My Design - Redheads and Royalty

This week it was Emma's turn to create my design on me, bit of a relief to be able to sit there and relax after the stress of me creating the design last week! So here is the final outcome... 

 
Emma did a really good job with my hair design, hair is definitely a strong point for her and I know she really enjoys doing it. 

I decided to spontaneously dye my hair a few days before which actually worked out well for my design in my opinion! I like how the lighter colour at the bottom makes the texture stand out even more. 

I would have liked the plaits to be tighter so that the top looks more stuck to the scalp which is what i had planned.

Overall i think she did a great job and i am pleased with the results! 

Well done Emma! :)

Self Evaluation - Redheads & Royalty

My first thought when I saw Emma's design was that I really liked how it wasn’t symmetrical on both sides of the face, I feel that it gave it even more of a fashion twist to it especially tied together with the back combed hair. Overall It looked like quite a simple look to create but I was concerned about the base being half white and half natural skin colour as I wasn’t sure how they would blend into each other.

Creating this make-up on the face taught me more about blending the base into the skin, this was an important stage for this design as I was working with half a white base and half a normal foundation base which had to be properly applied so that they blended into each other smoothly. I also found I got to practice with having a more steady and precise brush application, particularly when doing the black eyebrow as the lines had to be really sharp.

The hair design Emma came up with was very straight forward but when I first practised it I found it difficult to get right into the root of the hair when back combing. When doing it on the assessment day I made sure to get the back comb brush right into the roots before brushing in the ends which resulted in me taking longer than before to complete it.

Time management is definitely something to improve for next time as like I said the hair took longer than I thought it would which resulted in my rushing it slightly towards the last 10 minutes of the assessment. I would also take more time for my lip application as this was also a little rushed and not as precise as I would have wanted.

Red Heads and Royalty - Emma's Design

After lots of research, practice and no sleep i finally got there, here is Emma's final design that i created on her!

The hair was really simple to do but definitely took longer than i planned! Emma has SO much hair and every time i thought i was getting somewhere more curls arose, it was never ending! 

She picked the perfect hairstyle for her and it worked really well with the texture and volume that she already has in her hair. Traditional Elizabethan hair was always very textured and BIG so it's pretty recognizable what era this contemporary version is from. 

I do like how it's turned out quite messy and frizzy but there are a few bits of hair at the bottom that i can see are longer than the rest from not backcombing enough which drives me crazy! 

The only thing i would change is to give myself more time, i didn't realize the hair would take as long as it did so it was a little rushed.

Contemporary Hair Practice

The pictures below are of my first attempt at creating my partner Emma's hairstyle on her. It was a really easy style to do as Emma has naturally very curly and voluminous hair. 

I just took each curl from the hair and backcombed it using either my fingers or a backcombing brush. Once all the hair was done i went through with a wide tooth comb to tidy it up and hide any gaps in the hair. 

Hair Design Practice

I decided to try this style out as it's my favorite of the three, i love the volume and texture of the hair and think it looks high fashion but you can also see Elizabethan qualities.

I found the effect was better when doing smaller curls so next time i will take smaller sections when curling the hair. I also think that the plait doesn't really flow with the flat section of the hair so I would try a french plait rather than a standard one. The pin curls also came out bigger than i wanted so again i would take smaller sections to make them the size i want. Overall I'm really pleased with the texture and volume i achieved. 

Contemporary Hair Designs

Following on from my previous blog my next task was to draw up my designs and do step by steps on how to create them...

•  Start off with dry hair and a center parting, use a curling wand to curl small sections of hair but start halfway down each section so the top of the hair stays straight and flat to the head
• Take 3 small sections from the front of the head on either side of the parting, these will be pin curled to the head later
• Take another 2 sections behind the pieces you just pulled out and pin a piece of ribbon underneath to disguise the top, start making small plaits making sure you are joining the ribbon in, do this on both sides
• Brush out the curls you did at the start and backcomb small bits to give it a frizzy and voluminous look, hairspray to set
• To make the top of the hair look smooth and flat to the head use gel and brush it through, pin it at the sides to keep secure if need be
• You can now pin curl the front sections you pulled out earlier, used gel to help stick it to the forehead in a curl 
• Take a silver hairspray to add clusters of sparkle into the frizzy section of the hair, this is to resemble jewels
• Give the hair a final hairspray to ensure it will stay in place

• Start by creating a wave on the top layer of hair using hair straighteners,  tilt them sideways and pull up then go the other direction. Alternate until you have done that section of hair
• Next take the hair to the side of the head and twist it into a knot, secure it with pins
• Get some crepe hair and attach it over the bun, this will disguise it and create texture and volume
• Spray with hairspray to ensure it will stay in place
• Get a beaded necklace to use as a hair accessory, use pins to attach the to the front of the hairline
• For a final touch use some vintage hair clips to the side of the head

• Use 4 hair doughnuts and some fake hair, wrap the hair around the doughnuts so it blends in once attached to the head
• Pick small bits of hair out of the doughnut and backcomb a little to make them more textured
• Attach a pearl type bead inside each hole of the bun for an added accessory
• Use gel to slick the hair into a low ponytail slightly at the side, twist it into a knot and use this as your anchor for the first bun
• Attach the buns to the hair using pins and finish with hairspray to secure it 

 

Contemporary Hair With Elizabethan Twists

To help towards creating a contemporary Elizabethan look I selected 3 modern images and added Elizabethan twists to it. I tried to select 3 very different images to give me more of an option of my final choice. 


