Pics updated from time to time. Last update: December 2020
I tend to favour the kind of styles where you pull your hair into a ponytail and begin to coil the length in an updo, but leave part of it hanging. A mix between a full updo and a ponytail. I think it looks rather aesthetic, and reminds me of ancient Greek and Norse styles. For people with relatively long hair (I'd said waist and onwards), it's also a nice way of experimenting with hairstyles where your length appears to be shorter.
I don't know if 'half-up, half-down' would be the correct term for this sort of style, because it's not really a typical half-up when you leave part of the hair loose. Here all the hair is gathered in a ponytail, and you leave part of the length out of the updo. I tend to make a personal difference in usage between "half-up" and "half-updo" because of this. I've also been suggested the term 'length-shortening bun', which sounds pretty accurate as well.
This is a cinnamon "half-updo", where part of the ponytail length is coiled in a cinnamon bun and the rest is left dangling from it.
-Steps:
1. I gathered my hair into a high ponytail and secured it with a metal-free elastic (to avoid hair breakage.
2. Then I began coiling the length into a cinnamon bun.
For those unfamiliar with the cinnamon bun, you twist your hair relatively tightly and begin to coil it around the base of the ponytail in the same direction you're twisting it (it can also be done without an elastic), creating a spiral-y form. It can be secured with pins while you're twisting it, or directly at the end when the bun's finished, with a stick, fork, pins or claw-clips.
I get a small compact updo with this kind of bun (seeing as you have to twist your hair tightly for this style, and my hair compresses down to nothing when twisted), so for me it's a good option if I need my hair out of the way and securely fixed (with claw clips, or a hairstick, usually).
A full cinnamon bun with a hairstick:
3. Instead of coiling all my length into the bun, I just twist and coil my hair round the base of the ponytail twice, and leave the rest of the length hanging at one side of the bun. Depending on your original length and on how long you want the hanging length to be, you'll be coiling more or less times. Then I fixed the style with some small claw-clips. If it doesn't hold, bobby-pins or more claw-clips can be added. A ficcaré-style clip or a hairstick are also nice options.
The finished style looks like this from both sides. On one side you see the length that's hanging down, on the other you see the coiled part:
And from the front it can look as a standard ponytail, but with shorter hair:
You can also add heatless curls (like bendy rollers curls or rag curls) to the ends.
This is also the main style I use for my fem!Sherlock cosplay:
SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es
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