-Being from Brooklyn every summer,
you can probably see every girl
walking down the block with braids.
And we just look at each other like,
"Ooh, you cute, sis."
♪♪
-Hi. I'm Sandy.
And today, I'm getting stitch braids.
I want stitch braids because, all winter,
I usually wear my hair short, as you can see.
And now, it's getting really, really hot outside.
And that's a perfect protective style
for when I want to go in the pool, the beach,
when I want to work out.
So, will I ever go natural? Probably not.
For now, I just love the [indistinct].
My hair is relaxed, and it just works for me.
I'm excited to be, like, free,
so I don't have to worry about sweating out my hair.
And I have one of my good friends doing my hair today.
And I'm super excited to see the look that she comes up with.
♪♪
-Hi. My name is Lestania.
I'm a braider.
And today, I'll be giving Sandy stitch braids.
I'm known for stitch braids,
any form of braids, and freestyle braids,
Stitch braid is a feeding braid with a twist.
The twist is the line that goes in between the braids,
to make it look like a stitch, like when you get stitches.
-Hey, girl. -Hey.
Oh, my God, I'm so happy to see you.
-I know. So, what we you doing today?
-Well, today we're gonna do stitch braids,
some freestyle in there,
gold clasps, curls at the end.
You know, [indistinct].
-Yes.
-Well, today's service is gonna take about 2 1/2
to 3 hours.
First, I start off with blow-drying the hair.
Then, I go into separating the hair into sections
as to how much breaks I'm gonna be doing,
so that I can know everything is equal,
and it evens it out for me.
Then, I put rubber bands, or I braid it back,
like natural regular braid, just to hold it into place,
so it doesn't get into the other parts that I'll be doing.
♪♪
Then, I apply jam onto the roof of the hair,
I comb through it to make sure it's smooth,
so that, when I braid it,
it goes easier through my fingers.
Recommended for stitch braids,
we will say try to give at least, like, 3 inches
overall the head.
So, that way, you can get the same feel
for the entire head from beginning to end.
After that, I keep adding extensions to each slot,
piece by piece, to get the braid to flow,
and look more natural.
-I recently found out that I was actually allergic
to synthetic braiding hair.
Any time I would get my hair braided,
it would itch really, really bad,
and I would have sores, and like bumps.
And I found a company that has itch-free braiding hair,
and it's been amazing.
So, I'm excited.
And the itch-free braiding hair is what we're using today.
-From there, I braid the hair.
I use my pinky fingers to slice through the hair
to give it the stitch look.
I then braid all the way out to the bottom,
to the little tiny pieces at the end of the braid.
So, her hair is about 4 inches at the top,
and about 2 to 3 at the sides,
which makes it a little bit more difficult
to do the sides than the top.
And now, I'm gonna stitch the braids together,
so that way, it stays down, it lasts longer,
and it doesn't give you a hump in the back of the head.
♪♪
I'm gonna have the bottom of the hair curled.
I'm not gonna add curly hair to it
because the look that I'm going for today
is a more neater type curled drop look.
And for the ends of it,
I dip it in hot water, to make sure it stays flexible,
and it doesn't look as stiff when you're finished
with the hair. It looks more natural and loose.
♪♪
I then apply mousse onto the hair,
so over the entire head.
I do the baby hairs with it, as well.
I apply either a do-rag or a black tape
around the head to hold it down.
And then, I use a blow dryer to dry the top of the head.
♪♪
I put oil seen on it, obviously, when I'm finished,
so it can look shiny and pretty.
Okay. We're all done.
I hope you like it as much as I do.
-Oh, my God! This is so cute!
♪♪
Check me out. I love it.
I feel like a brand new woman.
It brings out my lashes.
I can't wait for some sun and my future hubby to see this.
My edges are popping.
This is gonna be a staple for the summer,
and really make my outfits pop.
I feel like stitch braids complements
my tomboy chic status because it's very versatile.
I can dress it up, and I can dress it down.
This is so cute. Thank you so much.
-You're welcome.
♪♪