Posts Tagged ‘braids’

HAIR TALK: HEART SHAPED FACE

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post: Kristin Ess graphic design: Eunice Chun

Did you know a true heart-shaped face has a widow’s peak? True story. The cheek area is slightly wider than the hairline and then drops into a pointed chin. There are no wide-set/squared off corners along the jawline. I think Kourtney Kardashian is a pretty great example of a heart-shaped face (and some super-cute hair dos!) If you have a normal or wide forehead with no widow’s peak which narrows down and goes into a pointed chin, it’s likely that you’re actually an “Inverted Triangle”, which is coming up in the next Hair Talk. Okay, here are the best tips and tricks for you heart shaped beauties…

  • PARTING WITH A WIDOW’S PEAK: You never really want to force a middle part when working with a widow’s peak. If it goes there, naturally then great. Otherwise, try going slighly (even just the tiniest bit) to one side or the other. When you split the hair right down the center with a widow’s peak, it tends to look thinner on each side. Better to thicken it up by going slightly off center. Look at Kourtney in the bottom center photo– it’s allllllmost center but she just pushes the widow’s peak piece over to one side. When you try to go straight down the center, one side typically behaves and the other refuses. Make mornings easier on yourself!
  • DEEP SIDE PART WITH CURLS: I love this looks on a heart shaped face for two reasons. One, it does away with any parting issues caused by a widow’s peak. Two, it opens up the face and features the gorgeous jawline of a heart shaped face. Tuck the less heavy side and let the heavy side fall in front of your shoulders if your hair is long enough.
  • HAIRCUTS: I would say the sky’s the limit for haircuts on a heart-shaped face. Almost anything looks great except heavy bangs or an jaw-length short bob. Short bangs can be really hard to control if you have a widow’s peak and if you have cowlicks on top of that, you definitely want to skip shorter bangs.
  • BRAID AWAY: There’s not much more to this one than the fact that I think this is a super-cute look heart-shaped face girls. It’s a sweet, soft, feminine look that opens up your face.
  • LOTSA LOOSE LAYERS: A piece-y blowout on hair with lots of layers is flattering on a heart-shaped face because it frames the face and makes the face appear a little more oval. Look at Kourtney in the bottom right hand photo, the slight off center parting creates a more oval shape and diffuses the appearance of a widow’s peak almost entirely.
  • UPDOS: Try a voluminous bun or pony. That will balance out the over-all silhouette of a heart-shaped face. Also, don’t go “too full” with your updos. When they’re wider than the hairline, they can actually make the chin look longer/more pointed.

If you have a tip or trick you want to share with other girls who have a heart-shaped face, please feel free to share it below! xo

VALENTINE’S DATE HAIR IDEA

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A while back I posted the top photo on my instagram page. I wanted to do a tutorial to show you how you can get this look. I also wanted to kill two birds with one stone and show you that even if you don’t have the same hair type as a girl wearing a certain hairstyle in a photo, you can still translate and modify the look to suit you and your hair type! Amy Nadine, who has finer hair that’s about shoulder length, lends me her blonde locks in the photo above and my friend Jaclyn in the tutorial below has more hair than 10 of us combine + it’s SUPER long and heavy. Their hair is totally opposite. With Amy’s hair, I gave it a bit more volume as I styled it (for example, I teased the hair before pinning the buns and pulled the braids apart a little further). But with super thick hair, I had Jaclyn coil the buns tighter and use a few more bobby pins to keep the braids a little tighter to the head. All I’m saying is don’t give up on trying an updo if you don’t have the hair you “think” you should have to get the look– at least give it a try and make it your own version! Here we go with the steps!

photos/post/graphic design: Kristin Ess

  1. Leave two sections out in front (basically everything from your ears forward) and clip them forward. Imagine the back of your head split into 3 sections. If you want a little volume, tease the crown and then make your first bun in back. Pin using small bobbypins and make sure the bun feels secure. If your hair is really thick and you need to use clear elastics as well, go for it.
  2. Next make bun number two right below that and pin.
  3. Now make the third (final) bun on the bottom and pin. These buns don’t need to be perfect– in fact, I think they’re better when they’re all a little different and have some texture.
  4. Using the hair in front that you left out, make 2 braids on each side and tie them off with the tiny clear elastics. You want to make one from the bottom half of your section and one from the top half of your section. Gently pull them apart to add some texture so they don’t look too “done”.
  5. You should have two braids on each side as you see in photo 5.
  6. Take the bottom braid from one side and wrap it around the bottom bun. You want to slide the braid in between the lowest bun and the middle bun and then wrap it around the base of the bun and pin it in place.
  7. I’ve illustrated a pattern in photo 7 so you can see how the braids are wrapped around.
  8. Once you’ve pinned your braids into place, check your balance in back by using a hand mirror. Make sure it looks good from all sides. Pin any unwanted stray hairs or fly aways and voila!

Hope everyone gives this a shot no matter what hair type you have. It’s a super-quick updo and it could be a great look for an upcoming VALENTINE’S date! xo

DOUBLE ROPE BRAID BUN

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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!

BEAT THE HEAT

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photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Since it’s about 550 degrees here in sunny Los Angeles, I figured this would be the perfect day to show you a quick + pretty way to get your hair up and off your shoulders. Don’t let the 13 steps fool you– this tutorial is fairly simple, just wanted to make sure you saw every little step! Hope you’ve all been practicing your inside-out french braid lately. You can definitely do this with a regular french braid, but I like the volume that comes from loosening up an inside-out braid better. Here we go:

  1. Part your hair starting at the top of your crown and go down right behind your ears. Pull those pieces forward and save them for later.
  2. Put all the hair in the back into a loose ponytail. This will allow the chignon shape to sit a little lower. Optional: you can make your ponytail higher/tighter if you want it up and off your neck.
  3. Lightly tease the ponytail.
  4. Wrap it into a low bun and pin using large bobby pins to make it really secure.
  5. Do an inside-out french braid, starting at your hairline and continuing down behind your ear.
  6. Braid the remaining hair all the way down and tie it off with a clear elastic.
  7. Repeat the same steps on the other side.
  8. Gently tug the braid apart. Start at the front hairline and lightly tug each individual loop/piece until you get down to the elastic. This will “fatten” up your braid and give it much more volume and texture. If layered pieces fall out, you can tuck them and spray them or just let them fall. Totally up to you.
  9. Cross the two braids over each other just above the bun and secure them with some bobby pins.
  10. Remove the clear elastics from the bottom of one braid and give a gentle but secure tease to the ends of the braid.
  11. Wrap it under the bottom of the bun and secure it with a strong bobby pin.
  12. Repeat on the other side.
  13. Tuck the remaining hair under the bun and secure with another strong bobby pin.

Use a hand mirror to look at the back and sides. Check to make sure it’s balanced. Pull a couple loose pieces out around your face if you want a softer look. Hope you all give this a go this weekend! As always, let’s see it! –> @TBDofficial