-When you're out in the desert for a week,
braids are essential.
If my hair is down, being windblown,
and there's dust in it,
I will have to cut off all my hair.
Hi. I'm Amanda.
Today I'm gonna be getting a single braid
with pink and purple extensions and glitter accessories
for festival season.
I'm so excited to get back to festivals this year!
I've got face jewels. I've got glitter.
I've got fur coats ready to go.
My first festival ever was in 2017.
I love performance and costumes and music.
Be able to express yourself.
It's so important to be able to live in your authenticity.
And when you're at a festival,
it's, like, the perfect place to do it.
I think that there have been a lot of conversations
around braids and cultural appropriation and festivals.
It's important to acknowledge the history of all of the things
that you're incorporating into your style,
into your wardrobe, into your hair,
and to just be aware.
So I'm testing out this hairstyle today
because it's a style that I've never gotten before.
If I have my hair done, then I can go play,
and I don't have to spend so much time getting ready.
And I can't wait for my friends
and dancing and adventures like that.
That's really what festival season is all about.
-Hi, guys. I'm Tassara.
I am the owner and braider of House of Braid Los Angeles.
My own journey with curly hair brought me to where I am today.
I definitely didn't know how to care for my own curly hair
because, I think, growing up, it wasn't as popular.
It led me to braiding because I felt like
I didn't feel like doing my hair curly all the time,
so I just, like, went straight to braids.
I started braiding out of my house.
I started to create a vibe, where I'm, like,
braiding all different types of people,
and that's how I really got started in the braid world.
-Hi! -Hi! I'm Tassara.
Nice to meet you. -Amanda. Nice to meet you.
-I'm gonna be braiding your hair today.
-Yay! -We're gonna do, like,
a braid with extensions.
We can add some fun colors such as pink and purple,
something very festival-y and summertime and springy.
-Yeah, I like that. -We'll make it fun.
So I'm gonna give you, like, a nice little surprise,
something you've never done before,
and you're gonna look bomb.
-♪ I'm so excited ♪
-I'm excited.
What's beneficial about braids when you're wearing it
to festivals is that you don't have to do your hair.
Braids, they last so long.
You can just quickly get up and be ready --
just put your makeup and just walk out the house.
First thing I'm gonna do on Amanda
is brush out her hair, most importantly,
and then try to sleek it up as much as possible
into a sleeked-down ponytail
using Got2b hairspray.
I basically spray it all over her head,
and then I also use EBIN edge control
to lay down any of her edges,
and I apply it all around her hair
just so that I can get that snatched look.
It takes about, like, 10 minutes to lay all the hairs down,
but I basically just snatch it up
and then tie it as tight as possible with a ponytail holder.
Once I have the ponytail centered,
I use hair extensions to wrap around the hair tie
just so that I can give it a nice, thick cover,
and then, that way, the braid will blend better
with the hair extensions we're gonna add to it.
I use hairspray, and then I use a hot hair dryer.
That's how you're gonna seal it and melt the extension together.
And once that's done and set,
well, basically I'll start, like, a three-strand braid.
I will take the hair extensions that I, like, split apart,
and I will use it as a way to add to the braid.
And as I'm going down, I'm adding the extensions,
so that everything is even when it goes all the way down
to the end of the ponytail.
♪♪
So, braiding with extensions
differs from braiding without extensions
because braiding with extensions
takes a lot of time and patience.
With extensions, you have to make sure
that everything is clean and tidy and looks blended,
and I think that's the most important thing.
Once all that is done,
I basically have to dip the hair.
I will take hot boiling water
and dip the braid in the boiling water
and use a towel to basically dry it out,
and that will basically help loosen up the braid
because it's synthetic.
Applying heat to the braiding extensions
is what will cause the braid to loosen up.
Once I'm done with that, I will take a rhinestone strand
that I usually carry with me,
and I will wrap that around the braid itself
all the way down to the bottom.
And then I tie it out with a little clear rubber band.
And then once that's done, I want to start glittering up
and rhinestoning the top of her head.
I take these, like, sticky, little rhinestones,
and I use eyelash glue,
and I apply the eyelash glue on her scalp,
like, little by little, and then I take rhinestones,
and, individually, I'll put that all over her head,
and then I will spray hairspray all around her hair.
Then I use a hair dryer with the heat
and blow-dry the rhinestones down so it doesn't move.
She's then ready to attend her festival.
Here we go. Are you ready?
There you are!
-[ Gasps ] Oh, my gosh!
Whoa! -It looks so good.
-Wow. -Wait. I'm obsessed with this.
I'm literally never taking it out.
And then I'm just gonna, like...
Tchoo! Tchoo! Tchoo! Tchoo!
♪♪
I love my hair.
My face hurts because I've been smiling since she finished it.
But it's so cute!
I've never had a look like this one before.
I've never been confident enough
to have all of my hair pushed back.
I usually do looks with more, like, pieces in the front.
So this was definitely bold.
But I love it!
-I love the way Amanda pulls off the look.
I think it really matches her personality.
She's very bubbly, fun.
It was actually my first time doing this specific style.
I was able to take control and do something that I liked to do
and make it different just for her.
-She, like, mentioned the rhinestones,
and I was like, "Oh, that sounds cool."
Like, I couldn't really picture what it was, but this is dope.
Like, this is so cool.
And, like, the detail in the top, like,
I've literally never seen anything like this before.
-Because I love to use product and I'm not shy with that,
this hairstyle can last about 7 days.
I know people that have kept them in a very --
a longer time than that,
but depending on how you care for your braid
and the way you sleep and what you do,
the braid can typically last
about three to seven days, if not longer.
-I think my friends are gonna think this look is very me.
The pink and purple, it gives off very, like,
unicorn, pixie-fairy vibes/ cotton candy,
and I think that I will encompass all of these things.
I'm already going to make an appointment for my next festival
to get this exact hairstyle because I love it so much.