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Good news – this season’s hottest hairstyle might just be the easiest to emulate that we’ve seen in quite some time. Okay, so perhaps it quite isn’t as simple as the twist-and-secure claw clip trend that we all indulged in a few years back, but it’s not far off. The latest look du jour is the classic Y2K baby braids, or ‘tendril’ braids depending on your preferred iteration.
Characterised by a middle part with two thin, face-framing strands plaited (or braided) on either side, baby braids have been gaining rapid popularity in recent years. Perhaps the biggest lover of the style is our perennial beauty icon FKA Twigs, who has been rocking various versions of baby braids for years. She’s worn chunky baby braids with her natural curls left loose, or whisper thin with the rest of her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Of course, Y2K beauty enthusiasts like Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa soon followed suit, wearing tiny, delicate plaits twisted together at the front of the face, with the rest of their lengths left straight and loose.
It lends a playful vibe to an everyday hairstyle but also translates to the evening, as demonstrated by Margot Robbie‘s red carpet take on soft, undone plaits which went unsecured at the ends.
You can also wear your hair pulled back with baby plaits, as demonstrated by Ariana Grande in a recent shoot. The singer wore her locks in her trademark ponytail, with just two dainty plaits left to dangle about her face.
The look is unbelievably simple to achieve and open to interpretation based on your individual hair length and type. Start by parting your hair down the middle and taking a small section of hair from the either side – however thick will depend on how big you’d like your baby braids to be, but around 1-2 cms should work.
Then plait each side until you reach about 2 cms from the end of your hair, and secure with a hair band – or, like Robbie, just secure your plait with a bit of hairspray and go.
