#hairoftheweek: Fall 2014 Recap

Fall 2014 was the second season of all time and my first season in college. I had a couple hairstyles stocked up from over the summer that I was super excited to break out and use in real life. Fair warning, a good chunk of this season's hairstyles I came up with myself so there aren't tutorials I can link you to. Despite that, the hairstyles I come up with my own are so easy that you can probably figure out how to recreate it just by looking at the photo.

I want to give a huge thank you to all the people who helped me with filter game! The look of my Instagram is determined by you and I love how you are all so supportive of this project. To counter this sappiness, I'm going to shamelessly self promote and let you know that it's free to follow my Instagram to keep up with #hairoftheweek and to keep up with my life, Twitter is the place to be. On to the hair!

September

Layered Flipped Ponytail

9.24.14 layered flipped ponytail (x) 

My first day of college! When I was scouring Pinterest for the perfect hairstyle, I wanted something simple but sophisticated. I decided to go with the Layered Flipped Ponytail. It was easy enough that I wouldn't have to stress about waking up early or working too hard to achieve this look. As you can see, it mussed up a bit throughout the day but I think that added dimension to the hairstyle.

I remember practicing this one and thinking it was the easiest thing ever, then a week later, I tried to recreate it and I was absolutely stumped. I had no idea how I had achieved this hairstyle the first time around. It's a shame I cannot find the tutorial I learned it from. If you see this one around the internet, let me know so I can link to it in this post.

Skills: n/a
Materials: three elastics
Difficulty: easy

October

Astrid Side Braid

10.1.14 astrid side braid (x)

The moment I saw Astrid's hairstyle in How to Train Your Dragon 2 I knew I had to recreate her hairstyle. I saw it the week it came out so I managed to beat the onslaught of tutorials. I decided I would come up with my own rendition of it that very day. It took a lot of experimenting (if only you saw the horrors that became of my poor hair that day) but I finally figured it out. I'm not big on hair accessories either so I was practicing without a headband. The element I was struggling with the most was with the twist/braid/thing Astrid had going from the top of her head into her braid. I only wish I had more hair (wow, I know right?) to achieve her actual look. This look is a combination of loose knots and the Alternative Braid (aka results vary).

Since this is one of my original hairstyles and a full tutorial has been requested by none other by Jessica, I will post a tutorial for this hairstyle this summer.

Skills: alternative braid, knots
Materials: one headband, two elastics, bobby pins
Difficulty: medium

Three Strand Fishtail

10.9.14 three strand fishtail (x)

This is another hairstyle I had practiced a lot over the summer. It likes to curl in on itself but I think that makes it more interesting. I first saw this braid while perusing Princess Hairstyles' blog. It was love at first sight. The Three Strand Fishtail is so fun to look at and the twist looks really nice and natural if you wear your hair over your shoulder like I do. I found myself losing control of my hair really quickly with this hairstyle, which is why it ends at my collarbone. If I had used smaller pieces it might have been easier to handle. Despite the length (or lack thereof), I still got many compliments on this braid and people were asking me how I did it. This would be a good one to go for if your hair is being unruly and you're on the go (as long as you aren't the one driving, obviously).

Skills: fishtail braiding
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: easy

Fishtail Headband 

10.15.14 fishtail headband (x)

Another tutorial-less hairstyle. I'm pretty sure my laziness came up with this one but it's so easy that it really doesn't need a tutorial. A lot of  these accent headband braids use a braid on each side but I thought why not just have one? It's complicated enough placing the braid where there will be a solid amount of hair to cover up the base and have enough real estate on the other side to pin it down. When I was practicing this the day before, I had fishtailed the braid so perfectly, it would've been a shame to take it out and try to rush to redo it the next morning so I just slept in it. For that very same reason, I left it untouched. Many tutorials for any braid will tell you to "pancake" or "pull apart" your braid to give it a fuller look. I decided to forgo that step and it gave the hairstyle a more polished look.

Skills: fishtail braiding
Materials: one elastic, bobby pins
Difficulty: easy

Dutch Braided Clip

10.24.14 dutch braided clip (x)

Surprise, surprise. I don't have a tutorial for this one either. When I went to Wild Waves (water/theme park) with Vina last summer I saw one of the girl operating the rides wearing this in her hair and I became obsessed with it. If you know me at all, you'd be aware that I hate having hair in my face. It feels suffocating and since my hair is so heavy, sometimes even bobby pins won't do the trick. With this hairstyle, I can let my hair do the work. When it came to practicing, there was a lot of trial and error trying to get the placement right. You basically just take a good sized chunk of hair at your temple, Dutch braid going straight back for a few stitches (I used the peak of my ear as a reference point), then continue braiding regularly so it falls and blends with the rest of your hair. I stopped braiding altogether when I reached the top of my ear.

