2008 - Hair Style Choosing

A Fun Christmas Updo

Because really, I don't know what else to call this.

We did this little ditty on Sunday and I LOVED it. I curled it tighter because, well, I felt like it. Today the curls aren't as tight and I STILL love it!

Start by pulling the hair into little triangle ponytails. With Tess, I started on either side of her bangs and went to her crown, then from that ponytail (and the one on the other side) I went just beneath the ear. What was left, was one more ponytail...like so.

Then I pulled each ponytail into a knot.

A bit closer.

Next, I took each ponytail and combed it to the center. When I had them all in my hand, I went around to each ponytail and pulled a little hair out of either side. You can see them hanging down. The middle I secured in another ponytail that I didn't pull all of the way through. That's just a temporary fix for a minute while I do a few more things.

Curl each of the pieces that you had pulled from the original ponytails and then spray the heck out of them with hairspray (dumb humidity).

Now I pulled the ponytail all of the way through and curled the rest of the pieces. Then I tied a bow around the base and fluffed the ponytail.

Ta-da!

Front French Braid into Two Ponytails

I love combining elements. In this one I did a Dutch braid (inside out French braid) from her part to her ear along her hair line. Then I curled all of the hair that was left down, parted it down the middle and pulled the Dutch braid into one half in a ponytail and pulled the other side into a ponytail. To poof it up, I held onto the elastic with one hand and pulled up hair at the crown...just a little, too much and she would have looked a little too boofy.

{I am SO sorry! I just realized that I have a bunch of entries that have no pictures! My computer went crazy for a while and I couldn't upload pictures to the net. I put them all on Photobucket and one day went stir crazy on that site and deleted a bunch, not realizing that they were linked to this site. I will remedy that soon.}

Half Twists

This one is really super easy.

Using the elements of THIS twist, part the hair down the middle and pull into sections to the ears.

Divide each section in half and twist to the ends. I temporarily held the first one with a clip.

Then repeat on the other side.

Take both twists and pull together. Decide where you want the twists to end and secure with an elastic.

Finish the hair how you would like. I really like this one with a flip and with curls. It's really up to you.

Then tie a ribbon, place a bow or a flower for the weight (this one has a tendency to flip funny).

The Christmas Tree

We did this for her Christmas party at school today. Start at the top with one ponytail. Her's is triangle shaped. Then do a normal smocking style until you get to the bottom. At the bottom divide it into two ponytails.

As far as the accessories, I bought some Christmas buttons and used Jenn's fun accessory idea. Loop the elastic through the button and put on top of the ponytail.

Lily-Pie Clips Winner!

Congratulations Flutterbug! Please contact me at the e-mail address to the right with your address so I can get these darling clips to you!

Merry Christmas Giveaway---times up!

Have you ever had an "I must have it" moment with something? That is absolutely how I feel about this hair accessory!

I have to rave about this. Lily-Pie Designs is one of my FAVORITES out there! Her products are the absolute highest quality and you have never seen anything SO darling in a little girls hair!

Until tomorrow at 5:00pm MST, you have a chance to win one of your very own set of butterfly clips. They are pink with brown and white circles...an absolute MUST HAVE for your stocking!

Leave me a comment and then head on over to http://lilypiedesigns.com/ to find the perfect accessory for your sweetie pie this Christmas!

Oh, and the hair do?

Part the hair into three sections. I start at the ear and go across the head to the other ear.

Pull the top section into a ponytail on one side and the bottom one into a ponytail on the same side.

Pull both into the middle section and secure with an elastic. I pulled the hair into a messy bun.

Top off with some darling butterfly clips that are too cute for words!

Great Help for Finding Your Best Hairstyle

With every new year comes a whole new batch of hairstyle trends. If you are looking to find the best hairstyle that works for you, then check out the Ultimate Guide to Your Best Hairstyle. The guide comes from a celebrity hairstylist team that specializes in hair extensions, trensetting cuts and color.

No matter what condition your hair or hairstyle is in, you can get something from this guide. Also, check out the celebrity hairstyles they created this year.

Ultimate Guide to Your Best Hairstyles

Sandra Bullock Featured Hairstyles Today

Several years ago Sandra Bullock made headlines, not only for her movie roles, but also for her hairstyle. Her trendy medium length layered hairstyle with side swept bangs became a very popular request on various search engines.

She has grown out her hair to a longer medium length, verging on a long style. Her Feature Hairstyles Today at Hair Resources is a very stylish look.

Sandra is wearing her hair down straight and smooth, with some layers flipping out slightly on the ends. She has nearly a full bang with the length ending just past her eyebrows. The bangs are styled slightly side swept off a deep side part.

To achieve the extra shiny appearance of this style, you can apply shine drops to your hair after you have finished styling it. See Sandra Bullock's Medium Hairstyles

Make a Sophisticated Ponytail

How to make a Stylish Ponytail for your romantic evening. It's very easy and extremely sexual hairdo.

Whether you are off to work or a night on the town, scooping your hair up in a ponytail can give you a stylish hairdo - as long as it does not echo your playground days. See how to make your ponytail sophisticated, not sophomoric.

THE MOST FASHIONABLE HAIRSTYLE OF THE WINTER -2008-2009. PONYTAILS and lBACKCOMBING.

Backcombing is extremely popular trend this season. Ponytail is the second fashionable trend. Now if you mix up these two trends you will get the perfect hairdo.

