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.