Mid to Late November Hairstyles

Well, it's been another long gap since I last posted in this blog.  I have been rather busy, though.  I might write about that in my random topic blog.  So, without further delay, here are some of my hairstyles from mid to late November:

This first style was started with a ponytail.  I first made a ponytail, then split it in two.  Each half was  loosely braided, then left hanging while I wrapped a silk tube around the base of the ponytail.  My original plan was to pull each braid to the outside, and coil the ends, pinning them in place; but I found that tight braids would have been needed to make it look good.  So, I looped the braids and wrapped the ends around the base of the ponytail instead.  It is somewhat similar to the hair style that Princess Leia wore in Cloud City in the Empire Strikes Back, but her loops were longer, and a portion of her hair made a bun around the base of the ponytail.  I no longer have enough hair to do that.

This second style is one of my favorites!  I call it my signature style, because I came up with it on my own (I'm sure others have done the same style before me, but I never saw any images, examples, or descriptions of it, if so).  To do this style I first part my hair in the center, then do a Dutch braid along each side of my head.  After finishing the braids, I pull them up to cover the part on the back of my head, laying them flat against my head and pinning them in place.  The ends are then at the top of my head, where I coil them into a bun.  I like to finish this style with the hair slide I am wearing, but any decoration, or no decorations at all, will work.  I wasn't the most careful in making my bun, but after the photo was taken I fixed the bit that was hanging too low. 

This was simply a Leia's Swirly Bun held with hairsticks from Sticks and Stones.  I have a lot of hairsticks, but haven't used many since my massive shed and resultant major haircut.  My hair is regrowing enough that I think I can start using them again.

This was a quickly done (and obviously slightly messy) Pha Bun.  I am using my 60th Street hair fork to secure the bun.  

This was one of the rare days that I wear a ponytail.  I did a half up with a barrette, then simply ponytailed the rest with a silky and soft large hair tie.

Now, this is an example of what my hair looks like under my bandanna on bandanna days.  I was not feeling well (at all), so here I simply put my hair in a quick Nautilus bun and secured it with medium claw clips.  Straight out of bed; no combing was involved here.  After the photo I covered it with a bandanna.

This was my clownish style for going to get my face x-rays done.  I did a half up with a plastic barrette (which I had to remove for the x-rays), and then did a caterpillar with brightly colored scrunchies on the length.  The next style below was what I did after I got home (taking out the plastic barrette meant I had to redo my hair anyway).

This was my second style for yesterday (the x-ray day).  It was simply a half up and a Nautilus bun held with my 60th Street hair fork.  The medications I am on right now have made my scalp unhappy, so I had to massage oil into my scalp.  That makes my roots look a bit greasy.

The two images above are of today's hairstyle.  A high Pha Bun held with a 60th street hair fork.  The room was just bright enough for the flash to not fire, but dark enough that my hair is dark, grainy, and a bit hard to see.  Sorry about that, I guess it's part of the difficulty of self photographing dark colored hair.  Anyway, I showed it an angle on each side, rather than one photo from the back, because the Pha Bun looks different on each side.

Here are some helpful videos and/or written instructions regarding some of the styles above:

Leia's Swirly Bun:  http://www.network54.com/Forum/242462/thread/1084704126/The+Swirly+Bun

Double Dutch Braids:  

Nautilus Bun:

(Right Hand)

Nautilus Bun:

(Left Hand)

Pha Bun:

:)

Spidermom's Bun

I updated this post on November 27, 2012.  Only because it was done so quickly and was very short previously.

I don't do Spidermom's Bun very often, and I did find it harder to do with nearly waist length hair than I did with mid-thigh to knee length hair.  It is still a nice bun, and held well all day.  I took the picture in the evening, after it got a little messed up (caught on a rough board) while putting a few things in the attic. I used a 60th Street hair fork for this bun.

One thing to mention about buns, is that the length of hair an individual needs to do a specific bun will vary depending upon other factors regarding the individual's hair, particularly the thickness of the hair.  The thicker the hair, the longer it needs to be to do specific buns.  In my case, my hair when this photo was taken, was nearly waist length.  I am regrowing from massive shedding, and my regrowth only reached armpit length at that time.  So, my hair behaves like average thickness at the start of my bun, but behaves like thin hair as I go on in doing a bun (I hope that made at least a little bit of sense).  Most people have tapering in the thickness of their hair with increasing length, because hair is always shedding and regrowing.  My case, of an unusually large shed from health problems, and the resultant demarcation of regrowth, is not the norm.  My unusual situation is very visible in some hairstyles, but well hidden in others (I feel the Pha Bun hides it the best).



