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CryssieWillow
October 21st, 2008, 09:31 AM
I just found this today and I thought some people here may like this a lot.
The Elling Woman is a Danish peat bog body from about 300 BC. And the cool thing is that she had really long hair and it was preserved, including hairstyle!

Reconstruction! woohoo!
There is a page here (http://www.tollundman.dk/ellingkvinden.asp)
It is about her and her clothes and hair. Here's about the hair.


The way her hair had been was examined closely. It was possible to tell that it was a pigtail and that the braiding had started at the top of the head and had gone down to the neck where it had been tied in a knot. The hair is red which is probably because it has been dyed by the bog water. However, it is darker than the Tollund Man's (http://www.tollundman.dk/haar.asp), and that is an indication that her hair must have been darker than his. Judging by the hairstyle her hair must have been approximately 1 metre long.
If you want to recreate the hairstyle you have to start by making a regular pigtail with the hair from the top of the head. At the hairline on the back of the neck you braid the rest of the hair into the braid which is then divided into seven parts. You braid these together two, two and three. At the end the pigtail is divided into two twisted pigtails.
On the day the woman was hanged, the pigtail had been tied into a knot at the back of her kneck - just like in the photo. If the pigtail was not tied into a knot, it could hang loose down her back and it would have been approximately 90 centimetres long.


http://www.tollundman.dk/gifs/elling-frisure-140.gif


http://www.tollundman.dk/gifs/DIAS18-200.jpg

Watch it, big picture of peatbog body head of hair. You are warned
(http://www.tollundman.dk/gifs/DIAS67.jpg)

This is all I can find for now about it. They are not very detailed about the what's and hows, unfortunally.
And cursed, my hair is too short for this one.
Who wants to try making this? :D

gallows_gallery
October 21st, 2008, 09:32 AM
WOWWWWWWWWW

Freaking awesome! Glimpses back in time amaze me

lawyermom
October 21st, 2008, 09:34 AM
ditto.
Just awesome, in the true sense of the word!

CryssieWillow
October 21st, 2008, 09:50 AM
Flippin awesome, huh! :cheese:

There is also a video on the website. It is spoken in danish but it does spend quite some time on her hair. But alas, all I could understand was that Elling woman was about 25.

And ooh! *bounce*
I just made a discovery. I did not notice it before, but she has used the top braid that comes down from the crown in the knot. I just tried it and it even holds in my tapering waistlength hair.
It makes total sense. If you don't french braid everything you can tie it around that braid and the result is really secure. :p

NiAosSi
October 21st, 2008, 09:56 AM
So cool. I like that braid too. Thanks for sharing!

Finoriel
October 21st, 2008, 09:59 AM
Wow thatīs interesting.
Iīm just not sure how the strands are supposed to stay separated from each other when you braid 2-3-2 in the way they suggest... most likely every strand twisted in itself. Tricky. As well as the two "pigtails", how shall they stay separated without unravelling the whole braid?
:ponder: For me it looks like the hairstyle did not survive all that time like it was originally made. I guess the hanging tail originally was braided too. Possibly into a rope braid, the tied off part before the two pigtails make me think that, and also looped up into the bun. The outer coil unwrapped itself during the centuries and the inner one we can still see.
I just have to try that!

Stevy
October 21st, 2008, 10:03 AM
Oh, that is really cool! Thank you! (Also, Finoriel, I think you're right - looks like a rope braid to me, too)

ktani
October 21st, 2008, 10:06 AM
More about the customs of the times and why they think both were sacrificed rather than hanged as criminals.
http://www.tollundman.dk/haengning.asp

http://www.tollundman.dk/doeden.asp

CryssieWillow
October 21st, 2008, 10:09 AM
Wow thatīs interesting.
Iīm just not sure how the strands are supposed to stay separated from each other when you braid 2-3-2 in the way they suggest... most likely every strand twisted in itself. Tricky. As well as the two "pigtails", how shall they stay separated without unravelling the whole braid?
:ponder: For me it looks like the hairstyle did not survive all that time like it was originally made. I guess the hanging tail originally was braided too. Possibly into a rope braid, the tied off part before the two pigtails make me think that, and also looped up into the bun. The outer coil unwrapped itself during the centuries and the inner one we can still see.
I just have to try that!

I think you may be right
I have been pouring over the video as it gives some nice close ups in a less harsh light then the big picture.
Those 2 pigtails at the ends is actually a single rope-braid as far as I can tell. Those 7 braided strands puzzle me too, but I think that they are actually ropebraids as well.
There is also something going on where the braid is tied of.

Finoriel
October 21st, 2008, 10:16 AM
Sigh. O.k. if the video is interesting and showing more than the photo, Iīm going to watch it.
I just hope I donīt dream of it tonight. :p

Islandgrrl
October 21st, 2008, 10:17 AM
Very cool. I love history, and combining it with hair, well, just an extra added bonus!

Tabitha
October 21st, 2008, 10:33 AM
Thanks for posting that! how amazing that hair should last so long.

CurlyOne
October 21st, 2008, 10:39 AM
Oooo! That is so cool! Thanks!

arylkin
October 21st, 2008, 10:55 AM
That is AMAZING!!!

Unnamed
October 21st, 2008, 10:58 AM
I tried this! (ETA: as I like braiding, etc, and, yep, cool) :lol:

The seven braid things -- yeah, thinking it's twisted, which is what I tried to do (only aimed for six, though...lazy). Sort like twisting for rope braids, but don't make 'em a braid, and twist both the same way.

Second try (first time the barrettes slid off that were holding 'em together), with 2, 2, and 2, and not perfect, but it is doable:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/UnnamedGryffon/2008b/oct_21_braidtestpeatbog.jpg

VanillaTresses
October 21st, 2008, 11:38 AM
Awesome-- thanks so much for posting!

Meli
October 21st, 2008, 11:42 AM
This is very interesting! I think too that the bottom part is a rope braid - to me, it looks twisted like a rope in the video, not just two tails hanging down. The seven strands - I don't think they are rope braids, but they do look twisted. It's very hard to tell, though, and I could be wrong. That 2-3-2 thing - I think if you took one third of the hair in the top braid, braided it to the nape and then kept the same three strands but twisted them individually instead of continue braiding, that would make the thee-strand section. Then part the bottom hair in the middle, make two twisted strands of each section and braid it all together. I have to try this!

Unnamed: that looks great!

LutraLutra
October 21st, 2008, 12:18 PM
This is really interesting, great stuff.

snowbear
October 21st, 2008, 01:36 PM
Wow, that's awesome. Thanks for sharing!

Medvssa
October 21st, 2008, 02:13 PM
Thanks for posting this!! :D

Eryka
October 21st, 2008, 02:26 PM
Hope no one minds but, I watched this and made a translation:

The first few seconds the narrator is just talking about the date and location the woman was found in reference to their earlier discover (the Tollund Man). Next he goes on to describe her leather cape/jacket.

After the jacket bit he starts talking about her hair. He says her braid itself was was 1 meter (3 feet) long. He goes on to describe the braids condition and the fact that it was securely fastened at her neck.

After the hair bit he describes the leather bit that held her cape together. This was done either during rainy weather or during running. He video does not mention anything the article didn't already cover.

The clip didn't actually talk a whole lot about her hair, but they did show plenty of it. Very nifty.


(Another hoorah for Denmark.):eyebrows:

Igor
October 21st, 2008, 07:16 PM
Wow that was really awesome. Thanks for posting!

A real look into the life she had back… I wonder if she made the style herself? And if she trimmed? She was probably cone free though :wink: Maybe she oiled? :D

CurlyNinja
October 21st, 2008, 09:37 PM
Ok, that was just way too cool!! Thanks so much for sharing.

Diamondbell
October 21st, 2008, 09:41 PM
Wow! Very beautiful. Thanks for posting this!! :D

Vitalai
October 21st, 2008, 09:55 PM
Wow, that is really cool! Amazing! Thanks for sharing.

Juneii
October 21st, 2008, 09:56 PM
that is incredibly fascinating, and horribly creepy. maybe I'm just really tired and paranoid right now but am I the only one finds looking at the hair on a dead woman's body a little.. I dunno, weird? awkward?

but I do want to try out that hairstyle, it looks really beautiful.

Katahdin
October 21st, 2008, 11:59 PM
Wow, that is so cool. I wonder if she did anything "special" to care for her hair, or if it was just benign neglect...

Nanni
October 22nd, 2008, 01:19 AM
It's cool to watch how things where back then. From traditions and fashion to technology.

Finoriel
October 22nd, 2008, 02:58 AM
In the meantime I watched the film :wink: about 20 times and did not dream of it :p it´s not too bad. Sadly the film is too small to figure out much more than we already did from the photo.
First part English braid with thin upper section of hair, second part 2-3-2 and third part two-strand rope.
I tried it and it´s a nice style, not too difficult when I ignored the urge to do a rope braid with the ´2´ sections at the sides and just put them side by side. Sadly they did not separate really clearly, I think my hair is too freshly washed for this, with oily hair it should work much better. (Guess that also was her "special" treatment :eyebrows: people back then did not wash their hair/body that often, if at all.)
But it was impossible for me to make the 3 strand section line up properly, the sections kept merging or were hiding behind each other, so I chose to English braid it. When I looked the video again, it looks like it could be possible that this was also done with her hair. (Not sure.) So 2 twisted - 3 braided - 2 twisted for the middle section of the braid.
In the video the commentator says that her braid is about one meter (39,4 inch) long. Which is also my guess, because my hair is longer than one meter and my hairlength (ca. 47inch) was barely long enough.
Anyways :wink: picture of

Ellingkvinden bun (Danish for Elling woman)
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?pictureid=23561&albumid=1008&dl=1224664684&thumb=1

Seraphina
October 22nd, 2008, 03:11 AM
Wow.Incredibly fascinating!

