How to French Braid Hair

Putting a French Braid on your own hair is a very difficult job. It is always easier to have someone else do it for you. However, if you follow the steps carefully, and practice on maybe a dolls hair until you get the steps correctly, you will be able to braid your own hair.

Steps

Gather your supplies. (For this you look at things to need.) Brush or comb hair thoroughly, removing all snarls.
Pull as much of your hair as you want in the first part of the braid straight back off of your face (It looks best if you start out with a small front section though).
Pull it to the place on the top or back of your head where you want your braid to start and as the length of your hair will allow.
Separate it into three sections, one in each hand, and leave the middle section laying on your head. Play with this to see what works best for you to move to the next step.
With the section on the far right, pull it sort of firmly and place it over the middle section of hair into your left hand (this explanation will assume you are starting with your right hand).
You should have two sections in your left hand. Hold those and with your right hand pull what was the middle section over and to the right and hold it in the deepest part between your thumb and palm.
Take the section that was originally on the far left, and with your left hand, bring it over the first weave into your right hand. Grasp it with the pad of your thumb and other fingers while still holding the other hair that was there deeper in your hand.
Understand that if your hair is longer or coarse, you may need to run your hands down the sections after you get them secured in your grasp to keep them separated.
Take a small amount of hair that is still hanging free on the left side, starting from your hairline, and draw it up into the hair you just drew into your right hand.
Try to pull and smooth. Now with your left thumb grasp the middle section that has been hanging underneath and put that into the "deep part of your left thumb".
Pull the part that you just 'frenched' from the front of your grasp in your hand (that becomes the new 'middle' and transfer the section in the 'deep' part of your right hand into the front part of your left hand.
Pull a loose section from the right and add it into the section you just pulled into the left.
Use the 'deep part' of your right thumb,and pick up the middle section.
Put the section in the 'front' of your left hand into the middle.
Transfer the section from the 'back' of your left hand to the right and 'french' another section of hair.
Repeat until there is no more loose hair to work into the braid.
You can either braid the rest of the hair, just continue right over left, or clip it at the base of what you have.

Tips

Read the directions all the way through from the beginning once, then try and do them step-by-step.
If holding your hair in your hand differently works better for you, do that instead--whatever is most comfortable
Practice--this takes getting used to. In the beginning just keep braiding then go look in the mirror to see how close you are.
Do not get discouraged.
It is a lot easier to do if you're sitting down. Just make sure you're not leaning on any hair.
Tuck the loose ends into the braid with a Bobby pin. They are pretty easy to hide. Hairspray the really short ones.
When you get really good, pull the hair under the sections instead of over. The braid sits 'on top' of the hair.