In class feedback from Seema

When presenting my ideas to Seema, I got mixed feedback.

She liked my ideas of my designs, she just said she'd like me to develop them further.  I took this advice on board and when I decided on my final design I changed it slightly.  Instead of using the frizzing technique, I changed it to crimping.  I feel this gave a better effect as it gave the hair more volume.

I also have a fishtail plait in my final design.  However, when I created the design on myself, we both agreed that it looked too small and wouldn't be seen in the photograph.  So, I just decided to take more hair out of the bun to make the plait fatter and bigger.

Frizzing

Frizzing

Equipment

·         Geisha clips

·         Bobby pins

·         Straighteners

·         Hair brush 

Method

1.      Take a small section of hair and a Geisha clip.  Begin to wind it round in a figure of 8 until you have no hair left.

2.      Use a bobby pin to keep the hair in place down the middle of the Geisha clip.

3.      Next, use the hot straighteners to heat the Geisha clip up.  This will give you the frizz at the end.  You need to wait for the hair to cool down before you unwind it from the clip.

4.      Once it had cooled down and you have unwound it, brush the wave out.  You will now be left with a section of frizzy hair.

 

Testing ideas

 The picture above is an experiment of my first design for a contemporary hairstyle.  However, Seema and I both agreed that this hairstyle was too simple and with my experience I could create something more exciting.  Even with some ribbon added, I feel this design wouldn't take very long to create and would still look bland and boring.

 This design I had to do on a dolly head as I cannot French plait my own hair.  Even after lots of practise the plait still looks awful on me so I decided to present this design on a dolly.  I feel this hairstyle is a bit more advanced than my first idea, however I still felt I could push myself further.  I waited a week or so until we had learnt some more techniques, this meant I could put them into practise and come up with an even better idea.

After we had been taught the frizzing technique, I came up with this design.  When I presented this idea to Seema she said I could go even further with this design.  So, I decided to crimp the whole of the top section and use some padding to give it height.  I got to practise this when we had to copy the hairstyle of Beyoncé - this was a big inspiration to my design.

Final instructions

Final Instructions for my Hair Design

Equipment

·         Previously made padding

·         Tail comb

·         Hair brush

·         Crimpers

·         Bobby Pins

·         Bun Pins

·         Hair band

·         Hairspray

·         Clear hair bands

Method

1.      Brush the hair so it is knot free and section off a top part of the hair and two side pieces.

2.      Using the crimpers, crimp the top section of the hair that you sectioned off.

3.      Once that whole section is crimped, roll the padding into it and pin it in place using bobby pins.

4.      Now, fishtail plait the two side sections and tie them off with two clear hair bands.

5.      Tie the rest of the hair back into a ponytail at the bottom of the head using a hair band.

6.      Use this ponytail to create a bun using the rolling method and pin it into place using bobby pins and bun pins.

7.      Next, take the plaits, bring them back and wrap them around the bun.  Secure them in place using bobby pins.

8.      Finish with some hairspray.

Crimping - Beyonce

Beyonce Hair Design

Equipment

·         Crimpers

·         Hair brush

·         Tail comb

·         Section clips

·         Pre made padding

·         Bobby pins

Method

1.      Firstly, brush the hair so all the knots are out and section the hair with a tail comb and section clips ready for crimping.

2.      Plug the crimpers in making sure the wire is neat and out of the way and wait a few minutes for them to warm up.

3.      Then, take a small section of hair and hold the crimpers on it for 5 seconds.  Repeat this down the whole section of hair.  Repeat this until the whole head is crimped.  When you get to the top section crimp the hair vertically so you can get right to the root.

4.      Using the tail comb, section off a top, front part of the hair and roll the padding into it.  Use the bobby pins to secure it into place.

5.      As I couldn’t see the back of the image, I improvised with the rest of the hair.  I gathered it all at the back and rolled it up into itself.  I then used more bobby pins to pin it in place.  As I improvised I thought the design looked really cool.

I really enjoyed copying a design and adapting it into the way I would style it.  Therefore I feel I did quite good at this task and was really happy with my end result.  However, if I was to do this again, I would make sure I had completely covered the padding.

Drawing designs

 

I am not great at drawing my designs, however I feel I tried my best on getting my ideas down on paper during this task.  I feel with some instructions, they are clear enough to follow and I proved myself right when it came to my timed assessment.

