Feather Fashion Clip Extensions

Feathers have been in style for at least a year now.  I've seen a lot of extension that are semi-permanent, where you have to use pliers to attach a metal ring to a piece of hair near the scalp.  Personally, I prefer to be able to take whatever is in my hair out every night.

Feather Fashion Clip Extensions sent us these (real) feathers to try out.  I like them because they have a tight grip that doesn't hurt, but are easy to put in and take out, and you can use them over and over.  The teeth open and close like a snap barrette, and there is a little rubber tubing one side to keep it from sliding.

This hairstyle is a simple french braid.  I braided back a bit, inserted the clip behind the braid, and then continued a bit further with the french braid.

For anyone that is crafty and creative, the little ring that holds the feathers on is malleable, so you could open the ring, remove the feathers, and hook on something of your own creation.  I would consider buying the feathers just because the clip is so neat.  

To get these feather clips, you can email abell@lifestyle-prod.com. You can see the other colors they have at their facebook page.  (They are $5 each with $2 shipping for up to 6 clips.)

Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2 Cover Hairstyle/ Half French Braid

This hairstyle is from the movie cover of Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 2.  This tutorial is for an everyday realistic hairstyle, but if you are going for it to look just like the cover, there are a few changes that I'll tell about at the bottom of the post.

To start, make a part over the top of your head from ear to ear.  Pull the back hair out of the way into a temporary ponytail.  The front half is going to be a half french braid.  To do a half french braid, you should know how to do a regular french braid first.  This will be like that, but you only add hair to one side.  When you add the hair in, gather a new section all the way back to the part, and cross it over the middle strand.

Then cross the back strand over the middle without adding any hair to it.

When you run out of hair to add in, keep braiding down.
You can put it into a side ponytail for a variation.

If you are trying for the authentic "just like the picture" style, leave some hair out at the front for long side-swept bangs.  If you want pink hair, you can use an extension clip or color your hair with dye, markers, or pastels (girls, ask your mom first!).  You will also want to curl the ends a bit with a curling iron, but not the pink extension or it will melt.  And of course, don't forget the tiara on top.  (If it's for Halloween and you don't have really long blonde hair, you could do this style on a wig, but don't use a curling iron or it will spoil the wig and the curling iron.  Boil the hair like in this post.)

Belle's Baptism Bun

This is Belle's hairdo for her baptism.  Since she was baptized by immersion, I wanted something that would hold up to the water.  I also wanted something that wouldn't take long to fix up afterwards since all our family and friends would be waiting for us.  This hairstyle turned out amazingly well.  All I had to do was dab gently with a towel and use a comb to smooth back some flyaways.  Then it didn't even look like it was still wet.  It stayed in place.  These pictures are actually from after her baptism.  They are a few little fuzzy places, but overall, it still looks great.

I didn't get step by step pictures since I had bigger things on my mind that day.  Start with a half dutch braid for the front section of hair.  Put the rest back in a ponytail.  Add the braid in.  Make several more small braids from the tail of the pony until all the hair is braided.  Wrap the braids around the hairband.  Tuck the ends under, and use bobby pins to hold it all in.  Add a flower or bow to decorate if you want.  Ours is from Gimme Clips.  I removed it before she got wet and replaced it afterwards.

During her service, we sang a song called "When I Am Baptized."  The first line starts out with "I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain."  To hear the song, click on this link, and then mark the circle for "words and music."  We thought it was very special that we were given a rainbow on the day she was baptized!

If you would like more information about our church's view of baptism, click here.

S-Shaped Bun

This bun reminds me of the little angular figure 8 doodle I used to see everybody drawing in high school.
Begin with two piggies, one on top of the other.  Put the elastic of the top one right at the edge of the part so that the part will not show.

Split each of the tails into two sections.  Twist one of the sections and wrap it around the elastic, tucking in the loose ends.  Bobby pin in place.  Repeat for other piggy.

Twist the remaining tail of the top bun.  Drop it down to the bottom bun and wrap it around the outside of the other bun.  Tuck in the ends, and pin in place.

Twist the last tail. Pull it up and around the top bun.  Tuck in the ends and pin.

All twists should be done in the same direction, whether it be clockwise or counterclockwise.

Four Strand Rope Braid Pigtails

I learned how to do this braiding technique from Babes in Hairland.  Her instructions are very clear and concise, so rather than reinvent the wheel, I will just direct you to her post.  Click here to see her basic instructions for a 4 strand rope braid.  This is different from 4 strand flat braid, which I intend to show later.
This post shows one way to use this braid.  I've started out with a regular 3 strand braid with the bangs, and then divided the hair for pigtails.  I started with a side part on top and angled it over to the middle at the crown of the head, and continued straight down the back.  You can do the part with sharp angles or with rounded curves.  Don't undo the little braid after you've put it into the pigtail. It adds an interesting detail to the 4 strand braid.  Braid both sides, and then add embellishments like these flowers from Gimme Clips or a ribbon or whatever.

Annie Get Your Gun Braids

If you haven't seen Annie Get Your Gun yet, I suggest you do.  It's an old classic musical about Annie Oakley (historical fiction, I guess).  My favorite song is "Anything You Can Do" (I can do better). It makes me laugh out loud.

This hairstyle is from the beginning of the movie before Annie has been "refined."  If anyone can teach me how to do that classic 1940's curly bob--the after--I would love to learn.

Here Belle's hair is longer than in the movie, but you get the idea.  Braid the front into two braids.  Tie the ends of the braids with long rags rather than elastics.  Use the center of the rag to leave two tails hanging.  You could tie them up higher than what I did.

Part the rest of the hair down the middle.  Braid each side, including the top braids into one of the sections.

When you get down to the part with the rag, split the rag tails so that they each go into a different section of the braid.  Continue braiding.

Tie off the braid by wrapping one of the rag tails around the braid and then tying it in a bow with the other rag end.

This would be fun for a Halloween costume.  It's easy and cute for every day, but if you want it to look a little more refined, you could use ribbon instead of rag strips.  Satin ribbon will not hold the knot, though, so you will have to use elastics for that, and tuck the ribbon into the elastic.

Happy Blogiversary!

Today is Hairdo How-To's second blogging anniversary! We've posted more than 100 different hairstyles (and given up on counting them).  The all time page view marker is reading 186,509. We have 80 followers.  The all-time favorite post is the Waterfall/Fairytale/Fountain Braid post with 3,655 views.  This year we created at facebook page and a pinterest pinboard.  Belle had a major ten inch haircut, which she donated to Locks of Love.  It has already grown back to the bottom of her shoulder blades.  I'm still having fun, so I'll keep on posting.  Please tell your friends about us!