Skills: Dutch braiding
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: easy

Dutch Wraparound Side Ponytail

10.31.14 dutch wraparound side pony (x)

Another hairstyle without a tutorial. I was on fire this season. This was actually one of the first hairstyles I did when I first started playing with my hair sophomore year. Back then, I was just learning to braid beyond the simple three strand braid and I couldn't manage to place my hands in a position to French braid, leaving me with really poorly constructed Dutch braids. I have come a long way since then. The lighting is very poor in my apartment so it's hard to see the details but it was very straightforward. Starting from one temple, I Dutch braided diagonally across my head and secured it in a ponytail. I then wrapped some hair around the elastic to conceal it. I wore this one to an etiquette dinner so I was going for a sleeker look. It was also the first time I semi-successfully wrapped my ponytail. With the help of a bobby pin, I was able to pull a piece of hair through the elastic without compromising the sleekness of the wrap. I haven't since been able to wrap another ponytail.

Skills: dutch braiding, ponytail wrapping
Materials: one elastic, one bobby pin (to assist with wrapping)
Difficulty: easy (medium, if you cannot wrap a ponytail for you life like yours truly)


November

French to Fish

11.7.14 french to fish (x)

When I found the tutorial for this one, I was kicking myself, wondering why I hadn't thought of it before. This is yet another hairstyle I found on Pinterest but cannot seem to track down the tutorial. This combination was a pretty straightforward one. French braid from your part to under your ear (where if you were to continue to braid, you wouldn't be adding any more hair in and you'd depart from your scalp). I can't remember if you tie it off and fishtail, later removing that elastic, or if you just rearrange the hair in your hands so you have two pieces instead of three and jump right into your fishtail. (I think the former would work the best and make the transition smoother and keep both the braids tighter.) I really should have paid more attention to my sources.

Skills: French braiding, fishtail braiding
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: easy

Waterfall Scissor Braid

11.14.14 waterfall scissor braid (x)

For this hairstyle, I followed the Scissor Waterfall Combo tutorial from Cute Girls Hairstyles. I nixed the combo and modified it so I could do it on myself. This one was tough. I have always had difficulty with the waterfall technique and this was no different. This hairstyle also involved the scissoring technique, which was completely new to me (welp). The effect wasn't as strong on a DIY 'do but it looks really cool if you're able to do it on someone else. I really loved this hairstyle although it really was quite challenging. The braid was also pretty heavy so I had to use a bobby pin to secure it where I wanted it to lay so that it didn't slip and end up just being a braid framing my face.

Skills: scissoring (in the context of hair)
Materials: one elastic, one bobby pin
Difficulty: hard

Triple Twist Accent

11.21.14 triple twist accent (x)

This has been a hairstyle that I break out when I want a lil something extra in my hair. Again, this is a creation of mine so there is no tutorial I can link you to but, per usual, it's super simple. You literally just have to part your hair to one side, take tiny strands of hair near your temple, and twist each of them really tight. In order to make securing them easier, I twist all three strands into one so that I only have to worrying about pinning one strand to my head instead of wrangling three in. The trickiest part is keeping the first strand tight while you're twisting the second strand, and so on. Other than that, this hairstyle couldn't be easier. I think it adds a cool, edgy feel to your hair with a touch of simplicity.

Skills: twisting
Materials: two bobby pins
Difficulty: easy

Katniss Mockingjay Braid

11.28.14 katniss mockingjay braid (x)

This hairstyle definitely did not like the camera. Obviously, this was inspired by Katniss in Mockingjay Part One. Since Cute Girls Hairstyles had already uploaded their take on Katniss' Mockingjay Braid, I went ahead and followed their tutorial. In the movie, Katniss has pieces of hair out of the braid framing her face but I opted out of that because I know that my baby hairs like to escape on their own. I wore this braid for Thanksgiving and I found the irony to be amusing. This one was different for me because I wore it on the right side. I never wear my hair on the right. I also was iffy on the transition between the two braids. It was really messy and it made the point where the three braids connected glaringly obvious.

Skills: French braiding, inverse fishtail braiding
Materials: two elastics
Difficulty: medium

Fan Favorite

#tbt Astrid Side braid

12.4.14 #tbt astrid side braid (x)

The people have spoken! The MVP for Fall 2014 is the Astrid Side Braid! This hairstyle just barely bear out the Layered Flipped Ponytail by two votes. I think this was the best option of all these hairstyles for recreation because the results do vary every time you do it. I also used a different headband, slightly altering the look.

Skills: alternative braid, knots
Materials: one headband, two elastics, bobby pins
Difficulty: medium

Bonus

Puffy Faux Braid

12.14.14 puffy faux braid (x)

I wore this one for our annual family Christmas party. It was a hit. I learned this one from Cute Girls Hairstyles' Banded Puff Braid tutorial and let me just say this hairstyle is very, very difficult to do on yourself. Since all the action takes place at the back at the head, there's no way to tell if you're doing right. I messed up a bunch of times the day of but I decided to embrace the differences. I still think it looks really pretty but not having a structure gives it texture and dimension that wouldn't be there if had been perfectly assembled.


Skills: n/a
Materials: as many elastics as you need
Difficulty: hard


That was my first quarter of college in hair! There were a lot of personal hairstyles in this season but hopefully they're easy enough that anybody can figure it out on their own. I'm not that creative. Hopefully you enjoyed this post and comment below if you did! Also, be sure to follow my Instagram for future #hairoftheweek posts and stay tuned for Winter 2015's fan favorite coming to you this Sunday (March 22nd, 2015) at 12:30pm PDT!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette