My Hair Designs and Experimentation

Throughout the Redheads and Royalty project, the elements that have stood out the most for me, have been the effort Elizabethan men and women put into their looks and their beauty regime. Image was absolutely everything to them, and the lengths they went to to achieve the perfect image is remarkable, and extreme, but definitely not unlike todays society. For women, fair hair was extremely fashionable, and sign of nobility, so they would use various bleaching methods to alter their natural hair colour. Some of these methods were extremely “out there”, but undeniably amazingly creative, and the thought that went into them is remarkable. These extreme methods undoubtedly caused severe damage to the hair, especially as they didn't have the conditioning products we have today. One of the reasons frizzy hair was so popular was because after all the excessive hair colouring and styling, that was the texture their hair was left with. Frizzy hair was favoured by Queen Elizabeth, and therefore all the ladies of the court followed suit.

The texture of Elizabethan hairstyles is probably what stood out the most for me, when studying both period and contemporary images. The texture, combined with the different shaped and heights they would create in the hair gave it such character, and if you look at a contemporary image of Elizabethan hair, you can pinpoint exactly what era it is from without being told, because it is that unique in history and still makes such a statement today.

My Designs

        

For my first hair design, I was quite inspired by this picture I found on www.ghd.com 

I loved the texture in her hair, and the shape and volume that was created. I wanted to create a look that was similar in shape, but I wanted the curls to be a bit tighter, and the hair slightly bigger. This portrait of the Unknown Lady, really gave me an idea of the kind of texture I'd want to create for this look.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/238479742741744241/

To do this, I used a curling wand or iron and curl my hair right from the roots, as we did in the studio. My hair is naturally curly anyways, so when it is curled further it tends to go really bouncy. The only problem I had is that my hair is quite short and not very thick, so I might not be able to get the desired height and shape I wanted. I would add hair extensions in and curl them to create the length and extra hair I needed. I also like added a plait into the design, going across my forehead to add a furthur contemporary Elizabethan twist, as well as framing the face and the hairstyle. I used crepe hair for the plait, as my hair is not long enough to create the full plait I wanted for the look.

Although I really love this look, when I tested it out, it didn't quite have the Elizabethan feel I really wanted, and I felt it was a little bit too contemporary. 

This hairstyle was actually inspired by a contemporary Elizabethan hairstyle I'd seen from Alexander McQueen's S/S 07 runway.

http://www.handbag.com/beauty/i448786/springsummer-07-hair-trends-step-back-in-time-alexander-mcqueen.html#a417815

I loved the nod to the heart shape commonly seen in Elizabethan hairstyles, but it was almost a deconstructed love heart, and was a lot messier than it would have been in the Elizabethan times. I also loved the height and structure of the style. I wanted to create a similar feel with this hairstyle, adding large props to either side of the hair to lift it into this love heart shape, and then take the middle section of the hair and roll it around a smaller prop to create a quiff. The hair would be crimped to give it beautiful Elizabethan texture, and also to make the hair appear messier and more voluminous. I decided to keep the fringe in this hairstyle, as I think it adds a really contemporary twist as obviously fringes were not the fashion back in the Elizabethan times. It would work with my hair because I have a full fringe.

This design was inspired by the famous love heart shape in the hair that we see in so much Elizabethan portraiture.
I love the pinned under bob as I think its a classic contemporary hairstyle, but I thought to give it a bit of shape and height, some hair rats could be added to create the love heart shape and create an almost romantic, feminine Elizabethan style, much softer than some of the harsher styles we saw Elizabeth wear, that were designed to give her a more masculine approach.

This was a hairstyle created in the studio, and gave me an idea for how I would possibly like my fringe to look in my final design.