Contemporary Elizabethen Design Development

For this project, I have to create a contemporary Elizabethan hairstyle. 

I have researched the history of hair during the Elizabethan era, the appearance and the techniques in creating it. 

Now I am in the process of designing, combining ideas and techniques in order to produce a final contemporary Elizabethan hairstyle. 

For this contemporary Elizabethan hair, I want to make experiment with the following: 


Volume 

Pin Curls 

Shapes and structure 

Colour 

Braids

Texture 


I drawn out a few first designs:

This is also the first hairstyle that I have tried to reproduce.

You can see here that the look is quite messy but still refined, I have taken the ringlets out because I thought it would have made the look less contemporary. 

These are the other two designs that I have created: 

Achieving Pin Curls

Pin Curls: a curl which has been held by a hairpin whilst setting

Curls form as the basis of many different Elizabethan hairstyles. Hair of the era would be curled and set to add volume and texture to the hair in order to create intricate shapes and designs, for example:  



Curling hair is a major task, it requires patience and attention to detail. Curls must be neat and the direction of the curl is very important. 

Pin curls can be created through pinning up damp hair in circle motions and left to set in a 24 hr period. However, it is very rare, as a hair stylist to have that amount of time in your hands. 

A quicker method would be to add heat. 

I followed the following procedure: 

1. Hair consultation, check if hair is suitable for this styling. To create these pin curls, very high temperatures will be used, it is very important that the hair is not very damaged as the heat could make the hair very brittle and easy snap.

2. Make sure hair is clean and ready for styling. If hair is not clean, you need to go through the hair wash and blow dry procedures.

3. Heat up the curling iron. If the hair is fine, use a lower heat setting, if the hair is thick use a higher heat setting as this means that the hair is harder to curl. Whilst the curling iron is heating up, prepare the station, make sure you have easy access to pins and hair grips as these will be needed frequently when styling. 

4. Brush hair throughly to rid of any knots and tangles. 

5. Add a heat protection to hair, this will help prevent damage from the use of high temperature. 

6. Section the hair, make sure to work form the bottom of the head to the top. 

7. Working in little sections curl the hair. Wrap your section of hair around the barrel and be sure not to overlap the hair as this will reduce head and result in limp sections. Work as close to your scalp as possible. 

Note: be sure to alternate in direction of curls so curls don't combine and form one giant curl. 

8. Wait for around 12 seconds and remove the iron slowly without tugging or pulling at the hair. 

9. Quickly pin up the curl. Grabbing the bottom of the curl to create a perfect curl, use a bobby pin or a similar hair clip to fasten the circle of hair to your head.

10. Repeat process to entire set of hair. 

11. Once the curls are cool, you can take the pins out and you will have achieved a head of tight curls/ringlets. 

12. Style accordingly. 

Here is my attempt of pin curling in the session, unfortunately I could not complete a full head due to time. 


 Before: 

 After

You can see that after the hair is pin curled, you lose a lot of length but add a lot of volume. The model has very thin hair and has a lot of breakage hence the fly-aways, these would need to be tamed with hairspray.

I feel that the curls are quite messy, this could be because I sectioned and curled hair in different quantities. Curling hair in the same row of hair and same amount every time will make the curls more uniform.

Braids and Buns

Many Elizabethan hairstyles incorporate the use of braids to create very intricate designs. To create the perfect design we need to have a full understanding and practice in braiding hair:

The Simple Braid:

theautry.org
Last accessed: 8th Oct 2013

1. Brush hair to get rid of any knots and tangles and gather the hair where you want the braid to be. 

2. Divide the hair into three sections. 

3. Take the left section and cross it over the middle section. (The right section is now the middle section)

4. Now take the right section and cross it over the middle section.

5. Repeat until you have the desired length of braid and secure with a hair tie/elastic band. 

Note: If the hair is layered, it will be more difficult to braid. Tame fly-aways with hairspray or gel. 

The French Braid

1. Prep hair, brush hair throughly, make sure their are no knots and tangles.

2. Section hair. Take a section of hair where you want the braid to start. The section of hair should come from the same row of hair. 

Note: The section you begin with will not be the size of the braid that you will end up with, through adding hair to the braid, it will gradually increase in size.

3. Separate the section into three equal strands. 

4. Begin to braid. Take the three sections so that two sections are held in one hand and the other and the other hand. Create a couple rows of a regular braid by taking the strand on the right and crossing it over the centre. Take the strand from the left and cross it over the centre. 

5. Incorporate new hair. Continue this pattern of crossing strands diagonally over the centre strand, but gradually begin incorporating other pieces of hair. Before you cross a strand over to the other side, grab another strand of hair from the loose pieces on the same side and include it in the cross over. 

6. Incorporate all the hair into the braid. As you continue down the head, you will notice that free hanging strands of hair is being used up. By the time you reach the nape of the neck with the main braid, all of the extra hair should have been drawn into the braid. 

