My Hair Last Week - Somewhat Inspired

So I posted this pic early last week and called it hair inspiration:

I was inspired. Not to try the exact style because I knew that I wouldn't wear it out, so I made modifications. I actually pulled out my rollers twice over the past week. The first iteration included me putting my hair in a ponytail then rolling the ends for an imagined curly bun. It turned into a 70's bouffant/prom hair, but I liked it. I allowed the drop curls to be kind of stacked into my bun. Here are some photos:

Again, not photogenic, but you get the idea. 

Later I disturbed the curls a little and despite sweating it out I wore it like this:

I then decided to roll it all, although I used far fewer rollers than Ms. Dugas. I put it up in another bun. Here are the photos:

After the rollers, I had one more wave of inspiration - actually I just knew it was going to be another couple of bun days, so I changed it up a little by twisting all of the my ends into 5 large double-strand twists. I tucked them under and pinned them down. Here were the results:

The next day I undid the twists, pinned down the hair a little and did a little flat-twist bang.

Let me know what you think, and please forgive me for these photos. I'm going to start setting up my "real" camera, so I can put up decent photos on this blog....and if you would like to find a collection of easy (and cute) hairstyles, find my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways, on Amazon.com. 

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Hair Inspiration - Today's Hair 3/4

I saw this look on Instagram and decided that it would be a cute, simple protective style to try. It looked like I could wear for a week or so, so it seemed like a winner. 

Source: Unknown but via Ladyinfluence on Instagram

I thought I would need:

3 or 4 elastic bands

4 hair clips

comb

brush

gel of choice

Bobby pins

Blow dryer

A bag of kanekolon or Marley extension hair

Am I the only woman around with bundles of hair at home? I went to my hair drawer to complete this look and found four different types of hair for extensions, and a wig. But no kanekolon or Marley hair, so I used the yaky hair that I had. Unfortunately, it was very straight and a 1b with cranberry highlights. I was feeling dubious, but I pushed ahead anyway.

Directions - as I imagined them:

1. Separate the hair into four sections, with the first section to become a bang. Clip each section until needed.

2. Lightly blow dry each of the three sections of hair that are to be ponytailed - if the hair has not been stretched previously. 

3. If it has been stretched, or after it's been blown out, comb the hair into 3 fairly tight ponytails using your gel of choice.

4. Lightly blow dry the front section of hair until it is fairly straight, and form a bang. 

5. Take the extension hair and incorporate it into the hair hanging from the ponytails. You should be forming a large two-strand twist that runs from the first ponytail to the end of the extension hair. 

The easiest way to incorporate the extension hair is to use it at its full length. Wrap the hair around the base of the first ponytail and use the two pieces of extension hair and one unit of your own hair to begin braiding. Do two or three rotations for a braid, then switch to a two strand twist that incorporates both your hair and the extension hair.

5. Be prepared to cut, burn or ponytail the ends of your two-strand twist. 

This style can be completed without extension hair, but you will likely have more fullness with the added hair.

Here are my results with the yaky hair:

I got really close to the original style - and I'm kind of proud of myself. I did end up using the straight yaky hair and I was right, I didn't love it. The texture and the color felt very different, a little too different, than my own. Also my blow dryer died while blowing out my second ponytail, so I had to revamp the style a little. I put all of my hair into 3 sections instead of 4. I split the first ponytail. I put half of the ends of my ponytail towards the back and added hair as described above. The other half I put forward and braided with yaky hair to form a braided bang. I swirled it up and pinned it down. I put the end of the two-strand twist into a ponytail holder and let it hang. Oh and I used straight aloe vera as my gel of choice.  

Overall - I wouldn't use this hair for this style again. If I had used hair with more texture, I wouldn't have felt the need to blow dry my own hair. In the future, I would also likely form a bang with one large twist pinned up instead of using so much extension hair.

I have an idea on some changes, so check back tomorrow for an update!  Here is the link to the new look! 