ImmortaLamia
October 22nd, 2008, 04:32 AM
AMAZING!!! thanks CryssieWillow for sharing with us :eyebrows: (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=8943)

Lady Verity
October 22nd, 2008, 08:21 AM
WOW!

Oh, this shouldn't make me as happy and excited as it does...

vindo
October 22nd, 2008, 11:13 AM
Love this style!

I tried reconstructing it, my hair is not real 100cm long though. According to LHC measuring method its 103.5, but I assume that the longest strands are more like 90cm or less.

But I was able to do it by coiling my hair into a braided bun instead of knotting it which is very difficult to make secure and takes away more length.

I made a few mistakes ^^':

The braid:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman1.jpg

Braided 6 strands instead of 7...meaning once I got to the nape I braided each top strand into a regular braid strand. I made the whole thing to low though and the top braid is a tad too thick.

The bun:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman2.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman3.jpg

It was not very secure, I have to do it when my hair is full of shea butter otherwise it's too slippery..my ends unraveled right away sorry.

Detail:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwomandetail.jpg

I should try the whole thing higher on my head, thing it would be also easier to make the bun and get it to stay secure.
The hair pin is viking and made of bone btw. :)

Aisha25
October 22nd, 2008, 11:14 AM
Love this style!

I tried reconstructing it, my hair is not real 100cm long though. According to LHC measuring method its 103.5, but I assume that the longest strands are more like 90cm or less.

But I was able to do it by coiling my hair into a braided bun instead of knotting it which is very difficult to make secure and takes away more length.

I made a few mistakes ^^':

The braid:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman1.jpg

Braided 6 strands instead of 7...meaning once I got to the nape I braided each top strand into a regular braid strand. I made the whole thing to low though and the top braid is a tad too thick.

The bun:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman2.jpg http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwoman3.jpg

It was not very secure, I have to do it when my hair is full of shea butter otherwise it's too slippery..my ends unraveled right away sorry.

Detail:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb129/chieeEMIchiee/LHC/Hairstyles/Ellingwomandetail.jpg

I should try the whole thing higher on my head, thing it would be also easier to make the bun and get it to stay secure.
The hair pin is viking and made of bone btw. :)
Hey this is really pretty I like it alot espessially that bone!:smile:

wolf girl
October 22nd, 2008, 11:31 AM
After looking at Emichee's recreation (which is beautiful BTW), I can't help but wonder if the Elling woman originally had it all bunned at her neck and it just fell out over time. It seems to make since to get the hair out of the way for her hanging.:shrug:

CryssieWillow
October 22nd, 2008, 01:28 PM
Wow!

I gotta say, I love both Unnamed and Emichiee's recreation to little bits!!! :D It looks so elegant!
I'm so bummed that I still have about 10 inches to go for me to do it accurately.
But you all can bet that I am going to adapt it to wear it at work. (Archeological themeparc. Lots of iron age lately. Teehee)

And thanks Eryka for translating that! I was wondering what the heck he was saying. :P

I have been thinking about it and some things mentioned. I am kinda speculating right now....
First the 7 braided strands. It could be made on purpose or by accident. On purpose seems on one hand very fuzzy and unpractical for a prehistoric woman who probably had enough to do with her time, but on the other hand, these people spend oodles of time on making very pretty things.
Accident could also be an option. If hair goes stringy enough and it is uncombed and braided, it may be possible for those parts to be visible in the result braid. If we assume she was on some kind of NW or WO routine.... ;) Maybe some ladies who are can offer some insight.
Just thinking: What if the Elling woman used to braid the top hair back and part the remaining hair in the back, take it over the shoulder and rope braid it. That would account for 7 strands. Whoops, you are going to be hanged. She partly takes it out and rebraids it without combing. Et voila.
Does that make sense?
As for the bun, if I am seeing it correctly, the braid is laid into a single knot and then wrapped around the top braid twice to make it stay in place. It could once have been wrapped around completely.

Good stuff! :D
Please keep the recreations coming! I will post one as soon as I think of a good one for shorter hair.

Perhaps we should send an email to the people of the museum/website. Beg for bigger pictures of the schematic and their recreation. And more details. :eyebrows:
Is there a danish member with time on her hands? :D

ETA:

WHOOT! I think I got something!
Regarding the whole structure.
part the hair in three equal parts. One on the top, two on the bottom.
Braid the top part for a bit. Then start a new english braid in the regular place with your top braid and the rest of the hair.
When done, lay a knot in the braid and wrap the tail around the bit of top braid.
On me it is still holding comfortably without a hairband and without a stick!!!
It slips out when I start shaking my head violently but it is combed out and freshly washed so that's no surprise.
Can people with Ellingkvinden hair testdrive it! :D:D Pretty please with cherries on top?

vindo
October 22nd, 2008, 01:49 PM
Do you think the museum would be interested in recreations?:confused:, that recreation picture you posted first is a good one.

I like your theory of how her hair could have ended up into 7 strands...
I can also see how she was maybe wearing a braided bun (like wolf girl said) that unraveled..being captured, hung and all that.

Taking a closer look at the body though I find that the hair looks like a regular braid all the way to the ends, her ends just seem to be really tapered.
She might have grown it naturally long without trims.

mira-chan
October 22nd, 2008, 03:24 PM
I did manage get the 7 (2-3-2) strands. 1 regular braid from the top. 3 rope braids below. Added the regular braid to the center one and got the third strand.

For anyone who wants to recreate it.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/tutorial/elling1.jpg

The top braid is not attached on any of the other braids until the braiding of the main braid. Braid it along with the the center braid.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/tutorial/elling2.jpg

To replicate the exact weave shown in the diagram image, I crossed the side rope braids under the center braid first and then started braiding with them, crossing them over both the top and center braid. Then grabbing the center/top braids and braiding as normal in a 3 strand. Rope braided the ends.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/tutorial/elling3.jpg

Wrapped bun under the braid just like Finorel.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g30/kitsunethief/tutorial/elling4.jpg
I'm sure the strands would be more defined on lighter hair than mine.

It's quite comfortable. I'm amazed I could actually do this as I usually produce sad excuses of rope braids.

KatKeRo
October 22nd, 2008, 03:57 PM
Beautiful recreations all of you have made.

KatKeRo
October 24th, 2008, 04:29 AM
My version:
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u21/katkero/hair/bogladybun24okt2008008.jpg

I can't make ropebraids so I made 3 braids, braided them together and bunned them at the nape of my neck.

Tressie
October 24th, 2008, 06:29 AM
Thanks for sharing this! All of the members efforts to recreate this style are so good and I loved looking at the pics!

That said, I must say that I find it all so very sad! Poor young woman probably had children and a man, perhaps the Tolund man, who can say? It must have been truly awful! Her children may even be buried in that bog as sacrifices as well. Or perhaps she was executed for some crime real or imagined? Still an awful and possibly very slow agonizing death by strangulation! Shudder!

CryssieWillow
October 24th, 2008, 10:41 AM
I got one too! :pumpkin:

My hair is freshly henna'd and washed atm, so trying to make the 7 strands would be an exersize in futility.
Ordinary english braid it is. I tied the end with a piece of leather for the same slippery reasons. It is wrapped the bottom braid from right to left under the top braid and pulled the end through the created loop. A single knot. Then I wrapped the end under the top braid again. And done.
It is holding really well! I think we may have a possibly stickless, pinless bun here. I am SO wearing this at work tomorrow. :cheese:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/CryssieWillow/Foto702.jpg

KatKeRo
October 24th, 2008, 11:14 AM
Yours is beautiful also CryssieWillow.

vindo
October 24th, 2008, 11:47 AM
Very interesting to see everyones versions Mira Chan, KatKeRo and Chrissie Willow!

Mira-Chan thanks for showing the technique with the ropebraid! I can't do any ropebraids though :lol:

mira-chan
October 24th, 2008, 11:52 AM
Very interesting to see everyones versions Mira Chan, KatKeRo and Chrissie Willow!

Mira-Chan thanks for showing the technique with the ropebraid! I can't do any ropebraids though :lol:

Thanks. ^_^

I usually have problems with rope braids too but that was on DD7 or so hair so much better hold that usual. They still looked like porcupine braids from all the hairs poking out bit that's not too visible on the picture.

Eirinn
October 24th, 2008, 11:54 AM
The hair do is just awesome! 300 BC is not a prehistoric, though. Denmark hmmm Celts were there back than if I remember correctly:)

PseudoScot
October 24th, 2008, 12:08 PM
Bog bodies are fascinating. Thanks for the info and links!

CryssieWillow
October 24th, 2008, 12:08 PM
300 BC is prehistoric. :)
Prehistory means before written history, so it lasts until the first written accounts appear. It is usually a formality, because the presence of people who write does not make the entire society change all of the sudden.
prehistory in north-western Europe usually ends with the iron-age.
After prehistory usually first comes a period of protohistory where there are so little accounts or incorrect account, it is not possible to paint an accurate picture of society.
Then comes history.

