Elizabethan Hair

I have hair that will just not stay in place when I style it unless I use so much product that it looks like I am wearing a shiny helmet! My hair has a lot of movement in it, and lots of little 'fuzzies' that pop out around the hairline, especially near my ears. In the past I have done an Elizabethan style hairdo by crimping my hair with my old 80's crimper, and then backcombing and spraying it into place. It works fairly well, but doesn't give much height or support ornaments.

This week my Awesome Sister solved my problem. She curled my hair with a three prong barrel curler. The curls added a lot of body, which gave me the idea to try an Elizabethan hairstyle. It was just a test, so it is not perfect, but it only took about ten minutes after my hair was curled. I did a centre part, and then a part from ear to ear. I pulled back the back part of the hair with a clip, and brushed the front forward over my face. Then I put one of those 'hair riser' combs on either side. I drew the front part of the hair firmly over the combs, and secured it behind the combs with a couple of long bobby pins flat against my head. Then I drew all the hair into the back part and secured it into a ponytail in the middle of the back of my head. I added a little hair donut that I previously made out of a sock, and arranged the hair over that. I tucked the ends in and used the bun clips I got from The Undertailor to secure the bun. I added a fancy bun cover and some pearled pins. I did a light spray of hairspray at the front, and then added more jewelled pins and a drop pearl. Then I put on a beaded headband (behind the combs).

I am very pleased with how it all turned out. I took the ornaments out, but kept the bun and clips in for the whole day to see how well the style would last. It felt unusual, but didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable, and the clips didn't slide around or drop. All in all, it is a style that I could comfortably wear for a day. I will have to be careful getting into the car with the combs in though!