Wedding Hair; Il Divo

Since several of my friends have gotten married as of late, I've been hearing a lot about the anxiety that comes along with trying out hairstyles and makeup for The Big Day.

I've never been a big fan of up-dos. Maybe because I've never seen a good up-do in real life? Or probably because I have a large head that is round. SRSLY, having all my hair up does me no favors.

But I've been seeing this trend of loosely coiled side-buns lately and it looks pretty good! You can keep the side bangs and face-framing layers of a longer hairstyle, but still have it off your neck.

Pretty good!

Also, a red lip on your wedding day? LOVE IT.

In other news, I randomly went to an Il Divo concert last night. One of my girlfriends is obsessed (OBSESSED) with them and her boyfriend got tickets to their show for her. He had 2 extras so .... why not?

If you don't know, they are a Britain-based "pop opera" group comprising of 4 men in their 30's-early 40's. I had not heard any of their songs before last night. It was ... tolerable. Haha.

This was probably my 2nd most random concert I have ever gone to, the 1st being Peter Cetera of Chicago.

Hair Tutorial: Wavy Curls

My 2nd tutorial!  This method takes significantly longer than 10-min curl tutorial, but you achieve a mane-full of voluminous waves.  It takes me about 20-30 minutes, depending on how much hair you have.

The main difference in this method is that instead of curling from the ends up to the roots, you curl starting at the roots down to the ends.  This gives you more volume at the roots, and thus BIGGER HAIR.  And BIGGER HAIR = GOOD.

I have to credit my friend Ann, who always has perfectly-styled hair, for showing me the technique.

1. Start with dry hair (see my previous tutorial on tips on how to dry your bangs).
   
   

 
 
 
 

1. Clip up 2/3 of your hair.  I usually make my first layer at where my eyes are.
2. Take a 1-inch section and lightly hairspray.
3. Start at the ROOT about an inch from you scalp with the clamp facing forward and the iron standing vertically.
4. Curl it towards the back of your head and hold for 5-10 seconds.
5. Slide the iron down a couple inches (yes, this is damaging to your hair; it will make a scary scraping sound).
6. Curl it towards the back of your head, all the way to the scalp and hold for another 5-10 seconds.
7. Repeat this process all the way down to the ends of your hair.
8. The result should be a long ringlet thing.

When you get to the ends of your hair, you can either leave the last couple centimeters straight, or curl all the way to the end.  I usually curl the entire thing.

 
 

1. After doing half of your head, repeat on the other side, again with the clamp facing forward and the iron standing vertically.
2. Except now, curl it the opposite direction towards the back.
3. Repeat until you curl all the way down to the ends.
4. First layer finished!

Remeber you're supposed to be hairspraying each section before you curl.  I sometimes forget.  Oh well.

 
 

1. Clip the finished first layer.
2. Get your 2nd layer ready.
3. Repeat the curling w/ the 2nd layer.
4. 2 layers down, 1 to go!

 
 

1. I curl my bangs doing the same technique since my bangs are pretty long.  If yours are shorter, you can curl your bangs the regular way (see my previous tutorial for tips).
2. Right side (contemplate cutting your hair short).
3. Left side (decide that this is a terrible idea).
4. Yay finished....?...

When you do the top layer, concentrate on getting as much volume roots as possible.  This means getting as close to the scalp as you can, and holding the iron there for longer.

 

1. Not quite - touch up any areas that need more curls.  Usually the very top layer at the crown of the head.
2. Blast of hairspray all over.  You must also make this face.

 
 

1. Before the hairspray sets, rake your fingers through your hair up and towards the back.
2. Coax the curls into big waves.
3. Finish with another blast (again with the face).
4. NOW you are finished!

Hair Tutorial: 10 Minute Curls

My first tutorial, guys!

This will show how I usually curl my hair, as shown in the recent Athlete and Nerd entries.  The curling portion only takes about 10 minutes and it's how I normally wear my hair on a daily basis.  I'll make another tutorial later on showing how to achieve the tighter (more time-consuming) curls, as worn in this entry.

Oh, and click to enlarge the pics.

The Tools:

1. Hair dryer 
   
2. Curling iron (1.5 inch barrel)
3. Brush
4. Mousse
5. Wax
6. Hairspray

 

1. Apply mousse to freshly washed hair.
2. Work into the roots.

 
 

1. Blowdry hair.
2. THIS IS IMPORTANT:  When drying your bangs, blowdry them DOWNWARDS...
3. ...Then blowdry them TO THE SIDE.
4. This will make them "sweep" as opposed to just parting to the side, which will be important later on when you curl your bangs.

 

1. Split your hair down the middle.

 
 

1. Gather the entire splitted half of your hair from one side and curl from the bottom.
2. As you roll your hair up with the iron, you will notice that the shorter layers will fall out.
3. As you wait for the hair to curl (5-10 seconds), gather those loose shorter layers with one hand.
4. Unclamp your iron from the now-curled-hair, and curl that section of loose hair that you were previously holding.
5. Repeat working up the side of your head, as the layers get shorter and shorter.

How many times you will repeat this process varies with how long and layered your hair is.  I usually repeat 4-5 times.

 

1. Repeat this method on the other side of your head, rolling from the bottom...
2. ...then curling the loose layers.

 

1. Gather sections from the back of your hair
2. Curl.

I don't really do the curl-and-hold-the-loose-layers method on the back of my head b/c it's too hard...I just curl random sections since most of the back will already be curled anyways.  This is mostly for touching up any missed parts.

 

 

1. To curl the top layers, gather a section of the shortest layers from the back of your head and pull forward.
2. Curl it rolling from the front.
3. Gather another section closer to the front of your head.
4. Curl it rolling from the front

I usually repeat this 3-4 times, gathering smaller sections and/or shorter layers to achieve more volume.

 
 

1. Gather the last section (which will be your bangs) closest to the front of your head and curl, making sure not to curl it for too long, lest you end up with too-curly bangs.
2. You will look like a scary FOB at first!
3. But don't worry, if you dried your hair DOWN AND TO THE SIDE correctly, all you have to do is re-find your part.
4. And your bangs should sweep to the side by themselves. 

 

 

1. Touch up any parts that may need more curls (usually the areas closest to your face and near the crown of your head).
2. Put a tiny pea-sized dab of wax in your hand.
3. Rake through hair, adding definition to the curls...
4. ...and keep the bangs sweeping to side, flattening any flyaways.

Be careful not to put too much wax on your bangs or it will be GREASY SEPARATED BANGS TIME.

 

1. A light spray of hairspray all over to seal it in.
2. Finished!