In the Netherlands, prehistory ends in the iron age with the coming of Drusus and the romans in 12 BC.
The next period is Protohistory because romans make little and mostly colored or inaccurate accounts about the people there.
When they leave there are little to no written resources.
Protohistory here does not end until far into the middle ages, 14th century.

Iron age in Denmark lasts WAY longer. At least 6 or 700 AD.
I'm not sure about the details.

And that concludes the lesson for today. :o

Eirinn
October 24th, 2008, 12:19 PM
300 BC is prehistoric. :)
Prehistory means before written history, so it lasts until the first written accounts appear. It is usually a formality, because the presence of people who write does not make the entire society change all of the sudden.
prehistory in north-western Europe usually ends with the iron-age.
After prehistory usually first comes a period of protohistory where there are so little accounts or incorrect account, it is not possible to paint an accurate picture of society.
Then comes history.

In the Netherlands, prehistory ends in the iron age with the coming of Drusus and the romans in 12 BC.
The next period is Protohistory because romans make little and mostly colored or inaccurate accounts about the people there.
When they leave there are little to no written resources.
Protohistory here does not end until far into the middle ages, 14th century.

Iron age in Denmark lasts WAY longer. At least 6 or 700 AD.
I'm not sure about the details.

And that concludes the lesson for today. :o

Welllllll I guess they had writing in 300 BC already and that was antiquity in Europe. But of course it's not that important:D

hipmama1970
October 24th, 2008, 12:38 PM
Wow, that's just fascinating!

It's amazing how well preserved her hair is. Maybe we should start treating our locks with bog water? ;)

I am loving all these recreations. My hair is barely BSL, so there's no way I can manage this, so I'm extremely grateful for all of you who are trying it...

CryssieWillow
October 24th, 2008, 12:55 PM
Welllllll I guess they had writing in 300 BC already and that was antiquity in Europe. But of course it's not that important:D

But it differs!
Antiquity is a whole other matter. As soon as there is writing, it is not prehistory. It depends on the region.
In Denmark and the Netherlands it may have ended very late, but in Mesopotamia prehistory was over when western europe was still living in the stone age.
There was writing 300 BC in Europe. Just not the place we're talking about.

robinjoy68
October 24th, 2008, 01:12 PM
I think it's neat that there is anything left after all this time. :)

Medvssa
October 24th, 2008, 01:38 PM
It's amazing how well preserved her hair is. Maybe we should start treating our locks with bog water? ;)

Hahaha; you just wait :D

I really think someone should forward the link to this topic to the guys that keep the page, I think they would find it cool :)

Xi
October 24th, 2008, 06:02 PM
This thread is so cool! :applauseThat is one of my favourite things about my hair -- being able to identify (a bit) with long-haired women from long ago. I wonder, back when long hair was the norm, whether there was greater general expertise in caring for/styling long hair? When showing off your hair didn't mean bleaching or straightening or cutting in fancy ways, but inventing new long-hair styles? (I suppose we re-create this historical hair creativity here at the LHC!)

Anyway, thanks so much for this thread! All the recreations are fantastic! I don't have the skills to do the complicated version, but I had to try the simplified way (plain English braid at bottom) (messy picture in my album).

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1742&pictureid=23691

frodolaughs
October 24th, 2008, 06:35 PM
Do you think she did her own hair? Or maybe women did each others' hair? Even if they did their own hair every day, for a special (?) occasion it could have been more elaborately done. I'm just thinking about how stone age people wouldn't have had lots of handmirrors laying about. And in a close community mothers and daughters and sisters could have braided each others' hair. Just wondering.

Teazel
October 24th, 2008, 07:38 PM
Exactly, frodolaughs, I've been thinking the same thing. I'm betting it's very likely this woman's 'do was done by someone else.

But I'm wondering about her life, and the circumstances of her death. (Bog bodies creep me out, I must admit... I was half relieved that Lindow Man wasn't currently in residence when I visited the British Museum.) Was she a willing sacrifice whose hair was dressed with care and reverence before she died, or was she an unwilling prisoner, maybe captured from another tribe? :hmm:

I think I'll have to have a go at this style, anyway. :)

frodolaughs
October 24th, 2008, 07:48 PM
Exactly, frodolaughs, I've been thinking the same thing. I'm betting it's very likely this woman's 'do was done by someone else.

But I'm wondering about her life, and the circumstances of her death. (Bog bodies creep me out, I must admit... I was half relieved that Lindow Man wasn't currently in residence when I visited the British Museum.) Was she a willing sacrifice whose hair was dressed with care and reverence before she died, or was she an unwilling prisoner, maybe captured from another tribe? :hmm:

I think I'll have to have a go at this style, anyway. :)

I have to fess up to something here: bog bodies creep me out, too, and I haven't been able to brace myself and get at anything more than the image at the beginning of this thread (no video for meshudder:) I've loved seeing all the other members' attempts at this style, and descriptions of how they've done it, and I'm really curious about this ancient woman's life and death, who she was, what she thought, how she lived and what she thought would happen afterwards, but I just don't do dead bodies well. (Egyptian mummies are also beyond my comfort level. I guess we all have our different things that make us squeamish)

Teazel
October 24th, 2008, 08:54 PM
Okay, here's my slightly messy attempt.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=583&pictureid=23718

The braided rope braids are really interesting - I just did 3 2-strand ropes, rather than bothering with 2/3/2, cos I'm lazy :silly: - I'll have to do that again.

This pic is also in my album, if anyone wants to comment on it there. :)

Finoriel
October 25th, 2008, 02:13 AM
Oh well, I did the bun in my picture without a mirror to check while doing it. Page 3, in case someone has missed it unintended. :shrug: I do all my braids and buns without mirror, just needs some practice. This one already became one of my favourite ones :D plenty of room for variations.

But I think itīs likely that a style for special occasions is a bit more elaborated than every days buns and braids have been. Hard live and not much time for styling probably. Which may lead to special clothing for that day and other ceremonies like doing her hair. To make sure the human sacrifice is extra perfect, for honoring the gods. Creepy though.

All your versions are very cool :) I keep clicking back and forth through this thread to see the different outcomes, very inspiring.
To those who chose to not finish the bun, leaving the tassel, how was your experience in durability/handiness of the style during the day? Do you think, based on your experience with it, that the bun has actually been like that? Does it hold up longer than 5 minutes? Or do you think, like we suspected in the first pages, that the tassel is an unraveled part which had been bunned originally?
Just curious, I still think that all the length had been in the bun when it was made.

Teazel
October 25th, 2008, 02:31 AM
Hi, Finoriel. :waving: I found that the tassel tended to slip back up clockwise, unwinding the bun. I would need a pin or hairstick to anchor it properly. Actually, after redoing it for the umpteenth time I finally tied a knot with the lower plait around the upper one.

So I would guess that the tassel is actually unravelled bun, unless it was originally fastened or actually knotted. Mind you, YMMV - heavier, "dirtier" hair might stay put better than mine did.

By the way, I can't see your photo on page 3. :(

Finoriel
October 25th, 2008, 04:07 AM
Thatīs strange, I can see it even when Iīm not logged in. It should be visible, just try again.

For me the style was quite durable, even the second coil of it held surprisingly secure and comfortable up during my whole work day :wink: and Iīm not sitting still. But then my ends fairytale and I got into the habit to wind the last bits of it under the bun around itīs base, which helps to keep up a bun very securely.
It looks neater and the braid pattern is visibly better, if I use small u-shaped pins though.

I wonder if she maybe has used hair pins? :ponder: Anyone knows which materials they used for hairpins, if they had them? Bone, wood, metal? In that tiny size of a hairpin they could have been lost or dissolved in the bog water. So itīs not impossible that she used something like that, isnīt it?

Teazel
October 25th, 2008, 04:49 AM
Ah, I can see your picture now, Finoriel - lovely! :) Don't know why I couldn't see it earlier. :hmm:

I'm going to try this style again tomorrow, and bun all of it. I hope it will be neater and stay put better. :)

Carolyn
October 25th, 2008, 07:48 AM
Crap. None of the links work for me. I've tried twice this morning. However I really enjoyed seeing all the attempts at the braided bun.

Ice~Cold~Wind
October 25th, 2008, 11:17 AM
That is the oddest hairstyle I have ever seen in my life, love the way it's braded. It looks like it would tangle my hair horribly, but its very beautiful. Long hair will probably live on ntil the end of time. I've noticed women a long time ago almost always had long really long hair. It's interesting.

Teazel
October 25th, 2008, 05:39 PM
Heh. I'm wearing it again, this time completely bunned, with a bobby pin securing the tail. I'm pretty much convinced now that this is the way it's supposed to be, and that the original had unravelled. I'm also convinced that Elling Woman's hair was either oiled or unwashed; my hair just wisps out of this sort of complicated 'do!

While doing all the braiding I also wondered about the amount of time this woman had on her hands. It takes quite a while, with the fiddly seven strands and all. Complicated updos, especially if they require help, have always been a mark of status. And why seven strands? Three strands for the top, then seven, then two, with the whole divided into thirds... I wonder if there was symbolic significance to those numbers, rather than it just being a pretty and/or practical hairstyle.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I hope a few more people will try the style; it's a good one!

