Hair Styles

How  to do a four strand box plait?
     
The symmetrical four strand (or box), plait.

This is an interestingly different pattern, which may also be a more useful method for braiding the kind of hair that easily slips out of a three-strand pattern.  
Four or more strands can offer a helpful bit of extra hold for strait, strong and extra silky hair.

Start as usual with all the hair together in a ponytail.  
Divide into four strands. Make them as four-corners, not all in row, but only if you would rather the braid was not flat (see below for that).  
Hold the top and bottom right in your right hand, and the left top and bottom on that side.  
Take the top-right (1) section over the top-left (2), and the bottom-right (3) over the bottom-left (4) (the next diagram may also be helpful). Pull a little to form the base for the plaiting.  
Now, switch the positions of the new top-left (1) with the new bottom-right (4).  
Passing the top strand (1) behind (4), so that these two cross between the other two strands.
   
Next, switch the position of the top-right strand (2) with the bottom-left (3), passing the top strand(2) behind the bottom (3). 
The crossing should occur between the newly positioned top-left (4) and bottom-right (1) strands.
  
Continue crossing the opposite diagonals of the square, alternately and consistently, weaving the top behind the bottom for each of these paired strands.  
Keep on as far down as you want or can do and finally tie the ends in position.

One way of manipulating these four strands, is to temporarily 'park up' the just crossed sections between the middle and smaller fingers, while using the index finger and thumb to pass the other diagonal strands across each other.  The hands will tend to face in alternate directions, with each twist and cross of the weave.  It may however be best to just concentrate on the strands and allow the hands to find their own way of manipulating each movement of the braiding.  Start slowly and thoughtfully, so that the pattern can become clear. With a careful start, it may not take very long to build up an automatic rhythm and so make this type of plait very easy to do.

There are other four stand patterns that are possible.  One is through winding the strands in - preferentially, from one side. This makes the whole braid twists as it goes down and distributes the weight more unevenly.  The other is in the large family of spread out braids, which are explored in another section of the Hair Grower's Handbook.

How to do a fish-bone plait? 
             
The Fish-bone plait

  
Pull the hair back as if about to do a single plait, or pull all the hair around to one side. 
For many this will be easier to do, at least at first, if the hair is secured in a ponytail.  
Next, separate the hair into two bunches. 

Take a thin section from the outer part of each half. 
Cross the left hand strands over to join the right hand bunch and place the thin right hand section across to join the left hand side. 
 
Keep on incorporating thin outer sections of one side into the other, alternately crossing these strands from one side and then from the other. 

This may take a while with very long hair, but the result can look very elegant.