Braided Crown 3 Ways: The Criss-Cross Applesauce

I am so excited to share my first hair tutorial with you guys! And because it is my first tutorial, I wanted to do something extra special. But also something that I actually do wear myself regularly. I of course immediately thought sharing a braided crown would be perfect. I soon also realized I wear a braided crown an assortment of ways. So, lucky you, I am actually doing three tutorials. That means it will be coming to you in three parts.

Braided crowns are a go-to of mine these days. I remember when the style was first becoming popular in my neck of the woods and wanting desperately to join in, but my hair was still a little to short at the time. But I kept trying; I'd put little bow were the braid ended or gather the end in a bun instead of wrapping it all the way around. When my hair was finally long enough to wrap my whole head braided, I may have jumped for joy a bit! And by that time I had plenty of practice and had the braided crown look down a number of ways. This has come in handy lately as the weather here has sure gotten unbearably hot fast and I have a whole lot of hair that I'm still not sure what to do with. I've probably mentioned it before, but this is the longest my hair has ever been (and I have to convince myself everyday to not take scissors to it). I am happy that it now seems to be long enough to allow me to do any kind of style I can think of (except cute, short ones of course). So I've been getting it off my neck and getting creative with it to.

This braided crown, which I love to call The Criss-Cross Applesauce, is most likely the easiest of the three braided crowns I will show you. As such, it is the one I wear the most. It takes a matter of minutes, two normal braids, and some bobby pins to pull it off. It is, in my opinion, a perfect combination of sophistication and casual. You are bound to get compliments on this hair-do. I'll leave it at your discretion as to whether or not you want to share how easy the look is to achieve :) Plus, you may be able to pull this off with shoulder-length hair, so long as you don't have a ton of layers.

1. Begin by combing any tangles out of your hair and then gathering your hair into two sections.
2. Apply a tiny bit of coconut oil with the tips of you fingers to each gather section. Braid one section and secure it with a small rubber-band (the closer to your hair color, the better). Do this to the other section as well. I like to hold my hair outward as I am braiding it, versus braiding downward,  allowing the base of the braid to be a little looser. This will help your braids sit better around your ears as you pull them up.
3. Take one of the braids and cross it over the top of your head. Adjust as needed, to get the braid to lay flat around the ear. Using bobby pins, pin the braid in place on the top of your head, paying extra attention to the end of the braid and making it lay flat. I like to imagine placing it where a headband would rest. Once pinned, loosen the braid up a bit carefully with your fingers to make it look more natural.
4. Do the same with the other braid. Cross it over the top of your head and the braid already pinned in place, tucking the end of it into to the other braid. Pin in place. Add as many bobby pins as needed for the braids to feel secure.
5. Tuck in any unwanted flyways and tuck your bangs back if preferred.

See, super simple. It just looks like you spent a lot of time on it. Plus, braided crowns are perfect for dirty, summer hair. And a HUGE thank you to my sister, Bee, for taking all the pictures for me. And for not thinking I was weird when I asked you to come over and take pictures of me doing my hair :)

Update:
- you can see The Upside Down and Around here
- and The Bohemian Wrap is here now too!