50 Trending Tribal Braids Styles to Get Out of a Hair Rut

If you’re wondering what are tribal braids and if they are trendy in 2025, you’re in the right place to get the needed information.

These refer to plaiting patterns that came from different cultures in Africa. These African plaits offer different textures, designs, and adornments to boost your confidence. A lot of plaits we see all over the Internet can be referred to as ancestral, for example, our favorite box plaits, Fulani styles, cornrows, and Ghana plaits.

If you’re thinking of getting some plaits, we’ve compiled 50 current ancestral styles for you to choose from.

1. Fulani Plaits with Curls. These plaits with curls perfectly complement any skin tone and face shape. You can also choose the size of coils to soften a strong jawline, create the illusion of volume, or make your face appear slimmer.

2. Side-Parted Stitch and Individual Plaits. Luckily, we can plait them in different directions, which allows for adding a bit of intriguing asymmetry to the style. And you can further support this mismatching with a dark brown to honey blonde ombre.

3. Stunning Combo of Cornrows and Cascading Locks. Here’s another inspirational case for beautiful coifs that mix and match plaits with loose tresses to produce a more dimensional and textured look.

4. Half Up Half Down Ponytail Plaits. Get the best of both worlds by rocking your meticulously cornrowed scalp with long individual pieces. Voila, you have a perfect ‘carpet-ready’ look.

5. Trending Ancestral Plaits. These cornrows will help you to rock a sophisticated back-swept style with the versatility of individual pieces. Wear them down, make a pony, or a loop bun.

6. Swoopy Cornrows and Pony Plaits. A thick high ponytail always looks stylish, but there are many chances to add something special to your do, for example, an interesting pattern, curly ends, and a plait wrapped around the pony.

7. Bob Short Knotless Sealed Style. This shoulder-length bob combines a sharp, geometric scheme on the crown with a pair of pieces hugging the face and a fun insertion of tiny curls seen here and there.

8. Customized Cornrow Designs. If you don’t see pictures of plaits you want to copy, why not create your own style? Mix different shapes and patterns in a custom-made style that’s only for you. Heart cornrows are very in right now.

9. Half-Up Fulani Style with Golden Flair. The shine of these golden blonde plaits is beautifully maximized with metallic hair cuffs, and the sole ring in the front directs attention to the cute intertwined design on the crown.

10. Cute Plaits with a Wavy Pattern. This coif catches the eye with the fancy cornrow pattern in the front and cute fluffy tassels at the ends of the plaits.

11. Multidirectional African Plaits. This stunning piece of plaiting stands out for a host of neat stitch-braided cornrows that take unexpected bends and turns at the hairline to create an intricate, eye-catching pattern.

12. Triangle Feed-Ins. These triangle knotless plaits are perfect for ladies who like long tresses. Extensions are added to your natural, already plaited locks. This results in a thicker, longer, and more natural-looking style.

13. Criss Cross Knotless Plaits. These long ancestral plaits are recommended to those who don’t want to risk damaging their scalp. They are also lightweight and may last longer than classic box plaits.

14. Stitch Cornrows with Two Low Buns. If you have trouble with finding inspiring pictures of African plaits styled into an easy updo, we’ve got you covered — just get your cornrows crisscrossed at the nape and wrap them into tight low buns.

15. Blonde Goddess Plaits and Low Bun. Cool blondes are best for paler complexions, while golden hues like butter and caramel are excellent for darker skin tones. When put into braids, the colors will be more striking, reflecting light and making your eyes pop.

16. Snaky Cornrows with Big Hair. If you are wondering whether there is a way to spotlight the authenticity of African styles, this halo of natural afro texture against the tight and twisted cornrows will give you an answer.

17. Long Highlighted Plaits with Loose Spirals. This half up creatively combines two of our favorites: it delivers ancestral patterns in cornrows and adds individual plaits with curls – everything in the gorgeous golden bronde color scheme to complement the girl’s skin tone.

18. Crisp and Dimensional Ponytail. With so many styling options available for plaited coifs, who wouldn’t want to throw stitch cornrows to a high texture-rich pony?

19. Snaky Fulani Plaits with Curls and Rings. With the tousled curls infused into the length and the full-bodied plaits winding along the crown, this ancestral coif looks pretty much voluminous and oozes boho vibes effortlessly.

20. Chunky Lob Plaits. Choose shorter lengths if you want to have plaits but don’t want to deal with high maintenance. Additionally, pick big plaits since they are easier to install, clean, and remove.

21. Generously Beaded Fulani Style. While these mid-back-length ropes strike the eye with the scatter of beads in the first place, we can’t fail to notice the lovely swirls they create on the top of the head.

22. Bohemian Blonde Style with Curls. Combine plaits and free-flowing sections for a charming and artistic boho style. You can even add cuffs and other trinkets to display your creative side.

23. Half-Up Detailed Cornrows. The style of plaiting borrowed from Fula people is definitely one of the most popular among ancestral coifs in 2025, so you will need a truly creative idea to stand out. And here it is!

