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New take on Chinese bun

I can't do this style because my hair is too long and heavy, but this is perfect for mid length hair that is not too full. I applaud anyone who can make this look really good and I'm jealous.

Tornado of Twists!

This is a style my friend Sarah made by pinning up a lot of little twists. Her hair is very curly so this is easier for her to do than me, as my hair is only wavy. My twists failed a little bit when I tried this.

All she used to hold the twists were bobby pins (and a little hairspray, I think). This would make a beautiful wedding style whether you are the bride or just attending, and it wouldn't be amiss for a fancy evening out or ball.

Regency French Twist

My version of a French Twist with curls is a bit sloppy, but you can get the general idea from the pictures.























I think the making of it had something to do with making a loose bun and then turning it on its end and rolling it into itself (leaving the curls out of course). Check out my second ever post ("Timeless Twist: "A La Parisienne"") for French-Twist-making instructions. These will give you at least a skeleton of an idea on how to make this, but I say: "trial and error, my friends!"

Christmas Figure Eight

This is the style I wore to our Christmas choir concert. It is really simple: just a regular figure eight with an extra curl. Caroline Bingley wears something like it in "Pride and Prejudice." This is perfect for a semi-formal Christmas party. Don't use a ponytail holder because it will show.

Flowers cover up any bobby-pinning mistakes. These flowers are clips from Claire's Icing (great hair accessory and earring source!) that were extremely cheap and look really cute. I recommend taking a trip to that store soon. It is in almost every mall.

Lovely French Braid

Here is a great style Sami from my Freshman Foundations Course made. She said it doesn't take long to make, but I know it would take me hours. I thought it was just beautiful and could work for any occasion, especially a Renaissance Faire or toga party. It would also work with any length of hair.


(Photos by Sami.)

Twist for very long straight hair

This is a style my friend Anna made that is perfect for long straight hair. I don't know exactly how she made it, but the pictures should be pretty self-explanatory. It looks to me like a figure eight with the extra hair hanging out at the bottom but I have a feeling that it is more complicated. It may be a figure eight wrapped into itself.

Modernized Regency Style: "Eleanor Dashwood"

Because this is not frilly, yet shows a care for personal appearance, I call it the "Eleanor Dashwood." It is based on Hattie Morahan's London ballroom style in the newest "Sense and Sensibility." She undoubtedly had hair pieces to make her style larger and more elegant, but we non-movie stars must make do with our regular hair. The open twists are, I think, especially becoming, and the bun should be loose and high on the head to give the illusion of a crown on the back of the head.

This is a perfect do for a formal or prom too. It is not too old-fashioned looking.

Directions:
~ make 6 large twists of hair and pin them in place (under where the bun will be) with crossing bobby pins
~make a very loose bun and pin it in place to cover the pins (don't use a ponytail holder to start the bun as this will show and make the do look 'cheap'. Just twist the hair without a band.)

You can wrap a ribbon around the bun, but I recommend leaving it plain so the elegance of the style and not the gaudiness of your decorations catches people's eyes.

Timeless Twist : "A La Parisienne"

This style I find particularly difficult, even though my hair is normally pliant and obedient. I have tried for years to do a French Twist and for years have failed miserably. My early attempts ended up looking like hedgehogs clinging to the back of my head: just a sagging mass of hair pins and unbrushed locks. But I finally conquered the twist, and here is the final attempt. Please pardon the blurry pictures; I was teaching myself how to take successful pictures of myself.

Since this semi-triumph, I have never again tried to do a twist. I worked this particular urge out of my system and now have no wish to do more. I also have no real idea how I did this, but I think it was a little like this:

~wrap your hair loosely around your non-dominant hand at the base of your head (hand should have thumb facing away from you and pinkie finger touching head)
~turn hand with hair so finger tips touch the head
~wrap this hair bundle (carefully extricating your hand) in towards your head so you have a horizontal roll against your head
~turn this roll perpendicular and tuck in the sagging hair at the bottom
~hold in place with claw or octopus clips and then pin with hair pins and remove clips.

Adding flowers to your do will help hide any saggy areas or stray pieces of hair. Good luck!(Note: this do is easier if you have curly or coarse hair that will stick to itself a bit. Fine hair tends to fall out all over the place.)