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It never fails.  Special events pop up and I get emails from lots of
women who want to do something "special" with their hair for all the special
parties, formals and social events.  While this is a fairly easy request to
meet with Hair Boutique (HB) visitors that have medium to long hair, it is
not always easy with women who have hair that falls below their waists to
ankle length.  Yes, like TILHC we do have some visitors at HB with hair that
long.

My own hair has recently moved to a few inches below my waist and is growing
fast.  Besides having "below the waist length hair" I also have very thick
hair.  Sometimes finding the best special occasion hairstyles for my own hair has
actually become more of a challenge.

Back in early November I spent some time with my long hair specialist,
Shelley Pryor, at Salon Michelle (in the burbs of Dallas, Texas).  We
decided that we would experiment with various hairstyles that would work
well for special events and could be adapted for long hair like mine as well
as much longer hair.

We agreed to do several "test" styling sessions, take photos, make notes and
develop some great long hair styles for the Holidays.
 
 

Part of my homework from Shelley was to search through books, magazines and
other materials to find examples of styles that could be easily adopted for
long to very long hair.  I have had some success in finding some wonderful
styles to work with.

For the purpose of this article I have included information on the Hairline
Dutch Braid, The Love Knot and the Half Up/Half Down French Twist.

One of the first photos that I found was by Belle Johnson in the Daring Dos
book by Mary Trasko This photo was takenin 1890 and shows three women
with glorious long hair. I took this photowith me the first time that Shelley
and I worked on the styles as a reminderof the type of hair that we needed to
keep in mind.

This photo was a great reminder of the challenges that women with really
long hair face when finding special Holiday styles.  While the length of
hair this long is definitely something to consider, there are styles that
can be easily adopted to this length.
 
 
 
 
 

Thick, healthy, long hair can be stunning when it is worn loose and soft.
The photo I have included is from an English Hair magazine and shows a
simple, yet elegant style for very long hair.  The style is based around
brushing all of the hair to one side of the head and forming the hair into a
loosely gathered type of rope.  If you look closely at the photo you will
see that the soft rope structure of the hair has a series of 3-4 twists or
turns throughout the length of the hair.

These twists can be accomplished by taking thin strands of hair and twisting
them around the entire rope of hair and then pinning the single strands next
to the scalp.  The thin strands of hair help to hold the hair in place to
one side of the head.

This style can be "dressed up" by using tiny strand of pearls as the thin
strands around the hair.  The hair can also be held through a simple series
of soft twists with pins to invisibly hold the twists.

It is amazing the number of things you can do to dress up this style yet
keep it soft and romantic.

Some of the first styles that Shelley and I experimented with were the
various Hairline braids.  These braids work for long to very long hair.
They work because the hair left after the braids are completed can be worn
down, up, curled or in an additional braid or twist.

The Hairline braids are beautiful, elegant and look good on just about any
face shape or type.  The braids can be dressed up with hair jewelry,
flowers, ribbons, silk, velvet or just about anything that you can imagine.

The photo of this Hairline Dutch Braid is taken directly from Jamie Rines
Jones' "Braids & Updos Made Easy" book.  The gorgeous Hairline Dutch Braid
is style #10 in Jamie's book devoted to braids and updos.  This is an incredibly
beautiful braid.

I have included the instructions from "Braids & Updos Made Easy".  The book
includes black and white illustrations for each step.  Because of copyright
issues I can't include anything but the modified steps below.  I have
actually made this braid myself and the steps worked for me.

Instructions
1.   Make 2" hair sections all around both sides of the hairline.  Comb all
other hair back into a ponytail & secure.
2.   Take 3" sections of hairline hair in the bang area.  Divide this
section into three equal strands of hair.
3.   Cross the right strand under the center strand.
4.   Cross the left strand under the center strand.
5.   Place all three strands into the left hand, with a finger between each
section palm up.
6.   Pick up a 1" section of hair on the right side.
7.   Add this new section to the right side strand already in your hand.
8.   Cross the right strand under the center strand.
9.   Place the strands in your right hand, fingers in between, palm up.
10.  Pick up 1" sections on the left side.
11.  Add this section to the left strand already in your hand.
12.  Cross the left strand under the center strand.
13.  Place the strand in your left hand, fingers, in between, palm up.
14.  Repeat steps 6 through 13 moving down toward the nape of the hair with
each section picked up.  When you run out of section from the hairline,
remove the rest of the secured braid & allow the other hair to fall free.
Secure the braid with a hair tie from Rare Gems, a plain "hair friendly"
band or a barrette or clip.  You can add flowers, feathers or jewels.

