Review of My Assesment

My partners design was to create a heart shape from plaits in the middle of the head and leave the rest of the hair curled. Also to create a french plait in front of the head to hide the fringe that my partner had. To overcome the problems with this design I had to change from french plait to regular plaits when it came to creating a heart shape, because to create a french plait I had to grab certain pieces of hair and make sure the heart shape still remains. However after many attempts to create love heart from a french plait I decided that it was very time consuming and the quality of the braids was not very good because I was unable to keep them tight and grab specific hair strands that wouldn't ruin the shape of the heart shape so I decided to grab twp pieces of hair from each side plait them and connect them in the middle so it creates a heart shape. I also used hair clips to form the heart shape so the hair plaits stay in place where they should be, I carefully clipped the hair plaits in place and made sure that the hair clips were not seen. To hide the elastic hair bobble that I used to tie both hair plaits, I wrapped around the hair that was left from the hair plaits this way hiding the bobble. The french plait at the front was not a struggle for me because I did not have to create any specific shape. 

To work with someone else's design was a challenge, because it involved a lot of communication and team work with my partner, not only in the classroom but also outside of the university. I think me and my partner communicated well and was able to explain our ideas clearly so both of us understand what we need to do for both of the design that we been given. I think I could have sent more pictures showing my hair design in detail, and explaining more about  different strategy's that my partner could use to achieve my hair design easier. The things that could have been explained better to me would have been showing my partners design created on Kate's head rather than paper and showing me it as a sketch. It was hard to understand exactly how the hair design should look like in reality and on the actual hair rather than drawn on the paper. 

 

Bridal Hairstyle

For the bridal hairstyle, I wanted to create something elegant, youthful and not too detailed. I incorporated a big plait going a long the side of the head which I think is very flattering for any age person in fact it can make them look younger because plaits are very playful in my opinion. I also wanted to create elegant bun because the bride has to look elegant on her wedding day considering she will be wearing very long and expensive dress! To create this bun I created a ponytail first and flipped the hair forward through the hole that I created in the hair behind the bobble this way it twisted and created this beautiful bun. The ends of the ponytail that was still visible I clipped away with hair clips. I wanted to leave some of the hair strands out because it gives the hairstyle more of the effortless look, loose curls look more youthful and pretty than tight curls that's why I wanted to leave them loose and not too overdone. To curl the hair strands I used a curling tong, heated to 180 degrees and held each strand for about 5-10 seconds. 

First Practice Session

In my first practice session I have struggled with creating a heart shape using french plaits. The hair texture was very soft and hard to get a good grip, therefore the plaits did not get as tight as I wanted them to be, also it was very hard to separate hair strands, the ones that needed to go into the french plait and the ones that did not. By taking the wrong hair strands, the shape of the love heart changed and it didn't look as neat as I wanted it to look. I did not struggle with curling the rest of the hair, I took medium size sections and curled them with a curling tong by holding them approximately 10-15 seconds.

 


To overcome my struggle of creating a perfect heart shape from the plaits, I have decided to use the different method and take two hair sections, plait them and then clip them into a few places this way creating a heart shape, which was far easier way than creating it with french plaits, it also looks more neat because it was much easier to make the plaits tighter, therefore the result is much better, I am happy with this outcome.

 

3 Final Hair Designs

This is one of my final three designs, I decided I wanted to incorporate as many details as possible from the Elizabethan era, that's why I wanted to do lifted and curved hair at the front, also including a few plaits and lastly some tight curls. I have started by taking two big front sections and teased them until I get more texture and volume, then I bent the hair backward and clipped it so it is secure. After this I took another two sections from each side and created plaits, then gently created a curve and clipped the ends so it holds. Lastly I wanted to curl the rest of the bottom hair by using curling tong and taking small sections I curled the hair by holding the tong for about 10 seconds.


 I got inspired by this Elizabethan hairstyle because I like that there is a lot of detail involved at the back of the hair  














Image found:- Stacey, 2015, StyleInterest, (viewed on Saturday 17th of October, 2015) available from: http://www.styleinterest.com/wavy-hairstyles/

 




















For my second hair design I wanted to incorporate a bun because I feel like buns can make hair look thicker than it actually is, and in Elizabethan era women wanted big hair because it shows they are powerful and wealthy. I have started by taking two sections from each side of the head to create french plaits, then I grabbed the ends of the plaits and created a ponytails. I divided ponytails into four sections, each section I teased to create more volume then bent them forward and secured them with hair clips. After all the sections were teased and secure I started to blend by taking pins and connecting them all to each other so there are no gaps. This method helps to give illusion of much thicker bun using less hair. After creating french plaits and bun I decided I wanted to curl the bottom pieces of the hair as well as on each side. I used curling tong to curl the small sections of hair to create much tighter curls, held them for about 10 seconds and released. I done the same thing to each side of the head to add more detail to the hairstyle.