7. Finish the braid. You can braid the rest the length of hair as a regular braid. Secure when finished. 

Side Braid

1. Brush hair, remove knots and tangles.

2. Part hair and gather to one side. A side braid is a asymmetrical look, so a side parting will be a good choice.

3. Start the braid underneath the ear opposite the shoulder where you've gathered the hair. 

4. Split section into three sections: begin braiding as usual. Grab one on the outer sections and cross it over the middle, then grab the outer section on the opposite side and pull into the middle.

5. Continue braiding: incorporate hair into the upper half of the braid for a half French braid. Be sure to add hair directly above the section of braid so that the hair on the back of the head doesn't cross all over itself.

6. Reach the opposite ear and you can braid the rest of the length of hair as a regular braid. 

7. Secure and you're finished. 

 Fishtail Braid


1. Divide hair into two sections. 

2. Pull a thin strand of hair from the outside of the left section. Pull it over the top of the left section, and grasp it under the right section.

3. Repeat on the right side. Pull a skinny strand of hair from the outside of the right section and pull it over the right section, then weave under left section. 


4. Keep alternating sides, weaving over and under, until you reach the bottom of the braid. Secure with an elastic band. 

Rope Braid

 1. Brush through hair to rid of tangles and knots. Grab the section of hair you want to rope braid. 

2. Divide section into two. 

3. Twist the section closest to your face towards your face. 

4. Pull over the other section and twist again. 

5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 to the end of the hair and secure with elastic band.

I love rope braids because you can create so many different shapes using them for example: 

You can wrap it round into a bun, and it creates almost a flower shape. 

Or you can pull it over the head to create a elegant up-do, just secure it with pins and you're done! 

On the subject on creating shapes, even using the most simple regular braid can create beautiful shapes: 

If you want to create more detail, you can combine braids and shapes:

Incorporating ribbon

In order to create a well thought out contemporary Elizabethan hair-do, I need to open up to using different materials. Incorporating ribbon into hair gives an elegant touch and also gives the hair more texture.

The following hair is not created by me but it shows how ribbon add style. The fringe makes the look contemporary. If there was more volume on the top of the head, I think that would make it more elizabethan. 
Notice the colour of the ribbon, it is white, which could represent purity and innocence. 

Sleek Ballerina Bun

What you need:

Hairbrush

Comb

Elastic band

Hair Pins

Hairspray

1. Prep hair. Remove all tangles and make sure hair is completely smooth by giving it a thorough brushing. The ballerina bun is created using hair that is totally slicked-back, so if your hair is frizzy or prone to fly-aways, mist hair with water to dampen it slightly.

2. Brush hair into a ponytail. For this look it is necessary to use a brush to create the necessary smoothness. Comb hair back into a ponytail at any location on head. A classic ballerina bun is formed near the top of the head, but you can certainly place it at any location along the scalp.

Note: Make sure hair is totally smooth before you add the elastic. This may require a few minutes of brushing, to verify that the hair from every part of your head is smooth and included.

3. Create the bun. Without twisting hair into a rope-like strand, wrap it in a spiral around the base of the ponytail. When you get to the ends, tuck them beneath the spiral and secure with bobby pins.

·       Depending on the length and thickness of your hair, you will need to use anywhere from 3-7 bobby pins to keep your bun in place. Avoid using more than necessary though, as you will be able to see if there are many being used.

·       Slide the bobby pins in under the bun, so that you can only partially see the very ends. They should slide under (not over or around) the elastic at the center of the bun.

·       If there are layers in the hair, you may need to use additional pins to secure the layers to the scalp.

4. Set with hairspray

Braided Bun

1. Prep hair. Brush hair to remove all knots and tangles. You can choose to have a part or to have all the hair pulled straight back, so brush it accordingly. If hair is very frizzy consider lightly misting it to dampen it.

2. Pull hair back. A braided bun can be placed at any location on the head. It can be created using a brush for a very professional and sophisticated look, or finger-pulled back for a more relaxed appearance. Use a ponytail to secure the location on the head.

3. Braid the ponytail. Start at the base, and form a normal braid by splitting hair into three sections and crossing them over each other. You should start by moving the section on the right over the center piece, and then taking the section on the left and moving it over the center piece. Continue this pattern until you reach the end of the ponytail.

Note:

When you get to the end, simply hold onto it. You will pin it to the head, so there is no need to use an elastic.

If you feel that you absolutely must use an elastic with this style, try to use a small clear one to minimize its appearance. Otherwise, you will be able to see it inside the bun.

4. Create the bun. Starting at the base of the braid, wrap it around into a spiral shape. When you get to the ends, tuck them beneath the base of the bun. Secure hair with a few bobby pins, making sure that hair will not fall out.

5. Finish with hairspray to secure the shape.

Donut Bun

1.     Prep hair, rid of any tangles and knots, damp hair slightly to make the hair more manageable if needed.

2.     Create a ponytail on the head where you want the bun to be.

3.     Separate the ponytail into sections and wrap around fingers in a circular motion and secure with bobby pins.

4.     Repeat until all of the hair on the ponytail has run out.

5.     Spread the sections apart until you cannot see inside the bun.