ItalianFlower
October 25th, 2008, 06:13 PM
What an interesting thread; I've learned a bit and now have a hair style I'd love to try when my hair is long.

freznow
October 25th, 2008, 08:54 PM
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k132/freznow/Purple322.jpg

Mine looks like a snail to me :ponder: All my buns always turn out to be bee butt/turd buns. (The reference to the posterior in all those terms... :poot:) I can't get it to be flat, but oh well.

banglaminerva
October 25th, 2008, 09:33 PM
Thank you all for sharing! I'll have to try this out.

GlennaGirl
October 25th, 2008, 10:07 PM
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k132/freznow/Purple322.jpg

Mine looks like a snail to me :ponder: All my buns always turn out to be bee butt/turd buns. (The reference to the posterior in all those terms... :poot:) I can't get it to be flat, but oh well.

Oh, that's so elegant and beautiful!

banglaminerva
October 26th, 2008, 02:07 PM
I played with this this morning instead of starting laundry. I do have one pin in it to hold the tail under and it feels very secure and comfortable. I braided the top tail then just did two very lazy rope braids out of the bottom half of the hair that was divided into 2. Once all those were done, I braided the 3 tails together then wound them onto a coil that went under the top braid.

http://pic40.picturetrail.com/VOL366/749762/9282048/340394083.jpg

Eirinn
October 27th, 2008, 06:41 AM
But it differs!
Antiquity is a whole other matter. As soon as there is writing, it is not prehistory. It depends on the region.
In Denmark and the Netherlands it may have ended very late, but in Mesopotamia prehistory was over when western europe was still living in the stone age.
There was writing 300 BC in Europe. Just not the place we're talking about.

Well actually protohistory is used for all the Mediterrean area by the time when in the rest of Europe and Asia Minor there was no writing. The writing is also demanded to call something a civilisation. Without writing it's only a 'protocivilisation' like Catal Huyuk or Harappa.

But in 300 BC there was writing in the North, elsewhere that in Greece or Rome. And it's not THAT regionally detailed. Or you could say that say in Uppsala there was an protohistory while at the same time in London there was already history. Nonsense. Also the thing about the history starting in 14th century sounds sorry but incredible. That all means that in Africa there is still prehistory because those tribes still don't have writing!

I don't want to argue by no means - it's only about the scientific truth:D

CryssieWillow
October 27th, 2008, 08:58 AM
I'm sorry, perhaps I should be more precize. :o
Was there writing in Northern Europe 300 BC? Do you have any sources of that? This is the first time I hear it.

In the absence of a more reputable english source: The sources for the article look sound.

The date marking the end of prehistory, that is the date when written historical (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_first_written_accounts) records become a useful academic resource, varies from region to region. For example, in Egypt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt) it is generally accepted that prehistory ended around 3200 BCE, whereas in New Guinea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Guinea) the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently, at around 1900 CE.


Protohistory refers to a period between prehistory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory) and history (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History), during which a culture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture) or civilization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization) has not yet developed writing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing), but other cultures have already noted its existence in their own writings. For example, in Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe), the Celts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celt) and the Germanic tribes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_tribes) may be considered to have been protohistoric when they began appearing in Greek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece) and Roman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Rome) texts.

There are a lot of grey area's here and I will not deny that scientists like to argue about this.
But it is noted in several places that prehistory in Central and Northern Europe only ends with the Roman Conquest. And they were not in Germania and Denmark in 300 BC. That is an historical fact.
Check out this map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/RomanEmpire_Phases.png
They never made it as far as Denmark.
And yes, it is very regional. I do not agree that what goes for London should go as well for Uppsala. These are two completely different area's that had no contact for thousands of years. If there are written sources in Uppsala and none in London, that does not mean that both move out of prehistory.
And "there is a lot of land to the north" does not count as a usefull academic resource.

Another fact is that the earliest literary sources from Denmark date to about 1200 AD.
Perhaps you can count Jelling stone from 980 AD.
But that is still 1300 years apart from the period we're talking about.

I'm also all for scientific fact, but from what I know there is just no way that Denmark moved out of prehistory in 300 BC.
So if you can offer any details about the writing in Northern Europe, I'd be happy.

may1em
October 28th, 2008, 08:07 PM
I totally tried this style. Remarkably comfortable yet also stable!

joyfulmom4
October 30th, 2008, 09:18 AM
OK, I tried the Elling woman hairstyle. I'm not sure I did it right. I'm also not sure how to put a picture in a post, but here's a link to a pic in my album.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1983&pictureid=23940

First problem, hair's too flyaway and wispy. I now get why everyone likes their hair oiled or not freshly washed for updos. It works much better with oiling or with hair that's not newly washed.

That said, I was surprised by how HUGE the bun was on my hair. It doesn't look right. I don't know what I did, but it seems lumpy and droopy and big.

Also, I had a problem with the length of the braided center section when I tried to braid it together with the rope braids from the sides. B/c the center section was pulled up and back from the front to braid, it was much shorter than the side ropes. When braided, it was about 8" too short to continue to the ends. I wound up with a very long tassel.

To solve the tassel problem, I slipped a ponytail band around the end of the 7 strand braid, then split the tassel into three strands and braided those, so I didn't have an 8" tassel hanging down.

Then I tucked the entired tail under, which required wrapping twice through the loop.

I don't think it's right, though it's wearable.

When you guys make this hairstyle, do you braid the full length of the top section, then make the ropes and braid the three? Or do you only partly braid the top, then divide up the remaining hair from nape down and form the two ropes and one braid? Ykwim? I'm probably clear as mud. But I need to know how to do the middle section once you get the top braid down to nape of neck.

may1em
October 30th, 2008, 09:27 AM
Joyfulmom4, I may have cheated a bit - the picture on the website with the modern woman didn't look like a seven-strand braid to me, so I just braided the top part all the way down, then split the other hair into two, used each of those sections and the little braid in a normal three-strand braid, pulled through, undid the last couple inches of the braid, and then rope braided the end before tying off. I also tucked the end of the rope braid under and pinned it in place. My hair's shorter than yours, so the end wouldn't have pulled through a second time.

Also, you, like me, are a ii/iii. Elling woman seems to have had less thickness - so of course it's going to look different on us.

A few other thoughts: Elling woman might not have been able to wash her hair as frequently or thoroughly as we do (even as longhairs), so it may have dreaded together enough at the end. Or, whatever she used to tie the braid off with has now decomposed.

mira-chan
October 30th, 2008, 09:43 AM
When you guys make this hairstyle, do you braid the full length of the top section, then make the ropes and braid the three? Or do you only partly braid the top, then divide up the remaining hair from nape down and form the two ropes and one braid? Ykwim? I'm probably clear as mud. But I need to know how to do the middle section once you get the top braid down to nape of neck.

I made teh center 3 by making a rope braid with two and then just adding the top braid, fully braided till the end, to it when braiding the big braid. So I had 3 ropes and one top braid. I added the top braid to the center rope.

joyfulmom4
October 30th, 2008, 10:42 AM
OK, that sounds like what I did. I sectioned the hair in three parts: the top front for the braid and the bottom divided in equal parts for a rope braid on each side.

I braided the top section to the end, but it was much shorter than my two rope braids, so that when I braided the three together, I ran out of center braid to work with about 8" before I ran out of side ropes. Ykwim?

So I had the giant tassel. Did you all have big tassels? What did you do with them? That's where I wound up braiding the tassle too, so I wouldn't have so much loose hair at the end.

mira-chan
October 30th, 2008, 11:35 AM
I had a long tassel and rope braided it before wrapping it around the bun.

Teazel
October 30th, 2008, 02:03 PM
On my second attempt, in which I made a complete bun, I plaited the top section just until I got to the nape of my neck, then ponytailed all my hair while I made three rope braids. I tied those off individually, plaited them together, removed their ties, and tied off again. Made a single rope braid of the bottom third, tied it off, and removed the upper two ties. Phew. ;)

NightDaemon
October 30th, 2008, 10:46 PM
I think Elling woman just might be the best example (other than all our well-matured members) that you're never too old for long hair, ladies. 2300~ years old and counting, somewhat past 30/40/50...

Sarahmoon
October 31st, 2008, 06:02 AM
This thread makes me smile :D

What would the woman have thought if she had known women in the far future would admire and copy her hairstyle?

joyfulmom4
November 3rd, 2008, 08:03 AM
This thread makes me smile :D

What would the woman have thought if she had known women in the far future would admire and copy her hairstyle?

I was thinking the same thing.

Raven69
November 3rd, 2008, 08:39 AM
I will try this again...while at work this forum keeps kicking me off when trying to submit a comment or message!

The picture is creepy and the story behind her is scary. However, intriguing - the braids look celtic like celtic knots, that is so amazing! I think I am going to see if I can get a stylist to do this hairstyle on me...I can't do anything to my hair anymore. If you don't train yourself to do your own hair then it's much harder to do not to mention - painful! I can't even do a simple braid in my hair - it always ends up being backwards...

neon-dream
November 3rd, 2008, 08:46 AM
That hairstyle is gorgeous :)
When my hair's long enough, I'll give it a go!
xxx

Michou
November 3rd, 2008, 12:38 PM
Fascinating thread! I loved looking through and seeing everyone's recreations of the braid/bun. So many of you have such gorgeous hair, I can't help but be inspired!