I got inspired by this hairstyle because I loved the idea of incorporating plaits, bun and leaving some loose hair.













Image found:- Etsy, 2010, Bridal Braid, (viewed on Saturday 17th of October, 2015) available from: https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/125703450/wide-double-strand-hair-braided-headband

 

For my last hair design I incorporated swirls, plaits and a bun. I started by creating a plait in the middle of the hair going all the way down, then I took two sections of the hair from each side and twisted them around to create swirls and clipped them so it holds. Lastly I wanted to add a bun to create thicker hair appearance, I started by taking all the left hair strands and put them into a ponytail, then I divided the ponytail into 4 pieces and each piece of strand I teased for more volume, bended it forward and secured it with hair clips. After all the pieces were clipped I took a few pins and blended all the hair pieces together, creating a nice bun.


 I got inspired by this Elizabethan hair look because I wanted the main focus to be on the bun, I think it looks very classy and sophisticated













Image found:- Lucy, 2013, Historical Hairstyles, (viewed on Saturday 17th of October) available from: http://historicalhairstyles.tumblr.com/

 

For my final design I have chose the hair design number two, because I feel it represents best the lady in waiting that I have chosen. This hairstyle reflects hair personality, she was very elegant, wealthy, flirty and charming. The plaits and the bun look very elegant and sophisticated, however the curls show more of a flirty side of her, it attracts attention.
My hair is wavy and can get slightly course therefore it will be a lot easier for my partner to grip the hair and plait it. My hair also holds the curl very well because my hair is naturally flexible. The only struggle my partner may have is by creating a bun because my hair is very short so therefore there may not be enough hair length to bend the hairpieces and create a perfect bun.

   

I started by sectioning the front piece of hair on both sides to create french plaits.

















Created two french plaits on each side of the head.

 

After I created two french plaits, I connected the ends of the plaits, grab some extra hair from the bottom and made a ponytail.

 

I divided the ponytail into four sections, grabbed each section of hair and teased a little bit to give an illusion of more volume, then flipped it forward and clipped the end of the section, I did that to all four sections.

 

To create a bun I connected all four sections of hair using hair clips, I grabbed the edge of each section then connecting it to the other edge of the closest section.

 

The remaining hair I curled using a curling tong, holding the tong horizontal I grabbed small sections of hair held it for about 10 seconds resulting in tight curls.

 

Modern Elizabethan Hair

For this modern Elizabethan hair I decided to create plaits a few curls and swirls on top of the hair. I started by creating a plait in the middle of the hair going all the way down, then I took two sections from each side of the head and twisted them around to create swirls. Lastly I took the rest of the hair plaited it and added a a curl on each side of the hair. I chose this look because it represent Elizabethan hair by having plaits, swirls and curls in it, it is not too dramatic and is definitely a lot more modern version of Elizabethan hair, that anyone can were in the modern society.

This type of hairstyle was very easy to do the main struggle for me was to get each side even, this required a lot of concentration  

I got inspired by this very messy hairstyle which reminds me of the Elizabethan hairstyles, very frizzy hair and a lot of detail.

Image found: - Alexander Mcqueen, 2015, Paris Fashion Week, (viewed on Saturday 17th of October, 2015)

Styling Partner's Hair Compared To Kate's Head

Practicing on Kate's head and then trying to style human hair is much different. Kate's hair is a lot more course and dry therefore it is much easier to create the desired hairstyle because that type of hair can be easily manipulated, however when it comes to styling natural human hair it is a lot more harder for various reason, firstly, the hair is a lot smoother and softer therefore it will be harder to manipulate it and style it the way you want it to look overall. Secondly because the hair is a lot more slippery when it comes to grabbing the sections of hair to create french plait the hair is much softer and therefore its harder to grip it and make it tighter. And lastly when it comes to curling natural hair the curls drop out a lot faster because the hair is soft, however when it comes to course hair the curl stays put a lot easier. I think working with Kate's head and that sort of hair type is much easier and therefore faster when it comes to creating various hairstyles because course hair is easier to style and manipulate, when it comes to human hair from my experience it was a lot more time consuming by being difficult to grip, make it tight and also make sure it stays in place.

