How to do a pull-through braid, step by step
- Gather a section at the crown, tie it with a clear elastic, and clip the ponytail up out of the way.
- Take the next section just below it, above your ears, and tie that too.
- Let the top ponytail down, split it in two, and bring the halves down either side of the lower ponytail. Clip the lower one up out of the way.
- Add a little new hair to the two halves and tie them together into a new ponytail.
- Keep going down the length: split the upper ponytail, pass the lower one up through the middle, tie. On hair past the waist, expect seven elastics or more.
- Hold the end and tug each section out to the sides, starting at the bottom and working up, until it looks full.
Why it slips past the waist
A plain three-strand plait on hip-length hair loosens from the top, because all that weight hangs off one braid. Here every section is tied on its own, so one that slips can't drag the rest down with it. Freshly washed hair is the hardest to work with: second-day hair, or a little texture spray at the roots, grips better.
What you need
Small clear bands, one per section. A pack of 250 covers years of these.
Detangle before you start. A knot halfway down turns into a lumpy section you can't fix without starting again.
Optional, for freshly washed hair: a little at the roots gives each section something to grip. At $83 a can it's the luxury version of the tip.
Steps checked against: Pull Through Braid (Missy Sue, checked 2026-10-13); How-to: French Pull-Through Braid (Prose, checked 2026-10-13).