hair

PREPPING HAIR FOR A PONYTAIL EXTENSION

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

Clearly we don’t all have a perfectly full hair. And while we definitely encourage you to embrace what you have and make the best of it everyday, sometimes we can all use a little boost for a special event. Thank goodness the ponytail extension exists. My clients and I love these things! They’re really easy to attach, but the most important part is prepping your own hair before clipping it in. Over the years I’ve done this about a billion times and this is truly my favorite way to get that sleek looking ponytail without any lumps & bumps. You may also opt for a more natural, loose look with your pony for which this is still a great technique. Let me show you how to “double up”! The idea with this technique is to make one ponytail inside of another. You can have a bumpy first ponytail and smooth it out with a comb and then pull your second (outer) ponytail over it to cover up any little mistakes. Here we go… READ MORE…

hair

1950′s INSPIRED PONYTAIL

photos + post: Kristin Ess

Golly gee, we love very vintage-inspired ponytail. This is what I like to call the “Barbie Pony” when talking to a client. It’s got a part, a little volume + some soft bouncy curls. This particular version is a very wearable one. If you want to get a little more dramatic, you’re welcome to put as much volume and curl as you want! There are a LOT of steps in this tutorial, but that’s only because we wanted to be as detailed as possible. Alright, here we go…

  1. Start with clean dry hair. If your hair isn’t perfectly clean, give it a little shot of dry shampoo! You can do a side part or a center part– which ever you feel is more flattering to your face shape.
  2. Make a diagonal section starting at your part and going down in front of your ear.
  3. You can see exactly where we parted here…
  4. and here. Now clip the hair from the front section up and save that for later.
  5. Give the hair a nice tease on top in your “crown area”.
  6. Smooth over the teased hair using the finer side of the comb so it doesn’t appear too ratty. At this point you can give the top a little spray if you want to!
  7. Now, put all the hair in the back into a nice, high, secure ponytail. It’s okay if you end up flattening out the teased bump a little bit because…
  8. You can use a tail comb to pull it back up. As long as there’s teased hair under there, you can get that volume back.
  9. Next we take out the front section. Take one side and drape it over the ponytail holder. Use a little spray to hold it in place if you need to.
  10. Use small bobby pins to secure the pieces you’re wrapping around the ponytail holder.
  11. Repeat the same thing on the other side. If hair falls out of this section or doesn’t reach, you can just let it fall and/or tuck it behind your ear.
  12. Curl all of the hair in the ponytail. I like to curl everything in the same direction on each side so that you get a pattern going, but you can definitely make a more messy curl if you’d rather.
  13. It’s completely up to you whether you brush the ponytail curls out or not. I personally like t0 brush them because the ponytail gets fuller and more bouncy.
  14. Check the back using a hand mirror and make sure it looks balanced. Give it a final veil of strong holding hairspray.

Good luck dolls!

hair

THE TWIST + FLIP BUN

photo/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

One of my all time favorite hairstyles for a wedding or for red carpet is the most super simple chic chignon (say that 3 times fast!). In this tutorial we show future brides and bridesmaids alike how to keep their hair out of the way while maintaining a timeless, classic look for any event. This is one of those updos that really allows you to focus on the dress, accessories and overall beauty instead of being a major focal point. Let’s get started!

  1. Start with all of your hair in a ponytail. I like to place the pony at the occipital bone (that bone you can feel in the back of your head).
  2. Next, slide the ponytail holder down about an inch or 2 and split it down the center as you see in photo #2.
  3. Flip the ponytail up and feed it through the split, grabbing it with your fingers from underneath and pulling it through.
  4. Now give the ponytail a gentle tug so it tightens back up.
  5. Your ponytail should look like this. There should be a slight separation where you’ll be tucking hair later in step 7.
  6. Use a comb to tease the ponytail. You can tease as little or as much as you want. The more you tease, the bigger your bun will be. The less you tease, the tighter the bun will be. Once your done teasing the hair, smooth the outside of it gently by using a smoothing brush.
  7. Wrap the ponytail around one hand and tuck the tail of the ponytail into the hole you created when you twisted the hair.
  8. Once you’ve tucked the excess, start pinning the bun in place. Gently pull it apart to make it fuller. The teased hair acts like stuffing, so you can spread it out carefully for a little more volume! If you hairspray as you go, you won’t have to worry about it falling out so much. Use the larger bobbypins to start securing the bun and then use the smaller ones around the edges. For updos like this it’s crucial to have a strong holding hairspray, but one that doesn’t get sticky or look wet. My all time favorite hairspray for doing updos is THIS ONE ! It’s called SuperHold and it’s like liquid bobby pins! It’s got amazing hold and it stays dry. Once you have it all in place, give it a good spray all over and lay down any unwanted fly-aways.

