Modern Adornment

 

As a response to my Elizabethan adornment, I have found this image on Pintrest to see how adornments in the hair could be done in a modern image. The reason I was drawn to this image was the red hair and also the shape of the structure of the hair and the frizzing, these are all things that made me think that this image has an Elizabethan reference. The adornments in the hair are fairly modern, although Elizabethans did adorn their hair with feathers and pearls, this is done in a less elegant and pretty way and is a lot more edgy. I really like this form of adornment, but I would like my adornment to be a lot more subtle.

Contempoary Hair Task

Last week in lesson we were given a hair task to complete we were asked to work to either of these briefs:

• You are a bridal hairdresser. You must create a bridal hairstyle for a winter bride. She would like at least some of her hair up and it must incorporate a plait or plaits of some kind. If any hair is down she would like it curled.
• You have been asked to create a hairstyle for a new up and coming designer. This will be worn by the models in the winter catwalk collection catwalk show. The designer has told you that the collection has some bold patterns and colours. They would like the hair to be big and bold to compliment the clothes.

After reading and thinking about the brief thoroughly I decided to go with the catwalk brief because it was more up my street, and I believe it would support my Elizabethan brief more as it is more like my interpretation of contemporary Elizabethan hair.

 

To gain inspiration for my initial design I first looked on pinterest and looked at different images of catwalk hair. Then I quickly sketched out a design as a starting point, this design is completely messy, but served me as a starting point to practice my hair design. 

This is the final front and back view for my hair design. I have chosen to create a fo-hawk with the hair and use frizzing and hair bands to create a long pony tail that will be separated into balls.

 

You will need..

• Crimpers
• Hair pins
• Hair ties
• Hairspray

Finished Hairstyle

 

To create this hairstyle I started by sectioning the hair into 3 ponytails running down the back of the head, making sure that they were as neat as possible and scraping the hair back to give it a really high fashion look, then I started at the top pony tail and completely crimped the whole thing, I continued this with every one then backcombed them, after this I made a roll with the hair and pinned down the sides to create a ball.

 

I decided to do this hairstyle in three sections rather than one large ponytail as the model I was working on had quite short hair, I wanted to make a feature of the hair bands but because of the hair length I had to improvise, If I was to do this again I would have brought in hair pieces or extensions to get a better finish.

 

When I finished the look once, I was not happy with the size of the hair, because the brief asked for the hair to be big, so I went back in and took the bottom two balls out, backcombed them some more and pinned them back, I am really pleased I did this because it makes such a difference to the hair. You can see the difference from the pictures at the top, to the pictures at the bottom, it is a subtle difference but just that little tweak made the hairstyle look so much better.

 

I am really pleased with my overall look, It could be a lot bigger but I had to work with the hair that I was given, I do still believe that it looks high fashion and suitable for the runway. If I was to do this look again I would have used more product in the hair, this would have made it look a lot neater, with the sided I would have used gel to get a really slick look as at the moment the sides are a bit messier than I would like them to be, however because this is only a practice I am really glad that I didn't, because this was my first time doing this hairstyle it was all trial and error, and if I had used product it would have been a lot harder to change the hairstyle once it had been set.

 

 **HEALTH AND SAFETY**

• Make sure the model is covered over with a gown.
• Do not use the crimpers on too high of a setting.
• Make sure the wires aren't a trip hazard.
• Make sure the crimpers are PAT tested.



Elizabethan Adornment

During the Elizabethan times it was very popular to wear adornments in the hair women often wore hair coverings that were very elaborate this started from an early age as during childhood girls would wear white linen caps that tied under the chin called coifs whilst women wore a variety of coverings, a common thing to wear was a French hood and also cauls.

Hair and headdresses Courtais G. p51

"Frizzing and close curls are also common, with the back of the hair enclosed in a cap or caul of reticuated goldsmith's work set with pearls or precious stones lined with coloured silk or cloth of gold or silver." - Courtais G. (1973) p50.