If you are looking for easy, cute and sophisticated styles - check out my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways! Both editions are available on Amazon.com, and you can find the links from the home page.

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Hair Inspiration - Updated 11/12!

I saw this style on Instagram via @missbeespeaks, and I fell in love! It's a double protective style, twists (flat-twists) and an updo....That is my favore combo! Anyway, I'm going to try this tonight and give you an update tomorrow. I see that it will require me to pull out a comb and mirrors, but I feel up to the challenge.

Do you love this as much as I do? 

======================

So it's been a few days but I did try the hair inspiration. Or at least a variation on the hair inspiration that worked for me and my time constraints that day. I attended the Learn and Luv Your Hair event sponsored by Carol's Daughter and featuring Taren Guy. It started at 6, but I didn't start my hair until after 5:30, I had to do what I could, as fast as I could. So 45 minutes later I finished my hair, and I was finally out of the house by 6:40...Anyway here are the steps as I imagine them, and I will also let you know what I did differently.

Tools: Detangler (Large toothed comb), bobby pins, sharp comb for parts, 2 ponytail holders.

Products: I used Alikay's Lemongrass spray and Dulce curling cream, Eden Bodywork's Coconut Shea Leave-in, and oil 

Time: My version took about 45 minutes, but I think that the full version would add about 20 minutes - especially if you did more flattwists and less doublestrands in the front.

Steps:

1. Gently detangle hair. I did a post yesterday about how I need to change my approach because I was NOT gentle with my hair.

2. Part you hair from left to right, just past your ears.

3. Put the back section into a ponytail. This is only temporary if you plan to flat-twist the back.

4. Separate the front section by making an angled part, either at the right or left temple (you decide).

5. Put one section of hair into a ponytail holder or clip, temporarily.

6. Take the other section begin forming flattwists. In my version there were only 4, but the inspirational style has 6. Double-strand twist the ends of the hair. When you have completed the flat twists, take the ends and twirl them together toward the crown of the head, and forming a single twist. Pin the now single twist at the crown, in preparation for either adding it to the ponytail or incorporating the ends into a bun formed from the other flat twists. 

I didn't love my little swirl, but overall, I loved the style.

 

7. On the other large section of hair in the front, separate the hair into sections to form doublestrand twists. In the inspirational style, it looks as if the first column or two of twists began as flat twists for the first 1-2 inches, and then were double-strand twisted to the ends. I believe that the rest of the front was done in doublestrand twists. In my version, I double-strand twisted the entire front section. I ended up with about 17 of them. 

8. Take the ends from the front section and form a finger-roll as a single unit. Turn the unit to the side, so that it forms a swirl or a loop, and pin it down as needed, preferably right above the ear. 

9. The inspirational style resulted in approximately 8 flat twists going up the back of the head toward the crown, with the ends being formed into doublestrand twists. All of the ends at the crown were then used to form a loose bun, and pinned in place. My version added the ends of the flat twists into the ponytail, and formed twists with the rest of the hair. I then formed a bun with the twists. I then decided that I had too many twists in the front of my head, so I took about a third of the twists from the front of my hair and Incorporated them into the bun formed from the pony tailed twists. 

I liked the outcome - and I even received some compliments, and some commentary from Trudy, 4CHairChick, at the Learn & Luv Your Hair event on Sunday. She said that she thought it looked more professional without the flat twists in the back. I loved them though, and if I ever feel like taking the time, I am going to try it.      

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Hair Inspiration! Bow 'N' Bun...



@keysofbeauty - I just love this bun! It is just too cute.


I saw this combination of one of my featured protective styles that I called the front facing bun or bang, and those cute bows that people have been doing for last couple of years. This won't be an everyday look for me, but it will be cute for a night out, and maybe teens and college students.  Anyway, I am going to try to figure out how this style was done and write out the steps as I imagine them. When I try the style [likely tomorrow night for Halloween], I'll let you know if I had to modify any of the steps.

