#hairoftheweek: Spring 2014 Recap

The inaugural season of #hairoftheweek! We are taking it back to the beginning in this post. When you click the read more, you'll see that each #hairoftheweek style from Spring 2014 has a picture of the hairdo, a brief(ish) description, what you'll need to recreate it, and links to its Instagram post and to tutorials where you can learn how to do these hairstyles yourself!

Writing this blog post was a walk down memory lane. I remember practicing each of these in my bathroom and taking all of these photos. I definitely put a lot of work into #hairoftheweek and I think it paid off. These hairstyles will always hold a special place in my heart and some of them have even made it into my everyday hair arsenal.

If you're new and aren't sure what #hairoftheweek is all about, you can check out the Origins post to get caught up. Once you're ready to get started, go ahead and click on that read more!

March

Chain Rope Braid

3.28.14 chain rope braid (x)

The one that started it all... At the time, I had discovered this braid on my own, later on, tutorials surfaced and there were two methods to do this hairstyle. I discovered the simpler one which you can find here, but there is a more difficult version here. Coming up with this ponytail was so exciting for me and all the positive feedback I got throughout the day inspired me to try new things with my hair.

Skills: rope braiding
Materials: four elastics (two of them are temporary)
Difficulty: easy

April

Alternative Braid

4.2.14 alternative braid (x)

I had been interested in hair for a while, and while I would try the hairstyles I learned from tutorials, I would never wear them out. Cute Girls Hairstyles was a treasure trove of untapped hairstyles. I remember the Alternative Braid came out the week that I did this hairstyle. I was so proud of myself for mastering this hairdo in such short notice. The shape can be hard to nail and this is one of those hairstyles that comes out differently every time.

Skills: n/a
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: medium


Front French Tail

4.14.14 front french tail (x)

This hairstyle was a difficult one to name so I didn't. I would come to regret that later on. (If you've noticed I skipped a week, that was due to spring break and we all know I do #hairoftheweek to impress the masses.) I do not have a tutorial for this one since it is so simple. I actually came up with this one because I was feeling so uninspired that week, I thought I'd throw something together but people seemed to like it. Just 1) part your hair to one side, 2) French braid diagonally (this is an important detail!!!) from the point where your part meets your hairline, 3) stop adding in hair when you reach the point where your part would be if you had parted it on the other side, 4) continue braiding the entire length of your hair, 5) tie it off with an elastic. Easy peasy!

Skills: French braiding
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: easy

Four Strand Braid with Mini Braid

4.25.14 four strand w/ mini braid (x)

I actually found this braid on Instagram so I don't have an actual tutorial for you but there are plenty of four strand braid tutorials out there. The key to getting the accent strand in the middle is to make sure the third strand (going from left to right) is the one you make your accent. Any braiding is some form of weaving so it helps to tell yourself "over, under, over, under" as you do any four strand braid to keep yourself from losing your place.

Skills: four strand braiding
Materials: two elastics
Difficulty: medium

May

Box Fishtail

5.2.14 box fishtail (x)

Another Cute Girls Hairstyle find! I remember having to practice the Box Fishtail many times to get the timing down. This is one of those braids that is hard to get started but once you get going, it's smooth sailing. Smooth sailing, however, does not diminish the length of the voyage. The fastest I ever completed this braid was ten minutes. In fact, that morning I was in such a rush that I wasn't pleased with the outcome and I redid it on the bus. Sacrificing my morning nap for #hairoftheweek. That's dedication.


Skills: fishtail braiding, reverse fishtail braiding, patience
Materials: one elastic
Difficulty: easy (unless you are impatient, in which case this gets a medium)

5.7.14 milkmaid braids (x)

Milkmaid Braids

Ah, yes. Back when my hair was short enough to make milkmaid braids. I first saw this hairstyle in one of Zoella's daily vlogs and I was smitten. I honestly cannot remember if I figured out how to do it myself or if I ended up following a tutorial. My Instagram post was dated before any of the most popular tutorials were uploaded to YouTube, but I'll link you to the video Zoella posted exactly a week after I had worn my milkmaid braids. I actually had some trouble with the placement on my head and while mine is further back than most people typically wear it, I quite like the way it looks. This was also a tricky one around the ears.