This quote explains the craftmanship that would go into the cauls that elizabethan women would wear, and how it would be adorned with precious jewels. A caul is a small bag that would have been pinned over the bun at the back of her head, and was often seen worn in collaboration with hats. These were often made out of fabric or fabric covered in a netted cord ( for the lower classes) or net of mesh gold, silver or silk thread. There are references that say that queen Elizabeth's Caul was made out of wire or braided hair. Some noble women would have these decorated with pears and gems, this is my favourite adornment for the hair during the Elizabethan era as it is probably the most elaborate. "Two cauls, the one of gold, the other of silver, kyntt." this quote describes the two cauls that were given to the queen in 1561-62 as a new year gift. 

A French hood originated from France, it was adapted in England when Anne Boylen stayed in France, it was closely fitted to the head and covered the ears with a gradual flare towards the back and the usual gold pleated ribbon at the base. They would often include billaments, these were fashionable additions to the French hood and were often pearls or jewels and matched the jewelled edges of the gown. French hoods were worn by the more conservative woman.

Drawings of Coifs. Courtais G. p.54

Coifs were close - fitting caps which was worn at night and for indoor wear or as a foundation for hoods and hats, they were made in one piece and had a seam along the top of the head, the front edge was often straight or more fashionably cut into a point or curve to allow for the hair to be seen, when worn during the night they were just made out of cloth but for wear during the day they were decorated with silks, or gold and silver metal threads and had images of flowers or animal motifs.

"A cawle of three forehead cloths of cameryck netted with gold." 
"A night coy of cameryck cutworm and spangles with a forehead cloth."
"A night coy of white cypress flourished over with silver."

These quotes are all of the coifs that were given to the Queen as presents.

Elizabethans were also known for embellishing their hairlines with precious gems, and pearls, some of the hats they wore separated their hair into a heart shape and looked extravagant at important.

 

Courtais G. (1973). Elizabethan 1558 - 1603. In: Unknown Women's Headdress and Hairstyles in England from AD600 to the Present Day. London: B T Batsford LTD. p48 - 58.

Elizabethan Hairstyle Task

You will need...

• Crimpers
• Hair ties
• Hair pins
• Tail Comb

 

Today in class we had to design and create an Elizabethan hairstyle using padding, frizzing and curling, this needed to be done in under two and was also our first time working on each other rather than working on our Katie heads. This hairstyle needed to be Elizabethan rather than contemporary, the front must be curled or frizzed, and can be heart shaped or round padding could have been used if you wish, and then the back can be a plait, twist or a bun and we were allowed to use any type of adornment to give the hair an Elizabethan feel.

 

This was my original design that I took to the lesson with me, I wanted the hair to be crimped to give the texture, then the hair to be moulded into buns at the top, which would come into a bun at the back, with two tendrils down the sides.

However when creating  my hairstyle I changed a lot of things, this wasn't because of time management or anything I just got different inspirations along the way when creating my work. I really enjoyed working on a person rather than a Katie head, I was really lucky because my partner has really amazing long hair so it was easy to create volume and I didn't even need to use hair padding because she had so much hair.

Timing was not an issue with this task, the whole hair took me about 1 hour 30 minutes when we had minutes and we had an 2 hours to complete it in, so I created some plaits at the front of the hair to make It more elaborate, however if I wanted to make it better I would have brought in some embellishments to put on the front of the hair as you can see in my initial design.

To create this hairstyle I first sectioned it into 3 parts, a small section at the front for the braids, a middle section to create the heart shape and then the back section. After this I divided the middle section into a centre parting, crimped it and thoroughly backcombed it, then I rolled each side into a heart shape and pinned it securely to the head. Then I split the front section into 6 and created 6 little plaits at the front of the hair which I secured under the hair rolls.  Then for the back section I was going to create a bun, but my model had so much hair and my pinning technique was also slightly messy so I tired to disguise it by splitting the back section into 2 and wrapping each plait around the head into a milk maid braid, and then pinning to the head to secure.

