FESTIVAL INSPIRED HAIR:
BEACHY WAVES, TOPKNOTS AND FISHTAILS TUTORIAL
Start with clean, completely dry hair. There's a few ways you can prep the hair here- I chose to spray and brush through a flexible hold hairspray (I used r & co Outer space hair spray because it's light and dry!) or if you start from wet hair you could use something like Oribe's Volumista or Maximista - both feel sticky when wet but once they're dried in they add grip to slippery hair, making it so much easier to wrap around your curling tong.
Keep in mind though, any product you add to wet hair is getting diluted by the water so you need to be extra thorough with your application.
Tully's hair is naturally straight, but I chose to smooth it out gently using a paddle brush to smooth out any little kinks and frizz.
Take a horizontal section about as wide as the width of the curling tong you're using, and keeping it flat, wrap the hair half way around the tong in a "C" shape. Hold with a gentle but firm tension, for around 3-5 seconds depending on the thickness of the hair, or until you can feel the heat through the hair.
Release the hair and now place the tong on the outer side of the hair, wrapping it back on itself. Be careful not to put too much tension on the hair as to straighten out wave you've previously created, as it'll still be cooling.
Continue in the same way, working down to the tips of the hair being careful not to burn your fingertips!
Give the finished section a final mist of hair spray and resist the urge to touch it while it's cooling otherwise it'll change shape and undo all of your hard work!
Working up towards the top of the head, take another parallel section and repeat exactly the same process until you reach the ends of the hair. It's a good idea to start splitting the sections into two so that the hair can wrap around the tong easily and get even heat distribution.
Continue exactly the same way throughout all the hair at the back until finished.
Keep in mind the hair closer to the crown area is usually a bit coarser than the hair at the neck, so it might need a bit more time wrapped around the tong.
Continue wrapping the hair in the same back and forth direction until you've completed the entire back section. You should be able to see a nice wave forming now! Remember to give each finished section a final light spray of hairspray as its cooling so that it can really set.
Now we're on to the sides. Starting at the ear, take another section as thick as the curling tong and wrap it flatly around the tong the same as you did in the back. The hair here will be finer, so you shouldn't need to hold it there for long! You'll repeat the process in exactly the same way on the opposite side.
As you work towards the top of the head on both sides, pay extra attention to how you're wrapping the hair around the tong. By lifting the hair sections up higher and getting the tong closer to the roots, you'll get more lift and volume in the hair. Work to wherever you would like your part, and then give it a final spritz of hair spray. With this particular waving technique, I don't brush it through with a comb or brush but I will sometimes use my fingers to gently separate or volumise the look.
Ta-da! Soft, floaty, summer waves, perfect on their own or as a base for a pretty textured hairstyle!
TOPKNOTS, FISHTAILS AND FESTIVALS, OH MY!
Ok, so you've got the textured wave look down pat- well done! One thing I've learnt is that any hair-up styles just 'work' better on textured hair, and if you know you've got something on, you could even prep your hair in this way the day/night before. Now I'm going to show you some cute and quirky ways to build over on this look, so here goes:
To add 'width' to your hair (think glamorous and feminine volume, circa the Woodstock era - where hair had volume at the sides, instead of the top!) a great trick that I show all of my clients is to tip your head on the side so that the hair falls away from the face, and covering your face with your hand, give a light spray of hairspray to give it some hold.
Now, on to the fun part- everyone needs to know how to nail the topknot! It's so unfair that all the best topknots seem to happen at the gym or in the shower, where they go to waste! While I was in New York for fashion week this year, I was fortunate enough to learn this clever trick from Janelle at Original & Mineral, and I'll pass it on to you here.
Using your fingers as a comb, gently rake the hair on the top of the head back to where you would like your topknot to be. (I like to leave the parting in, I think it adds to the texture and keeps the look feeling less "done").
Once you have decided on the height that you want your topknot, secure with a small elastic band.
Next, separate the ponytail of hair into 2 equal sections.
Start by twisting each section into a rope by wrapping the hair around your finger. Allow any small strands to fall loose if you like, as it will end up adding to the casual vibe of the style.
Now, wrap both of your twists around each other to form one big rope, and keep twisting until it starts to fold back into itself, forming a small bun shape.
Using a bobby pin or grip, secure the topknot to the crown of the head by creating an 'X' shape underneath with 2 pins, to interlock it securely.
Using your hands, pull on the edges of the topknot gently to expand it slightly and make it into the shape you want. We went for an ever so slightly triangular shape here, and slightly asymmetrical, to keep it imperfect and interesting!
Now for the final detail! Lift the majority of the hair that's being left out away and secure it away with a clip for the time being- leaving out a section of hair at the nape for your fishtail plait.
Split this section into 2 and begin your fishtail plait. (You could choose any type of braid here, but we were going for texture and fishtail plaits are so good for this! I also love how it makes the whole look feel a bit like Pocahontas! So fun).
Secure with the smallest elastic band you can find, and scrunch up the plait by pulling the ends and sliding the hair-tie up towards the nape of the neck and the same time. Unclip the remaining section of hair and fluff it up a bit to enhance the volume. Products that we love for this are Oribe Dry Texture Spray or Mr. Smith Sea Salt Spray.
Continue the fishtail all the way to the end. If you'd like to read how this is done in more detail, please click here for an earlier tutorial).
Voila!! There you have it - a pretty take on a bohemian vibe festival hairstyle. Don't forget to give the finished style a final spray with a flexible hairspray to keep it weather proof and dance-all-day-and-night-proof!
I hope you enjoyed my step-by-step breakdown, as you can see now it's so simple but really effective. Have fun with it and create your own version! Xx
Hair: Lauren McKellar / @hairbylaurenm
MUA: Mae Taylor / @maetaylor_makeupartist
Photos: redrabbitphotograpy.com.au / @redrabbitphotography
Model: Tully Humphrey / @tullylou
Products used/mentioned:
R & co Outer Space Hairspray
Oribe Dry Texture Spray
Oribe Volumista Mist
Oribe Maximista Mist
Mr. Smith Sea Salt Spray
Evo Paddle Brush
BaByliss PRO Curling Tong