How to recreate Griff’s signature ball braid
Sure, sure, we rate Griff as a musician.
But we also can’t talk about the UK-based singer without mentioning her epic signature ball braid.
It’s so synonymous with her presence as an artist that she even accepted her human-shaped trophy at the 2021 Brit Awards with a diamante-encrusted version of the braid swinging down her back.
So if you’ve ever wondered how she manages to style her hair into the stand-out style time and time again,we’ve got you.
Griff recently chatted with Vogue about a few of her beauty secrets. Topics included everything from skin care to becoming more comfortable with her textured hair and mixed heritage.
“I’ve definitely had to go through that journey of figuring out how to love my curls, figuring out how to look after them, and now I’m going through the journey of regrowing my roots,” she shared.
“You learn by trial and error, and you do some crazy sh*t,” she admitted. “[But] I’ve learnt to definitely love my natural hair a bit more.”
But the pièce de résistance was Griff’s step-by-step guide to styling her “signature ball braid look”.
Take it away girl…
1/
“We start by dividing my hair into pieces”
Griff takes small sections of hair, starting at the nape of her neck and gathers the rest of her mane into a messy bun on the other side of her head to get it out of the way.
“I’m going to moisturise with Shea Moisture [Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie] ($24.99 at Priceline) – it’s a classic,” she said as she smoothed the product through the loose section of hair. “I’m going to use a heat protectant as well.”
2/
Then she grabs her hair dryer
“You always need a [comb] nozzle like this because it helps to comb through the hair,” she advised. “I’m going to take another piece [of hair] and basically do it all over again.”
3/
She straightens her hair at the roots and ends
She likes to use the L'Oreal Professionnel Steampod 3.0 ($330 at Adore Beauty) because “it uses steam and it’s supposed to be healthier” for the hair.
4/
“We’re going to slick it into a ponytail”
“We’re going to take one of these. I nicked this from my friend Denise. Thanks Denise,” she giggled as she sectioned her hair in the middle with a parting comb.
“Then I kind of do a triangle here,” she said as she indicated a spot about one inch from the start of her hairline.”Like diagonally at the top.”
“So we’re going to get these two bits,” she advised as she pulled two sections loose to sit in front of her face before twisting them into a messy bun at the top of her face.
5/
She always makes sure to smooth down any flyaways
“I’m going to take Blue Magic Conditioner ($9.99 at Kogan) and this is just to make sure it’s all smooth,” she explained.
“Take a bit of hairspray, either here,” she said as she spritzed her hairbrush, “or onto my actual hair and start brushing it.”
“This is just like another gel – it’s stronger,” Griff explained as she rubbed another hair gel in her hands. “It’s important to really get it on your palms because otherwise it gets really streaky.”
6/
“We use polystyrene balls”
Now onto the fun part – building the ball braid.
“So, basically you get braiding hair [bundles],” she explained as she removed a 3-foot bundle of hair from it’s packaging.
“Then take a hair tie and put it underneath the hair,” she said as she rested the hair in a hair tie hammock.
“Then push one end of the hair tie through to create a loop, and then tie it onto your own ponytail,” she advised.
“A lot of people ask what’s inside?” she admitted. “[We actually] use polystyrene balls.”
Griff then proceeded to stuff one of the smaller sized balls inside of her hair at the base of her ponytail.
“You just kind of put it in and wrap your hair and the fake hair around it,” she explained before securing it with another hair tie. “Then I’m going to go in with a bigger size,” she explained, alternating ball sizes as she moved down the length of her ponytail.
“Then I’m going to do my edges with some gel and take these out,” she said as she yanked out the messy bun at the top of her head, smoothing down her face-framing strands, and completing the look.
We love hot hair tips. This is how to curl your hair with a straightener.
Main image credit: Getty
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
