Perfect Picture Hair

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My princess had her class pictures at school the other day and she and I had to come up with a style that would look nice for the photo.  Typically you want to try to have the hair down in a picture because it tends to photograph better than if it is pulled back.  This is what we came up with:

It shows the pretty length of the hair without being too over-bearing.

First of all we took a Waver Iron and put the waves throughout her hair.  I use my original Boss waver from the late 80's but the new ones with the 3 rolls work great too.  We added the waves because it give a soft look to the hair and seems to photograph well. 

Next, we placed the faux hair headband that we purchased at Sally Beauty Supply in her hair.  (These come in several different hair colors.)  I love this thing because it looks like I've put in a lot of work but it's just a headband that slides on and off.  I did make sure to secure the headband so that it wouldn't slip and you can see how I did that in a previous post found here.

And finally we added some hair pins that matched her outfit to complete the look.  Pretty simple but beautiful!

Friday's Film: Rosette Headband

Here is a beautiful hairstyle that only takes a few minutes to complete.  It is perfect for Picture Day at school or any other occasion. 

This is also a great style for adults as well. 

We call this our Rosette Headband.  If you have ever made a fabric Rosette Headband, it is exactly the same except we use bobby pins instead of glue.  . 

You can really use any color of stretchy band because it will mostly be concealed.

Don't forget to be twisting your Rosettes so that they lie flat instead up perked up like a regular bun.

You can leave the hair down straight or curly.  We've used a waver and it turned out really nicely.

You can choose to do as many Rosettes as you like across the head.  This would also be pretty going around the back of the head!   

We detailed our Rosettes a bit by adding some crystal hair embellishments that we found at Sally Beauty Supply.  They just twist right down into the center of the Rosette.

Here's a style that we've done previously using the same concept and we called this one the Rose Headband and you can find instructions for that here.

Dance Do

I've done several dance hair styles before but this one has a bit of a different twist on it so I thought I would post just in case any of you have little dancers out there and are stumped on hairstyle ideas.  Make sure you begin this style with wet hair for better hold. 

I started by sectioning out the bang area on the front of head and creating a Dutch Braid.  (A Dutch Braid is basically a French Braid but you have your plates go underneath instead of over the top.)

I did not have the Dutch Braid go all the way down to the ear but rather just to the end of the bang line and then I just finished plating the hair I had gathered into a Regular 3-Strand Braid. 

I secured that braid at the end with an elastic and then set it aside for a minute. 

Pull the remaining hair tightly back into a ponytail.  You can make the ponytail high or low depending on the look you are going for.  We've place this one right over the crown of the head.

Now go ahead and create a Barrel Roll from the hair used in your ponytail.  You can find a video tutorial for the Barrel Roll here.

Once your Barrel Roll is completed you can bring your original braid down around the back of the bun and tuck the ends underneath.  Use bobby pins to secure it into place and then give it a good spray with hairspray to ensure hold throughout the dance performance.  At this point you can spray the hairstyle with craft spray glitter as well if you want that sparkly look.  We usually do this but did not have any glitter on hand at this time.  Add some fun hair accessories if you like as well. 

This hairstyle holds very tightly and is perfect for keeping that hair out of the face while your princess is dancing! 

Baptism Picture Hair

My princess is getting baptized at the end of this week and we wanted to get some pictures taken for the invitations.  This is the hairstyle that we came up with:

First I completely dried her hair and then I began by creating an off-centered diagonal part in the front.  (I had more of the bang-line on the right side of the diagonal.)  I then sectioned out the hair from one ear to the other so that I was only working with the top half of hair. 

I tied off the left side of my diagonal part so that it was out of the way while I worked with the right.  You'll want to create four even sections out of that side and make sure they run parallel to the diagonal part.  Secure each small area with an elastic at the back of the section. 

 Now move over to the left side and create 5 equal sections. 

 My first 3 section came straight off of the diagonal part instead of running parallel to it.  This just breaks up the design a bit.  Secure each of those areas with an elastic at the back of the section as well. 

 Now you should have 9 small ponytails at the top of the head.  Take each of those ponytails and cross them over and under each other in a weaving pattern.  Go ahead and secure the ends together at the back of the head with bobby pins creating an "X".  

You can either leave the remaining hair straight or curl it like we've done here.  We used a spiral curling iron to get these ringlets. 

We finished it off by giving it a good spray with hairspray and then adding some flower hair pins and velcro pearls. 

The hair not only held up through her photo shoot but all the way through the end of the day too. 

The pictures turned out great and she's very excited for her big day this Saturday!

Flashback Friday: Wet-Pinned Curls

Wet-Pinned Curls can take some time to prep for but they have such a beautiful final look.  Start with the hair really wet and make sure you pull it up into any initial style before creating your curls.  Grab a box of bobby pins to have at your side before you start. 

