My Journey with the Elizabethans - My Final Hair Design #2

Previously I posted further experimentations of my final hair design for my assessment.  After that I purchased some already crimped hair pieces that were the closest match to my hair colour that I could find.  I also purchased some pop socks and wadding.

When creating my hair pieces, I began by stuffing the pop socks with wadding and pushing it about to make a bow shape.  I then tied the ends of the pop socks and wrapped the hair pieces around them, and tied them to the pop socks as well.  I made the two bow parts separately, with the aim to then join them together to make just one hair piece, however I could not find a way to do this effectively without ruining the already made pieces.

I then practiced my final look using the hair pieces to see how it will turn out.  I think that the design worked well on me and this is the method that I am going to describe to my partner for the assessment.

Communicating my design to my partner:
So that my partner, Ashleigh, can create my hair design in the way that I want her to, I have created a pack for her.  The pack includes my initial collage of the design, my hair charts that I made, the images displayed above of how I want the outcome to look and a step by step guide of how to create my look.  This is explained below:

Equipment needed:

Crimpers

9mm curling iron

Sectioning comb

Sectioning clips

Hair grips

Bobby pins

Hairband

Hair piece

Step by step guide:

- Begin by separating the front section of hair from the rest (using behind the ears as guidelines)

- Separate the section again into small sections to create a row of pin curls

- Using the curling irons, create the pin curls and pin into place on top of the forehead using hair grips

REMEMBER: remove the hair grips just before the end

- Tie the rest of the hair back into a tight ponytail and secure with a hairband

- Create a bun with the hair from the ponytail, leaving two small sections of hair out of the bun

- Secure the bun using hair grips and bobby pins

- Crimp the loose sections of hair

- Attach the bow hair pieces to the front of the bun using hair grips and bobby pins

- Pin the two pieces together in the middle and cover the middle section with a spare piece of synthetic crimped hair

My Journey with the Elizabethans - My Final Hair Design

For my final hairstyle, I have decided to go with the bow design.  This is because I found that it worked best in my initial experimentations, and it is also what I would class as my best definition of a contemporary Elizabethan look.  I would say this because my other two designs were either too contemporary or too Elizabethan, whereas this design has a good balance between the two.

When I initially trialled this design, I crimped my hair and created the bow from that (see post 'Experimenting with my Designs' for my thoughts on how that attempt went).  After that experimentation, I was advised that making a hair piece for my bow might be an effective way to get the look exactly as I want it when my partner creates the design on me in the assessment.  This is because I know how to create a hair bow with precision and the detail that I want, whereas my partner might not be as confident in this area of styling.
Taking this advise on board, I took some old extensions to see how a hair piece might work with this design.
- I began by taking the extensions and creating a bow shape out of them.
- I then started on my own hair, separating the front section of hair and creating a row of pin curls.
- Then I pulled the rest of my hair back and pinned it up into a bun that was flat to my head.
- I finished off by pinning the hair extensions in the bow shape to the bun that was on top of my head.
I felt that the process of this method was really effective and simple to achieve my desired look.  The aesthetic feel of this look was not the best, as the hair piece did not match my hair colour and I had not made it to be a proper hair prop.  Also the positioning of the hair grips on the pin curls is faulty, and that will be worked on.  However I think that the use of a hair piece will be taken forward with my final design.

The Hair Studio - CRIMPING & HAIR RATS

Equipment used:

Crimper

Sectioning comb

Sectioning clips

Hair grips

Bobby pins

Hair rat

How to CRIMP HAIR with a HAIR RAT

Begin by crimping the hair that you want to create a shape with using the hair rat

To crimp the hair, make sure that the crimpers are on a high heat to get the best outcome

Section the hair cleanly and hold the crimpers close to the roots of the hair and press down

Move the crimpers along your section of hair and repeat this on all other sections until the hair is fully crimped

Once this is done, select the correct size and shape rat that you want to use

REMEMBER: use one that is a close colour match to your model’s hair colour

Wrap the ends of hair around the rat and roll the hair around it until into place on the scalp

Using hair grips and bobby pins, pin securely into place on the head, piercing the rat with grips and bringing them away before turning back to pin them into the head

Repeat the pinning action until securely in place

Make sure that there are no gaps in between the hair and that the rat cannot be seen

My Journey with the Elizabethans - Experimenting with my Designs

I tried this design out on my friends hair to see how it might work out.  It was quite simple and easy to do and didn’t take a lot of time either.  However the finished look wasn’t quite how I had imagined it to look.  The braids on the top of the head were the main problem for me, as they didn't appear as fully as I had imagine them too.  When creating them, I found that there wasn’t enough hair to make multiple, full plaits, and unfortunately they ended up looking more like corn row braids.  To make the plaits appear fuller, I could try back-combing the section under the plaits, and creating five normal plaits, instead of french plaits.  This would give the illusion of fuller plaits.  Also, french plaits tend to pull the hair tighter and make it appear flatter against the scalp.

I felt that this design was a bit too simple as well, and that there wasn't anything in particular that stood out to me to make me think that I should use this for my final idea.  I feel that I can be more creative with my hair, so I think that it's time to re-think this design or scrap it altogether.

