Holiday Hairstyle How To: Easy Braided Updo

The holidays are finally here! For most of us, this means in addition to our already hectic schedules, we have festive holiday soirees to attend. The season calls for family gatherings, visits to church, New Years Eve, ugly sweater parties, and many more merry celebrations.

Trying to find party dresses and outfits for all these occasions is hard enough, so we often stick with our routine hairstyles. However, just as the season calls for sparkly clothes that stand out, your hair should make a statement as well.

For this hairstyle, I decided to take a simple bun an add a twist to make it more interesting. Follow along with the steps below to create an Easy Braided Updo.

Table of Contents

1. Create a high ponytail.

I started with clean, dry hair that was straightened, but curly hair would work great for this style, too. Simply pull hair into a high, slightly messy ponytail and secure with an elastic. I tried to keep the hair in front of my ponytail loose, so I could slightly tease it for some more volume.

2. Separate + braid.

Next, I separated the ponytail into two halves, then braided each section, creating two braids. I did this using the classic braiding technique, but you could also do fishtail braids; choose whichever technique you are more comfortable with. I used small hair bands to secure the ends of the braids, but removed them during the next step.

3. Twist + Place braided sections.

To create the updo, I pulled the braids apart slightly to make them more loose. Since I’m not the perfect braider, I figured I’d keep the entire look more messy and casual.

Then I simply twisted the two sections around the base of my ponytail to create a “braided” bun look, and used bobby pins to secure the braids.