like, oh, that sounds cool.
06:03And I couldn't really picture what it was.
06:04But this is dope.
06:06Like this is so cool.
06:08And like the detail on the top, like I've literally never seen anything like this before.
06:14Because I love to use product and I'm not shy with that, this hairstyle can last about seven days.
06:19I know people that have kept them in a very longer time than that,
06:22but depending on how you care for your braid and the way you sleep and what you do,
06:27the braid can typically last about three to seven days, if not longer.
06:31I think my friends are going to think this look is very me.
06:35The pink and purple, it gives off very like unicorn pixie fairy vibes slash cotton candy.
06:43And I think that I will encompass all of these things.
06:47I'm already going to make an appointment for my next festival to get this exact hairstyle,
06:51because I love it so much.
06:52I love it so much.
06:53I love it so much.
06:55It's such aねl.
06:55I love it
06:56so much. But whatever else
06:59it will come to mind for me was like, just like yeah.
07:00You