This beautiful knot works very well on long to very long hair.  It is
definitely a very romantic look and provides a soft, sensual look to long
hair.  The hair that is not captured in the knot can be curled or worn in
waves or even softly gathered in a braid at the bottom.  The possibilities
for this look are endless.  All that is required is your creativity.

Although the model in this photo taken from The Five Minute Hairstylist has
bra length hair, this look works very well on longer hair. Shelly put my
hair in a version of this LoveKnot.

I have included the instructions on how to make the LoveKnot.
Instructions
1.   Take a section of hair from above your ear and bring it up towards the
middle of your crown. You can wear the knot high up on your head or down
towards the middle of your crown.
2.   Twist the hair around, pivoting from the fingers in the center.
3.   Pin the hair as you twist it into the know.
4.   Tuck the ends of the hair in and secure them with pins.
5.   Bring up a similar quantity of hair from the other side of your head.
6.   Wrap around the knot from behind and pin.
7.   Wind the hair around the front of the know and pin, tucking the ends
beneath the knot.

I played with adding flowers and hair jewelry and loved the final look with
a pair of RareGems Hairsticks.

Many women with long to very long hair think that their hair is too long for
a Twist.  If your hair is waist length, a French Twist can work nicely and
is wonderful for any dressy event.  There is also an option to wear part of
your hair in a Twist and the rest of your hair down in a Half Twist.

This style is the ultimate romantic look that combines the elegance of the
French Twist "updo" with the soft romantic looks of flowing hair. The one
curled tendril from the top of the crown adds a sexy touch.

While hair that is medium length to longer looks best in this style, you can
"cheat" with some large electric curlers that can give you instant volume,
lift and curl.

One of the biggest secrets to wearing a great twist is to practice, practice
and practice.

Instructions For Do-It-Yourself French Twist
The following instructions are taken from "Beautiful Braids: The
Step-by-Step Guide to Braiding Styles for Every Occasion and All Ages by
Patricia Coen and Joe Maxwell."

This book was published in 1984 and is the book that I used to learn how to
do my own French twist.

The following instructions are the easiest instructions I have ever found in
any book that describes how to do a French Twist.

Beautiful Braids includes a step-by-step of line drawings that demonstrate
each step. I think Patrician Coen and Joe Maxwell would not appreciate me
giving any more information that I already have.

I can not recommend their book highly enough if you want to teach yourself
to do a French Twist.

1.  Comb or brush your hair smoothly back from your forehead.
2.  Gather your hair into a ponytail with a base halfway between your crown
and nape and slightly to the left of center. Don’t anchor it.
3.  Twist the ponytail all the way around twice, in a clockwise direction.
This holds the base of the hair closer to your head and gives you a firm
anchor to work against.
4.  Hold the base of the ponytail in your left hand. With your right, hold
its end up, pointing toward the ceiling.
5.  With your right hand, fold the end of the ponytail, about the top third,
down towards the nape of your neck.
6.  Fold the entire ponytail down under itself, towards your nape so that is
it less than half as long as it was.
7.  Curl the folded ponytail in your left hand. There should be a slight
hollow between the ponytail and your scalp.
8.  With your right hand, begin to gently push the upper right hand portion
of the folded ponytail down into the hollow.
9.  Continue pushing the hair underneath your left hand into the hollow so
that the folded ponytail is slowly rolling inside the hollow.
10. The twist is complete when you can’t push any additional hair into the
hollow and the folded ponytail has become a tight roll.
11. Create a seam by tucking in bobby pins along the line formed where the
right hand edge of the roll meets your scalp starting at the bottom.
12. Place bobby pins all along the seam up to the top of the roll,
concealing them just under the roll.
13. Begin to push the upper portion of the ponytail over into the space with
the other hand, so that the folded part is slowly rolling over into it.
14. When you have pushed all the hair in, secure with hairgrips along the
seam formed by the join, starting at the bottom. Conceal the grips by
pushing them right underneath the roll.

With a little practice, a little creativity and lots
of great hair accessories, longer haired women
can create wonderful Holiday styles. The styles
can be worn to any formal event and dressed
up with flowers or jewels.

These styles can be modified in a variety of ways
from tucking the loose bottom hair into a bun,
chignon or just pinned under. They also look
smashing, are versatile and with a little hair
spray they will hold for an entire evening.
 
 
 

Thanks Karen for a great article!

If you want to contact Karen you can reach her from  The Hair Boutique