#hairoftheweek: Hoth Leia Crown Braid

Most of the time, the hairstyles I do are just because I think they're pretty or they were the most ready for #hairoftheweek when it came time to choose a hairstyle. Other times, such as this week's, there will be a lengthy thought process and we'll end up with something of a masterpiece. Based on the title of this blog post, you can probably deduce that this is a character-inspired hairstyle, and an iconic one at that.

The Process:

By now we all know that our beloved Carrie Fisher passed away just after Christmas. I was shocked and deeply saddened, to say the least. I knew I had to pay tribute to her via #hairoftheweek. Once I made that decision, it wasn't hard to choose which hairstyle to recreate. Having seen all the Star Wars films, I have one definitive favorite Look and no force in this galaxy (or any other) could have compelled me to pick another. You also cannot deny the crown braid trend taking over. I don't mind being a follower if it can satisfy my fangirl heart. Before Carrie left us, I was already playing with the idea of doing a Star Wars hairstyle as my first Winter hairstyle because that was the week I was visiting Mr. Alegado, my former science teacher and fellow geek. Last year's winter visit resulted in Rey's Triple Buns so it was only natural to tackle the Princess of all princesses for this visit. When it came to choosing what to wear, I decided to go with my NASA shirt because space, of course, and I have a puffy white jacket! It took me a while to realize I could practically Disneybound Hoth Leia with what I already had but when I finally did, it was incredibly exciting.

The Tutorial:

I've tried doing Leia's buns before, and my hair is just not made for that hairstyle. Thankfully Hoth Leia is my all time favorite Leia Look and much easier to recreate.
(1) Hoth Leia has no part but I could not divide my hair without one. Split your hair down the middle, doing your best to have no defined part line. I ended up with a middle part but made it as small as I could manage.
(2) Set one half aside. Separate the other half in two equal-ish sections top-bottom. Braid two stitches of Dutch braid. In other words, with your three strands, add a third of the remaining hair in the section to each strand as you Dutch braid. If that's too confusing you can just skip this step and straight up braid.
(3) Braid the entire section towards the opposite shoulder. It's uncomfortable but you cannot afford to bring it around its corresponding shoulder without getting a bump with you make the crown. Tie it off at the end. Do not pancake.
(4) Repeat Steps 2 and 3 with the other side. Try to hide the part line between the braids if you have one.
(5) Position your braids before you begin pinning so you have an idea about what you're doing. Leia had her crown set far back on her head so I tried to do that as much as possible.
(6) When you're ready, let one of the braids go and pin the braid you're still holding to your head. Don't fret if it's not just the way you want it the first time around because bringing in the other braid will require some adjustments.
(7) Start pinning the other braid in place and don't be afraid to undo some pins to reshape the crown or better hide the elastics. Half the time spent completing this hairstyle was me making little changes here and there.
(8) If you prefer it, gently tug on the hair at the back of your head (within the crown) and loosen some hairs in the front to frame your face.
(9) Pull on a puffy white jacket and ride that Tauntaun!

The Result:

1.6.17 hoth leia crown braid (x)

The sun sets too soon. Don't forget to give it a like on Instagram if you haven't already!

The Verdict:

Amazing. There are so many reasons to love this hairstyle. One of those reasons is how well it stayed in place despite my wimpy bobby pins. There are many ways to do crown braids but I chose this specific method to for Hoth Leia because I don't really know what the bottom of her hair looks like so this was a safe bet and the top looked like on single braid laid over her hair, not hair braided in. I know my description was a little foggy so I included a picture from one of my practice runs. The bottom and back should end up looking something like that but honestly whatever works best for you is your answer. This is a very wearable hairstyle and doesn't have to be a Princess Leia reference if you don't want it to be. 

The picture was unexpectedly perfect. I didn't plan on taking it outside with the sun low on the horizon with the white, snow-like background but it could not have worked out better. When my grandma passed away a few years ago in November, a thought that often crossed my mind was "the sun sets too soon." If I ever mentioned it, people would think I was complaining about the longer nights when really the sun is a metaphor for life (in case those people are still confused). To others, the picture might just be a cool tribute to Leia but the sunset added an extra layer of meaning and sentimentality to me. As always, follow me on Instagram to stay up-to-date on all things #hairoftheweek and don't forget the person with the most first likes at the end of the season gets an extra vote for Fan Favorite!


Talk to you soon!

xo, Yvette