This is my first design, I love how much volume and texture there is in the hair which relates to an Elizabethan. I took inspiration from the ribbon work we did which shows in one of my previous blogs and drew plaits at the front of the hair and also decided to create pin curls coming onto the face. The dots in the hair represent jewels which would be made by using a silver hairspray in small sections so they would shine in light.

My next one is slightly similar as i have also created a textured, frizzy look at the side of the head. When researching contemporary Elizabethan looks i found i was draw to this style most and decided that was the look i wanted to go for. This one has a little more added embellished accessories to it which gives the impression of a high class woman. 

My final image is my least favorite and most difficult to do but as i said before i wanted all 3 images to be different. Again i stuck with the frizzy texture as i found i was slightly limited to what i could do with all the buns. I would pick bits of hair from the bun and backcomb it to give it a messier look and get pearl style beads to put inside the bun holes for a bit more embellishment. 

 

Traditional Elizabethan Hairstyle

In the studio we were taught how to make padding for hair to create Elizabethan styles, we used tights stuffed with wadding or couch roll to do this. Use black for darker hair and opaque for lighter hair so it blends into the hair easier.

To create this style you will need a curling wand, comb, padding and grips.

• Start by curling the hair as seen in my previous blog
• You then need to section off some hair from the front, this is to cover up the padding later on
• Make small plaits behind these sections to use as an anchor for the padding, french plaits work best as they are more secure
• Start attaching your padding to the plaits using grips, the grips will go through the tights easily to secure it
• Once the padding is secure start taking the hair from the front in covering the padding with it, make sure you have enough hair so you can't see the colour of the padding coming through so it looks like it's all hair
• Keep adjusting the hair until you get that famous heart shape the Elizabethans had

Curling Hair

Curling gives the hair more texture and volume to prepare the hair for putting up into an Elizabethan hairstyle. 

All you need is a paddle brush, curling wand and a pintail comb.

Separate the hair into sections and starting at the bottom curl small sections of hair to create a full curl. Repeat until each section is complete and you have a full head of curls, this will make the hair easier to set into place when styling. 

Pin curls were popular in the Elizabethan era so I practiced these as shown in the picture above on the right. All you need to do is take a small piece of hair and wrap it around your fingers until its curled up into a round shape. Secure it to the head using grips but make sure to disguise them underneath the hair.

Curling the hair was easy to do but i struggled a little more to disguise the grips when doing the pin curls, this is something i definitely need to work on and practice a bit more!

How to: Plaits & Buns

French Plait
  
You will first need to decide where the plait is going, this how to is based on a full head but is generally the same technique wherever you want to do it. 

 

• Take a small section at the front of the head and split it into three sections like you would do with a normal plait, plait it about 3 times then you can start taking sections of hair from the sides
• Take your first section from the front and join it to one of the side sections of your plait and cross it over in the middle, repeat on the other side
• When you take your next sections take them from the middle of the head right near where your plait is, this will prevent the hair being patchy once you have finished
• Ensure that the hair is tight throughout so it doesn't fall out or look lose and messy

Alternate these techniques until you get to the bottom of the head, at this point you will just continue to plait the hair as normal. 

 

 
 Fishtail Plait 

• Split the hair into two sections
• Take a small section from one side and bring it over to the other, repeat this on the other side
• It may seem like its taking a while, especially if the client has long hair but the smaller the sections the better
• Don't plait it as tight as a french plait as it won't look as good
• Repeat the steps until you have plaited the whole head and secure at the end

Bun

 

•  Brush all the hair into a neat ponytail and secure it
• The hair will be divided into 4 sections altogether to create the bun so if the client has thin or short hair backcomb it to give it a little volume
• Take the first section and finger curl it around from the end until you get to the scalp, secure with a kirby grip
• Repeat this on the other 3 sections which will leave you with small gaps inbetween each section
• Use a hair slide to lightly move the hair around to cover the gaps
• Once complete you can set with a little hairspray to ensure it stays in place

Ribbon Work

Using ribbons in plaits is one way of making a basic style look more contemporary. It's easy to do and all you need to create it is a long piece of ribbon. 

