Smooth Styling

Alright everyone!

I am often described as having a 'mane' of hair.

Its thick, long and layered, thus it is an absolute pain to manage and style. There are many days of the week when, after ten minuets of trying to attempt to make my hair look half decent that I seriously begin to consider chopping it all off!

However, despite the love hate relationship I have with my hair, there are moments when I breathe a sigh of relief and can walk out of the house feeling content with the knowledge that my hair will remain out of my face, and in place for the entirety of the
day. Usually, that feeling only occurs when I am wearing one of these three hairstyles.

Since I spend the majority of my days with my head in a book and my fringe is incredibly long, the two cannot seem to coexist and consequently the theme running through each of the styles is keeping my fringe safely tucked out of the way.

So without further ado, here are my 'go to' hairstyles...




Half up, half down French Braid


Having long hair can sometimes be a blessing as it means that I am able to experiment with different braids and twists, in particular French plaits are one of my favourites to practice. However, sometimes just doing a plain French plait can become repetitive so I like to mix things up a bit by weaving a French plait into a half up, half down style. I tend to keep this style quite loose and messy, imperfect rather than perfect as it helps to make your hair look thicker and fuller.

I begin by plaiting the French braid as I would normally, by starting at the top of my head and slowly work my way down. As I do this, I begin to pull and weave pieces of hair into the braid. Once I have plaited until all of the hair just behind my ears is incorporated into the braid I stop and finish off the style by plaiting the rest of the braid normally in three strands and securing it at the end.

Side Plaited Half up, half down

This is a slightly more simple braided style but its one of my favourites to do. Since I  have little time to spare in the morning it is also the perfect everyday hairstyle.

To complete the look I take a section of hair from the left side of my head and braid it using a basic three stand plait, bringing around to the back of my head and securing with a bobby pin. I then repeat the method on the right side of my head securing the right plait over the left with another bobby pin to create a slight twist effect at the back of my head where the two plaits meet.

Incredibly simple yet really effective!

Plaited Bun

This appears to be the most complex out of the three but, don't be fooled it is really very simple and will take you less than five minuets to do!

I firstly braid my hair using the side plaited half up half down method. Once the style is secured I take the remaining part of my hair twisting it up into a low bun at the nape of my neck and tying with an elastic. I then pin in any fly away pieces into the bun and to hide any imperfections around the bun I attach a decorative headband. You don't have to do this step if you don't want to, I just really like how it adds diversity to a simple hairstyle. I think this floral one would be perfect for spring and summer with a loose fitting sun-dress and some cowboy boots!