If I was to do this hairstyle again, I would have focused on making the heart shape a little bit neater, although I was happy with it at the time as I look back I can see that is not as precise as it could have been, I also need to be more careful with my pins as you can see from my bottom right picture. I would also add a jewelled coif to the back of the hair and adornments as these would really bring the look together. However I am really proud of the amount of volume I have got into the front of the hair without using hair rats and overall I think it is a good first attempt with room to expand.

**HEALTH AND SAFETY**

• Make sure you put the crimpers on a heat proof surface.
• Do not heat the hair for too long as this could cause damage.

 





Shape of Elizabethan Hair and Modern Interpritations

During Elizabethan times it was very common to wear the hair in a heart shaped arrangement which was pushed over wire frames, this continued to be fashionable through to the 1570's - 1580's but after about 1590 the central dip dissapeared and curls and frizzing were less usual, so the hair was brushed into a high oval shape.

 

"Which force, must be curled, frizzed and crisped, laid outing wreaths and borders, from one ear to another, and, lest it should fall down it is underpropped with forks, wires and i cannot tell what.." - Phillip Stubbes (Anatomie of Abuses) this quote shows the lengths women would go to achieve the these fashionable hairstyles.

• Image 1 - 1585, John Bettes the Younger, English noble woman
• Image 2 - 1596 Anne, Lady Pope with her children from her first marriage by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger (National Portriat Gallery - London UK)
• Image 3 - 1578 Unknown Lady by Nicholas Hilliard

 I chose these images to represent the shapes of Elizabethan hairstyles, and I also tried to keep away from always using Elizabeth to represent all of the Elizabethan styles. These images show a variation from a strong heart shape to a rounded shape, and also shows some of the looser hairstyles that the children would wear. The children tend to have looser, rounder hairstyles, this is because it represents virginity, however it looks like you can tell the age of the children by what they are wearing and how elaborate their hairstyles are.

As the women age the hair seems to get curlier and more structured, by looking at the photographs I would suggest that the woman in image 1 is older than woman 3 because of her hair, or she might be more noble.

• Image 1 - Heather Chapman for Sam Villa Blog
• Image 2 - NAHA 2012 - Sarah Goddard
• Image 3 - UNKNOWN (UK Hairdressers)

These are some images of contemporary shapes that have been made that remind me of Elizabethan hair, although the first image is probably more suited to braids, I have included it in this section as I like how the braid has moulded into round curved lines. The second image I absolutely love and I will definitely be designing this for my Elizabethan hair, it is totally crazy and elaborate, but I believe this is how the Elizabethans were so this is why it reminds me of them. The final picture I chose because of how ultra modern it is, the extreme round shape looks almost alien.

Courtais G. (1973). Elizabethan 1558 - 1603. In: Unknown Women's Headdress and Hairstyles in England from AD600 to the Present Day. London: B T Batsford LTD. p48 - 58.

Elizabethan and Contempoary Curls and Frizz

In 1550 the fashion of frizzing the hair had arrived from France, and this was done in a similar way to modern backcombing then the hair was brushed over rats or wire frames and help in place with a sticky paste of gum or mucelage however this could only be used by the upper classes so lower classes used to use dust of rotten oak or flour. 

• All Images are of Queen Elizabeth I

After experimenting with creating texture in the hair using frizzing and backcombing I have gathered some images of Elizabethan hairstyles that include these techniques. I have chosen these portraits because the curling and frizzing techniques are all very different, In the first one it looks like it was created with very tight curls at the top and has turned into very loose ones for the tendrils at the bottom, I like this hairstyle as it is very controlled and has very little frizz. The second one look more crimped in texture where as the third one looks like a series of tight ringlet curls that are all very separate, I included this as I believe you could re create this look very effectively by using the method of zig zagging the hair around a pin and setting with a hair straightener.

• Image 1 - David Barron
• Image 2 - Unknown
• Image 3 - 70's hair Bottega Veneta at Milan Fashion Week

I have chosen these contemporary versions because they are a fun take on the controlled Elizabethan style, I particularly like the first image, the hair almost looks like sheets of copper in the hair, I like the high shine and the movement it creates, the colour of the hair makes me link it to the Elizabethans and would be interesting to use in my designs. The middle picture I chose because of how fine the frizz in the hair is and also because of how it has been moulded., it reminds me of the first portrait of queen Elizabeth with the curly tendrils. The third one I just chose because I love the texture. this alone would be such a beautiful modern way to show Elizabethan hair.


