DAY 20: An Up Do

I woke up this morning and tried to "listen" to what my hair needed. It didn't feel dry so I had no plans of doing a co-wash only to have my curls weighed down. It didn't feel dirty so I wasn't going to clean it. I sprayed it down with tepid water and it just looked horrible. It wouldn't curl, it now felt dry and product filled. I was frustrated and didn't have time to get back in the shower, so I drew upon the skills I learned from a college friend.


I've done this up do to my hair numerous time; however, I feel it is time to pay homage to the one who taught me such a marvelous tip, Erin. She once did my hair up like this for a girls night out that we were having and I've been doing it ever since. I even recently taught a co-worker how to achieve the look. It pulls my hair off my face and neck and still allows the curls to maintain shape with out breaking. It is a look I wear with a t-shirt for that punk look, to work for a professional look, or with a fancy dress for a night on the town. It's so simple and takes about 10 bobby pins.

Starting at my ear I gently pull the hair to the back crown of my head, giving a small twist I pin it in place. I do this on both sides and it takes the top, front 1/2 of my hair to the back. Working on the back, I part the hair down the middle and take the bottom portion and twist it up and under the hair I just pulled back and pin it; on both sides. Since my crown is cut shorter for a bang like effect I just pin it back on the top of my head. All the curls now hang freely in the back so you can just place them where you want them and pin them in place. For those with long curly hair I would recommend 2 pins per placement and crossing them to hold the bulk of hair in place. You can also use small clips in place of pins; depending on the type of clips you can add a little sparkle or edge. Normally, I allow the curls to cover the pins so it just looks like a halo of curls.

When my hair is not curling it has an edgy birds nest look and when it curls it gives it a softer look. It usually takes me less than 10 minutes to do, I've had lots of practice, and I almost always receive compliments on it. It is the perfect solution to curls that can't decide what they need or what they want to do and it hides most of the frizz!

Thanks Erin. :)

Curl: 3
Frizz: 5
Weather: 57F, cloudy, 74% humidity, high chance of rain tonight
Stress: moderate, meetings all day today. :-P