The Big Show: Tutorial #1

My church is the greatest.  I love it.

I received a ticket in the mail to a super-secret event this Friday, and I am really excited about it.

No one knows much about the event, except for three things:

1.  It is for those who has volunteered in the last year.
2.  It is formal.
3.  Our cars are now full of star confetti.

The second of these three can be a little (or a lot) daunting to us married moms who have not dressed up since we were a "matron of honor" at a wedding, and very little consideration was taken for our dresses.

Don't brides know that post-baby bodies don't look great in strapless gowns?

Yes.  Yes they do.

Anyway, admittedly, I was very excited to have an opportunity to dress up.  Here is Rachel at work...

"So.  OK.  So like, I want to put on my dress and you know... like have my hair done and look good and walk out, and my husband is like... 'oh my gosh!' You know?"

"Yeah, girl, totally!  Like prom!"

"No.  No, Stephanie.  Not at all like prom.  Like something way less lame than prom."

Which I can't think of right now.

So, for the next couple of days (per request), will be doing some step-by-step tutorials on formal hair and make-up, for those of you who do not work in a salon.  These are going to be pretty long posts, but I want to be as thorough as possible.

Please look through the whole post.  What is confusing in the beginning will make more sense as we go along.

Here is what we are going to learn today.

This is my two-minute updo, with a bit more dramatic side part, which you really cannot see here.  I say "two-minutes," because there really isn't anything too technical about this "do."  It is more about learning how to lock bobby pins into your hair.  After you learn the technique, you can configure your "knots" however you want- making it as messy or as formal as you need.  So here we go.

You need these items for your "do."  A hand mirror is a must, if you are doing this on yourself.

The product that is hard to see is called "Big Sexy Hair Powder Play."  I call it "hair crack."  It is a tiny bottle that has a powder in it that when sprinkled on your dry hair (SPARINGLY) gives it the most amazing volume (and texture to pin against if your hair is fine).  Every girl needs some of this.  I use it every day.

The comb is used only at the end for polishing the front.

Start with dry, textured hair.  "Textured" means anything but bone-straight.  Wavy, curly, even crimped would be fun.

What?  It would.  Sprinkle some Powder Play at your crown, and use your fingers to disperse it until you can't see it anymore.

Part where you would like.  My bangs are soooo long right now, I opted for the deep side part.  For maximum volume/drama, part on the opposite side from your normal part.

Comb your skinny side back until smooth (not necessarily flat) and hold in place.

Pick up a bobby pin, and slide it vertically up the section you just combed over...

Now, with the hair in the bobby pin, flip the closed side over the open side, and push down.  I know this sounds confusing, but grab a pin and try it.

Now.  Ahem.  I messed up here.  Normally when a pin is pushed through, the leg goes into my hair and isn't exposed.  I pull it out and fix it in the end, but that leg should not be exposed.  Sorry.

Now, take the next section of hair, just underneath, and pull it up and twist.  I am not holding a bobby pin in this picture, although it looks like I am.

In the next picture I have a bobby pin, and I am grabbing some of the back part (the part closest to my scalp) of the twist, as well as the hair behind the twist.

Push it in.

In the next pic I am repeating the same process.  From underneath, twist upward the next section of hair.

You can see in the picture above there is a little dark curl that comes out of that second bobby pin.  I will take this twist and pull it over that piece to hide it.  Position your twist, and grab a bobby pin.  Again, with the teeth of your pin, grab some of the twist, and some of the hair behind it.  Push the pin through.

Now, You will have a big bunch of hair left over.  To make it easier to work with, clip it off.

Now, grab that remaining hunk of hair, and twist well.

As before, wrap it around those hairs that are sticking out and position it where you want it.

Grab a pin, and just as you have done, grab some of the hair in the twist and some behind it with the bobby pin.

Push it through.

See how nice and hidden those pins are (all but one, I know)?  We are getting somewhere!

Now, let the remaining hair go.

Twirl back together all of the remaining hair.

See?  Not too tight in the front.  I want it to be loose and sexy (I am married.  I can say it!)

Position that twist back where you want it.  I positioned mine underneath the entire do.

See the teeth of the bobby pin I am about to put in?  I have grabbed (going down) some of the twist above the hair I am holding.  As I continue to push down, I will grab some of the twist I am holding.  Then, I will turn the whole pin over, closed end over open end, and push UP through the mass of hair.

Half way through flipping it over...

OK, now all the way over...

Up, and through!

Next, I go through and pin in all of the loose ends, starting with the fuzzy end of that twist I just did.  See it?

Twist it, as best you can, and position.

Pin It.  This is when I realized I needed to reposition that conspicuous pin, without wrecking the whole "do!"

Now, take your hand mirror and look around from every angle.  What don't you like?  I didn't like this...

So I twisted it and pinned it.  See?

And we are done.

It would be beautiful with a clip or flower right there, wouldn't it?

So.  There you go.  I know this is a bit confusing, but practice.  Really.  This updo would normally take me 2 minutes or less on myself, and don't you think it's cute?

Play, girls.  Can't wait to see what we all come up with.  Or you can pay me to do it.  I have one appointment left on Friday :).

Rachel Bee.