Hairstyles - French braids

After the standard three-strand braid, the braid I wear the most is the French braid. French braids  follow the same three-strand pattern, only you start at the top of the head with a small section (which you divide in three parts and start braiding normally), and then keep adding hair from both sides as you braid until you reach the nape of the neck. From that point, you keep braiding your hair normally in a three-strand braid until you reach the ends.  

 You can add wool/silk parandas or ribbons to the braid for added colour, decoration, or hold against fine-textured, slippery hair. There are quite a lot of variations without the need to add parandas or ribbons, as well - Braids can be tighter or looser, starting higher or lower, side-swept or straight down the back, with more or less volume at the top, and gelled back in a sleek look or with bangs and/or small strand of hair out of the braid for a more casual look. 

Combine a side-swept looser braid starting lower in the head, with snowflake pins as decoration, volume at the top and a casual look with bangs and small strand of hair out of the braid, and you'll have the Elsa braid going on ;) (and yes, even though my fine-textured hair isn't very prone to volume and I already have an Elsa wig for my cosplay xD, I will try to make an Elsa braid tutorial, because Elsa :D).

Source

I'll be updating this post shortly with a couple of French braid video tutorials  (and an Elsa tutorial will follow in the near future, probably on a separate post).

Meanwhile - Pics!

• Simple French braid

I normally wear braids with parandas and the like because of the added hold (my fine-textured slippery hair makes tight braids transform into loose braids in no time), but sometimes I go for a Frech braid with no paranda. I often like to add a barrette or a flexi-8 at the nape for hold and decoration.

• Beribboned French braid

• French braid with paranda

The style I wear the most :) I usually add the paranda at the top when I start braiding, sometimes I add it when the braiding reaches the nape:

With a flexi-8 at the nape (pic taken at the end of the day, flyaway hairs all aroundxD):

Paranda starting at the nape:

                                    And a bit of an Elsa braid with the snowflake pins :D:

• French braid plus high braided ponytail: 

In this variation, you start French braiding at the top of the head, then gather your hair in a high ponytail and braid the length normally:

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Donut bun - Video tutorial

My latest hairstyle video features the Donut bun (written tutorial here):

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Historical haircare: Viking combs

Last Summer we were visiting the British Museum during a week-long tip in London, and seeing as I'm a hair fanatic xD, I always go looking for ancient hair stuff in museums. So here's a Viking comb with its case from the 9th-10th Century AD:

"Combs such as this are commonly found throughout the Viking world. (...) Both comb and case are made of several pieces of antler fitted together with iron rivets. Decoration on the comb is the same on both sides. It has very little ornament, other than simple cross-hatching in rectangular areas, which are confined to the ends. The case is decorated with irregular crosses of double lines. Below this is a similar pattern to that on the comb, but with vertical lines instead of cross-hatching. Comb decoration can be more elaborate: some were inlaid with bronze. This suggests that all ranks of society owned and used them. The simple decoration on this comb set implies that it probably belonged to someone of middle rank.

Both men and women wore their hair long in the Viking period. Combs probably acted as implements for removing lice as much as for making the hair look beautiful.

Like many smaller combs, this comb and case have holes in them for hanging from a belt or brooch. Comb cases were made to protect the delicate teeth from being accidentally broken. This seems to have worked here as this comb still has all its teeth. This is very rare." (Source)

I ended up reading a bit more on the use of combs and general haircare among the Vikings :)

More Viking/Scandinavian combs from the Scotland National Museum at Edinburgh:

Could those pins be hairsticks?

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