Hair Lesson 8- Adding texture!

25.11.14, hair lesson, tutor, Emma Croombs

Putting texture in the hair

Hot sticks how to:

Take sections of hair about an inch deep, spray with setting lotion, take hot stick and place against hair about a quarter of the way up from the root, wrap hair round the hot stick, use your pintail comb to make sure ends are tucked neatly around the hot sticks, so you don't get hook ends, and wrap down to the root, twist the hot stick and secure.

Repeat till your head, or selected section is complete. 

Section the hair depending on the style you want to create.

Hot sticks can be used to give a very tight curl, you must wait until hot stick is completely cool before removing.

If you back comb the curl you can get great volume, to redress the ends by wrapping around you finger.

Its best to do the dressing out section by section that way the curl is set for longer, also by dressing section by section you'll get better texture and volume as a whole at the end.

Barrel waver:

Section hair, take down section by section, make sure section isn't wider than the barrel waver.

Starting at the roots, spray section with setting spray, place hair in the barrel waver, hold until hair is heated through, then work your way down the hair length until complete unless your just doing the roots.

This can be used to put volume and texture into the roots, or looks really nice done down the full length of the hair then brushed through for a deep wave.

Paddle crimper's:

Section off the hair, take section same width as the crimper, spray with setting lotion, then place hair in between crimper, clamp down, and hold until hair is heated through. Continue down the length of hair until complete. Brush through to get bigger volume. 

Rick-racking:

Using a geisha pin (largest) take a small section of hair, slide the pin up to root of hair, wrap the hair around the pin in figure of 8, keep the hair pulled tight and make sure it is at the top, then take a straightener and put heat through by clamping onto hair grip.Once cooled remove and you will be left will a very tight wave, you could leave it as it it but for extra oomph back comb. Use setting lotion to ensure a solid set.

Plaits: 

Plaiting the hair then going over with a hair straightener, obviously puts heat through the plait which creates a good long lasting wave in the hair, you must let the hair cool completely before undoing the plait. The size of the plait depends on the size of the wave. This is a great way of  creating volume and texture into the hair quickly.

Lesson on the board in class 

Example of hot sticks from teacher Emma Croombs

Example of voluminous hair using heat from teacher Emma Croombs

Examples of crimper's from teacher Emma Croombs

Examples of all different kinds of heat techniques. The middle at the top is an example of the rick-racking technique. From our teacher Emma Croombs

Small plait I did

Applying heat to plait with straightener

Result of plait under heat

Paddle crimper's technique on my dolly head

The start of rick racking technique, place section of hair through geisha clip at the root of hair.

Hair after its been heated, still on geisha clip 

After geisha clip has been removed

My dressed out style, modern 80's

Side profile

Other side I hate the bald patch you can see on my dolly head!

Side & back angle

Back view


Overview and evaluation of lesson:

So after we were told about what the lesson's objective was, I decided to try one of each technique(besides the hot sticks and the beach wavers as I've used them both alot!) just to see which I liked the most.

I thought the plait was quite disappointing as it didn't leave as much of an impact compared to the rest, although I think if the plait was finer than the one I did it would have been better, and I can see the appeal of it if your on a job where time is not a luxury and you need a quick solution to get texture into the hair!

As for the rick racking I can imagine it taking aaages to do a whole head! So the time it takes would definitely be something to consider. The end result was unlike anything I'd seen before, so it was great to do, I think it would look amazing for a high fashion avant garde look!

My last technique I did was using the crimper's, and I just loved the effect they gave. Although due to the amount of product that has been on my dolly head since I started the crimps were really crispy so I just brush them through to smooth and make look less artificial, which worked really well it gave it so much volume! I also used my postiche brush to back comb some sections and I pretty much had an afro on my hands!

So I was feeling the hair and thinking of ways in which I could dress it out, and I got thinking that crimping is mainly related to the 80's as are Mohawk's so I thought why not merge the two and create a high fashion, more current, high fashion version! So that's what I did.....

How I created my look:

I began by sectioning the hair into 3, one strip right in the centre of the forehead going all the way back and down to the nape of the neck- this will be your Mohawk. I clipped this to the head just to keep out of the way, whilst I dressed the other sections. The other 2 sections are just the left over hair on either side of the middle section.
So start with whichever one of the side sections you want to, use postiche brush to scrape hair a bit at a time so its easier to handle, you want to make sure its tight and flat to the head- if I was doing this on a real person I would use product to make sure it's slick to the head, once section has reached the middle section, secure using a grip, there will be hair left over from the ends which will now be part of the middle section which is great as the more hair you have the bigger the Mohawk will be!