Tools: Brush, oil, edge control gel, pins, bobby pins, and two ponytail holders. You may also want some extension hair on hand for fullness.

1. Brush hair forward - I believe that this style will work best with stretched or straight hair, and form a ponytail at the temple, whether in the front-middle or front-center of the forehead. I am going to use a new ponytail holder and just do a very loose ponytail (no wrapping the ponytail holder around multiple times).

2. Brush up the edges with whatever hold gel or edges product you use. This may be the time to tie your hair down.

3. Take the loose hair from your ponytail and separate it so the hair is fanned out around the base of the ponytail. This would be a good time to apply your favorite oil to the ends of your hair.

4. Take the very middle section of the hair (maybe about a third of the hair) and put it into another ponytail - at least temporarily.

5. Form a large, loose bun with the remaining hair, pinning it down as needed.

6. To form the bow:
 a. Put the middle section of hair into a ponytail, but don't pull the ends completely through, create a loop by pulling the hair about 3/4 of the way through, and leaving the end loose. Try to create the loop so the loose end is left hanging in the front of the loop and not the back. If you don't think your hair is long enough to have the ends serve as the middle piece of the bow, leave a piece of hair outside of the ponytail, and plan to use it to form the middle piece of the bow.

b. Take the loop, and split the hair into two equally sized pieces.

c. Take one section of hair and try to get it to stand up by pulling some of the hair upward. When you get it to point that you are satisfied, pin the bottom of the bow down, and add bobby pins to the side of the bow, so it won't droop. Do the same on the other side.

d. Take the middle piece and wrap it over the center of the two ends of the bow. Pin it in place.

You should end up with something resembling the style above. I'll show you how my experiment turns out. Let me know if you have any hair inspirations, and the steps you took to recreate the look.  

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Hair Inspiration: Fantastic in Four Flat-Twists!

Image via besthairstyleforall.com

You may recognize this style from a few weeks ago when I featured it as a trend in protective styling. Well I loved it then, and I love it now. It will be my new style, I just don't know if I'll try it tonight or next week. In any event, I think I can figure out all of the steps for creating this style.


1. Separate the hair into two sections. Split the hair across from ear to ear (or just in front of the ear). Put that hair into a ponytail.

2. Take the back section of hair and separate it into three even sections running from the nape of the neck to the crown of the head (vertically).

3. Take each of those three sections and form a large, loose flat-twist beginning at the nape of the neck and going toward the crown of the head.

4. Double-strand twist the ends of the flat-twists. Twist the ends together and pin them down, or form a braid and pin it down.( I will likely change this by pinning the twists when they reach the crown of my head, and later incorporate the loose ends into my bang...but we'll see)

5. In the front, and starting from one ear, begin forming a large, extremely loose flat-twist across the front of your head and toward your other ear. Double-twist any remaining hair and pin it behind your bang.     

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Hair Inspiration - Me! (Today's Hair)

I've been using a lot of other people as hair inspiration over the past few weeks, but this morning I decided to use myself, and my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways, to inspire my biggest fan...ME! I love this style, the Conch, because it is really easy, really quick, and it can be done on hair in any state whether it be straight, twisted, locked, or highly textured.

Yesterday I wore my hair in a really big puff. I didn't comb it, stretch it, or attempt to "tame" or straighten it in any way. Today I woke up to a matted puff. I dampened it a little and fluffed it up - then went to boxing. When I got home I didn't feel like wearing my hair "big" two days in a row so I decided to find some inspiration. Fortunately I found it in a style that took no combing and that I completed in less than 2 minutes.

While I want you all to run out and spend $7.95 on my book and learn the 30+ styles and numerous variations that I included, I also don't mind sharing style ideas on this blog. I am giving you the off the top of my head version of the instructions. The book version has more details and at least 4 more photos to give you step-by-step instructions, but here it goes.

