How to Beef Up Your Braid

After three glorious years of hair perfection, I have parted with my luscious Invisi-tab tape-in hair extensions and opted to embrace my natural finer head of hair. While I've come to terms with many new #finehairproblems, there's no denying the utter disappointment I feel when my hallmark lazy-girl side braid falls pathetically thin and wimpy. Sigh. A far cry from the Blake Lively-like braids I had grown accustomed to with my extensions.

Since woven hairstyles are some of the easiest, stylish, and most functional looks known to womankind, I was hardly ready to surrender to this wispy little wannabe braid. So I went on a quest to plump up my plait and enlisted the help of Annie Rush, senior stylist at Eva Scrivo Salon in New York City, to help me do exactly that. Thankfully, her tips for seriously beefing up a fine-haired braid are nothing short of impressive. (My boyfriend even questions if I'm wearing extensions again; my braids look that much fuller.)

Keep reading to see exactly how you can beef up your braid, as demonstrated by yours truly and my fine hair, au naturel. Here's how you can achieve fluffy extensions-like braids, no matter your hair type or texture, with the cold, hard evidence to prove that it actually works.

Oh, and shout-out to Blushington salon in NYC for taking care of my makeup for this shoot.