Plaits and Buns

Plaits and buns were very commonly used in the Elizabethan times, and still are today. in the 15th Century, ribbons and strings of pearls were often threaded through plaits. This is still a popular trend in modern times, but the current fashion is to accessorise with strings of flowers through the hair. 

I love how wearable this look above is, but still has a connection to Elizabethan Hair.

Another big difference is in the texture of the hair. In Elizabethan times the trend was rough looking curly, or frizzy hair. This added a lot of texture to hairstyles at the time, and added thickness to plaits and buns. Sleek, straight hair or natural waves are now far more in fashion, which gives styles which would usually appear quite similar to Elizabethan styles a modern look.

We learned in class how to create different types of plait and buns.

PLAITS:

In todays lesson we learned three different types of plait. I was already familiar with the classic plait, but the french plait and fishtail plait were new to me. 

FISHTAIL PLAIT: 

METHOD:

. Divide the hair into 3 sections

. Bring the outside strand from the left, over the other two strands.

.Repeat the process with the strand on the right hand side

.Continue this until a plait is formed, it will take a bit longer until you can see the shape of the plait with a fishtail but eventually the shape should form.  

FRENCH PLAIT:

NEEDED:

Sectioning clips

Brush

Tail Comb

METHOD:

. Divide the hair into 3 sections

. Plait the hair, but each time you cross the hair over, take a piece from the side, so as you plait the plait becomes tight to the head.

. When you run out of hair, continue to plait normally to finish off.

BUNS:

It is very useful to be able to create a bun without the help of a donut. 

METHOD:

1. Brush through the hair
2. Pull the hair back into a ponytail and secure with a tie
3. Divide the ponytail into four equal sections. 
4. Backcomb the underside of one of the sections
5. Roll the section up to create one quarter of the bun, pin in place.
6. Repeat with the other sections.
7. Use Geisha Pins to help create a rounded shape, using the pins to pull the bun together.