1. Take loose hair and brush, comb, or push all of the hair to one side of the head.

2. Starting from the front of your head, start twisting the hair from the front to the back and incorporating more hair as you go. You should be forming a fairly tight roll. Pin the roll down as necessary.

3. At the nape of the neck put the hair in a ponytail. After completing this step, it may be a good idea to go back and pin the roll in any areas that seem loose.

4. Take the hair hanging from the ponytail and twist it as a single unit.

5. Form a bun with hair, preferably going to side, and as close to the ear as possible. (I didn't really aim for a particular placement, but I've found that the style looks particularly nice when the bun is just behind the ear).

6. Brush up your edges if you so desire.

And please "Like" my Facebook page.

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(Updated) Hair Inspiration: LHDC-TV's Two Strand Flat Twist

I saw the Buzzfeed.com article listing 29 favorite natural hairstyles, and one of them really caught my eye. YouTuber LHDC-TV had a beautiful, simple flat twist style that I loved. I'm going to try some variation of it at some point next week. I'll let you know how it turns out, but for now here is the photo, and since she did a tutorial on YouTube, I've also included the link.

Gorgeous! Image via buzzfeed.com, originally from YouTube

So I did my version of the style. I used 7 flat twists of various sizes and I tried the style a couple of different ways....

If I were to do it more like LHDC, I would have to stretch my hair first, do fewer flat twists, loosen the way I did the hanging portion, and aim to have the style hang in front of my ears instead of behind it. But I like my variations...try it out and let me know how you like the style.

Please take the time to "Like" my blog by clicking here. 

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(Updated) Hair Inspiration! Vintage Glamour...



via @theyokoproject - I saw this style and found inspiration!

For my hair inspiration pieces I see a style that I like, here it is via @theyokoproject on Instragram, and I try to figure out all of the steps for this style based on what I can see...Here it goes:

1. Make one large U-shaped part, sectioning out the front middle of the hair, but leaving hair at the crown on both sides. The deepest part of the separation will be made at about the ears, and will therefore include a large portion of your hair.

2. Place the back section in a ponytail holder until you are ready to work with it.

3. Create 4-5 large flat twists going from the middle of the head toward the forehead, you may wish to angle them towards either the left or right crown, depending on your final look. Let those flat twists set. (Update) I put rollers on the ends of my flat twists and one day when I try this style again, I will have less hair in the top section and I will leave the top loose.

4. Working with the back section of hair, brush or comb hair downward. Separate the hair into three sections, but do not create sharp parts since you will be blending the three sections together shortly.

5. On the right side, create a flat twist from the front of the head until just past the ear. Pin the flat twist at the back of the head, and let the excess hair hang loose. Do the same on the left side.

I tried to keep my face out the prep photos...for a reason!

6. (Update) - I pinned the loose hair in the middle back section down at the nape of the neck before I began rolling the hair. Take the loose middle section, and while incorporating the loose hair from the two flat twists, begin rolling the loose hair as a single unit upward, toward the nape of the neck. When you have rolled to the nape of the neck pin the roll in place. Or if it is easier you can roll the back upwards section by section, and after pinning them at the nape of the neck, blend the pieces together until they look like one unit. You may also wish to include a decorative comb to the roll.

7. Assuming that the flat twists are now set, and that you've undone them with oiled hands, fluff up the loosened hair, and begin rolling it as a single unit toward the front-right or front-left of the head. Tuck the ends under and pin them in place.

It is difficult to hold a camera still
after only 2.5 hours of sleep!

Vintage Glamour...as I imagine it. For some of MY hairstyles, many photos and clear instructions...check out my book, One Hairstyle, Thirty-one Ways. I did all the styles on twisted hair but all of the styles can be done on loose natural hair, braids, twists, locs, and straight hair too. I did a few of the style variations on pressed hair in order to show the versatility of the looks.  

Please take the time to "Like" my blog by clicking here. 

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Unknown hair inspiration, hairstyle