 

Over the next few weeks, I will be practising how to make my designs better when drawing them and maybe follow some youtube tutorials to improve my skills.  I could also try drawing them on the computer, this technique could be more effective than just drawing them with coloured pencils.

 

 

3 contemporary designs

 The idea above is my favourite out of the three, it shows off many techniques we have learnt over this semester and I can show off my best ability.  I also feel it will suit my face shape as I have quite a prominent jaw line.  I loved the idea of turning a contemporary hairstyle into an Elizabethan mix.  It's a great hairstyle for a photoshoot because a good camera will be able to pick up the detail and texture in the hairstyle.

 The hairstyle above is my least favourite out of the two.  I don't think it shows off many skills and is extremely simple.  As this was my first design, I think I have developed my ideas a lot to create an even better design.

This was my second idea I came up with.  It was a French plait all the way around the head with a bun in the middle.  I was very happy with this design and contemplated using it for my final assessment.  However Seema pushed me further as she knew I could come up with a more technical design.

Padding

Padding

Equipment

·         Hair brush

·         Bobby pins

·         Stocking

·         Cotton wool

Method

1.      Firstly, ensure the whole head is curled by following the steps on the previous page.

2.      Whilst the curls are cooling you can create your padding.  Do this by cutting off the end of a stocking and stuff it with cotton wool or pads.  Tie the other end in a knot so the stuffing doesn’t fall out.

3.      Next, take a section of hair and wrap it around the padding.  Use some bobby pins to pin the hair in place, this will also keep the padding in place.

4.      Lastly, just arrange the hair over the padding to disguise it as much as possible.  It will also help if use a darker stocking for dark hair and a lighter stocking for light hair.

I found this quite hard as I didn’t take enough hair to cover the padding.  I had also made the padding too long so next time I need to make sure I size up the stocking before I tie the knot in it.  After some practise, I feel I could master this technique.

Curling

Curling

Equipment

·         Curling tong

·         Hair brush

·         Tail comb

·         Section clips

·         Bobby pins

Method

1.      Firstly, using a hair brush, make sure all the knots are gone from your models hair.  Plug the curling tongs in be sure to keep the wire out of the way.

2.      Next, using your tail comb, section off the front section of hair from ear to ear and clip the rest back with section clips.

3.      Then, take a section from the front of the head and clip the rest out of the way using a section clip.  Clip the piece of hair in the tongs and begin to roll away from you.  Count to 8 depending on your models hair type then gently release the tong and let the curl hang.

4.      Use a bobby pin to hold the curl in place until you have curled the whole section.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have a head full of pin curls.

5.      Once the whole section is pincurled and cold, begin to take out the bobby pins.  You should be left with tight ringlets just like the Elizabethans.

6.      When it comes to the top section of the hair, hold the curling tong vertical so that the curl almost stands up on the head.

I have learnt this technique to curl already and I love doing it.  I feel it gives a great effect on the hair, especially for the look we were trying to achieve.  If I was to do this in the future, I would make sure all the sections I took were the same size.

 

 

Practising Emily's design

Practising Emily’s Design

      I feel I am more comfortable with make-up than hair, so when I received the hair design I was creating I was nervous.  I knew her design involved a lot of techniques which needed a lot of planning.

      For my first practise I thought I went great considering I was nervous but I still felt like I needed to practise again.  I feel my greatest achievement when creating this design was how quickly I crimped the hair as this was the most time consuming part of the design.

      I was also happy the structure of the hairstyle.  I feel I put all the padding in the right place and pinned it securely.  I had only used padding once before so I was pleased with the result.  It also helps that the hair was crimped because it’s thicker and sturdier.

      For my final assessment the only thing I would do differently is use some thinner padding as the hair didn’t cover all of it at the back.  I would also split the hair more evenly so the thickness looked the same.  I would also make sure I tied the ribbon underneath the plait so you couldn’t see the knot.

 

 

Elizabeth - Cate Blanchett

Melissa Michaels. (2008). Oscars 2008: Cate Blanchett Doubles Down on Her Lucky Number Two. Available: http://www.hollywoodtoday.net/2008/02/22/oscars-2008-cate-blanchett-doubles-down-on-her-lucky-number-two/. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.

Cate Blanchett who played Elizabeth in Elizabeth: The Golden Age was a big inspiration to me when it came to Elizabethan hairstyles.  I love the texture of the hair and how it is styled off the face.  These two elements were something I definitely wanted to include in my final hair design.  Because the hair is off the face, you are drawn to the make-up and how elegant her face is.