Here are instructions I found for Spidermom's Bun:

:)

A Backlog of Hairstyles

I finally got around to posting my Halloween Hairstyle, and now I am posting the hairstyles that I have worn so far in November.

The first day was a simple Dutch Braid:

Next was a double bun style:

Both of the buns in the above style are "Leia's Swirly Bun" buns.  They are a knot style bun, and can be variable in how they look, depending on what you do with the tail (the ends of your hair that extend from the knot).  I secured the bottom bun with hair pins and the top bun with a Flexi-8.

I did not take a photo every day.  There were a few days that were repeats, and a few days which were lazy, "cover it with a bandanna" days.  Moving on, the next different hairstyle that I did was a basic Chinese bun (the style done with a hair band/elastic):

I used a Ketylo hairstick for this bun.

Next was a slightly messy Dutch ribbon braid bun that I did (with three ribbons).  I secured the outer coil with small claw clips, which adds to the messy look with the ribbon tails:

(sorry about the quality on this one)

Yesterday I did a Japanese bun, with an elastic (starting with a ponytail, basically):

This picture was from the end of the day, so it is getting kind of messy, but that's fine with me.  I used a double ended Quattro hairstick for this bun.

Today I did a Pha bun, but I didn't bother to twist and tuck my ends, so it looks a bit messy:

I used a 60th Street hair fork for this bun.

As usual, I have included examples or tutorials below.  This time all are videos, so if you have a slow connection and/or very old computer, I apologize for so many embedded videos.

Dutch Braid (she does a nice job illustrating the difference between French and Dutch braids at the beginning of her video):

Leia's Swirly Bun:

Ribbon Braiding:

Japanese Bun (I could only find this video, I did not do the diamond variation, just the regular version):

Pha Bun:

:)  

Halloween Hairstyle

Sorry this post is so delayed.  I had a house guest coming, and was busy cleaning out and preparing my guest room, so I neglected my blogs.

For Halloween, of course, I had to do a hairstyle that was a little different to go with my costume.  It combined a dutch ribbon braid, a bun made with a ribbon braid, and a hair thing I bought in Japan.  I have a couple of photos below.  To see my complete costume, check this post.

To do this hairstyle, I started with a Dutch ribbon braid on my right temple, and braided around, gathering in new sections until I used about half of my hair.  Then I finished the braid without adding new sections and left it aside.

Next I gathered my remaining hair and made a high ponytail on the left side of my head.  I added two ribbons and ribbon braided the ponytail.  I left it aside, then took the previous braid, brought it around the front and pinned the ends under the start of the Dutch braid.  I left the extra ribbon length sticking out, and looped the longer portion up, and pinned it in place.  I attached the Japanese hair thing with a mini claw clip.

The final part of this hairstyle was to coil the high braid into a bun, and pin it in place with hairpins (this is a little harder to do with the ribbons getting in the way of the hairpins).  I was not careful to be neat with the hairstyle, because it was going to be dark out & I figured no one would notice anyway.



Here is a link for written instructions on how to Dutch braid:
http://www.dreamweaverbraiding.com/braids/dutch.htm

Here is a video tutorial for Dutch braiding:

Here is a video example for ribbon braiding (without a hair band/elastic):

French Braid

     Today I did my hair into a French braid.  I personally find Dutch braids to be much easier to do, but I put in the extra effort and time to do a French braid today.  I chose this style because I was not sure if I would be sparring or not in martial arts class today, and I need a hairstyle that will fit under my protective gear if I need to wear it.

Here is a photo of my hair today:

     I first learned to French braid from the Dreamweaver website (French braid instructions).  Although, on my first try I accidentally brought the new sections under instead of over, and ended up with a Dutch braid.  I found it very hard to bring the sections over; my fingers seem to automatically want to bring the new sections under.

For the visual people, here is an instructional video:

Hairstyle - October 29, 2012

     It is better for hair to vary the style worn.  Wearing the same style day after day can stress the same sections of hair over and over, leading to damage and breakage.  Such damage can be seen as segments of hair that are becoming thinned, and which may have noticeable broken hairs.  A common example would be putting your hair in a ponytail everyday.  Eventually breakage will happen among the hairs regularly stressed by the hair band.  How fast will such damage occur?  That will depend on an individual's hair type.  Those with finer strands will likely sustain the most damage, and get it quicker.

     Unfortunately for me, I have a bad habit of wearing the same old quick bun every day.  The only way I ever get out of that rut is by posting daily hairstyles online.  Now, I may not have time to post every day, but I will try to do so frequently.  There are hundreds of style options I can choose from.

