Timed Assessment

I was really excited for our timed assessment but also a little nervous as I had really enjoyed all the technique we had learnt but was finding it hard to get stuck into the brand. Charlotte Tilbury was my chosen brand and her style of work is very classic and beautiful. So I wanted to use my knowledge of the classic shapes that we had learnt to create a soft, elegant look for the hair.
With regards to the make-up I did change it last minute. I thought the dark lip would have been too heavy for the look, so I went for a soft nude lip but unfortunately didn't re-do my face chart.

 I tried the look out on myself but I found that the lighting I had didn't do the look justice. I felt that I had had enough experience with the classic shapes to create a smooth, simple style. Charlotte Tilbury's packaging for her entire brand is gold and purple so I wanted to bring those colours through on the eyes and then just make the rest of the face perfectly smooth and contoured. Sticking to a sort of natural beauty.

I would say I was really pleased with my final outcome. The softness of the face really comes through in the images. I absolutely love the way the piece of hair fell over my model's face. It added to the femininity of the look. If I were to have the chance to do it again I would have definitely added more colour to the cheekbones and defined the contour a little more, but I never know the right amount to apply for it to show on camera, so that is something I need to experiment with. I think I would have liked more volume in the back of the hair, to give it more of a beehive shape but I think both styles work well with the make-up. In the future shoots I do for this brand I won't use fake eyelashes because in these images it is really obvious and I want the essence of natural beauty to come across.

Avant-Garde hair

I took part in a workshop in the middle of the term that allowed me to showcase some of the skills I had learnt. It was really interesting having the opportunity to put together all different techniques into one hairstyle. It was also really exciting being able to use the dolls head that had really long hair, which was a nightmare to brush as it constantly got tangled.

One technique that I learnt which required a lot of attention was the hair weave. I quickly realised that it is a lot like basket weaving except it is more complicated than it looks. I decided to practice with a small part of hair at the bottom of the head.

• For preparation I had to hairspray individual strands of hair and then straighten each strand with tongs.
• This made the hair very crusty and slightly sticky which makes it easier to work with.
• It is actually a simple process of over, under, over, under etc. 
• You will find that depending what direction you are doing it in, it will lean in that direction.
• As you do each strand when you get to the end of a row you have to wrap it over the last strand.
• Then when you start a new row you have to do the opposite of the row above.

I only did a small section as I lost my patience very quickly but I persevered. I also rolled it up into a low bun to give it more shape and tidiness. Along with technique I also used crimping, wiggle plaits, and stuffing and balling.

Classic shapes and Silhouettes

This was the last of the styles that we learnt over the course of the term. And it was a look I had never tried before and wanted to know the secret behind it. I have always had trouble with creating perfect hair as I get really frustrated when a style I am creating isn't going well. Creating a smooth ponytail and a slick silhouette really helped me fine tune my patience.

• I began by brushing the hair through with a paddle brush.
• I then wet the hair slightly and blow dried the hair straight. I also used the straightening tongs to just smooth out any kinks and to give it a better finish.
• Using a comb, work the hair into a high ponytail that sits at the back of the hair. If it isn't perfect straight away then give it a few tries until you are happy with it.
• If there is any loose or baby hair then apply mouse or hairspray to a comb and just comb it into the hair.
• For creating the slick look you need to section the top of the hair off and clip it out of the way. Then with each side of the hair, pull it across and pin it neatly.
• Remembering to use a fixer to keep the hairs in place.
• Returning to the top section of the hair, gently backcomb the underneath of it and then lay it back onto the head.
• Apply a little hairspray onto the hair to help it stay in place.

I found this process very difficult as it was very fiddly trying to get the hair all together or to stay in one place. I think that the backcombing and hairspray a really big part of this hairstyle.

Natural beauty hair

I was really looking forward to creating this particular style because I thought it would be really helpful for further fashion shoots.

• Begin by brushing the hair through until smooth.
• Then using a water spray apply water to the whole head until the hair is damp, it is helpful to touch the hair and work the water into all of the hair.
• It is a good idea to add salt water serum or mouse to the hair to give it a gritty, rougher look to the hair.
• Then using a hairdryer with a diffuser attached to the nozzle you place the hair into the diffuser on a medium heat (being careful not burn the model).
• You can also use your hand to scrunch up the hair to give it a similar effect.
• Once it is done you can leave it to fall to give it a natural beach look.
• You can also mess around with shapes and styles, for example I tried a high messy ponytail with strands falling down. Or a loose weave.