Skills: braiding
Materials: two elastics, many bobby pins
Difficulty: easy

Chinese Staircase Braid

5.15.14 chinese staircase braid (x)

I think my caption on Instagram summed this hairstyle up nicely, "self declared foe of straight hair." Very fitting. My hair was far too slick for this hairstyle to hold without using product. I had to wet it down and redo it four times, three of which were during school, before it would stay. I'm not 100% positive, but I am pretty sure this Luxy Hair tutorial was the one I learned it from. Obviously, my version came out looking a lot different from hers but that's because I used more hair and went further down.

Skills: knotting
Materials: two elastics
Difficulty: easy (medium, if you want to factor the inconvenience of having to redo it all morning)

Dutch Rose Braid

5.22.14 dutch rose braid (x)

I was going through Pinterest when this hairstyle caught my eye. The original is called the Boho Rose Braid by Hair & Makeup by Steph but I decided to put my own spin on it. As you can see from the photo, I wore this to a Backstreet Boys concert, which I attended with Mikaela to kick off my 18th Birthday Week. That was such a special week and I had to make my birthday #hairoftheweek reflect that. You know how people say Pinterest tutorials are impossible to recreate? This one was gosh darned close. My first try was by far the most successful. Any attempt after that was a disaster. The final product was the result of me standing in my bathroom for three hours before the concert trying to get this flower right and it still only ended up looking okay. Maybe I was aiming too high, but it was a great hairstyle and held throughout the entire concert. (I can and will headbang to any song, no matter the genre. I can't help it.) In retrospect, I'm glad I went through all that trouble to do such a difficult hairstyle for my birthday. It only added to the magic.

Skills: Dutch braiding
Materials: three elastics, many bobby pins
Difficulty: HARD

Bobbles

5.30.14 bobbles (x)

This one was a fun one to do. The fact that it was for our orchestra senior field trip to Seattle only made it all the more memorable. (My dad even took his lunch break to come down and hang out with me!) This one was really easy to do but I cannot remember for the life of me where I learned this from.

Skills: n/a
Materials: as many elastics as you need for the length of your hair (I had five bobbles, so I needed six elastics)
Difficulty: easy

June

Messy French Twist

6.4.14 messy french twist (x)

Spring 2014 was chock-full of "lasts" and other special events. Senior year, baby! I wore this Messy French Twist inspired by HeyKayli to our senior concert, which was also our last. Reminiscing feels so good. I actually did not like this one when I first tried it but my friends liked it and encouraged me to wear it. I'm glad I did because it definitely grew on me. It gets a little tricky at the nape of your neck where you stop adding in hair and switch to regular rope braiding but only because it loosens up.

Skills: rope braiding, French braiding
Materials: one elastic, bobby pins (for misplaced hair)
Difficulty: easy

Fan Favorite

#tbt Bobbles

6.12.14 #tbt bobbles (x)

The first ever people's choice #hairoftheweek! I made sure to time it for the last day of high school. This time around, it did not come out looking as good as the first time and that's because I did not flip the first bobble in exactly the center, throwing off the rest of them. Oh well. What's done is done. Everybody still loved it. (I have searched high and low for this tutorial, if you find it, please let me know so I can update this post.)

Skills: n/a
Materials: as many elastics as you need for the length of your hair (I had five bobbles, so I needed six elastics)
Difficulty: easy

Bonus

Aurora's Twistback

6.7/14.14 aurora's twistback (x)

This #hairoftheweek is a special one for many reasons. First off, it was the hairstyle I wore for both prom and graduation, which is why it's dated with two dates (the photograph was taken graduation day). This was also the first (and second) time I had ever curled my hair.
It was also inspired by Aurora from the movie Maleficent and Aurora is my favorite Disney princess. To save time, I did the twists first, then curled the rest of my hair. (It looked a lot better for prom but I didn't get a good hair picture I am still butthurt about it.) I didn't really use any tutorial for this hairstyle since there were so many variations but this was an Occam's razor type of situation. The simplest method is probably the best.

Skills: rope braiding, hair curling
Materials: one elastic, curling wand/iron
Difficulty: easy (if you know how to curl your hair)


I hope you had as much fun as I did. I can actually remember how I felt at the time I wore each of these hairstyles, how amazing is that? I have so many great memories associated with this time in my life, I'm glad I was able to document all of it through my hair. If you want more, I post a new #hairoftheweek every week on Instagram so make sure you follow me to keep up with the current and future seasons of #hairoftheweek. Let me know what you think about this format in the comments below!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette