Braids, Buns, and Twists!: Step-by-Step Tutorials for 82 Fabulous Hairstyles

by Christina Butcher

Top knots, Heidi braids, French twists, oh my! Chic hair is all the rage from the runways to the blogs to the city streets. This book pulls together 80 classic and contemporary styles and provides step-by-step tutorials for each one. Trendsetters from teens to professionals will love mixing up the looks for parties, the office, a casual beach day, or an elegant night out. Simple how-to illustrations take the guesswork out of styling, while glossy fashion photographs demonstrate how to tailor and accessorize each 'do. With advice for different hair types and lengths plus product tips and fun variations, Braids, Buns, and Twists! is the must-have beauty resource for showstopping hair.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, How To, Reference, Art, Crafts, Self Help

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 19, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Christina Butcher is the creator of Hair Romance (hairromance.com), a blog that boasts more than 120,000 unique monthly visitors. She lives in Sydney, Australia.

Reviews

[Jasmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. My hair is really short and a couple of these I know already, thanks to bebexo in YouTube. In terms of the instructions I have no idea if they are easy to follow. There are illustrations but until I actually try one, I can't comment on the difficulty.

But yes, if you are in a hair funk, this book can give you ideas.

It would have been better if there were more hairstyles for short haired girls out there. There was only one, thus the lack of stars.

[Lorilin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good ideas in here. I wish the instructions were slightly more detailed, but I could figure out how to do most styles.

[Brianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful book for some new, fun styles. While I don't think I'll try them all, there are some that I loved! Definitely recommend.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great styles, fabulous pictures, no-fail instructions.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought “Braids, Buns, and Twists!” because I needed ideas for how to style my thick, frizzy, curly hair. I wanted to learn how to create everyday hairstyles that aren’t boring. Usually, I would wear my hair down or in a simple low ponytail. However, with the help of “Braids, Buns, and Twists” by Christina Butcher, I’ve gleaned some great ideas about how style my hair.
I started with the Donut Bun (pages 118-119). This isn’t a difficult hairstyle at all. It looks sophisticated and works well to hide my frizz and get my hair off my face.
The next hairstyle I tried was the Flipped Over Ponytail (pages 22-23). Again, it’s not hard to do, but it’s a cute step up from a basic low ponytail.
Other hairstyles I’ve tried from “Braids, Buns, and Twists!” are the Fishtail Braid (pages 50-51) and the Rope Twist (pages 94-95). I got a lot of compliments on the Fishtail Braid! Although I think it would look even better on me if I had highlights or balayage.
In addition to the hairstyles themselves, Butcher includes ideas for hair accessories, where to wear, and what types of outfits work with each hairstyle. She also includes information on hair products and the tools you’ll need to create the hairstyles.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I have been looking around pinterest and the internet looking for cool + easy hair tutorials, but so many of them are ridiculous or too difficult. This book is perfect. All the styles begin with some crucial information: a rating from easy to hard, what length hair it works best for, and whether you need help. The left side of the page has photos of different versions of the hairstyle (different types of hair, levels of messiness, etc.) and the right side has illustrated step-by-step instructions. I like this book so much I am definitely thinking of buying it.

[Elizabeth Sund · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is great inspiration, but the illustrations are not as helpful as they could be. I know how to do a lot of braids already so that wasn't a problem for me, but I don't think this book would help if you were trying to learn to braid. It is perfect for getting new ideas for using braids you already know how to do, which is just what I needed.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of these are pretty basic and anyone who has spent any amount of time trying to keep their long hair out of their face in creative ways will have tried the majority of these out of experimentation I would think.

I think these are good ideas for people who are generally pretty new to trying to style long hair and they have decent explanations of what to do. I have to try the fishtail again. I can never get a nice fishtail braid going on my own head. But the one bun I really liked (and haven't tried) requires it.

Sidenote: I did not find their explanation for the French bun sufficient. I have always struggled with those. My hair refuses to be contained in such a way and always busts lose within an hour, no matter how many pins I put in. A simple twist and roll is not an adequate description for us French bun impaired people. Who do I contain and maintain the hair in this form? lol

[Black Tea Lady ☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores libros sobre peinados y el más completo hasta el momento. Tantos looks que ya no hay excusa para no peinarse y experimentar con el cabello mediano o largo. Las trenzas son la mejor opción para el cabello corto, tan de moda gracias a Arya Stark de GOT. Buenísimo y muy recomendable.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed instructions, difficulty level, tips, several real life photos, and drawn step-by-step diagrams. I’m down to try all the styles suggested, though some will definitely be easier to test on other people vs. myself.

[Danielle Robertson Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can do a basic braid but that's about it. This book helped me understand what I was doing wrong with French braids. The pictures and descriptions are very clear and helpful. I especially like the ranking of skills set for each 'do. Something that looked hard was actually easy, and vice versa.

[Mae Ricci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful for low-maintenance women like me. Lol.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stylish hairstyles that anyone could do! Each style features a picture of the finished look and step-by-step illustrations.

[Katie Hamstead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry too old school for me. I need to see how it's done not drawn. Pretty pictures though.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover of this book is extraordinarily feminine - a pink background with three white female models on the cover with different hairstyles. I wish the models were more diverse (as they are in the actual book).

This well-organized how-to book has five chapters include Ponytails, Braids, Buns, Knots and Twists, Bouffants and Resources. Each look has colorful photos of multicultural models, difficulty level and assistance needed. The second section of each look are drawings on colored paper with “how to get it,” with each chapter being represented by a different color. These sections give step-by-step instructions, what you’ll need to create the hairstyle and top tips. I did have some difficulty figuring out just how to do the hairstyle because the drawings weren’t as sharp as I wanted them to be (due to the very low differences between the colors in the palette). The resources chapter is great! It gives images and descriptions of different hairstyling tools, a list of schools and other educational opportunities, a glossary and index.

[Ligaya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute hairstyles, definitely skews towards a young audience that favors a messier/more bohemian style. My stick-straight, fine hair, that also does not hold a curl, would not cooperate with many of these looks and would collapse after a short while despite the numerous bobby pins within. There is no way of hiding the ends of my braids/hair neatly for very long. Alas.

I found the photography very uneven. Certainly, photos could be cropped better to highlight the hair (p 62, 126) or even to straighten out the darn composition! Some photos were poorly chosen—dark hair does not often show texture well (p 84). The choice of line drawings, over a more realistic style, was at times very confusing to illustrate the directions.

This book is good for some, undoubtedly, but not for me...

[Minna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super book of tutorials for hair. I'm still too chicken to do the fishtail braid without help but the tutorials for almost everything else look super achievable. I flagged at least 20 different styles to try again, because the instruction pictures really did make the hairstyles look do-able. Extra props for featuring many of the hairstyles in various types of hair.

[Alexandra Consolver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fantastic resource for someone who loves to do hair, as well as someone who is trying to be 'better' at hair (ME!). It focuses on the basics, the tools needed, and obviously gives instructions to pull off 82 new hairstyles. This book is really approachable and fun! I highly recommend it for pros and beginners!

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! I read through this first, flagged all the styles I want to try and will try to do 1 a day. I am super excited for the bow bun!!! This is the first styling type book I have ever bought and I am so happy I bought it!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the rating system for how difficult the hair styles are. Got lots of ideas for my hair now and loved the variety in this book. Directions were easy to follow and the tips were really useful. Just what I was looking for!

[Ladyemero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doable styles, easy to understand and ratings on how easy or difficult it is. I'm interested in the Dutch plait and the ballerina bun for starters. The book is very accessible and with a multitude of hair styles to choose from well worth the investment.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this. It's both inspirational- I bought it to get out of my hair-up-in-a-clip rut- and motivational, because each hairstyle shown lists tools, tips, difficulty level, and accessory suggestions as well as the how-tos.

[Annette McIntyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you need ideas for how to do your hair differently this book has lots of those - and most of them are relatively easy to do, though some are very difficult and require someone else to help you do them.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about braids and some up dos.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

like all the different hairstyles would love to try

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I will buy this one. I picked it up from the library and started practicing some of the do's on my daughters hair and we both enjoyed them. Easy to understand with nice pictures.

[Jenny Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely gave me lots of ideas for stuff to do with my abundance of hair. I've already tried out several of the braids (and need more practice with many techniques).

[Lindsay]

great guide to hair! love it

[Jepha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good guide for basic ti beautiful & complex braids