I really enjoyed the experimentation with the hair once it was in the the beach wave. It also gave me a lot of ideas on how I can create an interesting shoot for my brand.

Plaiting

As part of our development we learnt a lot about different types of plaits which is really interesting. Plaits whether they are simple or intricate are very popular throughout different fashion shows.


Sliptie knot

• Brush the hair through.
• Take the top, front section of the hair and split it into two parts and tie in a knot.
• Then section off the next piece of hair by the temples and tie in a knot. Making sure to keep the sections separate (which can be very tricky).
• Section off another piece of hair and then split into two, then bring in the first section of hair underneath the second knot and into the third section of hair and tie a knot. Pop to one side.
• Then create another section of hair and wrap the second knot underneath the third knot and add to the fourth section and tie into knot. 
• Follow this technique until you have run out of hair. As you work your way down the hair you will find it increasingly difficult to keep the hair secured.
• You can then finish off the rest of the hair with a 3 strand plait or a fishtail plait and tie with a hair tie.
• Then use a piece of cloth to buff the hair and give it a messy look. 

I found that this particular hairstyle is a lot easier with long hair because as you work your way down the hair the original strands become very short and tend to slip through. I did try it more than once and I did find it easier as I went along. But I did find keeping the style neat and tidy which I found annoying. I think if I keep trying I will find a technique to keeping the plait secure.

Waterfall into a Ladder plait

• Take a small section of hair from the front, side section of the head.
• Plait it as normal but drop the middle strand so that it hangs down, then pick up another piece, then drop and pick up. Continue like this until you reach the end of the strand and then secure into place.
• About an inch down grab another strand of hair and begin to french plait the hair along the side of the hair picking up all of the dropped strands from the plait above.
• This will give you a ladder effect between the plaits.
• This particular plait is slightly fiddly but persevere with it.

This wasn't one of my favourite plaits as it is very tricky but I think the after effect is really interesting. It is definitely a plait that needs a lot of practice. If I were to create the plait again I would make sure it was tighter and more tidy.

Wiggle Plait

This is possibly the easiest of the plaits but it look incredibly effective.

• Begin by brushing the hair through till it is smooth.
• Divide the hair into three sections and carry out a basic three strand plait.
• Once you have reached the end of the hair have two strands of hair in one hand and one strand in the other.
• Then push the two strands up the plait and spread out how you wish. It creates a really interesting wiggle pattern.

I liked this particular plait a lot because it is such a simple technique. I have used in an Avant- Garde hairstyle as it really adds to the texture.

5 Strand plait

The 5 strand plait seemed extremely daunting to start with but once you begin the process yourself it becomes really easy.

• Begin by brushing the hair and sectioning into 5 equal strands.
• The plaiting process can start from left or right but you place the outside strand over the second strand and then stop in the middle.
• From the other side you place the outside strand over the second strand and stop in the middle.
• You then go back to the first side and then repeat the same process right to the end of the hair. You will see the hair grow smaller toward the end of the hair.
• Then tie with a hair tie. You may want to pull the plait and stretch it so you can spread the plait out.

11 Strand plait

I was completely confused by the thought of this plait at first glance but it much easier once you try it out. It is actually made up of one, five strand plait and two, three strand plaits.

• So begin by splitting the all the hair into three sections, making sure the section in the middle is the largest section. 
• With the middle section you want to repeat the five strand plait process and tie at the bottom.
• On each side with other sections of hair you want do two three stand plaits.
• The difference is you need to tuck the strand nearest to the five strand plait into the first loop.
• Then do a small amount the plait then again the closest strand goes into the next loop down.
• Follow this process all the way down on both sides and then replace the hair tie around all three plaits and you have your eleven strand plait.

First attempt

Second attempt

This was a very difficult concept for me at first and watching the demonstration at first was a bit daunting. But once I began practicing it, it became clearer to me. It's much easier to think about it broken down into the two three strand plaits and the one five strand plait all pieced together. I did experiment with rolling it up into a bun and it was a very interesting style. I would really love to experiment with longer hair and trying adding even more strands to create a bigger one.