Holiday Hair-spiration

I have two brand new holiday hair tutorials posted over at Yes To Carrots: a low side ponytail and a fun holiday updo. Go check them out... click HERE!

PS>> Love the red bow in the updo? Snag one here!

Wedding Hair Styles

With our wedding just three days away (oh my—three days), I have been asked questions about my hair almost more than anything. "How are you going to wear your hair?" seems to come up every time the wedding does.

And guess what? I have no idea how I'm going to do my hair on the wedding day. NO IDEA.*

Recently, I had my hair curled for my bridal shower, and afterward, I went home to play around with some styles. I took some photos to help make a note about what I liked and didn't like. I have a little archive of wedding hair ideas on Bye Bye Beehive, so I adapted some of those styles to make new ones.
Here are a couple of my ideas for wedding hair styles.

THE TWISTED HALF-UP STYLE. This one is so easy. It's the base hairstyle for most of the other ones featured here. It's really similar to this style, but instead of just pinning it back, I twisted the hair as I pulled it back & before I pinned it, creating a pretty and soft design in the back. It would be great to add a little pearl or flower hair clip to hide the bobby pins or gap between the twists.

THE PINNED UPDO. I took the Twisted Half-Up pictured above and simply pinned my bottom half all up to make this easy updo. It took about 10-15 extra bobby pins. I would just grab a strand of hair, twist it and then pin it into place, creating a little "poof" (best word I could come up with) of hair with each pin. In the end, I had about 10 poofs that came together to create the definition in this updo. I pulled and tugged at each one to make this style look nice and full.

THE TWISTED PONYTAIL. You've seen this one before. This time, I didn't pin the last couple pieces up so high, so instead of creating a waterfall look, they simply cascaded down the ponytail. To create this look, all you do is just twist & pin (going under the curls to hide the pins). It's so simple and stays in place all day if you add a little hairspray.

THE TWISTED LOW CHIGNON. I started again with the Twisted Half-Up style, and instead of pinning smaller pieces of hair all over the place and higher up like the Pinned Updo, I took a couple large sections of hair, pinned them in a low bun, and then tugged on them to make the chignon just a bit bigger. I think this style would be really pretty with a couple loose curly strands falling down from the bun.

THE SIMPLE TWIST & PIN. As the name implies, this one is simple. You tease the hair at the crown of your head, twist back the front pieces & pin them under your hair, and you're set. This style is perfect for the easy-going-hair-all-down kind of bride.

And there are 5-easy wedding hair styles. Each of these took me less than 10-minutes, with some of them taking much, much less.

*FYI: in case you're wondering, I will not be wearing a veil, and my dress is not strapless.

Which is your favorite?

Twisted Pony

Recently, I tried out a new kind of ponytail, similar to this twisted side pony that I did. As soon as I finished it, I knew I needed to share it!

Ready for the steps?

1. I was going on second-day hair that day, so I bobby pinned my front pieces up into a bump.
2. Just like in the twisted side pony, I gathered a small section of hair at the nape of my neck and secured it in a low ponytail with a clear elastic band.
3. Working from the bottom to the top with the loose hair, I gathered small sections and began twisting them backwards and pinning them around the clear elastic band.
4. I would twist and pin a small section from the right, and then switch it and twist and pin a section from the left.
5. You don't have to twist the pieces back, but as you can see in the top right photo, it gives the hair some cool definition.
6. Try to hide the bobby pins. If you can't, it's OK!
7. Once it was all pinned, I separated and tugged on a couple pieces to give my hair a bit more volume and texture.
8. Finish with a light veil of hairspray!

I'd love to see you try this look!
If you do, make sure to tweet or instagram me a photo with the hashtag #twistedpony!

The Bubble Ponytail

I saw this on The Shine Project recently and thought, 

"Man! That's a perfect ponytail with a twist."

It's has spice.

It has zest.

It's ideal for 2nd day dirty hair.

Add some dry shampoo,

create a ponytail (high or low),

add some clear elastic bands at regular intervals,

pull on the ponytail bubbles a little bit to make them poofy,

and VOILA!

Enjoy the bubble ponytail!

Twisted Side Pony

It's been almost three months since I have done a hair tutorial.
What. the. hay.

