DIY Flower Headband

Gimme Clips makes some awesome headbands with loops on them that you can clip a flower into, so you can mix and match their clips with the headbands.  I came up with this idea for when I want to use some flowers that don't match the colors of the headbands I have.  Just put a couple elastics around an ordinary headband like this:

Then you can clip your hair clips into the elastics.  Belle got some of these headbands for her birthday.  Sorry I don't know the brand or where you can get them.  They are quite flexible until you sit on them, as Belle has discovered by experience.  Anyway, the giant Gerbera daisy is also from Gimme Clips.  (I love the polka dots!)

French Twist with You-Pins

I am excited to share my new favorite hairstyle to do on myself.  It is elegant enough for a special occasion, yet fast enough for an every day do.  After a little bit of practice, it is really quick to put up.  I am using You-Pins from Lilla Rose.  They are beautiful pins with two prongs about the length of my finger.  They are malleable enough to bend somewhat to shape for a comfortable fit, but quite sturdy, and they hold a surprising amount of hair in place.  Belle and I chose the sparkly stars as our favorite, and this will be a fine hairstyle for the Fourth of July.  (This post is going to have a lot of labels!)

Begin as you would for a low ponytail.  I started here at the corner of my head to keep the roll at the center of the head.

Grab the hair from underneath, and begin to twist it.

Pull the tail upwards and continue to twist.

Twist upwards, tightening the inside of the twist by pulling the inside hair with the other hand.

Pull the ends of the tail over to one side, away from the crevice. Insert a You-Pin at the edge at the top of the roll.  The curve of the pin should be opposite of the curve of your head at this point.

Roll the pin over to the side and push it in against the scalp.

Insert another You-Pin the same way a little bit lower.  With practice, these two pins are enough to keep the whole thing in place.  If you have trouble keeping it all together, you can add a bobby pin or two down through the top, or a spin pin.  Also, if your roll angles to the side like in the above photo (which, by the way, was taken by five year old Sweetheart, and I couldn't see what I was doing without my mirrors), try starting the ponytail on the opposite bottom corner and rolling up as if to the opposite temple rather than straight up.

Half-dutch Headband with Twists into Messy Bun and Variations

Here is a style that I had put in my gallery when my blog was rather new, but never did the step by step directions until now.  It's in my banner, too.
Begin with a part at the back of the ears across the top of the head.  Put the back hair into a ponytail.

Part a strip from the top of the ears across the top, maybe an inch and a half thick or so.  Get the front hair out of the way with a clip.

Do a half dutch braid ending at the side of the head, meaning that you add in all the rest of the from above the ear  before you actually get down to the ear.  Then braid to the end.

Pull the braided tail over the top of the hairband.  Twist the bang section and draw it up over the ponytail, clipping it in place temporarily.  You may have to twist part of the hair and then add a little more to it while you keep twisting to get it to look right.

Twist the other side and bring it up over the pony.

Add another elastic over the whole thing.

You can leave it like this. I think it looks nice this way.  Or turn the back into a messy bun.  You can leave the braid in or take it out.

Here are some old pictures from when I did it a long time ago.  On the smaller side I did a regular braid instead of another twist.

Here is another variation with the same general instructions, you just do a hawser twist instead of the half dutch and simple twist.  This also just has a fancy hairband on a ponytail instead of a messy bun.

Waterfall Braid Tieback

Here is a variation on the waterfall braid I gave directions for here.  After crossing over the last section from the bottom and dropping off the last section from the top, you will have only two pieces left to work with.  You can combine them together and pull them back an inch or two.  Lift up some hair from the top of the head.  Use two bobby pins to hold down the strand from the braid (in an X shape).  Let the top hair fall down hiding the bobby pins.  If you find that the bobby pins stick out and show, try using mini bobbies instead.

Or, instead of combining the last two strands, you can draw up another for three strands again, and do a simple braid for a few inches.  You can bobby pin it like above, or anchor it with another piece of hair and a rubber band like in this post, but hiding it beneath some loose hair.

French Fishtail/ Herringbone/ Chevron Braid

Before you try out this style, make sure you know how to do a fishtail braid.  I think this style would be a good alternative to a french braid for anyone who has super thick hair and cannot make the strand additions very narrow.
Begin at the top with a small section of hair. Split it into two pieces.

Pull off a thin piece from the side of the right section (it doesn't matter which side you start with, but just so it matches the pictures, I said right).  Cross it over top and add it in with the left section.

Pull off a thin strand from the left side, cross it over top, and add it in with the right side section.

Now gather up a new piece from off the scalp (like you would for a french braid, but thinner.)  You will want to cross it over the top and add it in with the left side, but unless you also pick up a little bit of the hair that is already in your hand on the right side, when you finish braiding, the whole thing is going to slide down the head and gather up at the bottom.  Look closely in this picture and you will see that I have gathered some new hair and taken a small portion of the hair that was already in my hand.  Do not use any of the piece of hair that you have just added in from the left.

Now cross it over and add it in to the left side.  Pick up a new strand from the scalp on the left.

Add in some hair from the left section already in your hand, but not the part you have just crossed over from the right.  Add it in with the right side.  Pick up some new hair from the scalp on the right.  Add in some hair from what is in your hand already.  Try to get some from the previous crossover (in this picture, you can see the thin blonde strand I'm adding in).

Cross it over the top, and add it in with the left.  Try to keep the hair taught so it doesn't slide down the head.  Repeat on the other side, add in a small piece including hair that has already been crossed over previously.

Continue in this manner until you run out of hair on the scalp to add in.  Finish it off with the regular fishtail technique.

Funky Braids

This style is fun, easy, and pretty fast.  Great way to spice up an ordinary style.  This makes me miss Belle's long hair!  This was a long time ago.  To start, gather a small section of hair at the bang area and make a thin braid.  Add a clear elastic.  Part the hair down the middle.  Do Indian braids for just a couple inches (adding the small braid into one side), and then add an elastic.  Add another elastic a bit farther down, careful that the little braid lays on top of the smooth hair.  Braid the ends with an upside down braid, and add the last elastics.

Dutch Braids into Messy Bun

I won't leave step by step instructions for this, but if you are not sure how to do this by looking at the picture, have a look at these links:
Dutch braid
Messy bun

These little accent flowers are sewn onto mini jaw clips.  You can get them from Gimme Clips.