I haven't looked at the video yet, but the photo of the Elling woman was really haunting in a 'mortality-reminder' sort of way.

ljkforu
January 16th, 2009, 12:58 AM
I'm inspired! Gotta try it my hair is 33 inches long and blunt cut. I think it should work great.

Hurray!!! New hair style -- Plus my DNA markers probably make her and I related. I feel obligated and privileged.

Kristen_Marie
January 16th, 2009, 01:02 AM
Woah...that is so cool! I love history ^_^

ljkforu
January 18th, 2009, 02:00 AM
I'm inspired! Gotta try it my hair is 33 inches long and blunt cut. I think it should work great.

Hurray!!! New hair style -- Plus my DNA markers probably make her and I related. I feel obligated and privileged.
Hair measure 33 inches right this moment. I did the braid and it worked great. I think my hair is about 4-6 inches longer than ideal for this style but I don't care. I chose to braid the two final tiny ends into 3 strand braids instead of ropes just out of personal preference and tightness.

People thought it looked cool even just down. I slept with it still braided and the take out results were nightclub cool. A huge tumble of waves and crimps. Very Nice!!!

Of inportance is that I choose to start with wet hair and would do so again. Make sure you stop the first braid before you go too close to the nape of the neck as it make the sides buldge and look stringy.

Schmoomunitions
January 18th, 2009, 11:07 AM
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2108&pictureid=29551[/IMG]


Ok here is my attempt.

Schmoomunitions
January 18th, 2009, 11:12 AM
Look in my album, I cant figure out how to make the photo show up on this page. Hmmm

Elichan
January 18th, 2009, 12:51 PM
wow... it seems so difficult to do... :eek:

Bluebell
January 18th, 2009, 01:26 PM
Wow! This is awesome! Thank you for sharing!
I tried it and it's secure and comfortable to wear. I'ts so special to see this, a glimpse from ages ago.
Seeing someōne, a person that lived so long ago is beyond words. I have seen the Tollundman in Denmark, I'll never forget it. It makes you feel humble to be in his presence.

pariate
January 18th, 2009, 01:39 PM
That's amazing! Thank you for posting this. :D

Dez
January 18th, 2009, 02:36 PM
this is really neat. my favorite part of history is the people. It makes it real. I'm not good at dates and locations. but i love the people of history. their lives, customs, clothes, hairstyles.

ljkforu
January 18th, 2009, 06:00 PM
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2108&pictureid=29551[/IMG]


Ok here is my attempt.
Cool! I looked at your album and your attempt and it looks like mine. Our hair is about the same length and we got about the same results. I left mine down instead of winding in just to be weird :)

My current hair is 4 inches longer than avatar photo. This is a great style because it is just a braiding variation and is very convenient for tail bone length hair to keep it out of the way.

cami_henderson
January 19th, 2009, 10:35 AM
that is really cool (i'm a big history buff) I seem to remember, that there are simular stories about the highlands of Scotland. with Bog ..um...victims.

Girltron
January 19th, 2009, 10:46 AM
Wowee, I tried this on Friday and my arms sure were sore. It took awhile!

The braid part before I knotted it looked really awesome. I think I'll be wearing it like that pretty often. Knotting it up was -okay- but nothing really special I don't think.

Christina
January 19th, 2009, 10:47 AM
That is really, really interesting. Wonder why she was hanged???

I don't think anyone has mentioned this (or if they had, I missed it - my apologies!) but if anyone is interested in reading more about the possible day-to-day life of the time period, I'd like to recommend the Jean M. Auel books - Clan of the Cave Bear, etc. I thought they were interesting too and thought of them as soon as I saw this post.

Thanks for the link!!

Rohele
January 19th, 2009, 12:31 PM
This is really interesting! (wishing hair was longer so I could give it a try - it will be several years before I can). I liked seeing everyone's re-creations.

serabelle
January 19th, 2009, 12:52 PM
That is really, really interesting. Wonder why she was hanged???

I don't think anyone has mentioned this (or if they had, I missed it - my apologies!) but if anyone is interested in reading more about the possible day-to-day life of the time period, I'd like to recommend the Jean M. Auel books - Clan of the Cave Bear, etc. I thought they were interesting too and thought of them as soon as I saw this post.

Thanks for the link!!

Oh wow, that totally gave me a flash back of the 1986 movie with Daryl Hannah in it. That was a fascinating movie.

Christina
January 19th, 2009, 01:07 PM
Oh wow, that totally gave me a flash back of the 1986 movie with Daryl Hannah in it. That was a fascinating movie.

Yes! That's the one. I thought the movie was good, but honestly if I'd never read the book I would've had no idea what was going on. (Why are they fighting? What are they grunting about? What in the world is going on? lol)

Shandra
January 19th, 2009, 07:31 PM
Here's my version:

I just braided the bottom bit, using the original braid (unbraded) as one of the sections. I braided it to the end, and then wrapped the bun under the top braid. While I did put a rubber band on the end to hold the braid, there's nothing holding the braid up, just tucked the end up under the bun.

http://www.geocities.com/shandra_/shanboghair.jpg

Alun
January 19th, 2009, 09:28 PM
The article says the body couldn't be identified as male or female (by external appearance presumably), and then seems to jump to saying that it was female because of the hair. I'm not really trying to make a case that it was a male, just that this seems to be dodgy reasoning.

Then they show an x-ray of the pelvis. I always thought that it was possible to differentiate males and females by the shape of the pelvis, although I don't pretend to be competent to do so. OTOH, your average medical examiner or coroner certainly could, I'm pretty sure. Unless perhaps all that time under the weight of tons of bog dstorts the bones and prevents identifying the gender that way?

Maybe this is just a typical journalistic rendering of science, and they really know it was a woman by the shape of the pelvis or some other way, but the journalist thinks it was the hairstyle?

Dez
January 19th, 2009, 11:25 PM
I agree that it definetly shouldn't be thought to be a woman just because of the hair. Especially since many times in history men had just as long hair as women. But you made me curious and I re read the article and found this



The X-rays revealed that it was a woman who was approximately 25 years old - a conclusion which was supported by the forensic dentist.


:)

Bluebell
January 20th, 2009, 01:56 AM
Shandra, it looks wonderful on your hair!!

KatKeRo
January 20th, 2009, 03:28 AM
Beautiful buns.

Jostar
January 20th, 2009, 05:47 AM
That is amazing, I find the details of people's lives from history fascinating. My hair is far too fine to attempt such a complex style but I love seeing everyone's recreations. I wonder if there are more undiscovered hair styles to be found.

Alun
January 21st, 2009, 06:04 PM
I agree that it definetly shouldn't be thought to be a woman just because of the hair. Especially since many times in history men had just as long hair as women. But you made me curious and I re read the article and found this

The X-rays revealed that it was a woman who was approximately 25 years old - a conclusion which was supported by the forensic dentist.

:)

Thanks. I guess as the X-ray piccy I saw showed the pelvis, that was indeed how they identified the body as a woman.

Shandra
January 21st, 2009, 08:34 PM
Shandra, it looks wonderful on your hair!!

Thank you Bluebell! I've worn it to work a couple of times now, and gotten nothing but compliments... If they only knew where the style originated from! ::chuckles::

mellie
May 10th, 2009, 01:22 PM
I wanted to bump this thread, because I think it is so amazing!

Plus, here's another photo from the site showing a recreation of a group of people with hairstyles and clothing, very interesting:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2108&pictureid=29551

They have this to say about this pic:


The girl on the left [of this text], who is wearing a copy of the clothes worn by Huldremose Woman, wears her hair in the same style as Elling Woman.

So you can see a front view of the style on the girl with the fur cape.

Longlocks3
May 10th, 2009, 01:31 PM
When I was younger we went to a museum that was a stop for an Inca exhibit. There was a room of Inca mummies and one was a priestess. She was amazing. She was very well preserved, including her fingernails, hair, and even her eyelashes. Her hair was massive, if it was undone it would have reached to the floor plus some. She was so lifelike that there were groups protesting the showing of the mummy.

mellie
May 10th, 2009, 01:32 PM
Wow, that sounds amazing! I wonder if there is a pic of that mummy you are describing on the net somewhere?

This is from the same page on the site, it talks about men's hairstyles and shows a pic of the knot described:


However, in Germany bog bodies have been discovered which reveal to us that what was fashionable for men was that they wore their hair tied in a fancy knot on the side of their head.

It is called "a Sveber knot" after the North German tribe the Svebers. At the museum at Gottorp Castle in South Slesvig we find this chopped off head with s Sveber knot. It was discovered in South Slesvig.

DragonLady
May 10th, 2009, 02:07 PM
I believe it's illegal in the US now to display human remains. :( Such a shame, as I remember visiting museums as a child and just being awed by the incredible clothes and how well preserved -beautiful, really- some of those ancient mummies were. I really learned a lot looking at them. I remember once standing and looking for hours at the incredible beadwork on the burial dress of an indian woman. She was still gorgeous, and so were her clothes.

Hannah83
May 10th, 2009, 03:59 PM
Wow, that is fantastic! So cool that you can actually see the braid...