24. Chic Half Updo with Accents. In fact, African plaits can be adopted as a gorgeous style for a special occasion, such as this regal do with the exquisitely decorated top knot and the bandeau tiara on the forehead.

25. Simple Center-Parted Plaits. However, you don’t need bells and whistles to rock your ancestral plaits, and a couple of cuffs will be enough to accentuate their size, texture, and length.

26. Bombshell African Plaits with a Splash of Color. Tired of basic black box plaits? Here is your inspiration: the mind-blowing red-to-yellow-to-green transition.

27. Flirty Plaits with Color Blends. Plaiting gives us plenty of creative ways to switch to another color palette without actually dyeing our manes. But this girl has taken it a step further and used extensions to play not only with color but also with texture.

28. Medium Fulani with Loose Ends. A larger size typically results in greater volume around your head, so you may need fewer decorations to your style, except for bouncy tips.

29. Plaits and Curls with Heart-Shaped Accents. Adding a pretty accent is a surefire way to make your fresh plaits pop, and this is how this gal arrives at an even more romantic plaits and curls combo.

30. Sky-High Burgundy Top Knot with Bangs. The color alone could make this updo outstanding but the multi-layered bun and hooped plaits mimicking a side-swept fringe have knocked us dead.

31. Fluffy Curls with Half-Up Plaits. This gorgeous half updo thrives on the striking contrast between the graphic cornrows transitioning into tight plaits and the wealth of fluffy loose waves running down to the waist.

32. Mix with a Pop of Color. Although such styles make a statement on their own, it never hurts to spice up the look with a great color job like this vibrant wine red.

33. Highlighted Plaits with a Designer Parting. Sometimes, it’s better to keep it simple and only ask your stylist about replacing a usual center part with a more interesting design.

34. Fancy Boho Plaits with Asymmetry. This side-swept coif wows us with the angled cornrow accent on one side and the mix of gray and white hair extensions complemented with free-spirited wispy curls.

35. Half Straight, Half Plaited. We are used to seeing ancestral styles paired with curls, but this striking look takes a whole different approach to playing with textures and places cornrows and plaits amid pin-straight strands.

36. Half-Up with Cuffs. This girl chose to leave most of her hair volume free but gave it a stunning framing with decorated cornrows in the front, a top knot on the crown, and long plaits along the sides.

37. Fulani Bob with Golden Tips. Ancestral coifs come in many iterations, and a geometric pattern can be a great way to add an edge and uniqueness to your version of plaits.

38. Goddess Plaits with Massive Top Bun. This style plays with dimensions through both Goddess plaits that are getting thicker as they run back and regular pieces that gain volume when packed in a bun.

39. Diagonal Cornrows with Cascading Locks. With a creative approach to the placement of cornrows, you won’t need to tinker with scalp designs, and the only thing that remains is to set off the pattern.

40. Ponytail with Beaded Bangs. Put the focus on your face with a high ponytail. Section off your bangs, plait and adorn them with beads to make them more interesting. So creative!

41. Jumbo Box Style. These are chunky box plaits with hair parts bigger and bulkier than the standard style. Extensions are usually used for the appropriate size and texture. Your stylist would recommend the type of extensions you need for such a style.

42. Cornrows and Two-Tone Micro Plaits. These lengthy plaits garner immediate interest with their startling black-to-golden-blonde color melt, let alone the cornrows elaborately interlaced on the crown.

43. Golden Stitch and Ponytail Plaits. Choose the mid-size, so the plaits are neither too heavy nor too light. It’s easy to play with trendy highlights adding extensions in metallic colors.

44. Half-Up Half-Down with Boho Vibes. This style shines with amazing finds, starting from the forehead plaits running in different directions and ending with the top knot that embraces loose and plaited pieces.

45. Stitch Design for Low Pony. These plaits are done using the stitch-in technique that divides the locks into equal sections. Depending on how fast your hair grows, it can last for at most two months.

46. Half-Up with Upswept Cornrows and Ombre. Show off some exciting gradients when your plaits are ombre-colored. There is no limit to the colors you may choose since all kinds of extensions are available.

47. Mesmerizing Curls Interspersed with Plaits. Instead of choosing between ancestral vibes and the beauty of long locks, this sister opted for lavish waves with some plaits to get the best of both worlds.

48. Seriously Blonde Style with a Middle Part. Sometimes less is more, and this style focuses on the extraordinary length and color, pairing them with a simple yet distinct pattern.

49. Half-Up Cornrows with Honey Brown Waves. These sweet locks look really unexpected and eye-catching with the cornrows, and the fun is further emphasized with the tiny curls and beautifully placed decorations.

50. Box and Goddess Style with Asymmetry. It’s a fresh idea to couple ancestral and box styles and plait them in different directions for some interesting asymmetry and better definition.

Ancestral plaits are now rising in popularity; there are many cute options to pick from. Depending on what overall look you’re after, you have unlimited styles to match any image you like.