LHC Winter swap 2015!

This lovely gift came yesterday from fellow Long Hair Community member Areté, as part of our annual Winter swap :):

 The gifts are all so lovely and thoughtful, and Areté crafted nearly everything, from hairsticks to hair forks and pendants:

 This is my first XL Flexi-8, and it just screams 'Lúthien!' I can't wait to try it as part of my Lúthien Tinúviel cosplay!

Hammered copper fork, oak sticks with deep red toppers, and an adorably bad*ss hair-sword!

And a TARDIS fork, which had Whovian me fangirling :D

Harry Potter finishing pins and buttons, plus a moonstone and iolite ring/pendant. She also crafted a couple of pendants (a horse and rune stone):

And to finish, this delightfully geeky glass bottle with maps of Gallifrey and Middle-earth inside :D

 Action shots of the hairtoys coming soon!

SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es

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Random post - New Flexi-8, French braid and unnamed bun

Got the January Flexi of the Month (Starlight) to join my flexi-8 collection, and it reminds me a lot of Missy from Doctor Who, definitely something she would wear :D

Necessary Missy gif because she's awesome :D

 And action shot! I normally wear flexi-8's as low ponytail holders when I'm wearing three-strand braids:

And to explain the 'random' in the title, recent-ish hair pics! French braid:

And braided bun with paranda, the kind of bun that I get when I bun a braided ponytail into cinnamon bun and then part of it uncoils and this happens:

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Texture - Bandanna waves/rag curls and cocoon curls

Another kind of heatless waves/curls that I love, alongside bendy rollers curls and braidwaves, are bandanna waves (also called rag curls). This is the first method that I learned, but I usually go for this one.

For all my heatless texture experiments I either start with post-shower damp hair or spray my ends and length with some water. The latter option sometimes dries out my hair, so I usually go for the former (post-shower nearly-dry, still a bit damp hair).  When I do rag curls I usually just use one piece of soft cloth and, with the rest of my hair braided, I curl my ends and half my length (this results in S-curls for the ends and softer braidwaves up my length). Other option is doing the same but without braiding the rest of my hair (straight hair evolving into the waves created by the bandannas/rags). And sometimes I'll do smaller sections with 2-3 pieces of cloth and go a bir further up my length, which results in smaller, tighter and flufflier curls for me.

Pics (these are from a few years ago, when I was around classic length):

-Straight hair on top (no added texture), bandanna waves in the ends and rest of the length:

-Braidwaves and bandanna waves in the ends:

-Flufflier and tighter curls as a result of using 2-3 rags instead of one:

And, to finish, my one and only attempt at cocoon curls, which I found more demanding and turned out in varying states of curliness xD:

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Hair in 2015 - Styles and video tutorials

And the final part about my 2015 hair journey and activities!

-YouTube channel: In 2015 I started to upload - at long last - hairstyle tutorial and haircare videos. I plan on continuing to upload more tutorials, including my cosplay styles, in 2016.

-Styles: I've been wearing lots of parandas in my three-strand and rope braids; lots of braided ponytails, flipped buns, donut buns and cinnabuns; half-up half-down rope-braided updos; and, less often, French braids. In 2016 I'd like to wear my hair loose a bit more often (in half-ups, perhaps), and keep practising side braids and braided styles in general.   As for new styles I have learned,  I'd highlight Leia's Ceremony updo and Elisabethan hair-taping. In 2016, I'd also like to post about film styles more often.

• 2015 most worn styles and new learned styles pic overload:

-Updos: Cinnamon, flipped, donut, braided with paranda:

-Braids: Three-strand with paranda and flexi-8, braided ponytail, French:

-Length-shortening updos: With cinnabuns, usually rope-braided:

                                

 -New styles: Elisabethan hair-taping, Leia's Ceremony updo:

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Hair in 2015 - Texture experiments and hair in cosplay

The second part of the 2015 hair recap and 2016 hair goals! 

-Hair texture experiments: I've continued to experiment with heatless bendy rollers curls and braidwaves, especially for cosplay purposes. I've also started using Lush's sea spray as a hair fixator on the ends before adding the bendy rollers. It works pretty well for me and doesn't over-dry my hair (I also only use this method sporadically), although I always deep-oil the ends after. In 2016 I'd like to continue experimenting with more heatless waves/curls methods.

-Hair in cosplay: Apart from River Song (Doctor Who) and Elsa (Frozen), I've been using my hair for all my cosplays, in styles ranging from updos with heatless curls (Fem!Sherlock, Sherlock BBC) or with fake hair for more volume in the front (Fem!Tenth Doctor, Doctor Who), to multi-braided styles (Lúthien Tinúviel, Rivendell Elf, Tolkien universe), to high braided ponytails (Elven ranger, Tolkien universe), to half-ups with loose hair (Noldorin Elf, Tolkien universe). In 2016 I plan on cosplaying Elsa and Merida, which require wigs, and also Missy from Doctor Who, and for her I'll be using my hair and learning Edwardian updos.

• 2015 heatless texture experiments and hair in cosplay pic overload:

-Bendy rollers curls and braidwaves:

-High braided ponytail for my Elven ranger cosplay:

-Half-up with heatless texture for my Noldorin Elf cosplay:

-Elisabethan hair-taping inspired updo for my Rivendell Elf cosplay:

 -Lúthien multi-braid:

-Fem!Tenth Doctor flipped bun with volume:

-Fem!Sherlock half-up half-down cinnabun with heatless curls:

SwordWomanRiona / rionashairblog.blogspot.com.es

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Hair in 2015 - Length and colour

The first of my three-parter 2015-recap hair series and 2016 hair goals!

-Length: This year I finally reached my goal of knee-length hair. I plan on staying here for a good while, maintaining at knee to thicken up the hemline, which is a bit worse than it was a couple of years ago (growing to the next milestone without maintaining might account for the loss of thickness). My main goal for 2016, regarding hair, is to thicken up my hemline.

-As for colour, the Vampire Red Manic Panic from two years ago has finally nearly faded out completely (some cool reddish tints remain in my lower length), and my hair is nearly back to its original dark auburn which changes drastically in the lighting when I take pics xD. I plan on using a batch of Jamila henna which I have had for nearly a year on the first fortnight of January, because, while I already have quite a lot of red highlights already, I do miss that henna red shine in the Sun :)

• 2015 Length shots (and 90+% natural colour) pic overload:

-January 2015, getting close to knee length:

-April-May 2015, almost knee length and with the remaining Vampire Red showing:

-May 2015, the first time I reached knee-length! (I trimmed back a couple of months later and I'm back to knee length now):

-September 2015, length shots in the Sherlock Holmes pub in London:

                              
 -October 2015 hair-detangling video still:

-December 2015 length shots and colour in the Sun:

 -May vs December 2015, both knee-length:

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