Keyes J. (1967). Hairstyles. In:  A History of Hairstyles 1500-1965. London: Methuen & Co LTD. p6 - 7.

Periwigs

Keyes J. pg. 10

Periwigs became popular during 1585 - 1605, these became fashionable because of Queen Elizabeth who often wore these due to her loosing her hair because of illness she was said to have 80 dyed periwigs that were often auburn and saffron yellow. Periwigs were very complicated to dress and uncomfortable to wear so women often opted to shave their head and wore a complete periwig. These periwigs were very fashionable with the ladies in court and dyed these to similar shades of Queen Elizabeth's periwigs. To create these the hair was often stolen from children or young girls to get the best quality hair.

Periwigs were often styled in tiny curls or frizzed into tiny waves and built up into a symmetrical shape with a pronounced peak in the middle of the forehead, this was the signature Elizabethan heart shaped style and to finish they were decorated with pearls, jewels and feathers.


Queen Elizabeth Engraving by Antony Gucho

This image shows a middle aged Queen Elizabeth with her forehead plucked beneath a wig.

 

Keyes J. (1967). Hairstyles. In:  A History of Hairstyles 1500-1965. London: Methuen & Co LTD. p10 - 11.

Bryer R. (2000). From the Medieval to the Renaissance. In: Bryer R The History of Hair Fashion and Fantasy Down the Ages. London: Phillip Winston Publishers. p30 - 49.

Crimping, Back Combing & Hair Rats

You Will Need...

• Tail Comb
• Crimpers
• Tights
• Bobby Pins
• Padding

Crimping

 Crimping the hair creates texture and volume, the texture it creates makes it easy to mould the hair into shapes, so it is great for Elizabethan styles. To crimp the hair you want to part the hair in the desired direction, because I was creating the Elizabethan heart shape, I parted the hair in the centre. Then section the hair and start from the bottom, when crimping hold the crimpers up slightly to get lift at the root, continue down the hair making sure you start from the last line to keep it neat, leave it to cool. When the whole head is complete you need to brush it out to get the volume. I absolutely loved crimping the hair, it is very therapeutic and creates a great base to mould the hair.

 

 

 

 



I found crimping quite easy and therapeutic, it is definitely something I will use in my designs as it is so easy to create texture especially in fine hair.

 Back Combing

Back coming the hair creates a structure and helps the hair stay in place, it is important to do backcomb properly as it can matt the hair and will be a nightmare to get out, make the hair into sections and pull the hair up, backcomb the part of the hair that will not be seen, to do this put the comb in the hair about half way up and bring the comb down to the root of the head, carry on doing this until you have enough structure in the hair, this should make the hair stand up on its own. Finish by lightly going over the top with a comb to smooth it out and spray to set if desired.

 

I preferred creating the Elizabethan style with back comb as it is so easy to mould the back comb into rolls and pin into place.

 

 

Hair Rats

Hair rats can be easily created by cutting the legs off some tights and filling them with couch roll, cotton wool, or crepe hair. These can be added to the hair either by pinning to the head, or by creating a small French braid to act as an anchor in which to pin the hair rat to. Make sure that you match the hair rat tight colour to the colour of your model

 

 

I found it really hard to attach the hair rat to the head, the next time that I do this I will fill the hair rat with cotton wool because it will be easier to pin the rat to the head.

 

**HEALTH AND SAFETY**

• Make sure the models clothes are covered.
• Be careful of wires as these can be a trip hazard.







Elizabeth (1998) & Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

Elizabeth (1998) is a film about Queen Elizabeth's life and depicts how she became to be seen as 'the virgin queen'. I am really interested in the hairstyles that you see in this film as I believe that even though they are just an interpretation of what Elizabethan hairstyles are like, I believe they are pretty accurate as they have been based on Elizabethan portraiture. I have included images here from the film Elizabeth (1998) and also Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007). I have simply included images of Elizabeth's hair, but throughout the films you can see the hairstyles that her ladies in waiting wore. I found it really interesting to watch this film as you get a full 360 view of the hairstyles that you cannot get from looking at portraiture, so watching both of these films was a great source of research for me, you can see all of the elaborate plaiting and rich adornment.