How to make a fashionable ponytail.
- Gather your hair in your left hand (the one you don't write with; if your dominant hand is left, then reverse the instructions that follow using your right hand). Whether you use a hairbrush or just both of your hands to gather the hair is up to you. Hold it at the base (close to the scalp) in the position you are going to want it to be fastened. If you want a high ponytail, some people prefer to bend over and let their hair hang down when gathering their hair.

- Use a hairbrush to smooth it from your hairline to the base of the ponytail until it looks neat. It may help to sprinkle the brush with water or spritz it with hairspray. This step is not necessary, especially if you are in a hurry, or you are deliberately going for the messy look.

- On the right hand, stretch the hair tie/band over three of your fingers: thumb, index, and middle.

- Grab the ponytail with those three fingers and let go of it with the left hand.
- Hook your left index finger over the band (where it stretches between your index finger and thumb) and pull it over the ponytail. Keep the band stretched and simultaneously pull the rest of the ponytail through the band with your right hand.

- Twist the hair band with your left hand, fit three fingers through the loop you just made, and repeat the previous two steps (pull the band over the ponytail with the index finger of the opposite hand, then pull the rest of the ponytail through).
- Continue until there is no remaining part of the band that is wrapped around the ponytail.
- Experiment with different styles.

Low volume backcombing

Ponytail for romantic supper.

High chic backcombing

Ponytail with backcombing

Snail

Celebrity Hairstyles & Fashion

Celebrities always grab our attention at red carpet and awards events. The dresses and gowns are always so glamorous. And the hairstyle are always eye-catching and trend-setting examples for all of us normal people to copy.

It must take hours for celebrities to get ready for awards events. They probably pick out dresses months in advance and schedule an appointment with a hair stylist even years in advance.

See great Red Carpet Celebrity Hairstyles and leave a comment about your favorite one.

Haircuts for Thick Coarse Hair

When you are looking for a new hairstyle you should always start with knowing your hair texture. A hair texture that is thick and coarse will style differently than a hair texture that is thin.

One of the many tricks that hair stylists use for thick and coarse hair is to get a shorter style that has lots of layering. Layers help the hair to lay smoothly without the bulk.

Be sure to apply a smoothing serum or de-frizz product to damp hair before blow drying. Always point the nozzle of the blow dry down along the hair shaft as you dry. Another great tip is to blast your hair with cold air after you are finished blow-drying. The cold air helps to close the cuticle, locking out any frizziness.

Celebrity Hairstyles and Your Hair

Do you ever see a celebrity hairstyle in a magazine and think to yourself 'I want to get that hairstyle'?

Before you run off to your stylist with celebrity photo in hand, you need to do a little pre-salon evaluation. First, what type of hair texture does this celebrity have? Is her hair thick, thin or somewhere in between? Next, what is the face shape of this celebrity? Is it anywhere close to your face shape?

These are 2 very important factors that can make or break your celebrity hairstyle. If you have thick hair and select a hairstyle that is designed for thin hair, you are asking for trouble. Some stylists consider the hair texture to be the most important consideration for a new hairstyle and face shape is second.

Another important factor that you should always be thinking about is the circumstances surrounding celebrities today. They usually have a full time stylist that does their hair every day--which is why you see them always looking so fabulous. Do you have time every morning to do all the styling required to achieve the same results? Sometimes you might not be able to achieve these results---leaving you with bad hair days and dissapointments.

The best thing that you can do if you are thinking about a major hairstyle change is to try out the style using hairstyle imaging software. Check out the link below to see how easy it is to upload a photo of yourself and try on many different hairstyles. For each style that you try on there is also detailed styling instructions and info on what type of hair and face shape the styles are suited for.

Check it out now---don't be stuck with a bad hair cut!
Want your hair to look like Sofia Loren, Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn? View yourself in classic celebrity hair styles at TheHairStyler.com

Technique---Curling with a flat-iron

Finally! A new post, and a tutorial to boot! I have had many, many, many requests for this. My apologies. I have been waiting for my husband to be home long enough to take pictures. That hasn't happened...he has been a little busy with a work project, so I pulled out my handy dandy tri-pod and my old camera with a remote. Unfortunately, the remote wasn't working. You really need both hands to do this so I hope explain it well.

I put in some Garnier Curl Sculpting Creme and went to work. When I curl their hair with a flat iron, I usually curl the ends under first. I can't always get the ends the way I want and this eliminates that frustration. So start at the base of the hair and slide the iron down and when you get almost to the bottom, twist the flat-iron just ever so slightly to get a nice bent under shape, more if you want more curls.

Like so.

Take a section of hair and separate it from the rest of the hair. Clamp your flat iron on the base of the hair. I take the end of the hair and wrap it around the flat iron, if only to give it direction and keep it going in the same movement. This is where the bevel on your flat-iron comes into play. You are basically using the bevel to curl the hair. So after I clamp onto the hair, I pull the hair on the bevel in the direction I am curling. Now, keeping the iron clamped, slowly slide it away from the base of the hair towards you. As you are sliding it out, you slowly twist the flat iron like you would when wrapping hair in a curling iron

See how I have my hand holding onto her hair and it is wrapped around the iron? That is not a necessary step...HOWEVER...it makes for more control AND it keeps the hair together to make more of a ringlet. If you don't do that, the curl ends up being unpredictable.