A Sam Villa Festival Braid

We swung backstage at Premiere Orlando to visit Redken Global Ambassador and updo master Sam Villa, and he demoed a plaited pigtail style that’s perfect for festival season. Watch him work his magic below!

Loving this look? Here are a couple takeaway tips we caught from Sam while he created the cool ‘do. 

Use Your Elastics
For most updos you want to cover your elastics, but festival looks call for a little more creativity. Sam suggests keeping the elastics out and in plain sight to add some fun to the finished style. Colored elastics add a pop of color and black elastics, like the ones used in the how-to above, stand out on blonde hair.

Protect The Hair
Elastics can be abrasive on the cuticle surface, says Sam. So to avoid any breakage or harsh indentation when using them, Sam suggests coating the elastics with Redken’s Braid Aid 03 to buffer the elastic and the cuticle.