The Ermine Portrait, William Segar, 1585, Elizabeth as Pax

 

A huge inspiration of my hair designs will come from the Ermine portrait, I knew that this was my favourite portrait before I went to the National portrait gallery because of how striking it is, it is something that would be really inspiring to see in person but unfortunately it wasn't in the gallery.

 

This image is heavily symbolic the sword of justice is laid next to her, she is holding an olive branch to represent peace and she also wears the three brothers jewels she is dressed in all black to reinforce the seriousness of the portrait as it is connected to the proposed truce with Scotland it shows that she wants to be seen as peaceful, loyal, pure and truly regal.

 

The reason I find this image so inspiring is how powerful it is, it is almost like a warning in disguise, Elizabeth is flaunting her power and status but overshadowing it with peaceful undertones, you can see the extent of her wealth and status with her elaborate garments, hair and embellishments, she is completely adorned with precious jewels, a small ermine is by her arm which is a symbol of the nobility because of their pure white fur. The sheer size of her sleeves look almost masculine and intimidating like she is demanding surrender, approval or her way, and the black In the gown shows how deadly serious she is. I want to play around the colour scheme of this image, using black, gold, silvers with pops of red and orange, and also the textures, the fur of the ermine or by imagining the different textures or decedent fabrics that would have been imported to make this dress.

 

I really like the fact that her skin is whiter than the ermine's it almost shows that she is more pure than the animal even though they are represented to be the height of purity, its almost screaming her perception of self worth and her influential power over the people..

Elizabethan Society

The Elizabethan society was a clearly defined hierarchy that people were born into, there was constant re enforcement about where a person is in society and they knew the clear roles of what was expected of you in regards to your place. The structure was arranged like a pyramid with the queen at the top and mass peasantry and the working class at the bottom.

 



The nobility and gentry constituted of only a small proportion of Elizabethan society. The titled nobility - dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts and barrons accounted to a group of 57 men at the start of queen Elizabeh's reign, she was also very cautious about adding to the ranks of nobility. Nobility was something that could only be conferred by birth. The gentry were a great deal more difficult to define, the term itself consisted of three social gradiations: knights, esquires and gentlemen.

 

The peasantry was a large part of the hierarchy, if these people had skills such as carpentry or weaving they would be able to supplement the extra income necessary to survive but others just followed the harvest and endured harsh conditions, so the peasantry always worked. There was also some grey areas at the bottom of this hierarchy, some people did not fit into a niche and these included beggars and master less men.

 

During Elizabethan times we only say about men, as during this time a woman's worth or status was derived through her husband if she was married, or her farther if she was not. Women were regarded aas being one half step below her husband but of greater status than those who were of lesser status than her husband.

 

Fashion was viewed as a form of self - expression for all social ranks during Elizabethan times, Elizabethans made many efforts to wear their hair in fabulous styles that would take ages to do, women would sit in parlours and men in barber shops to make sure that their hair looked fantastic. People of a lower class would not have been able to afford this luxury as they had to work to get money, so from hairstyles it would be obvious who was from a higher class.
 

Susan Doran and Norman Jones (2014). The Elizabethan World. London: Routledge. 271 - 316.

Walter Nelson. (). The Structure of Elizabethan Society. Available: http://walternelson.com/dr/node/246. Last accessed 11th October 2015.

 

 

Alexander McQueen Fall 2013

 

 

One of my main inspirations for this hair brief was Alexander McQueen's Fall 2013 collection this was a collection of 10 looks presented in Paris. The collection had a theme of hyper-detailed embellishment throughout and was heavily inspired by the virgin queen. The intricate details of the ruffed collars and sharp tailoring make the collection fit for royalty.

The reason I am so inspired by this collection is the masks that all the models are wearing, it is a truly modern tribute to Elizabethan head wear, I was inspired by this to plait the hair and adorn these little plaits with jewels or beads, or maybe to cover the face with the hair, this would suit perfectly to Elizabethan fashion as women often covered their face to keep their hair pale and supple. The round structure of the cage is also in good relation to how Elizabethan women often opted for their hair to be very round in shape and very controlled and structured.

It is also very interesting to me how the hair is pinned to the head, the pin curls almost look like roses, which makes me think of the English rose, and queen Elizabeth is the epiphany of this, with her pale skin and flushed cheeks, not one woman before has ever influenced fashion and cosmetics in a period.

I also believe it is symbolic the use of gold and white colours In this collection, queen Elizabeth herself dressed in light colours as she was a protestant, catholic queens before her tended to wear darker colours and dress in a reserved fashion, where as Elizabeth's new age fashion was very elaborate and demanded attention.

 

 

 

 Unknown. (2013). WOMEN'S AUTUMN/WINTER 2013. Available: http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexandermcqueen/archive/womens-autumnwinter-2013-2/. Last accessed 5th Oct 2015.

Elizabethan Plaits & Buns Modern Interpretations

 

Image of Buns, plaits and adornments from Ages Of Elegance.

For Elizabethan plaits and buns I found this picture on the left in (insert book name). I absolutely love this image as the hair is not covered by a cowl or French hood, you can simply just see all of the intricate plaits, buns and adornments. I like how it is almost unimaginable how they could create such elaborate ties back in them times as they would not have had the luxury's of hair pins ect.





 I have chosen 3 images of modern plaits and buns that I find inspiring. I have found these styles from the runway and the red carpet, they are in no way intended to directly look like Elizabethan hairstyles but think they all have very close links.

The first image I found is of a milk maid braid, I love how intricate yet simplistic this look is. The only thing about this hairstyle that makes me think of the Elizabethans is the plait, as women's hair would often be plaited and sown around the back of their head, in this modern version it is platted round the circumference of her head and is slightly messy and wispy, I like how it isn't perfect, women in the Elizabethan times would spend hours making sure that every strand of hair was in place and I think this messy modern version would look beautiful with an embroided hair net attached to the back.

 I chose this braid because it is so ultra modern, the reason that it made me think of Elizabethan hair was because of queen Elizabeth's curls, when watching the film Elizabeth (1998) the curl in her hair is almost frizzy In some of the scenes as if the curl has been brushed out, so this braid really inspired me, it would look beautiful with some adornments in like ribbons and pearls, it would have an Elizabethan vibe but would be very subtle.



I chose this bun because all though it is a modern technique it  reminds me of how Elizabethan hair would have actually been, it is very controlled and neat and is obviously for a red carpet event. There is loads of intricate details that would have taken hours to create, because of this it reminds me of how only affluent women would have been able to afford having their hair done, this is because this isn't an every day style and probably would have cost a lot of time and money. The difference between this and Elizabethan styles is that this is probably beyond what they could have created as we have the luxuries of hair pins, and hairspray.


After looking at these images I had a little experiment with creating modern versions of these hairstyles, I played with using buns, plaits and ribbons to create modern versions of these hairstyles.

At first I started by creating a French braid, but instead of picking up a full section I only picked up a tiny section of the hair, this looked really effective and I wanted to play on this more by getting a needle and a ribbon and sewing it down the braid, then took it a step forward by weaving it in and out of the strands around the head, I wanted it to look like the beaded hair nets that they wore but incorporated into the hair, but instead I think it masked the effectiveness of the braid.

Instead of trying to tweak the braid to make me like it I had another idea, I wanted to try and re create the heart shape hairline that the Elizabethans love and I thought a good way to do this would be to use tiny braids. However to make this look more effective I would need to plait the hair around chicken wire to get the hold I want, I would also like to thread beads on top of the plaits. I really like this idea so I will be drawing it up into a design as I believe it is a good modern interpretation of Elizabethan hair.