Angela_Rose
July 9th, 2009, 04:51 PM
Just gave this one a spin- it's not perfect, but I may be able to pull it off for Pennsic next month!
The Braid:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_g-Y-sqUkHKo/SlZz4n0ToVI/AAAAAAAALGs/zscfIUC2foY/s400/049.JPG
The Whole Braid:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_g-Y-sqUkHKo/SlZz4jwfmhI/AAAAAAAALGw/TxxCkZlMFsY/s400/050.JPG
And Nothing Bunning the Braid:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_g-Y-sqUkHKo/SlZz4nDatvI/AAAAAAAALG0/DfmiJxLqRoM/s512/051.JPG

Shandra
July 9th, 2009, 05:11 PM
Pennsic, eh? What Kingdom? I'm in Calontir.

Angela_Rose
July 9th, 2009, 05:29 PM
Pennsic, eh? What Kingdom? I'm in Calontir.

East Kingdom, Barony of Carolingia. This is my first time to Pennsic and I am *so* excited.

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 9th, 2009, 06:15 PM
I'd love to try this.. but I am not sure that I am understanding the directions.. is it just a braid down the center to the nape of the neck and then 2 rope braids on each side, then rope braid the 1/2 english (regular) braid and then braid them all into one and bun?

Bunnyhare
July 9th, 2009, 06:35 PM
Thank you so much for sharing this ! i read that article, how cool!! Angela RoseYou did a great job recreating it!!! this is funn!!!!

may1em
July 9th, 2009, 06:36 PM
I'd love to try this.. but I am not sure that I am understanding the directions.. is it just a braid down the center to the nape of the neck and then 2 rope braids on each side, then rope braid the 1/2 english (regular) braid and then braid them all into one and bun?

You make a halfup (or thirdup - even better)- English braid that, and then split the remaining hair in two parts. After that, use the thirdup braid and the two sections of free hair to continue English braiding starting at nape. I usually braid as far down as I can, then (temporarily) secure it with a tie.

You end up with an area on the back of your head where you can put the thick braid with all your hair through the space beween the first braid you did and the free hair that joined the braid you made at the nape. Pull through.

After you have the thick braid pulled through, you have a shape that looks a lot like a lowercase p. I usually undo the English braid until the part where it comes out from under the first braid and rebraid the hanging hair into a rope braid, which I secure with something as unobtrusive as possible.

This is probably not accurate at all, but I like to bring the rope braid back around, tuck under, and pin. It's friendlier to my layer remnants that way.

Does that make any sense?

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 9th, 2009, 06:41 PM
yes, I think I got it now! Thanks! :) I'll give it a whirl.

Angela_Rose
July 9th, 2009, 09:32 PM
Thank you so much for sharing this ! i read that article, how cool!! Angela RoseYou did a great job recreating it!!! this is funn!!!!
Thank you, Grahtoestudio.

nowxisxforever
July 9th, 2009, 09:46 PM
Oh wow, you drug this one up from pretty far deep down, didn't you? Awesome though!

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 10th, 2009, 11:36 AM
I am wearing this today! My hair is a little short to leave the tendrils hanging down but I think I have managed to do the bun and the braid properly. I'll post pics when my husband comes home to take them :)

ButterCup02
July 10th, 2009, 11:49 AM
I can't wait to see pics Cherry Sprinkle! This is such a cool thread!

rhondalicious
July 10th, 2009, 01:22 PM
Just a little comment on how the bits may have stayed "separate" in the braid - would it have been possible that they used wax or grease on the hair? So that maybe, they wax the twists in those lower parts of hair before plaiting them all together?

Based on the large version of the sketch of the hair, it does appear that the whole head of hair is divided in 3 - one third being the top hair, the bottom hair divided in half. The top is of course, English braided (needs a better term, since there was no England in the Iron Age!). The bottom two segments seem parted in the middle where the braid falls, pulled towards the middle, then each one is twisted in 2 sections (but not necessarily a rope braid!). This is where the wax comes in - wax those twists, and they ought to lay nicely together and stay seperate from each other in the braid, if you handle them delicately. (This kind of has me leading towards this being an ornate/ceremonial hairstyle, it would be useful to have someone behind doing the last braid, keeping the waxed twists parallel). Anyhow, this then leads to a braid and 4 twists. The braid then appears to have the bottom 3 sections also twisted, but not braided (held in a parallel 3). These 3 sections give you the 2-3-2 that they mention in the article and show in the picture. Braid those sections until the 3 piece section thins out (because the upper few inches are braided, and her hair appears very thin, I'd imagine that the center section would seem quite a bit shorter than the rest. Use the wispy tail end of the 3 strand section to tie a knot around the thinning bits of the other 2 sections. Twist those 2 sections into tails, and if you look at the picture of the body, they were originally twisted around each other(in the photo, they are very visibly a rope braid all the way to the ends, with no fastener, which is why I would think of the wax) and possibly tucked into the bun as either a pinless style or a style with maybe a wood pin that has since disappeared.

The other thought is, if this was a daily style, it could be that after doing it for a few years, the twists may have naturally started to stay - but looking at the close-up photo of the bog lady's head, the upper English braid is so smooth that I'm skeptical of that.

Also, looking very closely at the photograph of the actual hair - I see a very definite coil in the "knot", almost like starting a cinnamon bun, going about 1 1/2 to 2 times around, then pulling the tail through the coil - it doesn't go through the center, though. It goes under the center coil, then over the outside coil on the opposite side from where the hair was passed under the bun.

It would be so much easier to see if her head wasn't smushed to the side, but what do you expect after thousands of years covered in bog?

Anyhow, super duper long post done. Short post:

Dude! That's a really nice hair style, and I'm going to go try it.

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 10th, 2009, 01:30 PM
what I did was section my hair into 3 leaving a little piece behind my english braid from each side section only because I am growing out layers and the ends would be too short to add to the rope braid, then i sectioned off my sides into 2 rope braids on each side and 3 rope braids down the center (where the english braid started) and then braided.. twisted the braid through the braid... hole? for lack of a better word, and wrapped like a cinnamon bun.

Since my hair is too short to have the tendrils, I think it would look much better when my hair is longer or someone whos hair is thicker but I really like the style. Its comfortable, didn't take me too long to do, and looks pretty decent!

I am going to have to agree about the hair wax of some sort to 'hold' it.. I had to use my mouth and 2 hair pins to help me twist and braid so they wouldn't unwind. With longer hair you probably wouldn't even need a pin to secure it.. mine just has too many layers :(

rhondalicious
July 10th, 2009, 01:40 PM
I also really like the re-creation of the clothing photo on that website, the one with a few people in it - the girl in the blue dress has a very interesting looking braid crown. I wish the picture was bigger or that they had more info on the bog body that style was found on, because I'd like to try it!

It looks like either one REALLY long braid wrapped around the head a bunch of times, or else a few smaller braids all wrapped around once.

Rentlle
July 10th, 2009, 02:22 PM
wooooh.. that's realy realy cool! :o

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 10th, 2009, 02:53 PM
I tried the shooting myself in the mirror.. I think my husbands pics will be much better.. I also should have twisted up higher but I didnt have a mirror so its not bad.. I'm going to rebraid and make him take some pics lol
http://www.septemberpixie.com/lj/hair/IMG_4619.jpg

Angela_Rose
July 10th, 2009, 02:57 PM
I'm starting to think I may have done this wrong... I divided my hair into four parts. Woops. I did the top English braid, plus three rope braids at the base, then added those to the strands from the original English braid and braided the whole damn thing together. Woops.

Angela_Rose
July 10th, 2009, 03:03 PM
Oh wow, you drug this one up from pretty far deep down, didn't you? Awesome though!
::shrugs:: Sometimes poking around on the fora can be a good thing!

JKRBeloved
July 10th, 2009, 03:05 PM
This is such an interesting thread! How cool to be able to determine this woman's hairstyle with such precision from so many centuries ago.

rhondalicious
July 10th, 2009, 03:15 PM
I think the photos of everyone's variations are lovely!

rhondalicious
July 10th, 2009, 03:48 PM
HAHAHAHA oh no. My hair is definately too short for this. I mean, I got the braid going down to the bottom half, have a bit of a 3 strand braid, and a bit of a rope braid...

Uh, I apparently have just enough hair to tie a knot in the 3 strand braid, sticking the rop braid through the middle... But there is NOT enough hair to dangle down. Instead, I get a braid knot bun that sticks out about 2 inches from my head, due to the thick braid, and then about 1 1/2 inches of rope braid pokes right out the middle of that, and then another 2 inches of poky tassel standing straight out from that.

It looks like I have a small tail poking out of the back of my head.

I tried to get photos, but my camera hand is awfully shaky.

So, this hairstyle is for longer than waist length, and probably thinner hair than me. OI!

Though, with 2 hair pins in, it's pretty steady and I don't think it'll droop or go anywhere...

eternallyverdan
July 10th, 2009, 11:46 PM
Have just tried a severely modified version of this, as I was too lazy to do a bunch of braiding and I couldn't be bothered to get up and find elastics to hold my rope braids together while I combined everything. Thus, I just did 3 english braids, combined them all, twisted it once, and left the rest of if hanging loose. It feels really secure, and I like the sort of asymmetrical look. This one is definitely a keeper!

