Dil's second practice of my design

In this practice, I brought small hair donuts and gold ribbon with me. Dil towered one donut on top of the other and pinned them into place at the top of the back of my head, tying a ponytail around them so that my head appeared elongated. Unfortunately, my hair was quite wavy, which meant the ponytail was not as sleek as I will want. For the final assessment we may need to straighten my hair first, to get a smoother finish. Then Dil tied a gold ribbon around the base of the ponytail to hide the hair elastic, split the ponytail in to two, then backcombed both sections in order to give the plaits more of a messy, modern look, and plaited them, including the gold ribbon. Like before, she gradually added loose hair left out of the ponytail to create plaits long enough to reach over my forehead. On one side, she used more gold ribbon so that it would be more visible - we decided this is the method we would use for my final look. She also suggested that she adds extra hair to the plaits to thicken them as they were very thin across the forehead, so we will experiment with this. However, I was happier in this practice that in the first one. I thought the gold gave the whole look a much more royal, wealthy effect - as though the halo braids were a crown. I also preferred how it looked now that my hair is red! 

Second practice of Dil's design

Dil and I came back to the studio in the evening to practice each other's hair designs again. Improving on last time and following feedback from Dil, this time I placed the hair rat further forwards in order to create more height. Dil wanted front sections of her hair to be left out while I crimped her whole head, so that they could be crimped using a hair pin (the figure-of-eight technique), creating larger, zigzag waves which could be placed in strips over the mound of hair, making it more textured and interesting. I did this instead of leaving tendrils in front of her ears down, as that did not work very effectively last time. I improvised with a red ribbon as we did not have the ribbon Dil actually wants to use, to give us an idea of how it would look. I thought it added a much more contemporary feel and was pleased with how it finished off the look. 

In further practice I will use a black hair rat which Dil will provide, as I struggled to hide this light brown one under the hair very well. The hair rat will also be a better, more mouldable shape, as this one made it hard to make the hair very rounded. I still need to work at hiding hair pins!

Overall, I am more pleased with how this practice turned out, than I was the practice before. I now have a more complete idea of how the finished outcome will look and myself and Dil feel confident in my abilities to execute it well. 

My first practice of Dil's final design

Edging nearer towards assessment day, I recreated Dil's design for practice. I crimped all of her hair, split it into top and bottom sections, and then backcombed the whole upper section. I then pinned a hair rat on top of her head and lay the hair back over it, pinning it into place at the back, and adjusting it with a pintail comb to make it more rounded. I loosely tied the lower section into a ponytail down the side. For the final assessment I will add ribbon or lace across the front of Dil's head, and tied around the side ponytail, draping down the length of the hair. Lastly, I crimped the loose tendrils in front of Dil's ears by wrapping them in a figure-of-eight way around a pin and clamping it between straighteners. On the left side of her head I combed this part out less, leaving a more zigzag effect, which we both preferred. 

I was happy with how I did Dil's hair, although next time I will place the hair rat a little further forward, to create more height on top of her head and make it more rounded, like her design. However, I initially felt quite anxious about creating this look as I felt it looked quite difficult, considering my skill level and lack of background in hair; so I think I did a good job. 

Dil's first practice of my final design

I decided to go with my first design idea for my hair assessment, because I felt it looked most interesting, and was a good mixture of modern and Elizabethan hairstyles.

My partner and I tried one another's hair designs on each other. Once I'd talked it through with Dil, we decided she would first have a go at simply putting my hair in a ponytail split into two plaits. However these two plaits were not long enough to reach over my forehead in a halo braid effect, so we decided four plaits - two in the ponytail and two above either ear - would work better. Being without a hair donut on this occasion, we used a hair rat, but it sat a little too low, rather than underneath the band of ponytail, so I am hoping a donut will give a more central positioning. Dil plaited the ponytail, incorporating the hair left above my ears into them in a french braid style, so that they would reach over my forehead. She overlapped them and gripped them into place, and then made sure that the ponytail was sleek and neat, with the use of hairspray. On the right side of my head, the plait at the back sat higher; I preferred the left side, where it draped lower. In further practices and the final assessment, we will use a donut to elongate the head, and weave gold ribbon around the ponytail to cover the hairband, and into the plaits; symbolic of royalty and Elizabethan jewellery. I have also decided to add a gem in the centre of my hairline, enhancing the 'heart-shaped' face shape that was fashionable in Elizabethan times. 

