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

My Journey with the Elizabethans - Modern Hairstyles made Elizabethan

In order to create the best possible hair design for my assessment that I can, I began to make collages of some possible hair designs that I could create.  Using some modern hairstyle images that I found on the internet and that I liked, I cut, drew and stuck things on them to give the hairstyles a more Elizabethan twist.

This first image was the one that I decided best fitted my interpretation of a 'smart' hairstyle.  I chose to use this photo as it is a classic contemporary hairstyle.  During the Elizabethan era, when women wore their hair up it would all be up and out of the way, whereas today a lot of women wear their hair in a ponytail.  A ponytail is still an up do, with the hair pulled back off of the face, however it is a more modernised up do.

This first design idea shows a row of pin curls at the front of the head, with rows of plaits going back on the head and into a ponytail.  I have also added a hair piece to go around the ponytail, as during the Elizabethan era they used a lot of props in their hair.  The hair piece, I imagine, would have ribbon wrapped around it.  The Elizabethan aspects of this design is the row of pin curls at the front of the head. The hair being braided back on the head is also an Elizabethan twist to the hairstyle, as plaits and twists were popular during the Elizabethan era.  The contemporary twist to this design is the fact that the hair has been brought back into a ponytail, rather than a bun.  Ponytails are more contemporary, as during the Elizabethan era women would have been expected to sweep all of their hair up.

This second image is one that I found on the internet when looking at contemporary buns for some inspiration.  I liked the original image of the bun because I like the texture that is shown on the top of it, with the different strands of hair being crossed over one another.  I chose this image to annotate and create on because the hairstyle is designed so that all of the hair is up, off of the face and pulled back into a bun.

This design shows a row of barrel curls pinned on top, at the front of the head, with two spiral curls hanging loose at either side of the face to frame it.  The rest of the hair is then brought back into a bun, finishing off with a piece of ribbon tied around it for extra security.  This hair design is very Elizabethan in the sense that all of the hair is up on the head.  The bun is an Elizabethan idea, although I have chosen a more contemporary style of bun for this design.  The barrel and spiral curls are the main intended Elizabethan aspects of the design.  I have chosen to use the barrel curls in this design, as I believe that they will give the hair more texture at the front of the head, whereas pin curls tend to sit flatter on top on the head.  I like the way that the spiral curls frame the face, as this gives the design a more finished look and incorporates the face with the design a bit more, rather than just finishing above the ears.

    I found this third image, again, whilst researching some images of contemporary buns and up-dos for inspiration for my final design.  When I came across this image with the bow made out of hair, I knew that I wanted to experiment with the shape and style of this, because it is a very contemporary and very different kind of up-do.  In the original image, I liked the way that the hair was all slicked back on the head before going into the bow, as this creates different textures and volumes within the hairstyle.

    The way that I have adapted this third design idea, is by adding a row of pin curls at the front of the head.  The rest of the hair will then be scraped back to make a bow shape, out of the hair.  The design will be finished off by wrapping a piece of ribbon around the head twice, just to give it a little extra detail.  The main Elizabethan aspect of this design is the pin curls at the front of the head.  However the fact that all of the hair is up and off of the face is very Elizabethan too, as they were never seen to wear their hair down.  The contemporary twist it that the up-do is a hair bow, rather than a bun or some sort of design that uses a hair rat.

My Journey with the Elizabethans - Ribbon Work

During the Elizabethan times, they used lots of different materials to entwine into the hair to keep it in place.  These materials could include things such as wire, ribbon or even lace.  This week in our hair seminar we tried out some plaiting techniques, using ribbon to tie and hold the hair in place.

  

I began by tying a piece of ribbon, twice as long as the natural hair length, to a strand of hair at the front of the head where I wanted my french plait to start.  Once I had secured the ribbon in place (in a strand just under the top layer, so that the knot couldn't be seen), I began to french plait the hair with the ribbon in, keeping it visible throughout the plait.  When it came to the end of the plait, I used a small elastic hair tie to hold the plait in place.  I then created a second french plait on the other side of the head with another piece of ribbon.

I then held the first french plait round and up on top of the head, whilst I used the spare ribbon on the end of the plait to weave back through the plait.  I repeated this method for the other plait as well, and then when both pieces of ribbon had been weaved back through the plaits, I tied a bow at the nape of the neck to secure the hair.

This technique was really interesting and quite easy to grasp.  I found it so interesting, because it amazed me that the hair do was kept so secure through just using two piece of ribbon to tie it all up on the head.  Also, I like to way that the look turned out aesthetically, as I feel it looks a bit like a hairstyle that may have been adopted by the less wealthier people of the Elizabethan time period.  For example, peasants or workers.

I quite like this look, and I think that I will experiment more with ribbon before I decide on my final 3 designs for the project assessment.

The Hair Studio - PLAITS & BUNS

Equipment used:

Hair brush

Sectioning comb

Hair tie

Hair grips

Bobby pins

How to create a BUN

Comb the hair back into a ponytail making sure that it is smooth with no bumps

     NOTE: if the hair is long tie the top half first and then the bottom half, joining the two when the
hair is smooth all round

Split the ponytail into 4 sections

Roll the first section around your index and middle finger (held slightly apart) and place it down using hair grips, one in each side, to hold it in place

Repeat the above step for all 4 sections

Take your bobby pins and use them to move the hair and join the gaps between the sections

Place the pins securely to hold the bun in place

How to create a FRENCH PLAIT

Take a small, neat section where you want to start your plait

Remember to always think of the direction of which you are plaiting and stand accordingly

Split the top section into 3 and start plaiting, taking and adding a section over the top each time

Once you have added all of the hair, finish the plait off in a normal plait

When you get to the ends, put some serum or wax into the hair to stop the layers from escaping and splaying

If you are doing a full head French plait, alternate where you are taking the added sections of hair from; section from the middle of the head closer to the plait, then a section from the outer strands of hair, and so on

     REMEMBER: keep it tight and into the scalp

How to create a FISHTAIL PLAIT

Split the hair into 2 sections

Take small sections from behind at the side of the main sections and cross them over to join with the other main section

Repeat this movement until you have a full fish tail plait

     REMEMBER: keep tension in the plait so that it stays in place, but don’t make it too tight