As you continue to slick sides, cross the grips over that you use to secure to ensure that no hair can fall loose!

Repeat with other side until sides are all slick and secure to the head, to recreate the classic shaved sides.

Now for the big middle section! Using a tail or pintail comb, split the big sections into 5 smaller horizontal sections.

Start with the front section, back comb a bit using postiche if you need- I didn't! Pull section back, twist and push hair forward creating a quiff, secure with 2 grips crossing over one another. The ends will join into the second section.

With the next section take the whole section and hold up vertically, wrap around your fingers almost like a pin curl but alot chunkier! Wrap it until its 'sitting on the base of the head' Use a grip through the middle to secure. Then place your finger through the circle and bring the hair over the previous grips you placed on the clips and secure another grip so their covered up, from the inside of the circle. Then taking a side each of the circle with both hands pull out and down to head, so it looks like a ball on the head, secure with grips, make sure grips are hidden.

Repeat until all 5 sections are complete, finished with hairspray to set.

I was so happy with my final creation, I thought I followed the brief well, I put texture into the hair using heat, and dressed it out, I was also really happy with how quick I was I crimped the entire head in 15 minutes, and once I had my vision, I dressed it out in about 45 minutes, which I was really happy with considering I have never created this style before and obviously didn't have a 'how to' guide! I would love to try this on a real person as I could use products to get a sleeker, sharper finish. I think this would look great on a catwalk or an editorial campaign, as its definitely a head turning hair design! The one thing I wasn't happy with was the little bald patch on my dolly head which you can see in the photos, I would definitely work on covering that up if I was to do it again! Also I would work on making the spheres more circular as they aren't all exactly the same, which does irritate me a bit, it would look a lot cleaner if they were all identical!

I am pretty proud of what I created I thought I achieved a good amount of volume and height, if I wanted to make it bigger and even crazier I would definitely use crepe hair inside the spheres to make them even bigger, it would also fill in any gaps!

Looking forward to the next lesson now, I love just being given a brief and being able to come up with our own ideas!

Until next time.....

Lesson 7, a symmetrical lip!

Fashion trends, lesson 7, Tutor, Branka, 19.11.14

A symmetrical lip:

What you’ll need:

• MAC concealer palette
• Translucent powder
• Small flat brush/small angle brush
• Cotton buds
• MAC black track eyeliner
• Vaseline
• Concealer brush
• Foundation brush

Step-by-step guide:

• Use MAC concealer palette to block out cupids bow, use concealer brush to apply.
• Go over with translucent powder to set.
• Use flat brush to apply MAC Black Track to upper edges of lips, you are re-creating where the cupids bow should be. 
• Once you've marked out fill lips in. Keep the line of the bottom lip natural.
• Apply a small amount of Vaseline over the lip to give a shine.
• Neaten edges if needed with a cotton bud.

Overview and evaluation of lesson:

I loved this lesson, I feel like my confidence has grown, which has resulted to in me being able to get a cleaner line first time round. 

My first lip I did I was happy with but I felt that the cupids bow should be more prominent and higher. So I went back and changed it, I was glad I did because I think the end result was much better than the first! 

Also I can’t believe the difference a tiny bit of Vaseline made to the lip it made the black look more intense and gave it a nice shine, in comparison to having none at all!

 Overall I'm very happy with my final look, I can definitely see an improvement in my own work, which I'm pleased about!

My model before

The upper lip is just the MAC black track eyeliner, the bottom has a little Vaseline on, the difference in the two is crazy! 

My first result 

My first result close up, I'm happy with the symmetry, but think I could have gone over with more black track to get an intenser colour. Also I feel that as my model has full lips anyway that I needed to make the cupids bow more prominent as its not that different from her actual lip. 

My second result,I think its much better than the first, I feel the cupids bow looks ten times better, so does the black colour, I think both sides and bottom of the lip all look symmetrical. 

Close up of my final lip. If there was one change I'd make its that I do one more layer of the black track around the edge of the lip, to give that the same bold colour as the rest of the lip.

Lesson 6 Lips!