Don't hate... because considering that Bye Bye Beehive has a little over 2 months (2 months!)
until its completion date on October 11,

I figured I may as well begin making the transition to showcasing my random hair tutorials on my other blog.
But don't fret, if you're a follower of BBB, I'll probably double post them.

Maybe not.
Who knows.

Today, I'm showing you the twisted side pony.

Dress: Francesca's // Earrings: Francesca's // Necklace: c/o Lisa Leonard  // Bracelets: c/o Payton Woodcraft

As you remember on Monday (if you read Aunie Sauce),
I mentioned that this weekend I did a promo event for Francesca's.
What I really did was go to their store for an hour or so and style their customers.
I had so. much. fun.
I also met lots of new friends! A special shout-out to Rhylee, Adrianna and Ashley!

Like usual,
I was running late to get there.
I had taken my time that morning to sleep in, get to the gym,
sweat my booty off,
and by the time I got home, I realized I had to be out the door in about 35 minutes.
Oops.

I did NOT have time to wash my hair,
and I was not about to go to Franny's with wet hair.
I can't use a hair dryer, remember?
So I quickly rolled it up in a friar tuck and hopped in the shower.
When I got out, I dabbed on some blush, shaded my brows, and put on a couple coats of mascara.
I had about 5 minutes before I had to leave,
so I quickly unrolled my hair from the "friar yuck."
To my immense surprise, I had curls almost as pretty as if I had slept in the headband overnight.
And I'd only had it in for 30 minutes!
I was expecing a slight curl to the tips, but not full-on waves.
Score. Humidity, thank you (this time) for creasing my fine, lifeless hair into a curl.

OK ok ok. Are you ready for how I did it yet?
This style was kind of inspired by this style.
Anyway, here's the how-to:

1. I gathered a small section of hair at the nape of my neck and secured it in a low right-side pony with a clear elastic band.
2. I took a couple of face-framing pieces from the left side and twirled them into a little twist. I stuck a bobby pin at the bottom of that to hold it in place and just let it hang down for the time being.
3. Then, I gathered small sections of hair and began twisting them back (loosly) and secured them around the clear elastic ponytail holder.
4. I kept it messy. I didn't want it to look like a "ponytail," but instead a side updo-of-sorts.
5. As I twisted the sections back and pinned them, I made sure to only pin a small piece of the twist. I didn't want huge bobby pins showing everywhere. Plus, once the hair is twisted back like that, it won't move too much, so the whole thing doesn't need to be pinned.
6. After all my sections were pinned, I grabbed the little extra twist and tucked it back behind the ponytail.
7. I then pulled and tugged on a couple pieces to give my hair a bit more volume and to make it look a bit messier.
8. If I were you, I would definitely finish this with a bit of hairspray, but mine didn't seem to move too much without it.

The little added twist would look really cool if you had highlights or colored dimensions in your hair.
It didn't show up so well in my au natural ombrè hair, but that's OK.
It's the thought that counts.

If you need help, refer back to that other tutorial.
Mine was clearly modified and doesn't look as nice, but I liked it a lot.
I even wore the same style the next day...
...with the same gross, dirty hair.
Because that's how I roll.

well, that's a different ponytail than it was 8 months ago

 

Right?

Longer.
Darker (yes, that's my natural/grown out color).
Still just as messy.

When you don't do anything to it for 8 months, I guess that's what happens!

Oh, and if you're wondering how I got those fun waves... they are 2nd day Friar Tuck curls.

How to Poof a Ponytail Without Teasing or Hairspray

I recently had an email asking how to make big hair

without all the teasing and hairspray.

Now, I haven't figured out a way to do this with my hair down, 

but with it up? It's a cinch! 

1. Begin with wavy or curly hair (dirty hair with a bit of texture works best!) Put your hair into a high ponytail.
2. Add an alligator clip horizontally that goes through your hair under your ponytail and also partly through your pony. It should make the hair bounce up immediately.
3. Make sure your hair in your ponytail is spread out throughout the top of the alligator clip
4. Mess up your ponytail for added oomph.
5. Voila— a big, messy ponytail.

If you really want you can add some hairspray, but I didn't find it necessary. 

Sure, it fell a bit throughout the evening, 

but that's OK because dudes don't tend to prefer it that big anyway.
Trust me, if you're doing big hair, guys probably are not a fan.
Keep it simple! ♥

Goody Pony Pouf.

