Technical Post: Blow Drying

Blow Drying

When blow drying the hair you should always consider the condition of the hair that you  are working with. The condition of the hair will affect how you work with the hair. If the hair is damaged you should use a low heat on the hair dryer to ensure you do not damage the hair further. Knowing the condition of the hair before you work with it will also help you decide which products to use in the hair.

Tips when blow drying:

-For a straight blow dry, always use a concentrator nozzle attachment

-Make sure the hair dryer is flat down and working the hair brush and dryer in the direction you want the hair to go in.

-Work from the roots downwards, otherwise this may make the hair frizzy once it dries fully.

-Be aware that the opposite end of the dryer sucks inwards.

-Always make sure  that you have good tension and ventilation for a good blow dry.

-Section the hair into four sections. First two sections from the crown to the tops of the ears reaching the middle parting. Third and fourth section from the middle of the nape of the neck upwards meeting the middle parting.

- Take small sections of the hair from the bottom of the nape of the neck. Use a medium sized round brush to brush through the hair with the hairdryer directly on top of the brush. Make sure the roots are dry before working down the hair, as if they are not dry, it will cause the blow dry to drop and you will not get the volume.

-Repeat this until the whole two back sections are dry.

-Take a small section from either side of the face and work the hair around the round brush drying the roots first. Work the hair downwards with the brush and blow dry the ends twisting the brush to create smooth rounded ends.

-Repeat this for the other section on the other side of the face.

-If you need to, go over the ends of the hair by placing the hair in the rounded brush and spinning the brush in the direction you want the hair to go in. This will create ventilation through the hair.

 

I really enjoyed learning how to blow dry. I found it quite difficult to control the hair around the brush, and struggled to create the lift, but I think that is something that will definitely get better with more practice. Becky’s hair is also quite fine, so it was important to ensure the roots were completely dry to stop it from dropping, which I think I could have done a bit better, but again, practice makes perfect.

Elizabethan Hair Quote

"To make the hair yellow as golde. Take the rine or scrapings of Rubarbe, and stiepe it in white wine, or in cleere lie; and after you have washed your head with it, you shall weatte your hairs with a Spoonge or some other cloth, and let them drie by the fire, or in the sunne; after this weatte them and drie them againe."

Giovanni Ruscelli (Alessio), The secretes of reverende maister Alexis of Piemount, 1568

During the Elizabethan times, it was common practice for women to dye their hair, using methods that would be unheard of nowadays. These methods were both time consuming and extremely damaging to the hair, but show what great lengths women went to for their images. Appearance was everything, much like today, although the dedication that went into emulating one particular style and one particular look was remarkable. The above quote is from 1568, when Queen Elizabeth was at the beginning of her reign, and her hair was most likely much fairer than it was towards the end, when she would intensify the red in it. I find this interesting, because it shows her influence on beauty and fashion right from the beginning. 

  

During Seema's lesson, we had to get into groups and create a look based on their quote. I was in a group with Danika and Leonie, and Danika had the same quote as I had which is the one above. She drew a design that we had to try and recreate. She wanted the hair to resemble the fire mentioned in the quote and drew hair that was brushed upwards.

To recreate her design, I used red hair extensions that I cut up and stuck to the paper. I used card board cut into triangles to create a base and then a gold ribbon to hide where the hair was stuck to the paper, and also to add an Elizabethan touch to the design.

This task was quite challenging for me, as I didn't know quite what to expect, but it was a really good exercise for our final assessments, where we would be taking instructions from our partners to create their final design.

Here is what my collage looked like:

Technical Post: Washing Hair

Hair Washing

Before washing anyones hair, ALWAYS do a consultation with your consultation notes. This is to first of all cover yourself as a hair stylist, but also to determine any contraindications and any diseases to check that it is alright to work on the hair. This will also tell you what products you need to use, based on the hair type, whether it is natural or dyed, and whether the client has any allergies or is on any particular kind of medication. Whilst you are doing the consultation check the hair for any contraindications such as psoriasis or head lice. When you are satisfied that you can proceed with the hair:

-Make sure your client is gowned, and wrap a clean towel around their shoulders, to catch any water that may drip down.

