DIY beauty: Formal Hairstyles
As college formals, Summer Ball and lots of summer weddings are quickly approaching, here is an easy guide to some formal hair styles, without the need for an expensive trip to the hairdressers.
First you need a few tools! You’ll probably have most of these, or be able to pool them together by rooting through friends’ drawers:
- A wide tooth comb like this. A comb like this is better for your hair than a brush as it isn’t as rough, especially with curly hair. It won’t make hair too big, messy or frizzy; simply combs the knots out for a smooth finish.
A fine comb. This is good for styling precise hair dos, and great for perfectionists like me who can’t stand a hair out of place!
For those of you with naturally flat or thin hair, get one of these to add a bit of volume! Tease the hair at the root (back comb it with the brush) and you’ll see some amazing results.
Classy and curly
What you need:
Straighteners
Firm hold hairspray
Bobble/big clip
Recommended extras:
- Heat defence spray
Time: 15 minutes – dependent on hair thickness.
For this I recommend curling your hair in 2 or 3 steps, depending on how thick your hair is. Clip the top half up and spray your hair with some heat defence. We want big loose curls for that natural look so each section of hair which you are curling should be thick. If you’ve never used straighteners for curling before, there are some great youtube tutorials to show you. Basically you need to start with the hair in the plates and twist 360 degrees, then pull the plates downwards and slightly outwards making sure that no hair falls out. It’s an easy skill to pick up after a bit of practise. Once you’ve finished with the bottom half, spray it with some firm hold hairspray. A lot of hairsprays have a scale from 1-4 to show how much it holds a style. For this we want a 2 or 3 so it still has a natural look to it. We don’t want it to look like each curl is glued together!
Up dos
Up dos can look very classy if done right and can often take the least amount of effort! You’ll need a lot of clips for it to stay in place. Get some close to your hair colour so they aren’t obvious.
What you need:
Clips
Thin bobble
Fine comb
Maximum hold hairspray
Recommended extras:
Straighteners
Back – combing brush
Time: 30 minutes
For an elegant up do we need to leave some hair down to frame the face. If you have layered hair it can be difficult to get the right balance. Just use a few clips for stray hair to get the amount that looks right to you. Here is a picture of layered hair in an up do, with a few curls! First I curled the hair with straighteners (this can be done with curlers too!) focussing on getting the ends nice and bouncy. Then I clipped the hair to the left side making sure that all the layers were clipped so there weren’t any strays. Then at the front on the left side I clipped the top half up with the help of a fine tooth comb. This hairstyle can be clipped to show an ear or hair can go over the ear, whichever feels best for you - it’s great if you want to show off some nice earrings! I then sprayed it with a maximum hold hairspray to keep it in place for the night.
For a (very) up do, comb all your hair back, pick some sections to leave down and then tie with a bobble into a bun, or use a clip like this. You can curl the sections you left down slightly, or leave them natural. This is the do to pick if you’re on a tight schedule.
Go natural
What you need:
- A comb or brush!
Natural hair can often look the most elegant if you're lucky enough to have hair that doesn't stick out every which way. Just put a few clips in and hairspray and you're ready to go!
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