Overall, I think my partner did a very good job. Unfortunately my hair was freshly washed, and therefore quite slippery; for the assessment I will make sure it has more texture and grip, or provide the products to make it so. 

Following my partner's hair design - Dil

Having spoken through my partner, Dil's, designs with her, I decided to practice one on my doll head, using her hair chart for guidance. 

I found the hair chart very easy to follow; it had good drawings and clear labelling. I am pleased with my result and feel that I have executed the two different plaits and the style of bun well. I was working with a doll that had previously had crimped hair, and I found that this texture and volume really helped to style it. However, the hair is quite short. I think working on Dil's hair may be easier, as it has more length. For example, on my doll, I had to adapt the fishtail plait at the front, making two plaits - one on either side of the head, and overlapping them - instead of one plait reaching across the whole hairline. On the hair chart it did not state where the french plait would end, so I took the initiative and ran it round to join the bun. The only improvement I think I could make, in hindsight, is tucking up loose hairs at the nape of the neck. 

I think the whole style looks very nice and I am looking forward to recreating it on Dil's hair. 

Hair design practice

Design 1: hair too short; plaits not long enough to drape where I wanted them

Design 2: ponytail not as long and freely hanging as I'd like. Texture meant plaits were stiff and stayed in place. 

Design 3: bun was very small.

Mounds at front need more backcombing or maybe padding to thicken them, and to avoid see-through bits. The crimped texture made it nicely voluminous. As I was concerned about in my design, this look has ended up too Elizabethan, and less contemporary.

I struggled with the short length of the hair doll, as the styles I have planned would work better with longer hair. Also, the hair had previously been crimped so was almost too textured to work easily with. However, I found it good to practice and physicalise my drawn designs. 

To avoid my designs being too simple and add further Elizabethan elements, I've decided to add gold ribbon woven into the plaits on to my designs for my partner to follow. I will also experiment with padding or a hair donut underneath the ponytail, to elongate the head and add volume in a typical Elizabethan fashion. 

Following this practice, I feel confident my partner will be okay to follow my chosen design. 

Hair design ideas

Following previous practical hair trials, I realised that I often plan styles that are a little too complex, and consequently leave me unhappy with the result. For this reason, in my designs for my final piece, I decided to simplify the styles, keeping elements that related to Elizabethan hair, such as plaits and crimping. 

This design includes plaits wrapped over the forehead, with the rest of the hair slicked back to create the illusion of a high hairline. I felt that the plaits and large forehead created an Elizabethan feel, while the slick ponytail and 'milkmaid' braids modernised the look. When practicing this design, the length of the hair will need to be taken into consideration - if it is not long enough, four plaits will be needed (two in the ponytail and two on either side of the head), instead of two (only in the ponytail, wrapped all the way around the forehead). 

For this look I wanted to create a heart-shaped style without the typical crimping/backcombing/padding. I decided to use plaits. If the hair is quite thin, or not very textured, wire may be required to structure the plaits to stay stiff and upright when pinned as pictured. Continuing the modern feel, I decided to simply use a high ponytail at the back, but added an Elizabethan element by wrapping a fine plait around the base of it. The tendrils in front of the ears are more common in modern day hair styles, but I felt that by curling them, they would give the effect of Elizabethan styles, when they would have draped down the neck and shoulders, like so;

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/RiceCrispySquare/media/aaa-queen-elizabeth-1st.jpg.html

https://instagram.com/ingridnilsen/

For my third look I felt inspired by a look by Kandee Johnson on YouTuber Ingrid Nilsen. The large heart-shaped hair and loose curls felt Elizabethan, while the excessive volume and bleach blonde colour was more contemporary. 

Once I had finished this style design, I felt that it was too Elizabethan, and less modernised. It includes crimped and voluminous heart-shaped mounds at the front, a twisted bun with a plait around the outside, and curled tendrils down the neck. 

I think I like my first design most, and so will begin working with this one. However, I like elements such as the heart-shaped plaits from my second design, and so may experiment with adding such features in.