Practical - Buns and Plaits

For our first practical we worked on our 'Kate' dolls head. I have renamed mine Mimi due to the fact that Kate is me, therefore it seemed appropriate. I have only ever worked with a training head a few times before, I am a lot more accustomed to working on human beings and obviously there is quite a difference between the two. One can feel when you are being too rough or if you burn them and can tell you about it, where as the other cannot. Furthermore, Mimi's roots are quite separated and I found it harder to get clean sections. Also, her hair is not in the best condition and is rather short so some styles that I design in the future I may prefer to practice on actual people. Despite this, Mimi was a very quiet and polite client and I couldn't fault her for that.

When working on any model, even if you have worked on them before, you should always conduct a consultation with the client asking about their hair type and its condition, if they have any allergies or medication that may prevent you from working on the client in way that safe for both you and them.

For this practical, we didn't apply any products to the hair. We were told that we were allowed to apply products when using these techniques in the future in order to create our desired look if that involved needing a better hold, shine or matte finish etc. However, for this practical we were working on clean, untouched hair. Mimi's hair is naturally pretty straight, which I know from experience, is a lot easier to work with when creating plaits. I don't have a lot of experience in styling buns, in the past I have used what I call 'donuts', to create the bun shape by simply smoothing the hair over the top of the hair piece and pinning it around the bottom. However, during the practical, we were shown how to create the same style of bun that I had been creating but without the need for a 'donut'. This makes things a lot easier for the stylist, because if they don't have the correct sized hair piece for the client then they can't create the desired look, but this technique allows creation of any sized bun (dependent on the length of the models hair obviously) without any hair pieces at all.  

To create the bun we used:

• A small elastic hair band
• Kirby grips
• Hair pins
• A Pintail comb
• Paddle Brush

Step 1 - 
To begin with I brushed the hair through with the paddle brush to make sure that it wasn't tangled or knotted, as this would make manipulation of the hair rather difficult.

Step 2
Due to the length of Mimi's hair, I had to section off the top and bottom layers from the back of her head, top of the left ear to the top of the right, and work with the top section only. We created these sections because we wanted the bun to sit on the top middle of her head, around where her crown would be (if she had one), and the bottom sections of her hair are not long enough to reach up and into a bun that high on her head. We kept these sections separated by brushing the hair from the top section into the small elastic hair band creating a small pony tail on the top of Mimi's head where we want our bun to sit.

Step 3
I then started to create sections in the pony tail its self. I needed 4 all together so I made sure to take quarter sized pieces of the ponytail to work with. Each piece I took individually, however if you wanted to make sure that each section was the correct size, you could create all four section and use a hair pin or Kirby grip to separate them from one another before moving onto Step 4.

                                          Step 4
Each of the four sections you will hold up and backcomb with your pintail comb in order to the made the hair look fuller and create a better hold. You're aiming to create a hidden backcomb, so you're working with the side of the section that is facing outwards when held vertically up. Using your pin tail comb you take it through from the middle of the hair pulling down towards the roots. You're essentially brushing the hair the wrong way.

Step 5
With your Kirby grips on hand, you then curl the section out and under, to create a loop in the hair. Using a Kirby grip, you secure the section to the head by taking the pin in the opposite direction you want it to go first and then turning it under on itself with the ridged side against the scalp.

 Step 6
Continue to do the same with each of the four sections, making sure each section is pinned evenly and are able to match up to create a circle. When you have finished doing this you will have what I think looks like a four leaf clover shape where you want your bun to be.

Step 7
Taking your pin tail comb, you then start to move and manipulate the hair on either side of all four sections in order blend them with each section beside them. You can use your fingers for this part, however you may find that you are in fact creating more little sections in the bun by doing this than using the comb. Once all the hair is in place, secure it with a hair pin or two. This will hold the hair in place but it won't hold much weight, that's why we use both Kirby grip and pins for this style.  You'll know when you've finished creating the style because you will have a perfectly round, full looking bun with no gaps.

As well as this we practiced another style of bun, this one is a lot quicker and simpler in both technique and aesthetic.

What I used for this bun was:

• A pintail comb
• Kirby grips

Step 1
Using your pintail comb, brush all of the hair to the nape of the neck. Depending on how much hair the model has, you can secure this with and elastic hair band or you can have it loose. Usually if the

model has a lot of hair then its easier to manipulate the hair once its secured. You can create this style anywhere on the head, just like the bun above, I personally prefer it low down on the neck and slightly to the side.

Step 2
Holding all of the hair in a pony tail, begin twisting the section, turning your hand upwards each time until you have created a tight twist.

Step 3
Then take the twist and coil it around the base of the hair where the elastic band is/would sit and secure the end with a Kirby grip taking the pin in the opposite direction you want it to go first and then turning it under on itself with the ridged side against the scalp.

Step 4
Use hair pins to hide and loose ends.


Another style very similar to this that we learned how to create was a plaited bun. The only difference between this plaited bun and the twisted bun above is that instead of twisting the pony tail in Step 1, you plait it and it creates a completely different look. What I like about the plaited bun is that although its very simple technically, it looks quite intricate, especially on long hair.




We then moved on the plaits, we started with a French braid. For this I used:

A paddle brush
A small elastic hair band

1. You start by  brushing the hair through and removing all knots and tangles as it will be very hard to weave the hair when it doesn't separate. This is why I prefer to braid straight hair.

2. Firstly take a small section from the top front of the head. Separate this section into 3 strands and cross the right section over middle and then left over middle as well, as if you were creating a normal plait.

3. Take all three strands into your left hand, keeping them separated. With your right hand gather a small even section from the right side of the head and add it to the strand closest to the right hand side.

4. Bring the strand you have just added to, over to the middle and bring the middle strand to the right.

5. This time take gather some hair from the left side of the head and add it the strand closest to the left hand side and cross this into the middle. Remember to keep your hands close to the head and your elbows in to make sure that the plait is tight.

6. Continue to do this until you reach the nape of the neck and you have no more sections to gather and add to your plait. Then from the bottom of the head, plait downwards as normal and secure at the bottom of your plait with a small elastic hair band.

The final style that we created during this practical was a fish tail plait. This style is very contemporary and modern and to create it I used:

• A paddle brush
• A small elastic hair band

1. Using the paddle brush, brush the hair back into a ponytail at the nape of the neck.

2. Divide the ponytail into equal halves.

3. Separate a small section of hair from the outside/ back of the left ponytail and pull this piece over the top of the left ponytail and add it to the right ponytail making sure you don’t twist the strand.

4. Do the same thing on the other side and continue crossing stands over from one side to another, alternating from the right ponytail to the left.

5. When you have no hair left to work with, use small elastic hair band to secure the bottom of you braid.