• You want to decide what type of plait you are doing and where on the head you want it to be.
• You can then tie the end of the ribbon to a small section of hair underneath so you can't see it on top of the head
• Start plaiting making sure you are grabbing the ribbon with the bits of hair you would normally use to plait until you are finished

You can be really creative with plaits and come up with lots of different contemporary hair designs, using the ribbon didn't make doing the plait any different I just found it difficult to ensure the ribbon was running straight through my plait. As you can see from the picture there's a small gap in the plait with no ribbon which is something I can improve on. 

Lily Cole - Elizabethan Inspiration

When researching i found quite a few images of Lily Cole, made up as a contemporary Elizabethan. The majority are very big and textured but there are also a couple with hair accessories and beading, hair accessories and jewels were popular within high class Elizabethan women. 

I love Lily's look in general and looks wise she has many similarities to Elizabeth I. She has very pale skin and textured, red hair. 

I particularly like the first 2 images, there both very different to each other. One is really frizzy and voluminous and the other is very sleek and classy. 

Intruct, Design, Review...

Our task for this week was to take our Elizabethan quote we blogged about previously and create a design inspired by it. We would then get into pairs and using one of our designs create it by sticking on different materials to paper. 

The person with the chosen design would explain how to create the look and what to use, I was the one taking the instruction. We then reviewed our looks with our partner and Seema and gave each other feedback on what was good and what improvements could be made.

I really enjoyed this task, at first I struggled to think of a design but with a bit of help and inspiration I came up with one. I liked taking instruction and creating another persons look. It's helped me get a bit more creative and taught me about taking instructions and how it's important to really get as much information as you can and ask questions. 

Blow Drying The Hair

To dry the hair straight all you need is a hairdryer and a round brush, the size of the brush will depend on the length of the clients hair. The longer the hair, the bigger the brush. 

Hair in its natural state is known as Alpha-Keratin and hair once it has been set is called Beta-Keratin.  

• You want the hair to be wet enough to change the state but not so wet that it takes a long time to dry so begin by rough drying the hair slightly

•  Then take a small section of hair starting underneath and clip the rest out of the way

•  Place the brush underneath a section of the hair and begin to dry it, pull the brush through the hair while angling the hairdryer in the direction you want to set the hair 

• Repeat this technique until you have done each section of the hair and finish off by using any products necessary.

Contemporary Plaits & Buns

There are lots of different ways to make traditional and simple hairstyles such as plaits and buns into something really creative and different. These images are a few of my favorites I have found through research. 

Plaits

Buns

History Of Elizabethan Hair

Social class in the Elizabethan era was very important and their whole society was divided by this. Henry VIII created 'Sumptuary Laws' which meant individuals would be told what type and colour of clothing they could wear in order to identify ranks, even if you were very wealthy it did not matter as this was enforced by law and you would be punished if you stepped out of your rank.


People of a lower class would wear earthy colors such as blue, green, orange and yellow. Many would dye their clothing using materials from gardens and countrysides or buy wool from nearby villages that had been previously dyed. Higher class people would wear red, purple, white and black. The dyes used were imported from other countries and would be very expensive, particularly these colors which is why they were to be worn by wealthier individuals.

Elizabethan beauty meant having light hair along with the pale complexion and red cheeks. Fair hair is what everyone wanted to achieve to be like the 'Virgin Queen' Elizabeth. The hairline would often be plucked or shaved up to 1 inch and some women would even dye the hair yellow using a mixture of saffron, cumin seed, celandine and oil as fair hair showed nobility and class. Wigs were also common and Elizabeth had many which were referred to as Periwigs. 

Contemporary Inspiration

I found these images whilst browsing Pinterest (my new favorite thing to do!) there are so many amazing hair designs on there and lots of inspiring looks.

I found that im most drawn to really big, texured hairstyles as to me thats what the Elizabethans were all about. 

I love how there are so many endless possibilities when it comes to hair and its really opened my eyes to how many different things i could do for my design. 
 

 

 

Washing Hair

In any treatment it's important to always complete a client consultation before you begin. There are different types and textures of hair and you should be aware of all of the these and how you should treat them. 

Once this has been completed you can begin the treatment... 

• Sit your client down and make sure they are covered with a gown and a towel round the neck to prevent water from going down the neck and back
• Check the temperature of the water on your arm before putting it straight onto the clients head as it could be boiling hot and burn them!
• Rinse the hair thoroughly and apply your first application of shampoo
• Start at the top of the head and make your way down to the ends of the hair, don't pile the hair on top of the head as it will knot! Rub the hair in between your hands to get all the product through
• If the hair is quite dirty you may need another application of shampoo, if the hair squeaks when you run your fingers through it that means it's clean!
• The next step is to condition the hair, take a generous amount and apply it through the whole head and ends of the hair 
• Massage the scalp to make the client relaxed as all treatments should be! 
• You should then comb through the hair while the conditioner is still on, this will make brushing the hair easier later on
• Rinse the hair ensuring all the product has been removed then gently squeeze the ends of the hair to get rid of excess water
• Place the towel from around the clients shoulders around the head and you are complete!