Curls And Frizz

Curls or frizz were always part of Elizabethan hair, highly lifted hair in a heart shaped was one of the most popular hairstyles that I have noticed. On the left there's a historical style Elizabethan hair, this sort of hairstyle no longer seems 'acceptable' in today's society. You can see in the left picture tight curls at the front of the hair, lifted and formed in the heart shape with a few pearls, this hairstyles was usually worn by Queen Elizabeth I as the pearls symbolized purity and she wanted to portray herself as a Virgin Queen. On the right side there is a more modern version of Elizabethan hair, much softer curls, plated hair, all dangling down, seems like completely opposite of what historical Elizabethan hair looked like, they always had tight curls, tight plats, hair being shaped and not loose. However on the right side the hairstyle seems a lot more acceptable and more elegant and pretty than on the left, because it seems a lot more effortless and not so 'dramatic' looking, that sort of hairstyle anyone can wear any day which I could not say the same about the hairstyle on the left.

 Researched: Linda Alchin, 2015, Elizabethan Hair Styles (viewed Wednesday 14th of October, 2015), available from: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-hair-styles.htm



Image found:- Alexander Mcqueen, 2013, Fashion etc., (viewed on Wednesday 14th of October, 2015), available from: https://www.pinterest.com/SerFox/fashion-etc/

Image found:- Emma Kelly, 2012, Casual Hair Do, (viewed on Wednesday 14th of October, 2015), available from: http://www.instagram24.com/tag/casualhairdo


I have experimented and tried a few techniques that been used in Elizabethan era to create their hairstyles. I have started by using crimping tong because this method was one of the most popular to create frizzy curly hair. I started by sectioning hair into 5 sections on each side, taking small amount of hair to create more intense crimped look.









Image Found:- Ellie, 2014, Elizabethan, (viewed on Thursday 15th of October, 2015), available from: https://www.pinterest.com/baskie/elizabethan/

 


In the second hairstyle I have used curling tong to create tight curs which were also very popular in Elizabethan era. I started by sectioning hair from the bottom up into small pieces, then taking a section of hair and curling it for about 10 seconds to create tight curs, also another good tip is when the hair is taking out of the tong best way to set the curls and prevent them from falling out is to clip them to the hair, when the hair cools off, take out the clips and the curls will stay a lot tighter and not fall out, this method is particularly good for people who have thicker, longer hair.





Image found:- Sandy John, 2014, A Tudor Queen with Red Hair, (viewed on Thursday 15th of October, 2015), available from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/232990980697373662/

 

The hairstyle below is much more dramatic, I have crimped the hair like I have mentioned above, then I took padding to help me create a perfect curved and lifted hair look by clipping the padding to the braid and putting the crimped hair on top of it and clipping it again to secure it. the padding made sure that both sides are equally curved which saves a lot of time rather than matching it without the padding.









Image found:- Susan, 2012, Shakespeare Re-Invented, (viewed on Friday 16th of October, 2015), available from: https://shakespearereinvented.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/shakespeare-re-invented-8-10/

 

Another same hairstyle that I have created except I did not use the padding to see the difference between the hairstyles and which one is easier to do. I think styling it with a padding is a lot more easier and the result is better, because padding creates a perfect curve effortlessly and both sides are equal, and without the padding it is much harder to create perfect curve and also matching it with the other side so it looks equal. Padding reduces the time spent on this hairstyle so I would much rather use this method.

 

Crimping on a human hair to create frizzy, curly look.

 

Creating even more frizzy look by using hair clips, I started by taking small section of hair twisting and swirling around the hair clip then taking a straightener putting heat on and then removing the hair clip.

 

Creating Elizabethan heart shape hair on a human, I started by creating a french plait behind the section of hair, then adding padding in between the plait and the section, lastly pulling the section back hiding the padding and using hair clips to secure it by clipping it to the plait.

 

Creating Elizabethan heart shaped hair on a human without the padding, The process stayed the same as I mentioned above except I did not use the padding and only rolled the hair back while securing the ends of the section to the plait that I created.

 

Creating a bun on a human, I started by creating a ponytail and sectioning hair into four sections, because the hair was crimped it already had a lot of texture and was easy to manage so I did not have to tease it, I rolled each section forward and secures them with hair clips. Lastly I connected all the rolled hair section by using the hair clips.

 


This image of Elizabethan hairstyle inspired me to do something similar. Traditional lifted front with classic bun, looks very sophisticated and at the same time elegant.









Image found:- Ashley Jensen, 2011, Maur-Elizabethan, (viewed on Sunday 18th of October, 2015), available from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/45106433739097533/


Elizabethan hairstyle.