The whole thing:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/forevagreenearth/ellingfull.jpg


and a close up of the updo part:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/forevagreenearth/ellingcrop.jpg

Arctic
July 11th, 2009, 01:43 AM
I also tried this today, I have hair between APL and BSL.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc33/LingonberryMist/Hiukset/20090711002_muoks.jpg

zombi
July 11th, 2009, 03:23 AM
While doing all the braiding I also wondered about the amount of time this woman had on her hands. It takes quite a while, with the fiddly seven strands and all. Complicated updos, especially if they require help, have always been a mark of status. And why seven strands? Three strands for the top, then seven, then two, with the whole divided into thirds... I wonder if there was symbolic significance to those numbers, rather than it just being a pretty and/or practical hairstyle.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I hope a few more people will try the style; it's a good one!

If what someone said about Celts being in that place at that time was true, and if she was an adherent to an ancient Celtic religion, there are schools of thought which suggest that threes and sevens and nines are sacred number s -- perhaps if she was a religious sacrifice there could be some religious significance also placed on that way which her hair was dressed before going to meet the gods. Or whatever. hey, it's a crap theory, but I had to put it out there!

Feye
July 11th, 2009, 04:21 AM
Thanks for posting, this is very interesting. Although I feel very confused about the braid and have no clue how to follow the instructions. I must re-read everything again.

This is the confusing part:

At the hairline on the back of the neck you braid the rest of the hair into the braid which is then divided into seven parts. You braid these together two, two and three. At the end the pigtail is divided into two twisted pigtails.

Edited to add: Oops, I suddenly see that this thread has become really long that that there might be further instructions earlier in the thread. I'll gi read those pages.

ZadenWillowfyre
July 11th, 2009, 06:07 AM
I've actually seen this in person! So very interesting! Sometimes I wish my hair was longer (or a bit thinner) to do stuff like that...right how i'd be way to thick.

Quahatundightu
July 11th, 2009, 07:19 AM
Wow this is stunning! Gonna go try it too.. XD Now we kno what to wear on the occasion of our sacrifice or what?? :)

Angela_Rose
July 11th, 2009, 07:21 AM
If what someone said about Celts being in that place at that time was true, and if she was an adherent to an ancient Celtic religion, there are schools of thought which suggest that threes and sevens and nines are sacred number s -- perhaps if she was a religious sacrifice there could be some religious significance also placed on that way which her hair was dressed before going to meet the gods. Or whatever. hey, it's a crap theory, but I had to put it out there!

Not a crap theory! That actually has a lot of valid points- three, seven, and nine are sacred numbers; it makes sense that as a sacrifice, she would have had something regarding those numbers worked into her person.

Teazel
July 11th, 2009, 03:38 PM
Not a crap theory! That actually has a lot of valid points- three, seven, and nine are sacred numbers; it makes sense that as a sacrifice, she would have had something regarding those numbers worked into her person.

That's what I was thinking, too! :agree:

Bunnyhare
July 11th, 2009, 04:16 PM
I was thinking the same thing.
me too. This has been one of the funnest threads i have read yet! hair/history/introspection, OH MY!

nowxisxforever
July 11th, 2009, 05:00 PM
::shrugs:: Sometimes poking around on the fora can be a good thing!

Oh, I wasn't arguing! I just haven't seen this thread in forever :)

nowxisxforever
July 11th, 2009, 05:06 PM
I like all the variations on this... I do think that the little taily end was probably part of the bun itself and came undone over time, so if I try to reproduce this, it won't have the tail... I'm really not sure how to keep so many thingies separate though, I might have to use pins or thread. Hmm... that's an idea. Thread. Sew the three / two twisted strands together, braid, and then pull out the thread.

Angela_Rose
July 11th, 2009, 09:18 PM
I like all the variations on this... I do think that the little taily end was probably part of the bun itself and came undone over time, so if I try to reproduce this, it won't have the tail... I'm really not sure how to keep so many thingies separate though, I might have to use pins or thread. Hmm... that's an idea. Thread. Sew the three / two twisted strands together, braid, and then pull out the thread.
...ooooh. Good idea. It would be historically accurate, too. Maybe not in this particular case (unless the thread had rotted away over the centuries in water), but it's definitely not unheard-of. Good idea. ::runs off to find thread:::D

nowxisxforever
July 11th, 2009, 09:31 PM
...ooooh. Good idea. It would be historically accurate, too. Maybe not in this particular case (unless the thread had rotted away over the centuries in water), but it's definitely not unheard-of. Good idea. ::runs off to find thread:::D

Good luck!!

I think you should show us pictures of your process! ;)

Angela_Rose
July 11th, 2009, 09:34 PM
Good luck!!

I think you should show us pictures of your process! ;)
Oh, not right now! It's 11:35pm here and I'm already in my sleepybraid! One of these days, though...

nowxisxforever
July 11th, 2009, 10:29 PM
Oh, not right now! It's 11:35pm here and I'm already in my sleepybraid! One of these days, though...

Well, when you do it!

I can't do it...I did a variation and I look crazy. I can't slick all my top hair back, I have to leave my part in, which this style doesn't look good with.

gmdiaz
July 12th, 2009, 12:43 AM
I absolutely LOVE this thread. . .I love all things historical.

I'll give this a go. . .and if my attempt doesn't totally suck, I'll post a photo. lolol

You guys are so awesome!

Calista
July 12th, 2009, 02:53 AM
I think this is one īdo where the thinner-haired ladies have a great advantage over the fuller-haired ones. Not only because they can do the hairstyle at a shorter length, but also because - IMO - it looks more like the original with thinner hair.

Oh dear, I hope that doesnīt sound offensive - of course I do not mean that those with thinner hair look like a bog woman that has been dead for centuries. :silly: I also think that the style looks more genuine on red-heads. Maybe thatīs just me. :shrug:

What Iīm thinking about: Here we are taken such care of our hair, doing this, that, and the other, and then thereīs a woman from ages ago who probably did not a thing to her hair, and she had a whole meter of it! I canīt wait to have a meter of hair.

Kerri
July 12th, 2009, 03:23 AM
How about a brunette with thick(ish) hair?

Here's my attempt at the style:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155)

I'm not particularly fond of the off centre look, so I wrapped the whole braid into a bun. The hairtoy is just for decoration ;)

- Kerri.

Calista
July 12th, 2009, 03:34 AM
It looks great, Kerri! Is that a Senza Limiti fork?

Kerri
July 12th, 2009, 03:38 AM
Yes, it's an Opera style fork from Senza Limiti :inlove:

- Kerri.

Feye
July 12th, 2009, 03:40 AM
I think this is one īdo where the thinner-haired ladies have a great advantage over the fuller-haired ones. Not only because they can do the hairstyle at a shorter length, but also because - IMO - it looks more like the original with thinner hair.

Oh dear, I hope that doesnīt sound offensive - of course I do not mean that those with thinner hair look like a bog woman that has been dead for centuries. :silly: I also think that the style looks more genuine on red-heads. Maybe thatīs just me. :shrug:

What Iīm thinking about: Here we are taken such care of our hair, doing this, that, and the other, and then thereīs a woman from ages ago who probably did not a thing to her hair, and she had a whole meter of it! I canīt wait to have a meter of hair.

I measured on myself, and a braid that long would reach to the knees on me. I can't even imagine the length worn loose. To the floor? It makes me so curious how they took care of their hair back then. I wish that the article had mentioned more things about the hair. For example strand thickness! And aren't there ways to analyze hair strands to find out what a person has eaten? Imagine having a limited diet and yet growing hair that long!

It also makes me curious to think how long people's hair would grow if everyone stopped cutting and damaging it. Terminal lengths are interesting, apparently the Elling woman had a very long terminal length. What is interesting about this also is that hair thickness really doesn't have anything to do with how long the terminal length is. I love that about this article.

Calista
July 12th, 2009, 03:58 AM
Oh yes, it was her braid that was one meter, not her hair - I forgot about that. Makes it even more impressive! :bigeyes: Though if her hair was thin the braid wouldn´t eat as much length.

I´m bad at measuring, but my hair is at hip, and my braid is at waist. 1m would be what? Classic?

HotRag
July 12th, 2009, 07:33 AM
How about a brunette with thick(ish) hair?

Here's my attempt at the style:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155)

I'm not particularly fond of the off centre look, so I wrapped the whole braid into a bun. The hairtoy is just for decoration ;)

- Kerri.
That looks really nice.

And what a beautiful fork.

gmdiaz
July 12th, 2009, 09:27 AM
How about a brunette with thick(ish) hair?

Here's my attempt at the style:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=2671&pictureid=34155)

I'm not particularly fond of the off centre look, so I wrapped the whole braid into a bun. The hairtoy is just for decoration ;)

- Kerri.


WOW! *Thud* That looks awesome!

I am admiring your sleek and shiney braid too. . .your hair is lovely!

LisaB234
July 12th, 2009, 10:04 AM
Amazing that hair can survive all that time in a bog. . . Has me wondering why bog water makes hair red. . . A new henna alternative? I agree with several here, there might be significance to the hair style, number of sections, etc. But when taken into our era, the results are lovely on all of you! Great thread - thanks for digging this up.

SimplyLonghair
July 12th, 2009, 10:46 AM
Amazing that hair can survive all that time in a bog. . . Has me wondering why bog water makes hair red. . . A new henna alternative? I agree with several here, there might be significance to the hair style, number of sections, etc. But when taken into our era, the results are lovely on all of you! Great thread - thanks for digging this up.
The red is caused by the tannin in the bog. It literally tanned her hair and skin like leather.