I tried this second look out on my friend again, and it was also quite simple to achieve, however I did face some difficulties trying to get it right, as the only curling tongs that I had available were not the right size.  Because of this, the barrel curls on top of the head ended up too big compared to the rest of the hair.  Instead of looking like the barrel curls that I imagined, they turned out to look a bit like a set of invisible hair rollers that had been left on the head.  Apart from the faults in the curls, the rest of the hairstyle worked quite well.  I managed to create the bun well, with it being evenly positioned all the way round.  I also quite liked the added ribbon, as this just added an extra detail to the design.

To improve this design I would need to work on the barrel and spiral curls.  If I was stuck with the wrong equipment again, I could try creating the curl with the bigger tongs, but then wrapping the curls tightly around a smaller object, such as a pencil, before pinning into place on the head.  However, I still do not feel that this design tests my abilities, so I think that this design needs some improving.

When trialling out this design, I began by crimping my hair.  I then pulled my hair back into a high ponytail on top of my head and tucked the ends of the ponytail back under the hairband.  I split the bun in two and pinned the bottoms of the bow sections to my head.  Then I brought the loose end of the ponytail over the middle of the separation to the front and pinned it into place.  Having crimped my hair, I found that my hair was a lot easier to manipulate and create into a bow shape.  The crimped effect also helped the hair to hold it's structure, so not many products were needed to keep it held into place.
I really like this design and have been more passionate about it than the others from the beginning.  I think that this is because the bow is such a contemporary twist, but as it is an up-do it is still in keeping with the Elizabethan theme of hairstyles.  To further develop this look, I think that I will experiment with other varieties of textures that might work well with this look.

The Hair Studio - CURLING & HAIR RATS

Equipment used:

9mm curling irons

Sectioning comb

Sectioning clips

Hair grips

Bobby pins

Hair rat

How to CURL with a HAIR RAT

Begin by curling the section of hair that you want to use to create a shape using the hair rat

Once this is done, select the correct size and shape rat that you want to use

REMEMBER: use one that is a close colour match to your model’s hair colour

Put the hair rat in place on the head and using the hair grips and bobby pins, pierce them through hair rat and away from it, before turning back on it and pinning it securely into the rat once again

Repeat this pinning action until the rat is securely in place

Then take your section of curled hair and bring it over the hair rat and pin into place

Make sure that there are no gaps in between the hair and that the rat cannot be seen

My Journey with the Elizabethans - My Three Designs

In order to make our designs clear  and concise when presenting them to our partners, we created hair charts of our three possible designs.  On these hair charts, we sketched our designs from a face on view, a profile shot and a back view.  We then annotated them with notes and instructions on how you would create the designs.  Below are my three ideas.

To create this first design, you would begin by creating a row of pin curls at the front of the head, using 9mm curling irons.  You would then section the hair into two, take the top section, and section that again into five.  With each of the five sections, you would create a small french plait going back on the head, making sure that you keep it tight and into the scalp.  You would then bring all of the hair into a mid ponytail at the back of the head, and finish off by placing a ribbon wrapped hair piece around the ponytail.

 

To create this second design, you would begin by separating the front section from the back section.  Taking the front section, you would create a row of barrel curls using a 9mm curling iron, and pin them into place.  To create the spiral curls at the side of the face you would use the same curling iron, but hold it parallel to the side of the face, rather than parallel to the top of the head.  To hold the spirals in place, you would use a hair grip to hold them, until the whole design was finished.  You would then pull the rest of the hair back into a neat, secure ponytail, before creating the bun.  To create the bun, you would split the ponytail into four equal sections, rolling each section around your index finger before rolling down into the head and pinning into place with hair grips.  You would then finish off the design by tying a piece of ribbon around the bun.

 

To create this final design, you would begin by sectioning the front of the hair and creating the row of pin curls using a 9mm curling iron.  Then you would crimp the rest of the hair and pull it back into a ponytail to create the bun.  Tuck the ends of the ponytail back into the hairband and split the bun in two.  Pin the bottoms of the bun sections to the head and then bring the loose end of the ponytail over the middle of the separation to the front, and pin into place.

The Hair Studio - CURLING & SECTIONING

Equipment used:

9mm curling irons

Sectioning comb

Sectioning clips

Hair grips

How to CURL HAIR

Begin by sectioning the front of the hair (from behind of the ears) using the sectioning comb, ensuring that the section is clean and even

Section the front section of hair into smaller, even sections, beginning with the bottom section of hair and clipping the rest on top of the head using the sectioning clips

SPIRAL CURLS:

When the curling irons are hot enough, take your first section and wrap the end of the hair around the iron, ensuring that the very ends are neatly in the barrel extension

Roll the hair around the iron, turning it to the side so that it is parallel to the head

Take it as close to the scalp as possible, without burning your model, and hold for around 12 ‘elephants’

REMEMBER: if worried, hold a comb in between the curling iron and your model’s head as a heat protector

When the hair is ready to be released, roll the iron back slightly and slowly release the handle, taking the hair out in one movement

NOTE: if you drag the iron out, the heat from it will pull the curl with it.

NOTE: if your model has really long hair, pin the curl to the side of the head to allow it to cool in place

PIN CURLS:

When the creating a pin curl, use the same curling technique as used when creating a spiral curl

When the hair is ready to be released, slowly release the handle and take the hair out in one movement

Place the hair back on top of the head in a circular position and pin flat to the head to allow it to cool in place

Once the hair is cooled, take the hair grip out and  your pin curl should stay in position if done correctly