Section out some mall pieces of hair - they can be medium or small, depending on how think you would like your curls.  Starting with the end of the hair, wrap it in a circular motion all the way up to the scalp and then pin it against the head using two bobby pins to create an "X" for maximum hold.  Your curls can be would as tightly or as loosely as you like just depending on how large or small you want your curls.  Continue wrapping and pinning sections of hair all around the head.  When you are finished your princess will resemble a 20's Flapper with all the wet tight curls against her head.  I wish I had taken a picture at this point but back in the day I never had a reason to do that!  :)  The hair will take about 3 hours to set.  (You can speed up that time by using a warm dryer to dry the hair.) 

When you're ready, take the pins out of the hair and let the curls fall loosely.  Spray the hair with a bit of hairspray to help hold the curls and you're all finished!

Princess Dreads

My princess had dance picture scheduled right after school.  It was a P.E. day for her at school and I knew I would only have enough time to through her costume on and get to the studio.  This left me the problem of figuring out how to do her hair and still have it look good by the end of school.  I decided to do some dread lock braids in her hair because I could easily have her unplate them in the car as we drove to the studio and then I could run a quick brush through it and be done!  Problem solved! 

 I started off creating some small pulled ponies at the top to help keep the hair out of her eyes. 

 There were two sections of these ponies and I made sure that they were pulled in separate directions for a nice look.

  From that point I started sectioning out pieces of hair with the rat-tailed comb and creating 3-Strand Braids.  I braided each section as low as I could and then secured it at the bottom with an elastic. 

 I did this all the way around the head and ended up with 28 individual braids.  (Now this did take some time so make sure you plan accordingly.) 

The kids at school thought her hair was so neat and kept wanting to play with it.  I changed her into her costume at school and then hopped in the car to head out.  My princess had half of the braids unplated by the time we got there and I quickly helped unplate the rest.

 We ran a quick brush through it - this helped loosen up the waves - and she even had 5 minutes to spare!  :) 

Her pictures turned out great and she was even able to wear it like that the following day.

Picture Day Do

I'm not sure why my princess had her school pictures so late this year but the time finally rolled around and this is the hairstyle we chose.  (Even though I didn't even order any because I do my own pictures- but we will get a yearbook at the end of the year and her shot will be in there.)

Begin by sectioning out the bangs from ear to ear and separate them (a little off-centered) into two pieces.  Use some product to keep the fly-aways down and pull the two sides tightly down to the back of the head - underneath the rest of the hair - where you will secure them together with an elastic.

Now gather another larger section of hair from ear to ear. 

 Before you secure it, you'll want to back comb the underneath a bit and then smooth out the top to give it some lift. 

Now go ahead and secure it up with 6-8 bobby pins.  Make sure they're all making the "X" shape so they won't lose their grip through the day. 

Now we grabbed out waver and waved the rest of her hair.  We own both the old fashion 80's Conair waver with the curved plates and the three-barrel iron waver.  The 80's one works SO MUCH BETTER!  Unfortunately their kind of hard to find now but keep your eyes peeled on Ebay or at yard sales.  :)

We finished it all off by inserting her jewel spiral accessories that just twist right into the hair.  We've made our own several times using the spiral paperclips found at scrapbooking stores but we actually purchased these ones at Walmart last week and absolutely love them.

Easy Picture Do's

These are my cute little neighbor girls and they're modeling some really fast and easy hairdo ideas for pictures.

Simple Side Pony

This is pretty much self-explanatory just pull all the hair over to one side of the head and combine it into a ponytail.  Top it off with a big colorful flower and it looks beautiful.

Heidi Braids

Part the hair down the middle and pull each side into a ponytail, giving you two side piggies.  Braid the piggies and then use your Topsy Tail to pull them up through the hair.  (Just behind the original ponytail elastic.)  Now wet down the ends of the braids and curl them around your fingers.  Spray them with hairspray for a nice hold.

The French Bang

Take the hair from the bang area only and create a French Braid off toward one ear.  Finish the braid down to the end of the hair and then secure it with an elastic.  Add a flower at the end to hide the elastic.  Curl the rest of the hair and slightly pull it over the braid.

Pull-Through Piggies

Simply separate the hair in half and make a low piggie on each side of the head.  Grab your Topsy Tail and create a Pull-Through with each piggie and then lightly curl the ends.

These girls have such beautiful hair and their pictures turned out darling!

Multiple Looks

My princess turned 7 years old last month and for her pictures we used "Curlformers" to create her curls.  They are my favorite wet-to-dry curlers and you can find them online or at Sally Beauty Supply.  We used the extra large in her hair this time but we often use every size.

 I love them because they give a nice loose ringlet instead of the tight curl that comes from the pink sponge curlers.

  Aren't the pretty!
You can also do several different looks with the curls.

  Here they are down with a simple headband. 

You can also wear the down with a beanie hat.  After her pictures we had her hair pulled half-up and it was still very beautiful! 

Happy curling!