-Sit them down at the basin and lean their head back and check that they are comfortable.

-Turn on the water and check the temperature yourself, before checking with your client that the temperature is alright for them.

-Begin to wet hair, starting at the roots. Place your hand on the forehead/hairline to prevent any water dripping onto the face.

-Once all the hair is sufficiently wet, apply a small amount of shampoo and start working it through the hair, starting at the roots. Massage it into the scalp and work your way down to the ends of the hair, working it into a rich lather. Make sure you shampoo the base of the scalp/hair as well!

-When you have sufficiently lathered up the hair, begin to rinse, starting at the roots again.

-Repeat the shampoo process to make sure the hair is completely clean- when the hair squeaks, you know its clean!

-When you have rinsed out the shampoo, gently squeeze the hair  from mid-length, to get out the excess water.

-Next, squeeze a 50p amount of conditioner into the palm of your hand, and start to work it through the hair, starting mid-length and working it down to the roots. Massage it towards the scalp.

-Using a wide tooth comb, begin to comb through the hair, starting at the ends and working upwards.

-Rinse out the conditioner thoroughly, as any buildup will cause the hair to droop and you will not be able to style it properly. By running a comb through, you can see whether there is any conditioner left in the hair.

-Gently squeeze out any excess water, get your client to sit up slightly, and wrap a towel around the hair and walk them over to the hair station.

-Once you are back at the station, comb through the hair again, and blast dry the hair with the hairdryer on medium heat until you only have about 10% of the water left in the hair.

-It is at this stage that you can apply any products, such as serums etc, before proceeding to blow drying the hair.

As I have never washed hair professionally before, I found it really interesting learning about the proper procedures and all the health and safety involved. I did struggle at first as Terri-Anne’s hair is very thick, but once I got used to her hair, I found it a lot easier to manage it.

Health and Safety

*Always make sure your model is gowned, and that all mirror lights are switched on.

*Work stations - keep your work station tidy at all times. Put away anything you do not need to avoid knocking things over or spilling things.

*Always make sure wires are out of the way so no-one trips on them.

*Always keep your hands sanitised.

*Make sure to check your hands on a regular basis as Dermatitis can affect us more because we constantly have products on our hands. Use a barrier protective moisturiser to help avoid getting dermatitis, you can also help stop this by making sure that you wash and dry your hands correctly.   

Technical Post: Consultation Sheets

CONSULTATION NOTES

NAME:  Name of model/client

AGE: Age of model and client

HAIR TYPE: Curly, straight, thick, fine, elasticity, is their hair quite porous?

HAIR COLOUR: Colour of your model/clients hair

NATURAL OR DYED: Whether the hair has been coloured or if it is their natural hair colour.

SKIN TYPE: Dry, Normal, Combination, Oily, Sensitive

SKIN TONE: Fair, Medium, Dark

EYE COLOUR/SHAPE:

ALLERGIES/MEDICATION: It is important to know if they have any allergies beforehand, and whether or not they are on medication, as certain medications can change the condition of the skin.

CONTRAINDICATION: Look out for any problems on the skin, such as acne, cuts or bruises, piercings, cold sores/herpes, conjunctivits etc.

NOTES: Make a note of whether your model/client wears contact lenses, whether they are a smoker, and any other relevant information before starting your session.

Technical Post: Hair and Skin diseases

As a Hair Stylist in the industry, there are certain skin and hair conditions to be aware of, so you know when you can absolutely not work on someone with these, and when you can. I have listed the most common ones below.

Contagious Skin and Hair Diseases

Pediculosis Capitis or Head Lice

You should avoid working on anyone that has head lice, you should be sure to clean all brushes and equipment used so not to pass it on to anyone else. During your consultation you should check the nape of the neck and around the ears, as this is where the lice lay the eggs. 

Impetigo

Impetigo is a highly contagious bacterial skin infection that causes red sores that often break and leak pus or fluid. You should not work on someone who has Impetigo, as it is so highly contagious.

Ringworm

Ringworm is a common and highly infectious skin infection that causes a red ring-like rash on the skin. Ringworm is passed between people through direct skin contact and sharing objects such as towels and brushes, therefore you should not work on someone who has ringworm.

