Friday, 24 July 2015

Hair inspiration: Twist detail, take three

Okay, last try at this. I swear.

This time it went like I wanted it to. But damn, it took forever to finish! Maybe with some more practice it will be quicker and less aggravating for me. It was really frustrating!

But the result was great: Two layers of twists leading into a five-stranded braid.

The sectioning off for the twists really helped me keep track of the strands. My issue with the multi-stranded braids is that it's difficult to keep the individual strands separated and then it turns into an irritating mess for me.

I tried to make a simple gif of where I got the hair for the sections from (To make each strand around the same thickness) and how they went around as strands. Does it make sense?


Anyways. Here is a better sized picture with the result:


Very pleased with it!

PS: Please ignore the pajamas. It was right before bedtime and I couldn't be bothered to change back into clothes for a picture.

Would I do this style again?

Yes. Despite how long it took to create, I really liked it.

Thursday, 23 July 2015

Hair inspiration: Twist detail, take two

Okay, so I gave the little twist detail another shot. I thought I could get two "twists" before braiding the rest, but I ended up giving up. Everything got messy and tangled and I couldn't see or feel what I was doing. I would definitely need some help for this style.


I ended up making a single "twist" and a semi-twisted one, before making a 4-stranded braid. 4-strands fitted with a strand for the front pieces, two for the semi-twisted one and one for the hairs left at the neck.
Messing around with the twist details made me mess up the beginning of the braid, so it wasn't as nice as the first try. The twists "dip" into the braid in a less pretty way than yesterday.


I like 4-stranded braids for their ability to "beef up" a braid, but dislike them for their strong tendency to twist.
Hubby didn't even notice the difference. Hmpf. Well, okay, it is subtle, but still...


It looked pretty nice pinned up as well.

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Hair inspiration: Twist detail

Okay, I have gone through my accumulated "inspiration"-folder and done some rough sorting. Some of the styles I knew I couldn't do/wouldn't work right away, but I will start from one end off with what is left.


I did the full version of this one, but it turned out really crooked and twisted. Especially at the length where I could no longer reach behind my back and flipped it over my shoulder to continue the pattern. You really need someone to do this one for you, someone who can see exactly what they're doing there behind your back!
Well, that or someone with better fine motor skills than me.

I didn't even want to take a picture of the mess.


Then I tried using step 1-3 as a detail before braiding it into a regular braid and continuing like normal.


That was more like it!
This little twisted detail fulfills my two requirements for any style:

  • It's not time-consuming or complicated and can be done by me alone.
  • It's easily distinguishable from any other style or detail.
For my first shot at this, I'm very pleased. Next time I will know better where to start this and how to keep a good amount of tension in it. I started the elastic too low, so it ended up being braided into the braid. Next time I won't make that mistake.


Also, this had a certain effect of keeping my neck cool. Funny, because it doesn't appear to remove more hair from my neck than a normal braid?

Next time I will try to do stop 1-5 before continuing braiding.

Monday, 20 July 2015

What I wish Etsy-sellers understood

I’ve been looking for some cool new hairsticks and I keep wishing those Etsy-sellers would understand their market better.
For instance: It’s plain shocking just how many hairsticks have decorations on the middle of the stick-part. Or how many sticks are equally pointy in both ends, which make my fingers hurt just looking at them. Talk about not having even the most basic understanding of the product you’re trying to sell!

Do: Tell me your sticks are hair-friendly
Seriously. Explain how you have sanded the stick down and lacquered it to smoothness. Please. This is perhaps the biggest selling-point for all longhairs. I need to know that your stick, no matter how pretty, isn’t going to shred my hair!

Do: Write the useable length of the stick
Sure I can usually figure it out if you have the full length and the topper length written down, but writing what the useable length is, shows you understand the product you have made and the market it is for. It instantly makes me think higher of the quality of your sticks.

Do: Show me the full length of the sticks
I want to see that the stick has a nice balance and the topper isn’t overpowering it.

Do: Show me the tip of the sticks
I want to see that the tip isn’t too sharp so it could hurt my scalp, or too blunt so it will break my hair trying to push it into a bun.

Do: Explain exactly how you can personalise the sticks
Can you make it different lengths? Tell me exactly which ones you can do.
Can you make it another kind of wood? Tell me exactly which ones you have available.
Can you make it another colour? Tell me exactly which ones.
Don’t just write “Contact me if you want a personalised hair stick!”. It will probably waste time for both of us.

Don’t: Show me too many artsy pictures
A series of pictures with the cool fairy-filter of that hipster-glasses girl with the mason jars in the forest? I get it: You’re crunchy and your products are unique. Congrats. Not a selling point.
The most polite thing I can say, is that there’s a 99,99% chance that she doesn’t have the same colours or hair as mine, so I can’t compare how it looks in her hair, to how it will look in mine. Waste of effort and time for both of us.