Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Faux Hair Fun

We've done several posts using these faux hair clips that we found at Sally Beauty Supply and my daughter absolutely LOVES them. 
They happen to be just the right length for her hair but you can always trim them up if you need to.  This is just another style using those fun clips.  Grab a small section of hair right from the middle of the hairline, up by the forehead, and secure it with a small clear elastic.  Now clip your faux hair in right over the elastic. 
 Grab a section of hair from each side of your original section and have your princess hold those for you for just a second.  Create a part just behind your original section that is right in the middle of the head and is about 2 inches long.  Now section out the hair from that middle part down to the ear on each side - giving you two new sections. 
You'll want to grab the right section that your princess is holding and bring it right over the faux hair clip and add it in with the new left section with an elastic. 
 Repeat on the other side by grabbing the left section that your princess is holding, place it over the faux hair clip as well and add it in with the new right section with an elastic.  (You're original ponytail and fax hair should not be added into these two new elastics.) 
 Create a braid out of each of those two new ponytails.  Your braid will only need to be about 3 inches long. 
 Have you princess hold those two braids while you part the remainder of the hair right down the middle.  
  Move back up to your very first ponytail with the fax hair and separate that into two sections - making sure that the faux hair is evenly divided and clearly visible.    Take the right section and the right braid and combine them together with all the hair on the right half of the head with an elastic.  Do the same on the left side as well. 
Remember to have your colored hair on top so that it's easily seen.  Add some hair clips to hide your bottom two elastics to complete the whole look. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Straight "A" Student

My princess was so excited about her straight A report card that she wanted to do something fun with her hair to celebrate.  Her name happens to start with the letter "A" so we've done variations of this hairstyle before but never posted anything. 
 Start by pulling the top half of the hair up into a ponytail.  Separate that ponytail into two sections and create a regular 3-Strand Braid out of each section.  Secure the bottom of the braids with elastics.  Have your princess hold those two braids out of the way while you move down to the bottom half of the head. 
 Part the remainder of the hair right down the middle and secure each side into a low ponytail.  Braid those two sections into regular 3-Strand Braids as well.  Secure the bottom of those braids with more elastics.  Now this next part will vary depending on how long your princess' hair is.  I will give the directions for what we've done here but you can modify it if you need to.  Pull the bottom braids up behind the their starting elastic using a Topsy Tail.  Let the ends of the hair just flair out. 
 Now grab your original two braids and pull them down in the middle of the head and then wrap the left braids around the junction of the lower left braid.  Do the same with the right side as well.  Pull each side up and around the junction, covering the elastic, and pull it across to the braid junction on the opposite side of the head. 
 Pull the last little bit of the braids through those opposite sides using the Topsy Tail again.  (So that the elastic securing the braid is hidden underneath the hair.) 
Add some bobby pins at both braid junctions just to secure everything nicely and you're all finished!  Again, don't be afraid to change it up according to the length of hair you are working with!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Netting Updo

Here's a pretty one for church or a special occasion. 
You will want to work with wet hair and create 5 vertical sections - making sure that you have one directly in the middle and two on each side of that.  Secure each section with an elastic back in the middle of the head.  You should now have 5 ponytails. 
 Separate each of the ponytails into two sections (except for the two outside ponytails) and combine one section from one ponytail with one section from the adjacent ponytail. Do this for each of the ponytails.  Your two outside ponytails will be added in with one section from their adjacent ponytails.  Make sure that your elastics combining the section are about 1.5 inches below the first elastics. 
You should now have 4 ponytails.  Tuck all of the netting up underneath itself so that the 4 ponytails are line up with the outside 4 original sections. 
Using a Topsy Tail, pull the 4 ponytails through those 4 sections.  Create a Barrel Roll out of each of the 4 pieces of hair and secure them over the original elastics with bobby pins.
  Add a hair clip over the middle elastic and spray the hair for a nice tight hold. 

Friday, March 25, 2011

Flashback Friday: Princess Hair

So at this point we were really trying to get creative with the growing bangs because we were getting sick of the same old hairstyles all the time.  This one is just a simple French Twist but it's perfect for pesky bangs.
 
Start with wet hair and comb the bangs right down into the face.  Create a part right in the middle about three inches long.  (Behind the bangs.)  Now begin your French Twist with the bangs and continue adding in hair as you work to the right, along the scalp line. 
 When you get over to the left ear and have added in all the hair.  Secure it into a ponytail with an elastic.  Add a flower clip to his the elastic.  Those bangs will be out of the way for the whole day!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Abby Cadabby

My princess is a little too old for Sesame Street but she still loves Abby Cadabby.  After all, what girl wouldn't love a darling little pink fairy with awesome hair?
  