1          

       Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is an infection that causes redness or inflammation of the eye. All types of conjunctivitis, apart from Allergic Conjunctivitis are contagious, and you should not work on anyone with conjunctivitis.

 Scabies

Scabies is a contagious skin condition caused by tiny mites that burrow under the skin. It presents itself in the form of a rash where the mites have burrowed. Scabies can be passed through sharing towels, brushes, clothing etc. so you should never work on someone with Scabies.

Shingles

Shingles is an infection of the nerve and the skin around it. It is caused by the herpes-varicella zoster virus, which also causes chickenpox. Shingles causes a painful rash, which develops into painful blisters.

Boils

are a bacterial skin infection that starts in a hair follicle or oil gland. The skin will turn red in the area of the infection and a tender lump will develop, after around 4-7 days the lump will start to turn white as the pus collects under the skin.

Non-Contagious Skin and Hair diseases

     Herpes Simplex

Presented in the form of cold sores, which are small blisters that form around the mouth or on the lips.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales. This condition is not contagious, but extra care must be taken when working on someone with Psoriasis.

    Acne

Acne is a common skin condition that affects most people at some point. It causes spots to develop on the skin, usually on the face, back and chest. The spots can range from blackheads and whiteheads which are often mild, to inflamed pus-filled pustules and cysts, which can be severe and long lasting and can lead to scarring. Although you can work on someone with Acne, precautions should be taken.

Images: Contemporary Plaits, Twists and Buns inspired by the Elizabethan Era

http://thelibertineezine.com/2012/12/08/nu-renaissance-aristocracy-kendra-anderson-and-claire-birkholz-by-zhang-jingna-for-harpers-bazaar-vietnam-december-2012/the-libertine-magazine-nu-renaissance-aristocracy-kendra-anderson-and-claire-birkholz-by-zhang-jingna-for-harpers-bazaar-vietnam-december-2012-2/

http://www.spamagazine.pl/HOT_Fryzury_na_wiosne_2013,25,460

http://www.spamagazine.pl/HOT_Fryzury_na_wiosne_2013,25,460

http://forum.santabanta.com/showthread.htm?179654-Top-10-Classic-Beauty-Looks/page2

http://lasthairmodels.com/2013/01/08/elizabethan-hairstyle/

http://stylecrush.com.au/category/beauty/

http://coolspotters.com/actresses/sienna-miller/and/hairstyles/heidi-braid/media/495300

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/tag/intimate/page/3/

http://currentdemo.themeshigh.com/?page_id=559

Modern vs Chic

Modern vs Chic

So one of our first hair assignments was to go and research images of hairstyles we thought were modern, and hairstyles we thought were chic. The idea behind this is that everyone has completely different perceptions of each of these, so I thought I'd share a few of my ideas for these.

Modern

When I think of modern hair, I think of loose, natural hair. Whenever we look back at period hairstyles it was always tied back, restrained or quite heavily styled. Nowadays, women are happy to run some product through their hair and just let it fall naturally. Its an "effortless" look that has become so popular, there are hundreds of hair products and techniques designed specifically for creating the "beachy wave" effect. 

Chic

Hair that is Chic, is hair that is elegantly styled, timeless and classic. It suits the face perfectly and always looks pulled together, but not necessarily perfect. It could be a style that could be inspired by a particular era or icon, but has a modern twist to it, so it does not look dated.

Introduction

The title of this project is called 'Redheads and Royalty'. Throughout the project, I will be exploring the hairstyles of the Elizabethan era. I will be looking at various styles, and what they represented, techniques used to create the styles and seeing how they have influenced the hair of today, and how we have made Elizabethan hair more modern, and where we see it today. All of this will be documented here on my blog and will lead up to a final project that will involve creating a Contemporary Elizabethan Hair and Makeup look. I am so excited to start this project and start exploring different hair techniques, as I personally have not really worked with hair before. I also find it fascinating looking back into the Elizabethan era, as there was so much that went into the way they presented themselves that I had never even considered, and although it was centuries ago, it is interesting to see how much of it has been carried into the way we look at beauty today, and the way we present ourselves.