Easy, Step-by-Step Hair Braiding Guide

It's time to begin creating box braids once your hair is ready.  Box braids can be made with your own hair or by adding synthetic or human hair extensions.  The process is almost the same for both, but slightly different.

A simple guide on how to create box braids on natural hair

To create box braids on your natural hair, you need the following.

a. A sectioning comb

b. Hair tie/sectioning clips

c. Wide-tooth comb

d. Medium-sized comb 

e. Hairbrush

Step 1: Use the wide-tooth comb to detangle and properly comb through your hair. Starting from the tips, gently work your way to the roots of the hair. 
Step 2: Loosely tie up your hair in a bun using the hair tie. This allows you to work with smaller sections of hair at a time. 
Step 3: Use the sectioning comb to put your hair in smaller sections. This is useful depending on the texture and length of your hair. If you have thick short hair, then you can put your hair into four sections instead of a single bun for ease of management.
Step 4: Start sectioning your hair horizontally and vertically to form the box on which you will install your braids. You can section it into different shapes to meet your preference.

If you want to create the regular box pattern, all you need to do is:

a. Use the sectioning comb to section your hair horizontally from ear to ear. You can go over the line several times to ensure it is straight. 

b. Start to section the horizontal line you created earlier vertically to form a box. The amount of hair you leave out while sectioning your hair horizontally and the width of your vertical line will determine the size of your boxes.

The more hair you leave out horizontally and the wider the width of your vertical line, the bigger your boxes will appear.

Note: You can work with one box per time or create several boxes throughout the head before making the braids. Any of the methods work, it depends on how you prefer to work.

If you want to first create boxes all over the head before braiding, then you have to part your hair horizontally first using a one-inch measurement if you don’t have a measurement in mind. 

Then vertically divide the horizontal lines using the same one inch. This will give you the perfect box shape to install your braids.                             

Step 5: comb through the hair parted in a box shape. Once it is tangle-free, divide it into three equal parts.

Step 6: Start braiding the hair. Once the hair is divided into three equal parts, start braiding by placing one part over the other repeatedly.

To do this, place the hair in the middle over the one on the right, then place the one on the right over the left while holding each section in place. Do this repeatedly to completely braid that section of hair.

Step 7: Create more boxes, then follow the same process to make the box braid until you are done with the entire head. 

That’s it! You have successfully created box braids using your natural hair.

Quick Steps to Create Box Braids Using Hair Extensions

Creating box braids using hair extensions is different from when you are just using your natural hair. Although the process of prepping and sectioning the hair is the same. The difference is that you are attaching hair extensions.

If you are using bulk braiding hair, you will need to prep the braiding hair before attaching it. To prep your braiding hair extension: