MY FINAL DESIGN

INSPIRATION FOR FINAL DESIGN - USING BABY HAIR TO CREATE CURLS

I absolutely love this idea of creating curls with baby curls I think this would fit well with my previous design to make it more contemporary and instead of creating the curls on top of the hair i could actually create a few on the forehead to give it a fashion vibe. I had a go at creating them but found it difficult to stick them down. After researching and finding some videos I am definitely going to practise more.

FKA TWIGS

 FKA Twigs was definitely my main inspiration for this hairstyle, she is know for using to gel on her baby hair and creating shapes with them. Tahliah Debrett Barnett, also known by her stage name FKA Twigs is a British singer, songwriter, producer and dancer. She is definitely a fashion icon for her stand out unusual style and I would love to use her as my inspiration for my final design.

How to get FKA's baby hair kiss curls

How to create baby hair edges

FKA Twigs Wikipedia

MODERN ELIZABETHAN HAIR INSPIRATION

MODERN ELIZABETHAN HAIR- TECHNICAL

I actually found coming up with a design for the modern elizabethan hair really difficult. I looked at a number of images for inspiration from fashion to theatre to editorial, but none of them really caught my eye as anything special. I did really like a photo I found where it was two really large buns on the head which was quite simple but looked really good, unfortunately I could create this at all on my dolls head, but I am going to try doing it on a person. Instead I decided to create my design around plaits as I find it inspiring that plaits were used all the way back in Elizabethan times and are still used in the same way now. I wanted to create a design that was quite quirky but still showed Elizabethan in the some way. 

 I started by sectioning the hair and creating two really tight braids in the front, going from either side of the ear. I then decided to plait straight down the back of the hair creating a parting with the braid. I knew middle partings were very popular in the Elizabethan Era so I thought it could be a cool concept. After plaiting I really struggled with how to create a heart shape with the rest of the hair without covering the plait in the middle. I tried a few ways including rolling the hair in sections, back combing and creating just one section, I also tried put the hair over the plait and having it peak out in just certain places. None of them looked how I wanted them to. I then sectioned the hair in small part and back combed, I used two pieces of hair and crossed them over the plait gripping in the middle to create that heart shape. After that I was able to grip the other parts in place one by one layering them to look like a heart at the back.

I quite like how my design turned out but I actually liked the way it looked better from the back view. From the front it didn't really have the look I wanted it to and didn't have much volume on top of the head. I do want to try this look again on a person and maybe use some padding to get the heart shape slightly bigger and more prominent. I do like the concept of the plait being used as a middle parten and I would like to try this in different styles.

CREATING AN ELIZABETHAN HAIRSTYLE ON A PERSON- TECHNICAL

Today we had to work on a person for the first time, I decided to try and create the same design I had previously done on my doll's head to see if it would be more difficult. Using the same techniques as before I sectioned the front and then started on the back of the hair. This time I crimped the hair to create texture, I then brushed it out to give a frizzed effect. I then back combed the hair and sectioned into three parts. Using the top two parts I rolled them into a heart shape and gripped them into place. I decided to try a different technique at the back rather than the bun and rolled the hair under to create two rolls. Helen's hair was a lot shorter than the doll's head which is why I had to try something else rather than a bun as I wouldn't of got the large bun that i had previously creates. The rolls created really well because it made it look as if her hair was really thick. 

 I then started creating the small curls at the front of the hair, I found this part really difficult as Helen's hair already had quite a lot of product in and natural oils coming through. This made it hard to pick up the curls and get them as precise and defined as I wanted them. The hair at the front was quite thin compared to the doll's head meaning I couldn't create as many curls as I wanted to. I still like the way the hair turned out and I actually like that the curls are hidden slightly and not as noticeable. If I was to do it again i would have to take more hair from the front of the head to be able to create more curls.

CREATING AN ELIZABETHAN HAIRSTYLE- TECHNICAL

In this lesson we were asked to create an Elizabethan Hairstyle, this was the first time we were really creating a full hairstyle and having our own creative freedom. I decided to do some research before hand and find a portrait that caught my eye. I liked the detail in this portrait I found of Queen Elizabeth, and all of the tiny little curls at the front of the hair. I decided to try to recreate something similar to this...

I actually wanted to see how the curls would look bigger so I decided to do two rolls of curls, I started by sectioning the front so I knew which part I was using for the little curls. I then started doing the back of the hair using back combing to create height and then put the rest of the hair into a bun. When creating the curls at the front I took small sections and curled them around my fingers creating a roll, I then pressed them flat onto the head and gripped them in place. Unfortunately in the end the grips were very noticeable so next time I want to try using the really thin pins as in photographs I know the grips would show up. I really love how my look turned out although I would like to try doing even smaller curls and make them really neat. I would also have crimped the rest of the hair to add texture if I had more time. Also I would like to try using product on the curls to make them a lot smoother and prominent and less frizzy.  

PADDING- RESEARCH

In Elizabethan times padding was used to create the extreme hairstyles and height that you can see in the portraits. It helped to create the round and heart shapes to the head and was then covered with hair to hide the padding. It also meant you didn't need a lot of hair to be able to create the huge hairstyles, which was a good thing back then as the hair was really damaged from the bleaching and products they used. 

Padding is still used now mainly for avant garde shoots and theatre, it isn't used much in everyday situations but more for dramatic hairstyles. The only form of padding that is used in everyday situations is a bun ring, people will use this to create the perfect bun shape and they are really popular in the dance industry. I find it interesting that padding is still used to this day and been used to create the most unusual, crazy hairstyles.