Hairdo dry run

[elizabeth_mn]

I thought I'd better do one last hairdo practice where I put all the elements together.  This, more or less, is going to be my ball hairdo.

I used flash, but even so, with my dark hair, the detail is hard to see.  It came out a little lopsided, but I don't mind.  And yes, I am in my jammies. 



The curls could have been done a lot better, but I can fix that when I do it for real.


I liked having the flowers just on one side.


Examining my curls.





Here's what I did:

I used only my own hair, no additions, and frankly, it was kind of dirty.
Center parted, then parted from ear to ear over top.  Clipped the front sections aside.
Put the bulk of my hair in a high ponytail with an elastic.  Separated this into 3 sections and 3-strand-braided the outer 2.
Took remaining section and twisted it into a figure 8 on top of my head.
Looped left braid around the back/bottom of my head, then coiled the right braid around to fill in the space.
Then I took the front sections, pulled them back and pinned them under the braids, and curled the ends.
Added flowers!

Here are the hairpins I used, from left to right:

Bunheads hairpin (my favorite!)
Spin pin
ordinary straight hairpins, 3" and 1.75"
homemade hairpin, made from a sz. 00 double-pointed knitting needle


The Bunheads and the knitting needle pins are my most useful.  I used the short pins only to secure the flowers.  The spin pins are good to add for extra security after the do is mostly done.

Feedback?  I like the shape a lot, since I usually find it hard to avoid a lot of bulk at the nape.  But are the curls too long?  Is it too lopsided?  I'd like to think I can make it better later but I'm also trying to be realistic about my hair skills.

Comments

[vanessa-lynne.livejournal.com]

For just your own hair, that looks great! I thought for sure you added a piece in before I read the details. What about using the flowers to disguise if the day-of 'do is lopsided?

[ashamanja-babu.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I might just do that.

[jenthompson.livejournal.com]

That's so beautiful!

[ashamanja-babu.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It took a lot of practice.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

That is beautiful! I like how you sectioned everything. And definitely do a style like this on dirty hair! After years of doing 1860s hair, I learned to let it go unwashed for a couple extra days before a reenactment. Clean, slippery hair is a nightmare to put up in 19th century styles.

My personal preference would be to pull the whole thing higher. I have this experience in doing my own hair, too: When I try to put something where it feels right/looks right, by the time it's done it's slid down the 1-2" and isn't quite right. So I recommend putting the starting ponytail even higher, higher than you think you'll need it. It should be easy to tug it down a smidge when you're nearly done, if it's still too high, but you really can't pull it back up. The shape of the whole thing is just fantastic. It looks so good!

I see the lopsided-ness in the back view picture, although it's not at all apparent in the other views. Is it crooked just because you couldn't see what you were doing, or is the way you did your hair mean you have a thicker part on one side than the other?

The curls are on the long side, but I wouldn't think that's a problem unless you looked at hundreds of pictures and didn't find any that length. They had long hair, too. ;) My only concern is if they'll stretch out and look stringy during the dancing and spinning. I assume they're heat set. My hair takes curl well, both heat and wet, but a wet set holds WAY better if I'm outside or active. It would be easy to do a couple of big rag curls. Dampen with setting lotion, roll up each section as if around an invisible curler, then pass a strip of fabric through and tie. When they're dry (COMPLETELY dry), perfect sausage curls!

[ashamanja-babu.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am so with you on pulling it higher than you need; I actually did that for the dry run here, and what you're seeing is when everything had been firmly locked into place, lower than where I started. But you're right, I could probably start even higher than that.

I think the lopsidedness is from the figure 8 not being carefully formed. If I rushed through any part of this, it's the 8.

I did heat set, and I'll probably have to in the finished version, since I've never been able to make wet set curls work. Even from just damp, my hair takes about 36 hours to completely dry in rags or curlers, and I just don't think I could stand that, not to mention how ratty the hair would be by the time I finally took it out. But when I shellac a heat-set curl with hairspray it usually works for me for an evening. I do need to practice a couple more times to make them look nice, though! And I could always tuck a little higher to shorten if needed.

[laura morrigan (from livejournal.com)]

Wow, this is really amazing! I can't wait until my hair is longer and I can do more styles like this. Meantime, I have some home made hairpieces. You will look so amazing at the ball!

[ashamanja-babu.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[the-aristocat.livejournal.com]

I have nothing constructive to say because it looks stunningly beautiful to me.

[ashamanja-babu.livejournal.com]

Thank you - positive feedback is constructive, too!

[undycat.livejournal.com]

Wow, that turned out wonderful! well done! I can't wait to see the whole look put together