D'Assailly G (1968). Ages of elegance : five thousand years of fashion and frivolity.. Paris: Hatchette. p1 - 30.

An Introduction to Elizabethan Hair

 

One of the main ideals for beauty during the Elizabethan times was a woman's hair. Women's hair during this time was hugely extravagant and they paid lavish attention to hair care this was because of Queen Elizabeth's reign who presented her hair immaculately and also was a big fan of wigs.

One of the most striking things about Elizabethan hair is the colour, because of queen Elizabeth she was blessed with auburn hair, however not every woman was blessed with this so they went to the extreme length of dying their hair, they often used a mixture of rhubarb juice and oil of vitol (sulphic acid) however this was highly corrosive and caused women's hair to fall out.

The texture of the hair widely varied during this period, when a woman was unmarried she wore her hair straight and loose this was seen as being virginal, so as a woman became close to the stage of being married they would pin their hair up in shorter styles and was also curled, these pinned up styles were often very elaborate and were tied to the head with ribbon on plaited then would be decorated with ornate jewels and pearls which would compliment the ornate outfits that they used to wear.

During this time a high hairline was very desirable, this was again inspired by the queen and was also emphasised by her use of wigs, some women would even pluck their hairline back an inch to achieve this look. Elizabethan hair was also very high, with rounded edges or sometimes was even moulded

into a heart shape using hair rats (pads made of hair to support the elaborate styles of the time.)

 

It is also important to understand that only affluent women of the time would be able to afford these hairstyles as they were highly elaborate and took a lengthily time to create.

 

 

 

Victoria Sherrow (2006). Encyclopedia of Hair - A Cultural History. London: Greenwood Press. p 116 - 117.

 



Curling Hair Using Tongs.

You will need...

• Curling tongs
• Pin tail comb
• Bobby Pins

During this technical session I learnt how to create a spiral curl and also a roller curl. The spiral curl is more modern and free, this creates a lot of curl but not much volume, for the roller curl this creates lift and volume.

 

Spiral Curl

For my spiral curl I started from the bottom of the hair at the nape of the neck, this is the easiest way to section the hair as you do not have to move curls out of the way. To spiral curl you have to use the tongs vertically, and choose the direction of the curl. To curl away from the face turn the tongs towards you, or to curl away from the face turn the tongs away from you. When curling, if it becomes baggy use your comb to direct the curl back around the barrel. Hold this curl for about 10 seconds, but vary the time depending on the hair. After releasing the curl, secure this to the head with a bobby pin, cooling the curl in this position will set the curl. When curling the hair, make sure you change directions as curling in the same direction will make all the curls merge together. After all the hair has set you need to take out all the pins and run through the curls with your fingers, this will separate them and make them fall naturally.

 

 

 

 

 

 In these pictures I am showing you how I sectioned the hair, how I pinned it and the finished product. I found it very hard to work with tongs and a comb at the same time, It took a lot to get the curls tight and not baggy. I also made the mistake of not moving with my curls, this flattened the curls as I was moving up the dolls head but this does not matter too much as they were still setting it just did not look as neat. I am pleased with the overall result of the hair, at the front you can see some really defined curls, however I forgot to change direction of the curls at the front, and this has merged into one curl and looks unusual compared to the rest of the hair.

 

 Roller Curls

To create roller curls you have to focus on getting the desired lift and volume into the curl, to do this you curl the hair using the wand horizontally, make sure you keep a good tension of the curlers and roll down the hair, keep the hair in position so is just under the sectioning line. Like the spiral curl you keep this on the hair for about 10 seconds. To make sure the curls don't merge together lay the curls in a brickwork formation, this will stop them merging into lines.

 

 

 

 

 

In these pictures I have shown how I have pinned my curls, the formation in which I have laid them and also my finished curls. I found it easier to get these pins in neater when I was doing them horizontally but found it hard to create a brickwork formation in the hair since I was only doing half a head. Some of the curls I have created I was really pleased with however it is blatant that I have not used adequate tension on the wand when doing the curls and this is vital to get the volume that is desired from this curl.

 



**HEALTH AND SAFETY**

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