Lesson 6, 11.11.14, Tutor, Branka

Lips

What you’ll need:

• Black eye-liner pencil
• Red lip pencil
• Vaseline
• Glitter
• Red Matt lipstick
• Kryolan Lip palette

Tutor Demo:

Step-by-step Guide Lip Look 1: Matt red lip:

• Use a lip liner and mark out the cupid’s bow and the bottom of lip
• Work your way out to the edges; slightly fill in the corners of the lips as this is where the lipstick will begin to fade first.
• Branka used Ruby Woo matt lipstick by MAC, take a lip brush and fill lips in starting in the middle, and work your way out.
• Take a tissue and place over lips, use an eye shadow brush with translucent powder on, and brush over the tissue on the lip. There are lots of small holes in the tissues so it will sit on the lip.
• Go back over with lip brush to make sure you cover any powder residue.

Step-by-step Guide, Look 2: Ombre Lip:

• 08 & 10 from the Kryolan lip palette, combine.
• Line the lip using a lip brush, with the combined lip sticks, start with the cupids bow & bottom, then work your way out.
• Fill in from middle to outsides.
• Line lips using black eye-liner and either a small flat lip brush, or an angle brush.
• Get model to open mouth and put the eye-liner in the corners of mouth.
• Using the same lip brush as before blend in the corners to soften the lines.
• Add ruby woo by MAC into the centre

Step-by-step Guide, Look 3: Glitter Lip:

• Use MAC black track eye-liner with a lip brush all over lip
• Add Vaseline over the top
• Using a clean brush apply glitter all over the top
• Remove any rogue glitter from hairs around lips using mascara applicator brush, to gently brush away.
• Remove excess with masking tape

Lesson Overview & evaluation: 

Overall I found today a really fun lesson, I really loved experimenting with the glitter, I’ve never done glitter lips before so it was interesting to see how it is done, and test it out, although it was so messy, I have a feeling ill be finding glitter all over the place for a while! 

I also think that lining lips is definitely one of my weaker areas so it was so good for me personally to get to do it over and over and at such a fast pace! Although I'm not 100% happy with my final lips on all three demo's, the lip liner when I took a photo looks really uneven, which I'm not pleased about. 

I definitely need to put a lot of practice in! I would also go for a finer glitter, as the one I picked was quite chunky so didn’t have as much sparkle as the other options! 
Although out of the colour options we had available (blue/bronze/green/black) I thought that the black suited my model the most! 
I shall be doing some practice sessions on all three looks over the weekend, along with the smoky eye from last week, a post will follow shortly after....

My Matt Red Lip

My Matt Red Lip

My teacher Branka's ombre lip demo

My ombre lip

My Glitter Lip

My Glitter Lip

Eyeliner Techniques

Fashion trends Lesson 5 Eye liner techniques 21/10/14, Tutor, Branka

Applying Eye-liner

Liquid eye-liner:

• Use fine small brush
• Get your model to close their eyes lift brow with finger
• Mark a dot in the centre
• Work your way from the dot outwards to both corners of the eye

Gel:

• Use angle brush
• Mark a dot in the middle
• Start from inside corner and work your way down
• Create the ‘flick’ by going back over yourself but covering a bigger area each time
• Gel creates a thicker line

Step-by-step Guide (Tutor Demo):

1. Cleanse models skin, leave liner in place.
2. MAC PRO full coverage yellow tone with a touch of pink for Alicia.
3. Branka used a foundation brush to lightly apply for a flawless skin
4. Use Kryolan derma palette to mix concealer, Branka went for a neutral tone with a touch of yellow
5. Branka used Pearl a light highlight from MAC, she placed on the apple of the cheek, under brow, top lip and on nose, blend in.
6. Translucent neutral powder to set face, use smaller brush for eye area.
7. Brush out brows
8. D11, D15, from derma palette to fill in brow, it’s great to use as it makes brows look slick and holds a lot longer.
9. Get creative with the liner and shadows
10. Apply lip liner to lips
11. Add lipstick Branka went for a neon pink

Overview & evaluation of the Lesson: 

I loved this lesson, my model had great skin, which has yellow undertones so I used the MAC face & body C3 mixed with the Kryolan derma palette I used a yellow tone and a slight pink tone, once I was happy I tested by the neck and I managed to nail her colour first time! Yay! 