 This is our version of her cute hair.  We started by parting the hair right down the middle and Pulling each half up into a piggie by securing it with an elastic. 
 Next we created some Kissy Lip Buns.  Basically they are Messy Buns for longer hair.  Grab another elastic and wrap it around the piggie again until your last chance to wrap it when you will want to only pull the hair half-way through.
  Now puff the bit off hair that is still hanging down up under the top poof and grab yet another elastic.   Wrap it around both poofs as tightly as you can until it is secured. 
 Now tug at each poof a little bit and make it look a bit disheveled.  Repeat the same steps with your second piggie. 
 Add some hair clips underneath the Kissy Lip Buns and you have your Abby Cadabby hairstyle! 
We also used a variation of this for my princess this last weekend because she was in our local St. Patrick's Day parade. 
 We wrapped some clover garland around the outside of the buns with some gold coins inserted on top. 
 We also stuck a leprechaun hair clip in the middle of each bun. 
And it wouldn't be a performance without TONS of spray glitter!  :) 
(Click on this picture to enlarge it and you'll see what I mean!)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Slanted

This is one that we've done several times but never actually posted. 
It's very straight forward and simple as long as you know how to do either a French Braid or a Dutch Braid.
  Begin on the top-left side of the head and start your braid. 
 Gather in hair as you slowly move toward the middle of the head. 
 Continue adding hair into the braid as you move toward the bottom-right part of the head. 
 Once all of the hair has been gathered you can finish plating the rest of the hair and secure it with an elastic.
  I remember my first time doing this braid and feeling strange because I was so used to braiding straight but it will get easier with practice!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Waterfall Updo

I recently saw this hairstyle done over at Girl Do's and just loves it!  Basically you just need to know how to do a Waterfall braid.  (Click here to be directed to the Waterfall Braid.)
You will want to work with wet hair because it will hold it's shape better as it dries.
 
 Comb all of the hair straight back and begin your Waterfall Braid right behind the left ear. 
Work your way across the head and over toward the right ear. 
 Once you get close to the ear you will want to curve your braid back under the original plates.  This time gather in the strands that you dropped through from the top braid. 
Continue this back over to the left ear and then wrap around to come back again.  Keep wrapping back and forth as many times as you like. 
 On your last level you will want to gather into your braid but not drop any strand through.  Finish plating that braid all the way to the ends of the hair and then tuck it up underneath the previously plated braid.  Secure it with bobby pins for a nice tight hold. 
Add any hairpins that you like for decoration and you're all finished.  This also make for beautiful waves the next morning when you take the braid out!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Lucky Clover

I'm realizing that I didn't really get a great angle of the actual clover itself, but it's a 4-leaf-clover with a Barrel Roll Bun in the middle.
Begin by making 4 equal sections in the hair by parting directly down the middle and then again across the head.  Secure each section with an elastic.  On the top two section you're going to want to make an Inverted Pull-Through and the bottom two sections will be regular Pull-Throughs.
 
Separate each Pull-Through into two pieces and make each piece a Corkscrew.  Pull on Corkscrew to the left and one to the right just above the Pull-Through and then have them meet together again in the middle of the head. 
 Use a claw clip to hold that in place while you do the same steps with the other 3 Pull-Throughs.  Once all 4 leaves of the clover have been created you can secure the Corkscrews all together in the middle with an elastic. 
We have gone ahead and brushed out some of the Corkscrews and left some of them in tact for our Barrel Roll.  Barrel Roll the hair in the middle down and secure it with bobby pins.  Add a ribbon or hair clip over the Barrel Roll.  
If time had not been such an issue this morning we would have laced each leaf with green ribbon which adds nice color but also helps to hold the leaves in their shape.  You may need to add some bobby pins here and there to help hold the shape of your leaves if you choose not to use ribbon. 
Hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day! 

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Pot O' Gold

This one is officially my favorite St. Patty's Day hairstyle! You will need some rainbow colored ribbons, a black nylon, and some gold coins glued to hair pins.  
Begin by making six small Pull-Throughs along the bang line on the left side of the head. 
 Now tuck a colored ribbon through each individual elastic so that there are two equal lengths of one ribbon coming out of your Pull-Through.  (You want the very center of your ribbon to be folding through the elastic.)  
 Use the two equal lengths of ribbon as two strand of your braid and the hair from your Pull-Through as your third strand for your braid.  Now create a regular 3-Strand Braid out of the ribbon and each Pull-Through.  Have your princess hold each braid while you pull the rest of the hair tightly down into a low side ponytail on the right side of the head. 
Add the braids into the ponytail using a second elastic - making sure that your braids are slightly wrapping around the left side of the head.  Trim off any excess ribbon so that no more than 1 inch of ribbon is hanging out of the elastic.
  Create a bun out of your ponytail.  We've done this by using a bun mold but you can also do a regular Twist Bun or a Braid Bun.  Now fit the black nylon over the bun and secure it in place by wrapping a clear elastic band over the top of it and around the back of the bun.  (You may need to cut any excess nylon before doing this.) 
Take a black ribbon and wrap it around the bun and tie a bow on the top of the bun. 
 
Now grab your gold coin hair pins.  You can use as many as you like and they are very simple to make.  Just hot glue a hair pin to the backside and you're set to go. 
 
Tuck them into the hair just above the black bow and there you have a Pot O'Gold!