A fuller bun + a tighter bun can both look great for different reasons. For example– I would do a bigger bun for a wedding and maybe a tighter bun if I’m going to a work meeting. Also consider head size– for a smaller head, don’t overwhelm the silhouette by making a huge bun because it could make your head look even smaller. Use a hand mirror to check on your proportions from different angles as you go.

If you’re looking for accessories similar the one in the top image for your wedding, here are a few of my current favorites:

And you can always use fresh flowers, silk flowers or an embellished appliqué from the fabric store. Good luck! Tweet us a photo @TBDofficial!

hair

DOUBLE ROPE BRAID BUN

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

Some days you put your hair up in a ballerina bun or a sock bun and it just looks… blah. This tutorial shows us how to add volume + texture to a bun in order to make it a little more interesting. We’re basically using 2 rope braids to create the bun which still looks very simple + chic, but far from boring. Let’s get started:

  1. Put your hair in two ponytails using the thin ponytail holders, not the thick ones. The thin ones will be easier to hide. Be sure they’re as close to your hair color as possible.
  2. Make both ponytails into rope braids. (A rope braid, for those of  you who don’t know, is just 2 pieces of hair twisted around each other.) Tie them off with the small clear elastics.
  3. Loosen up the rope braids using your fingers. This will “fatten” up the braid and give the bun a lot more volume. If you find that little pieces start falling out, just twist them back in and spray your favorite strong hold hairspray.
  4. Take the rope braid from your back right (as you see in the photo), lay it “up and over” going counter-clockwise, securing it with strong-holding bobbypins as you go.
  5. Tuck the tail of that rope braid under the bottom of the next braid (as you see in the photo). This should completely conceal the tail of the first braid.
  6. Now bring the tail of the next braid counter-clockwise, coiling it into the center. You’re essentially making a “snail shape”. Be sure to pin as you go.
  7. Last, grab a hand mirror. Check the back to see if you need to loosen up any pieces to make it fuller– or maybe you’ll need to add bobbypins and tighten some pieces. Add an over all veil of hairspray to secure fly-aways.

Good luck! Tweet us a photo when you try it!

hair

CURLY GIRLS: PRESERVING A BLOW OUT

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

For those of you who have curly hair but like to wear it either straight or wavy, you know how gold medal it feels when you manage to convince your blow out to stay smooth overnight. There are lots of tricks in the book– dry shampoo, shower caps, buns with scrunchies, etc… and all of these are awesome. But the one that I rely on the most is twisting your hair at night before bed. I’m that girl with red, shiny, slightly wavy or straight hair, but in real life my hair is a curly mess and I know how frustrating it can be to spend all that time on it and then wake up to “the poof” (particularly in the warmer months). Here’s my favorite way to avoid that:

  1. Apply whatever styling aid you like. I like to use this weightless leave-in conditioner by Sexy Hair because it promotes shine, restores ph balance and helps close the cuticle. Then it disappears completely.
  2. Always blow hair out using a nozzle and point it downward as much as possible in order to really smooth the cuticle. If you don’t have a good blowdryer, I strongly suggest you save up and invest. It makes ALL the difference in the world for a girl with curls. Once you’re done drying, you can add some simple waves to your hair if you want. Note: Some people may ask “Why would you blow out curls just to put them back in?” But girls with curls know there is a huge difference between natural curls and curling iron waves. If you’d rather wear it straight the next day, just continue these steps without curling.
  3. Find a good anti-humectant. I’ve always loved Brilliant Anti-Humectant by Aveda. It’s not too heavy and you just need a tiny bit to keep the moisture out.
  4. Warm it up in the palm of your hands and distribute through evenly, beginning with the area that tends to be the most unruly (aka: the part that usually gets curly again first.)
  5. Now twist the hair like a rope. The best way I can explain how to do this part is to divide the hair in two and hold one piece in place while you hand the other one over. The hair will automatically twist itself and you won’t have to worry about that part. Hold one piece still, pass the other one over. Hold one piece still, pass the other one over. Hold one piece still, pass the other one over…. keep going!
  6. Repeat on the other side.
  7. Your braids should look like this. Not too loose + not too tight. It’s totally fine if some of your layers fall out, just try and tuck them in if possible.
  8. Now sleep! ZzzzzZzzzZZzzzzZzzzzzzzz….

When you wake up in the morning, unravel the rope braids. You will find soft subtle waves. Either add a teeny bit more Aveda Anti-Humectant or try using a soft, shiny beach spray like Oribe’s Apres Beach if you want a more messy look. Add a little more curl if desired! If you’re looking to wear it pin-straight, you’ll definitely get a soft wave and have to go over it with the flat iron, but  the point of this is to minimize frizz in the day(s) after your blow out.

If you have super-fine curly hair and want to try this to minimize the poof, try just doing one rope twist.

Good luck, curly girls!