I applied using a stippling sponge I much prefer these to a foundation brush as they don’t leave marks. Once I was happy with the coverage I used my bronzing brush to buff the skin to make sure there were no sponge marks and personally I feel it works really well with the MAC face and body as it’s such a liquidy product that it needs warming up and working for it to thicken up, so I think buffing it does this effectively and is quicker when you have a time limit, it also gives off a lovely dewy finish. 

When doing the eye-liner, we had to try both types of liner and brushes I much preferred the gel liner using the angle brush. It was a smooth and steady line; I felt I had much more control in contrast to using the small fine brush with the liquid liner, I don’t know of it was because the smallest brush in our kit isn't that firm, and is quite long which makes it more difficult to control, either way the angle brush is more for me, I like the stability of it. I was happy with my eye-liners, they were even and neat which is what I was aiming for, so am pleased about that...also if I was to make mistake with the MAC black track liner it would have been a nightmare, because once it dries its near impossible to get off without having to take off the whole eye and the make-up around it!!  

When doing the brow I decided to go for a thicker brow with definition...think- Cara Delevingne. So on the top line of the brow instead of doing one exact line I used small almost sketching strokes to make up the brow which I thought gave a really good effect. 

With the freestyle eye-liner I chose to do a Twiggy inspired eye, I had fun with the eyebrow so decided to carry the theme through, I created the dots under the lower lash line using MAC Black track eye-liner and my small angle brush. 

For the lips I decided to go for a hot pink, what I really loved about the colour is that it made my models eyes pop; they were a searing blue so the hot pink really complimented that! 

It was really nice to be able to do some freestyle stuff this lesson, as we haven’t done that yet! Looking forward to the next lesson!

Mac Vanilla pigment 

Inspiration for eye-liners from Branka

Branka's Demo

My gel liner with a small angle brush

My liquid liner with small thin brush 

Eye open

Finished look

Without the sectioning clips in!

Twiggy liner

Finished look

Volume Blow-dry

Hair lesson 5, 11.11.14, Tutor, Emma Croombs

Volume Blow-drying

What you’ll need:

• Dolly head
• Clamp
• Hair-dryer
• Water spray
• Sectioning clips
• Round Brushes
• Paddle Brush
• Pintail/tail comb
• Serum
• Velcro Rollers

Tutor Demo:

1. Brush through dolly head using a Paddle brush
2. Section off hair into 3 sections, 2 at the front & 1 at the back using a pintail/tail comb, secure sections using sectioning clips.
3. From the back drop down a small section and secure rest back up with a sectioning clip.
4. Put hair-dryer onto hot setting and high speed, depending on the hair length/thickness etc, will depend on the size of round brush you use, for the dolly head Emma used a medium sized round brush.
5. Place round brush under section and lift up guiding your hair-dryer over the top, nozzle facing directly onto the hair. The reason you lift the hair whilst blow-drying is because you want volume with this blow dry in contrast to the straight blow dry we did over the last 2 lessons.
6. Repeat steps until full head is done.
7. If you were doing this on set, and for example; the model etc wasn’t due on set for another hour pop in Velcro rollers to hold the volume.
8. Dress/add serum/back comb after Velcro rollers have been removed.

Lesson Overview & evaluation: 

I really enjoyed this lesson, I thought I had achieved good volume and removed all kinks from the hair, along with a good shine. 

My blow-drying technique definitely improved since last time, I managed to finish the full head in quite quick time, which I was pleased about as I'm usually pushed for time and end up rushing to finish. 

My initial blow dry had a middle parting, because I still had time left I also did a side parting, and then put a full head of Velcro rollers in to hold the volume, I also used the Velcro rollers to smooth out the ends of my dolly head as they were quite frizzy. 

I did a directional set with my rollers to achieve maximum volume in the directions I wanted, I thought the placement of my rollers worked really well. I was happy with the final look, and thought I'd followed the brief well.

 The one thing that I feel I need to practice on is getting more comfortable with alternating between the brush and the hair-dryer, make it a cleaner transition, apart from that I was really happy with how the lesson went, which feels strange to say as I'm usually very self critical.

I sectioned the hair into 3

Example of volume a few sections in

Finished result with a middle parting, no rollers

Side view

After I'd blow dried into a side parting

Straight on view

Dolly head put into Velcro rollers

Front view rollers

Side view rollers

Final look after rollers

Front view of my final look