Before we begin, I will be very frank and state that hair extension and replacement is an art. To master this or any other technique will take time and practice.
Adding extensions by pinch braiding is called braid fusion. Bulk hair is braided with the natural hair to hold it securely. Most of you may already know how to do this, but what you may not know is that there is a difference in pinch braiding for braids and pinch braiding for a loose hair look. For a loose hair look, a strand of silk or other beauty grade thread should be added along with the bulk hair, and this wrapped and then tied around all of the strands at the point that you stop braiding. This helps to blend the natural hair with the extension and to give it a more neat appearance.
Basic Braid Fusion Step-by-step
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You’ll need the lock of hair that you want to extend or braid around, and a portion of bulk hair for braiding. Find the halfway point of the bulk hair. |
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Each of the halves of bulk hair will be a strand with which you will do a three strand braid. The natural hair will be the center strand, and the bulk hair will be the two outer strands. |
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You will place the halfway point of the bulk hair near the root of the natural hair. |
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Then cross one side of the bulk hair over the other. (You will do this more tightly in real life than it looks in this illustration, but be mindful of braid tension when you do.) |
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Then, since it was is middle strand, you’ll cross the natural hair between the two strands of bulk hair, and continue braiding normally. |
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When you begin to run out of natural hair, you will need to make sure you’ll still have three strands with which to continue the braid. To do this, you will take some hair from one of the strands with bulk hair, and add it to what is left of the strand of natural hair. |
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Then continue braiding normally. |