Mornin', Ladies!

Have you heard of the Goody Pony Pouf? It promises to give your hair oomph and fluff without the hassles of teasing. I was convinced that I had to give it a shot, so I picked it up at my local Walgreens the other day.

You're supposed to secure your hair in the barette and then pull little sections into the holes to make them pouf out, giving them that teased-to-perfection look.

The only problem... it's not all it's cracked up to be. It didn't hold my hair in place and seemed to keep slipping down my ponytail. That's probably because my hair is so fine. My hair didn't stay in those little holes... so that looked weird. And even when my hair was in the pouf-holes, you could still see them so it just looked like I was wearing a funky barette all day. Not a fan.

If you insist on giving this a shot... be my guest. But it wasn't my favorite.

[[UPDATE]]

WELL... THIS IS EMBARRASSING. I was informed by a lovely reader that I put it in upside down! No wonder!! 

Holiday Updo.

* Sweater: Thrifted * Earrings: Gifted * Headband: Burlington Coat Factory *

Yesterday I received an email from a dear little lady named Emily. She sent me a YouTube video with the most adorable style from HeyKayli. Needless to say, I loved, loved loved it.

All you do is place a simple elastic headband on your head, twist a couple pieces of your hair around it, and you're good to go!

I modified the version from HeyKayli a little bit. She pulled the headband down over her forehead, and I'm not such a huge fan of that style, so I left the band on the top of my head. Also, I decided to sweep mine to the side in a low ponytail to make it more of an updo look. I also think this would look fab with a messy side bun. OOH... now I want to try it.

I plan on wearing a one-shoulder dress for New Year's Eve, and this would be such a fun style to rock along with it. Do you think you'll be trying this messy-but-chic style these holidays?

Oh, and don't forget... if you want to be awesome-blossom like miss Emily and send me suggestions for hairstyles, please don't hesitate to do so! xoxo

The Go-To.

Once in a while, always on the days you need to look the most presentable (of course), do you ever find yourself sleeping in until the last minute? You know that you need to wake up when the alarm goes off. But you don't. Because your bed is warm and cozy, and sleeping just 10 (or 40) more minutes just sounds sooo splendid.

It seems like I have those kind of days just a tad bit too often. Today was no exception. I knew I needed to wake up early and do something nice with my hair because I was presenting about my blog at a work meeting. I mean, come on... you can't expect me to go to a big-wig meeting at work to present about my HAIR blog with shabby looking hair, now can you? Don't be ridiculous.

Unfortunately, the 15 minutes I allotted myself to make my bed, shower, apply makeup and do my hair just wasn't enough. It should be. But it wasn't. Thus, I ended up pulling my hair into a simple low ponytail after I arrived at work. It's basically my easy go-to look, and I think I'll be sporting it quite often over the next year.

Cheers to go-to looks! Now if I could just make it appear a bit more presentable...

Oh well. What can you do? (Ahem... get up earlier?) Oh... well... yeah. About that...

Leftovers.

Are you a fan of leftovers? Some food just tastes so much better the day after it's made. For instance, cold pizza. Yum. Or Kraft Mac 'n Cheese. I will purposefully make Mac 'n Cheese just so I can put it in the fridge and eat it the next day. Am I weird? Maybe. But is it delicious? You betcha!

I was hoping the same would be true for my faux fro from yesterday. I'm still on the edge about how today's "leftover" hair turned out. I will be honest and tell you that when I woke up this morning it was quite greasy. Ew. On days where I ruffle my hair with my hands often, it always ends up greasy the next day. Today was no exception. Since baby powder is not a styling product, it's safe to say I can still use it. I added a bit to my roots this morning to help absorb some of the oil. It worked very well.

I ended up going with a simple ponytail with a bump in front. I pulled on a few of the pieces that I wanted to poof out a little bit, including the bump. I finished with a few strands of hair wrapped around my ponytail holder and secured them with bobby pins.

It's just OK. Normally I would also tease the ponytail to give it some good fluff. In my opinion, the bottom of this ponytail looks just absolutely haggard. That's okay, though. I guess I will be having a few days like this over the next year... unfortunately. But hey... at least my hair holds a crimp without hairspray... YESSS!