     Today I chose to do two equilibrium buns, held with hair pins.  The nice thing about an equilibrium bun is that it hides taper (taper is the hair getting thinner towards the hemline, it is completely natural, but in my case it is heavily exaggerated due to past health problems).  The problem with equilibrium buns is that they are harder to keep smooth and neat, at least for me and my wavy hair.  My double equilibrium buns came out a little messy.

Here is the photo (sorry about the poor lighting):

The following is a video demonstrating how to do an equilibrium bun:

Introduction

     I love having long hair, and in general I find long hair to be very beautiful.  I appreciate long hair on both women and men.  I believe each person is free to do whatever they wish with their hair, regardless of age or ethnicity.  I do, however, have a personal preference for natural hair, be it wavy, straight, or curly; and regardless of color.

     My own hair is naturally wavy and brown (the background image is actually my daughter's hair, not mine).  For those of you who are familiar with Fia's Hairtyping system, my hair type is 2bMii.  That means that my hair is wavy, the strands are neither fine nor coarse, and my ponytail circumference is between 2 and 4 inches.  Right now my hair is between BSL (bra-strap length) and waist length.  I don't like it being this short, but a large amount of my hair fell out in the last couple of years due to health problems, and is just starting to regrow.  It is still thin from just below my armpits, down to my hemline (the ends of my hair).  I hennaed my hair, and bleached and hennaed a streak, when my hair began to regrow, after getting my health problems taken care of.  This gives me a nice marker for watching my regrowth.

     Not everyone who may read this will be familiar with Fia's Hairtyping System, so I am providing more information about it.  Here is a quote, taken from Fox on the Long Hair Loom, which gives a verbal description of Fia's Hairtyping System:

"First classifier - Your curliness (or lack thereof) 

The straight ones 
1a - stick straight 
1b - straight but with a slight body wave, just enough to add some volume, doesn't look wavy 
1c - straight with body wave and one or two visible S-waves (e.g. nape of neck or temples) 

The wavy ones 
2a - loose, stretched out S-waves throughout the hair 
2b - shorter, more distinct S-waves (similar to waves from braiding damp hair) 
2c - distinct S-waves and the odd spiral curl forming here and there 


The curly ones 
3a - big, loose spiral curls 
3b - bouncy ringlets 
3c - tight corkscrews 

The really curly ones 
4a - tightly coiled S-curls 
4b - tightly coiled hair bending in sharp angles (Z-pattern) 

Second classifier - What (most of) your individual strands look like 

F - Fine 
Thin strands that sometimes are almost translucent when held up to the light. Shed strands can be hard to see even against a contrasting background. Similar to hair found on many people of Scandinavian descent. 

N - Normal 
Strands are neither fine nor coarse. Similar to hair found on many Caucasians. 

C - Coarse 
Thick strands that where shed strands usually are easily identified against most backgrounds. Similar to hair found on many people of Asian or native American descent. 

Third classifier - Your overall volume of hair 
Put your hair in a ponytail with as much hair as possible in it. Don't bother with the way it looks - the goal is to have most/all of your hair in there. If it means it sits smack dab on top of your head, put it there. 

Measure the circumference of the ponytail. If you have bangs and/or you can't get all of your hair in there adjust according to how much of your hair you have measured. 

i - thin (less than 2 inches/5 centimeters) 
ii - normal (between 2-4 inches or 5-10 centimeters) 
iii - thick (more than 4 inches/10 centimeters) 

If you are having difficulty determining the thickness of individual hairs, this might help: 

Take a strand of hair from the back of your head. Roll the strand between your thumb and index finger. 

Fine Hair -- Your hair is difficult to feel or it feels like an ultra-fine strand of silk 

Coarse Hair -- Your hair feels hard and wiry. As you roll it back and forth, you may actually hear it! 

Medium Hair -- Your hair feels like a cotton thread. You can feel it, but it isn't stiff or rough. It is neither fine or coarse."

My quick search of the web (very quick, by no means exhaustive...I only checked the first two pages) did not reveal the website that Fia had which contained photographs of examples for each category.  If anyone reading this knows if it is still in existence, I would appreciate it if you left a link in my comments.  On another note, I think someone on The Long Hair Community was planning to make a new image bank for Fia's Hairtyping System, but their server is currently maxed out and the site has been inaccessible for me for weeks now.

Have a nice day!

:)




Links related to this post:
Source for Fox's quote
The Long Hair Loom
The Long Hair Community (unavailable at the time of this post)