Holiday Updos

Whether it´s the Christmas season and holiday parties or the prom or any season we often have the desire to add a little holiday cheer to our appearance. Last week I shared with you some ways to add a little glamour to your hairstyle. To continue on the theme, I will be giving you some pointers on how to sweep your hair up off your neck and achieve a look your friends will think you’ve had professionally done.

With just a few inches of hair, you can create a French Pleat or Roll that will give the illusion of much more length.
The first thing to do is to give your hair as much body as possible using mousse, gel or styling lotion. Use a curling iron or rollers to give it curl. Divide the top area off and clip it out of the way. Backcomb the rest of the hair and spray lightly with hairspray.

Smooth it over to one side and put bobby pins vertically up the center back. Depending on how thick your hair is, one or two pins should work. Brush the other side of the hair over the pins and fold it under to form a roll or pleat. Slide another bobby pin or two inside the fold to hold it in place. The few hairs that will naturally fall out of the nape area will soften the look. If your sides are long enough, they can be tucked in with the roll. If not, they can either be smoothed back and sprayed or tucked behind your ear and allowed to curl round it.

Now, smooth the top back over the top of the roll and tuck the ends under or allow it to stay in soft curls. The bangs can be worn naturally or smoothed back for a dramatic look.

Women with very long hair often think they have too much hair to put up themselves. I will show you that this concept is a myth. Depending on the style desired, either curl your hair with hot rollers or leave it in its natural state. Pull all your hair back as if you were going to put it in a ponytail toward the back of your head, not up too high. Move your hand out from the head about an inch and fold the ponytail over to make a fold. You can either tuck the ends down into the roll as your fold it over or let them extend out of the top. Secure the roll with bobby pins placed inside the fold of the hair. Use as many as it takes until it feels secure. If the ends are curled, either let them remain in their tosseled state or smooth into a bun or coil around the top of the roll and place pins only where they are needed and where they are hidden from view. Straight ends that are not smoothed into the roll can be fanned out for a contemporary feeling. See this proceedure at A Simple Twist

Practice these techniques a few times before the big day and you will be styling like a pro for those holiday parties.