I found this post in my archives and realized that it had never been published. I haev doe a 5-Strand With Flair but never this one. So here it is!
This hairstyle works great on either wet or dry hair.
Begin by parting the top of the hair directly down the middle. Now grab two sections of hair from the front - one on each side of the part. Put one section in a clip and set it aside while you work with the other.
Separate the section into 4 equal strands. Take the strand farthest to your left and go over the adjacent strand and then under the very next strand. (That left strand should now be in the middle/right position.) Now take the strand farthest to your right and go under the adjacent strand and over the very next strand. (That right strand should now be in the middle/left position.) Begin the pattern again with the strand farthest to the left, going over and then under, and continue until you get to the bottom of the hair, leaving about 1.5 inches unplated.
Now, starting at the bottom of the braid, gently pull at the far right and left plates of the braid to loosen them up a bit and make them flair out more than the inside plates. Continue doing this up to the top of the braid, gently playing with those outside plates to loosen them up. When you've done that, go ahead and secure the bottom of the braid with an elastic. Unclip the section that you set aside and create the same braid using the same plating pattern and the same loosening technique.
Once that second braid is complete, combine it with the first braid at the back of the head, using an elastic. (You can remove the elastic that was temporarily securing your first braid.) Unplate any braids below the elastic so that the hair is loose.
Now grab two more sections from the from of the head, just below the original sections.
Create the same braid out of those sections and combine them at the back of the head as well.
Make sure to include the extra hair from the first two braids into that second elastic. Unplate any braids below the elastic and lightly curl all the ends of the hair under.
Add a hair clip to the back of the head to hide the elastics and you're all finished!