A Step-by-Step Guide on How to Cornrow Your Hair

After you've detangled your hair, part your hair to correspond with the amount of braids you want, sectioning each piece so they don't overlap. "Make sure you're parting cleanly from the front of the hairline to the nape of the neck," Placide says.

Once you've parted your hair and sectioned off the areas you're not working on, start the cornrow closest to your hairline. "In the section of hair that you are braiding, make a small, horizontal part, from one end of the presectioned area to the other, left to right," Placide says. "Then, section and divide just that front area into three small sections."

It can get confusing to visualize where each section of hair should be, but Placide has a tip. "Use your thumb, index, and middle finger to separate the sections. Each finger will create a left section of hair, a middle section of hair, and a right section of hair," she says.

The beginning of a cornrow is similar to any other braid, crisscrossing one section of hair over the other.

"Start with the side sections, either right or left, and begin to cross the hair over the middle piece of hair that your index finger created," Placide says. "Once you cross the hair over that middle piece, take the middle section and bring it to the side. It will replace the piece of hair that you just used to overlap it. Switch fingers to allow a new section to take place in the center, and make sure that you are holding each piece of hair with tension, so that the braid doesn't loosen up."

Once you begin the braid, make sure that you don't lose your grip on the hair. "Grab a half-inch section from the unbraided hair left in the section you are working in, and use it to create one bigger section with the middle piece of hair," Placide says. "Then repeat step four, crossing both left- and right-side sections over the new center and continue this process down to the nape of your neck."

When you reach the nape of your neck, complete a traditional plait, crossing each side section over the center and switching fingers to take each side section over the center piece smoothly.

Since you're coming toward the end of the braid, there will be no extra hair to have to incorporate into the braid at this point.

Follow the previous step all the way to the end of the length of your hair, and secure with an elastic. Repeat steps one through seven for the other presectioned areas of your hair, and voila — you've just given yourself cornrows.