hair

LUCY HALE’S BRAIDED BOB

As you may know by now, Pretty Little Liars took home a People’s Choice Award this week! A mega congrats to them. HOORAY! In addition to that mega-honor, this epic TEEN VOGUE article says that Lucy also won the short haired updo game! We were overly excited to hear that because we put a whole lot of love into this updo. What most people may not know is that it was POURING rain in LA on Wednesday so we had to do something that would work with the weather. (Side note: that’s something I’ve learned along the way– my hairspray is not stronger than mother nature, so come up with a plan that leans her way!) This updo would be gorgeous whether it’s raining or not but the glowy texture really works with humidity and just ends up feeling neo-romantic. Okay, here are some tips, tricks and steps we took to get Lucy’s chin length bob into this braided updo…

This tutorial is directed at shorter lengths, so the struggle will be less real if your hair is a bit longer, but you can still follow these same steps.

• Start with wet hair. Biggest surprise might be that we never blew her hair out. When Lucy’s hair was wet, I added in a light layer of this GEL SERUM and followed by a light layer of  STYLING CREAM.
• Next we side parted her hair so we could get the braid to sweep across the hairline. You get more braid visibility in the front when you side part!
• While the hair was still damp, I braided it across the hairline first, stopping in the back near the occipital bone (that’s the little bone you can feel in the back of your head). I tied it off with one of these tiny ELASTICS.
• Next I braided the other side until it met the first braid in the back center. BTW, these are regular french braids, not inside-out or dutch braids. The whole thing will seem kind of tight and not as fun at first, but don’t worry! It will get fun.
• After your braids meet in back, the hair underneath should be nearly dry.
• I shook a little TEXTURE POWDER on the shorter hairs, twisted them and pinned them up. The TEXTURE POWDER is KEY. I would seriously struggle with getting a short bob to stay if I didn’t have this powder and you likely will, too. The grit that comes from this powder helps the bobbypins stay put and keeps the hair from slipping. That stuff is essential in pulling this off.
• Last, I went around loosening the braid. This is where we tend to have the most fun with this look. I pull on each individual loop and then pull little bits out to add that glowy halo effect. Use your own judgement based on your hair type. You can use a STRONG HOLD hairspray at the end if you want. I used it because RAIN. Serious RAIN.

And let’s not forget this glowy victorian glam makeup by my girl, @KDeenihan! More info on that look right HERE!

I know bob babes may not believe they can do this, but I promise you can with a little texture powder, strong bobbypins and patience! Also, can you believe, not a single heat styling tool was used in creating this look!? So fun! xx