Knotless Than You Think

Kiana 26th May 2020

DIY KNOTLESS BRAIDS

Guys, when I say this time in lock down has done wonders for me, I am not kidding! No seriously, if it weren’t for the news and constant coronavirus alerts, I’d have to remind myself why we’re really in quarantine lol. Practicing social distancing and being an active participant in staying home has kept me safe and productive.

This time made me realize that I’ve been a bit lazy in the past — that’s okay, right? We all have those moments — moments where you rather use excuses than do the work. I had been letting the comparative syndrome on Instagram/social media get the best of me for months and would sit on the excuse of “I hate IG, I rather live in the moment….” all because I felt like the people that were doing what I was doing was surpassing me. I lost focus of what I was doing and why so much so that I just stopped doing it. Living in the moment is cool, super precious, and I’m so for it — BUT, I also have a blog to run and goals to reach and comparison can’t get in the way of that.

Pro tip for fellow creatives/micro + macro influencers: Share your highs and your lows and be true to YOU and what YOU’RE doing! Often times a lot of those negative feelings of comparison come about from losing our own focus or the passion for what we’re creating. If you’re tired from running a race you feel like you’ve lost – stop and start again. Remind yourself why you’re running in the first place. Wipe yourself off and start again. We’re running to win, but remember everyone has their own race – focus on your finish line and be consistent in getting there!

Shirt: Zara| Jeans: Zara |Sneakers: Balenciaga Trainers |Belt Bag: Coach

Okay so can we get into these braids? I want to give a HUGE shout out to my friend and fellow blogger MJ for sharing her latest Youtube Tutorial on how to do jumbo knotless braids! I tuned in last week and dedicated 5 hours, 1 container of jam + eco style gel, 1 and 1/2 packs of braiding hair and all my finger strength to make these babies happen and I LOVE them. I don’t know if I’m more obsessed with them because of how they came out of because I did them… might be both lol.

Earrings: Kate Spade New York

They are far from perfect and I would never offer to do this on anyone else, but I can totally see me styling myself go forward.

Things I should have done / will do better next time:

Cleaner parts – (I’ve learned it might be better to have someone do this for you!)
Use more hair – (Personal preference, I would have liked them to be bigger/thicker)
Use JAM – I used gel for the first part of this because I had no jam at first… I feel like that’s why my hair looks so old now (It’s been like 3 days and I look like I haven’t slept without a scarf on for a month lmao! jk)

It was surprisingly harder to do the front of my hair than the back was! I thought it would have been the opposite, but my biggest struggles were trying to figure out the most comfortable way to braid and attaching the hair. It’s a little tricky trying to add hair to the braid seamlessly (I need A LOT of practice lol) but I think I did a decent job!

I think it’s safe to say this first try was a success! I definitely plan to try this again and perfect it with maybe a video of my own! Stay tuned 🙂 But all in all, after braiding, the highlight of all this was putting the look together! These braids scream street style to me, don’t they? Let’s get into the denim.