The photo clients keep saving is always the same kind: long braids, but soft. Curls spill out along every plait, so the style moves like loose hair even though it is braided to the ends. That is butterfly braids, a protective style built on a set of braids, with pieces of curly hair pulled free as the braider works.
Most braiders build them on a knotless base, because the style carries extra hair and nobody needs a heavy knot at the root too. Our knotless braids hairstyles page walks through that base on its own. A box braid base works too and holds the loops a touch firmer.
Nine versions follow, from waist-length and jumbo to a short beaded bob, plus what the appointment takes and the nightly routine that stops the curls matting.
Table of Contents
Classic Waist-Length, the Reference Look
This is the version in most saved photos. Medium parts, braids to the waist, and a curly loop released every few inches down each braid, so the curls sit against the plait like little wings.
Balance matters more than length. Too few curls and it reads as plain braids with frizz; too many and the braids vanish. Ask to see the first finished braid before she does the rest.
Jumbo Butterfly Braids
Jumbo parts mean fewer braids, a faster appointment, and a bolder read. Each braid is thick enough that its pulled-out curls look deliberate, almost like ribbon threaded through.
The trade-off is coverage. Big parts show more scalp, each braid carries more weight, and most clients get three to four good weeks.
It is the kindest first try if you are new to butterfly braids: shorter install, quicker take-down, and one wear tells you whether loose curls suit your routine.
Small Butterfly Braids
Small parts flip everything. The braids are fine, the curls delicate, and from a distance the whole head can pass for loose curly hair.
You pay for that softness in chair time: a full small set can run six hours or more, and your braider charges for every one. The payoff is longevity, since small sets look neat a full week longer than medium ones.
If tiny parts are what you love but loose curls are not, micro braids for black women shows the same fine parting worn sleek, with no curls pulled free.
The Butterfly Bob
Cut the length to the chin or shoulders and the style changes character. The bob frames the face, the curls cluster around the jaw, and the whole thing reads polished instead of boho.
Shorter also means lighter. Clients who get headaches from waist-length sets usually manage a bob comfortably, and the ends stay off collars and scarves, where curls pick up lint.
For a different short silhouette, lemonade braids hairstyles sweep everything to one side; the bob keeps the parting centred and the volume even.
Honey Blonde Curls Through a Dark Base
Colour gets playful here, because the contrast lives in the curls, not the braids. Keep the braiding hair dark, pull the loops free in honey blonde curly hair, and the light pieces sit like highlights.
It is the cheapest colour experiment in braiding. No dye touches your own hair, and if the blonde feels too loud after a week, your braider can pull a few curls back in at a tidy-up.
Warm gold tones suit the dark base best. Ashy blondes can look grey against it in daylight, so hold the pack against your braiding hair first.
Burgundy Curls Mixed In
Burgundy does the opposite job. Where blonde brightens, burgundy deepens, and through a black or off-black base it only shows when the light catches it or the curls move.
Mix two curl colours if plain burgundy feels flat: deep wine through most braids, brighter cherry on a few around the face. The braids stay dark, so it reads grown, not costume.
Reds can shed dye onto pillowcases in the first nights. Sleep in your bonnet from night one and the colour stays in the curls.
Half-Up, Half-Down
A half-up knot or ponytail takes two minutes, and the braids and curls left down keep it from looking severe.
Gather loosely. The curls near the hairline pull and frizz first if a style is tight, so use a soft band, skip the gelled edges, and let a couple escape at the front on purpose.
It is also the fix for week-three hair: once the roots soften and the front looks tired, the top knot hides it.
Beads, Cuffs and a Little Gold Thread
Accessories sit well on this style because the braids are soft enough to thread. A few wooden beads at the ends, two or three gold cuffs midway, and the plainest set looks finished.
Keep the count low and the weight lower. Heavy beads on braids that already carry loose curls will slide, click against each other, and pull at the ends by week two.
Thread is the lightest option. Wrap a short length of gold or coloured thread around three or four braids near the face and you get the detail with almost no weight.
Extra-Loose Boho Curls
The boho version pulls out far more curly hair, sometimes as much loose hair as braid. It is the undone, beachy end of the style, closer to wearing your hair out than wearing braids.
It is also the highest upkeep here: all that free hair tangles against itself, so it belongs to clients who enjoy a morning spritz-and-separate routine. Bora bora braids sit in the same family if you want the boho fullness with a different braid pattern.
Book a curl refresh at week three if you go this loose. Your braider can trim tired ends and pull fresh loops through, which buys another fortnight.
What the Appointment Takes: Hair, Time and Cost
The curls are not an afterthought added at the end. As your braider works down each braid, she pauses at intervals and pulls a small piece of curly hair free with her fingers or a crochet hook, leaving a loop against the braid. That pause, repeated hundreds of times, is most of the extra cost over plain braids.
For hair, plan on two to three packs of pre-stretched braiding hair plus one to two packs of curly hair, water wave or deep wave. Human curly hair costs more and tangles far less; synthetic frizzes sooner. Time runs from three hours for jumbo to six or more for small, and prices commonly land between $150 and $350 depending on city and size.
On the base, the experts Ipsy spoke to for their knotless braids guide make the same point I make in the salon: a feed-in start keeps tension low, which matters even more once loose curls add weight to each braid.
Keeping the curls soft instead of tangled.
Every night, run your fingers down each braid and separate the curls from their neighbours before they web together. Spritz with water and a little leave-in, smooth mousse over the curls, then pile everything into a loose pineapple under a satin bonnet.
Never brush the curls dry, and never skip the bonnet. Wash day is scalp-first: diluted shampoo between the parts, rinse well, let the curls air-dry, then mousse again, and snip any synthetic ends gone wiry. Most sets give four to six good weeks, and the curls, not the braids, decide when the style is done.
Quick Answers
How long do butterfly braids last?
Four to six weeks for most people. The braids could go longer, but the pulled-out curls frizz and tangle first, and once they mat the style looks old even if the parts are still neat.
Are the curls my own hair?
No. The loops are extension hair, the same curly bundles used for sew-ins and crochet styles, fed into the braid and pulled free piece by piece. Your own hair stays inside the braid, which is what makes the style protective.
Can I wash butterfly braids?
Yes, and you should. Focus shampoo on your scalp between the parts, let the suds rinse through the lengths, and avoid scrubbing the curls themselves. Air-drying plus a little mousse brings the loops back.
How much hair should I buy?
Two to three packs of pre-stretched braiding hair and one to two packs of curly hair covers most medium sets. Buy curly hair in person if you can, so you can feel whether it is soft or coarse.
Will they pull my edges out?
They should not. Ask for a knotless start, tell your braider the moment anything feels tight rather than at the end, and keep heavy updos off the hairline for the first week.
Pick the version that fits the life you have. Rushed mornings call for jumbo or a bob with modest curls; if you love playing with your hair, the loose boho set rewards you daily.