Although Cate's hair is curly I decided I wanted mine a bit more textured, this is when I decided to use the frizzing technique.  However, after trying it out, I realised my design would be better if I used crimpers.  I tried this technique out and decided it was perfect for my idea.

Plaiting with ribbon

Ribbon

Equipment

·         Tail comb

·         Ribbon

·         Clear hair band

Method

1.      Using the tail comb, split a section of hair you would like to plait.  I chose to do a French plait starting from one side of the head.

2.      Next, secure the ribbon underneath the section by tying it to a piece of hair.

3.      As you begin to French plait make sure the ribbon is always in the middle section so it can be seen.  Plait the whole section until there is no hair in that section left – tie it off with a clear hair band.

I found this technique quite tricky because the ribbon always had to be on top of the hair so you could see it at all times.  However, once I got in the motion and my hands got used to the movement I found it easier.  After some more practice, I feel I would be able to do this technique with more confidence.

 

Buns

Bun

Equipment

·         Hair brush

·         Hair band

·         Bun pins

·         Kirby grips

Method

1.       Using the hair brush, brush all of the hair into a ponytail and secure with a hair band.

2.       Next, split the ponytail into 4 sections.

3.       Take the section at the top of the ponytail and roll it into itself.  Secure it to the head using 2 kirby grips from each side of the roll.

4.       Repeat the step above to all of the other sections until the hair looks like a clover.

5.       Next, using a bun pin, join the sections together and pin in place.

6.       Do the step above to create the final look for the bun.

Plaiting

Plaiting

Normal Plaiting

Equipment

·         Tail comb

·         Rubber bands

Method

1.       Using your tail comb, take a clean section of hair and split it equally into 3 pieces.

2.       Next, take each section of hair and overlap them evenly until the whole section of hair is plaited.

3.       Lastly, tie off with a rubber band.

 

Fishtail Plait

Equipment

·         Tail comb

·         Rubber bands

Method

1.       Using your tail comb, take a clean section of hair and split it equally into 2 pieces.

2.       Take a small section from behind the left piece and bring it over the top into the right piece.

3.       Then you need to do the same but from the right section.

4.       Repeat this until the section is in a plait making sure you alternate from the left and right section.

5.       Lastly, tie off with a rubber band.  You can make this plait a bit scruffier by snagging at the sections after you have tied it off.

 

French Plait

Equipment

·         Tail comb

·         Rubber bands

Method

1.       Take a clean section of hair at the top of the head and split into 3 equal sections.

2.       Begin to plait the hair for a tiny bit of the section and some hair from the out edge into the middle piece of hair.

3.       Continue to plait down the hair, adding pieces from each side as you go.

4.       Lastly, tie off with a rubber band.

 

 

Elizabethan hair idea - adapting to my hair

Thickness - my hair is quite thick.  Therefore, when creating the plait at the front, I need to consider taking a larger section of hair so the bun is not so prominent.  Also, when tying my hair into the ponytail, I will have to use two hairbands as my hair is heavy and will pull the bun down.

Fly-aways - I have lots of baby hair, so when creating this look I would have to use hairspray on the go to keep the wispy parts sleek.  I would spray the hairspray into my hand as I feel you have more control of where the spray goes.  It also helps flatten the loose pieces of hair down.

Layers - Not all of my hair is one length, so when creating the French plait I may have to use some thin bun pins to keep shorter pieces of hair in.  However, I would need to make sure these pins were discreet as I don't want to draw attention to them.

Blowdrying

Blowdrying

Equipment

·         Wide tooth comb

·         Hairdryer

·         Section clips

·         Large barrel brush

 

Method

1.       Once you have washed your models hair and she is sat back down, remove the towel from her head and use your wide tooth comb to ensure the hair is free of knots.

2.       Next, plug the hairdryer in and blast the roots of the hair to get rid of any excess water so it is ready for blowdrying.

3.       Start at the bottom of your models hair and use your section clips to section small parts of their hair.  This will make it easier to dry the hair as it will be in smaller sections.

4.       Take your barrel brush and your first section.  Place the brush underneath the section and follow the hairdryer down with the brush.  Repeat this a couple of times until the section is dry.

5.       Repeat the step above until the whole of your models head is dry.