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 12th, 2009, 10:51 AM
wow wikipedia lists her as having osteoporosis at the age of 25!

The Elling Woman is a bog body discovered in 1938 west of Silkeborg, Denmark. The Tollund Man was later discovered around 200 feet away, twelve years after the Elling Woman's discovery.[13] She was discovered by Jens Zakariasson, who at first believed that her body was that of a drowned animal. She was hanged, like the Tollund Man. The year of her death is approximately 280 BC, also around the time of the Tollund Man. However, it is impossible to tell if she and the Tollund Man were killed at the same time. Her facial features are so poorly preserved, it would have been impossible to tell the mummy's sex, if her hair hadn't been preserved. Her hair was braided and tied into a knot, if it had not, then her hair would have been 90 centimeters long.[14]Elling Woman is believed to have been sacrificed to please the supposed gods of her time. [15] She had suffered from osteoporosis at an incredibly young age of 25-30.[16]

Fireweed
July 12th, 2009, 11:01 AM
I think that some of the hair could have come lose over time as it feels so natural to bun it at the end.

Merlin
July 12th, 2009, 11:47 AM
The classic book on the top is Glob PV The Bog People which has been reprinted loads of times since it's publication.

nowxisxforever
July 12th, 2009, 11:57 AM
I think that some of the hair could have come lose over time as it feels so natural to bun it at the end.

I agree, I think it was originally fully bunned and came loose.

DragonLady
July 12th, 2009, 12:00 PM
I keep wanting to try this, but just can't seem to understand the instructions well enough to remember them once I'm away from the computer. Does anyone feel up to making a video of how they did it? Once I see something done, I remember it much better later.

Amara
July 12th, 2009, 01:40 PM
This is so cool! I'm going to give it a try this week sometime.

nowxisxforever
July 12th, 2009, 02:25 PM
I keep wanting to try this, but just can't seem to understand the instructions well enough to remember them once I'm away from the computer. Does anyone feel up to making a video of how they did it? Once I see something done, I remember it much better later.

That would be cool! I can't do it to save my life, but I think a photograph/video walkthrough would be brilliant.

I think it could be easily modified to an easy style as well, for those who like simplicity and the basic style as opposed to the exact style.

St.Germain
July 13th, 2009, 04:39 PM
Well, here's my quick attempt at a recreation, going with the "full-bunned" theory.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/493/1000289.jpg http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4048/1000290o.jpg

I'm actually wearing my hair like that at this very moment. It's very comfortable and doesn't require anything to hold it up. It just stays on its own.

gmdiaz
July 14th, 2009, 05:51 AM
Well, here's my quick attempt at a recreation, going with the "full-bunned" theory.

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/493/1000289.jpg http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4048/1000290o.jpg

I'm actually wearing my hair like that at this very moment. It's very comfortable and doesn't require anything to hold it up. It just stays on its own.

Woot! That looks GREAT!

How did you do it?

My first attempt was not so pretty.

rhondalicious
July 14th, 2009, 01:29 PM
Loving these other versions! It looks pretty in just about any hair type. <3

rhondalicious
July 14th, 2009, 01:51 PM
Hey!! I was doing some more reading on bog people, and I found out about Clonycavan Man! He apparently was discovered with a pompadour still in his hair, stiffened with some sort of prehistoric Iron Age hair goop...

Which means this hair style probably did use some sort of product to help keep the twists in the hair set.

St.Germain
July 14th, 2009, 03:32 PM
Woot! That looks GREAT!

How did you do it?

My first attempt was not so pretty.

I took the top part, and did a little braid to about the nape of my neck. Then I added the rest of the hair to the sections, and just english braided it all the way to the bottom. Then I just wrapped the braid around under the top braid, and sort of tugged the end in underneath to make it stay.

I was actually surprised at how easy it was.

Renbirde
July 14th, 2009, 05:18 PM
This is my attempt at the Elling Woman's hairstyle. I fudged it a bit-- I didn't do the rope braids...

1-- My approximation of the hairstyle as it came out of the bog. I don't have long enough hair or enough taper to make it look quite right-- and my hair isn't oiled enough to like holding itself together. The piece of hair holding the braid is already loosening.

2-- Here it is all bunned up, as per the theory that the original 'do was found in a somewhat unraveled state. My ends are sticking out badly-- EW had very thin ends and I bet she could have wrapped them under at least three times. Quite secure for her, not so much for me. -_-;

3-- I started the second part of the braid too low on my head, which meant that the bun made it hard for me to move my head. I pulled the braid back out-- you can see how much it's unraveled, just with the action on bunning and unbunning.

4-- I rebraided the lower part of the braid, starting higher on my head, and fastened it with an elastic.

5-- Here it is up in EW's single loop.

6-- Here it is with another turn around.

7-- And one more turn. My ends really don't want to stay underneath...

It's very comfortable, and not too hard to do. :) Good stuff.

http://i32.tinypic.com/15r1gg6.png

(Sorry about the image quality. I pushed it down to help with load time.)


As someone else commented, the last wrap or two don't really want to stay. I think having taper would help that a lot. Since I have almost none due to my Big Chop, I stuck a hairstick through instead. :D It worked pretty well.

gmdiaz
July 14th, 2009, 05:40 PM
I took the top part, and did a little braid to about the nape of my neck. Then I added the rest of the hair to the sections, and just english braided it all the way to the bottom. Then I just wrapped the braid around under the top braid, and sort of tugged the end in underneath to make it stay.

I was actually surprised at how easy it was.

Oooh, I'll try it your way.

I was trying to rope braid each of the bottom sections into that one English braid. It just wadded up into a big mess.

Thanks!

gmdiaz
July 14th, 2009, 05:41 PM
This is my attempt at the Elling Woman's hairstyle. I fudged it a bit-- I didn't do the rope braids...

1-- My approximation of the hairstyle as it came out of the bog. I don't have long enough hair or enough taper to make it look quite right-- and my hair isn't oiled enough to like holding itself together. The piece of hair holding the braid is already loosening.

2-- Here it is all bunned up, as per the theory that the original 'do was found in a somewhat unraveled state. My ends are sticking out badly-- EW had very thin ends and I bet she could have wrapped them under at least three times. Quite secure for her, not so much for me. -_-;

3-- I started the second part of the braid too low on my head, which meant that the bun made it hard for me to move my head. I pulled the braid back out-- you can see how much it's unraveled, just with the action on bunning and unbunning.

4-- I rebraided the lower part of the braid, starting higher on my head, and fastened it with an elastic.

5-- Here it is up in EW's single loop.

6-- Here it is with another turn around.

7-- And one more turn. My ends really don't want to stay underneath...

It's very comfortable, and not too hard to do. :) Good stuff.

http://i32.tinypic.com/15r1gg6.png

(Sorry about the image quality. I pushed it down to help with load time.)


As someone else commented, the last wrap or two don't really want to stay. I think having taper would help that a lot. Since I have almost none due to my Big Chop, I stuck a hairstick through instead. :D It worked pretty well.

I am so enjoying your pictures. Looks great! I've got to learn to do this!

Your hair is beautiful and soooo thick! *thud*

Renbirde
July 15th, 2009, 02:31 PM
I am so enjoying your pictures. Looks great! I've got to learn to do this!

Your hair is beautiful and soooo thick! *thud*
:o I think that's the first time someone's said my hair was thudworthy. Thank you!

ljkforu
July 17th, 2009, 11:29 PM
Oooh, I'll try it your way.

I was trying to rope braid each of the bottom sections into that one English braid. It just wadded up into a big mess.

Thanks!
I do mine the same way as renbirdie also and it works for me because of the ease.

I had the wad up problems you had doing it the correct way.

nowxisxforever
July 18th, 2009, 11:42 PM
Hey!! I was doing some more reading on bog people, and I found out about Clonycavan Man! He apparently was discovered with a pompadour still in his hair, stiffened with some sort of prehistoric Iron Age hair goop...

Which means this hair style probably did use some sort of product to help keep the twists in the hair set.

Hmmm.

What did they have available to make hair goop with... perhaps it was animal fat? (Not that I'm wanting to recreate that aspect...)

Renbirde
July 19th, 2009, 09:39 PM
Hmmm.

What did they have available to make hair goop with... perhaps it was animal fat? (Not that I'm wanting to recreate that aspect...)

I've heard of bear fat being used... I don't know anything about its texture though, so I can't suggest a substitute.

Modern hair goop uses beeswax-- if you cut the wax with some fat (or maybe a plant oil...) you might be able to get it soft enough to use. (My father made himself mustashe wax with beeswax and petroleum jelly, but that's not period. :D )

Kristen_Marie
July 19th, 2009, 10:37 PM
I am so confused as to how people are doing this. What's with all the strands and dividing...and 2's and 4's and other numbers all up the alley? : ( I really would like to try this out but I can't find a tutorial anywhere, and I can't figure it out just from looking at the pictures. Granted, I've never been good at doing up-do's on myself anyway. This one is just absolutely amazing and I really want to try it!

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 19th, 2009, 10:46 PM
I am so confused as to how people are doing this. What's with all the strands and dividing...and 2's and 4's and other numbers all up the alley? : ( I really would like to try this out but I can't find a tutorial anywhere, and I can't figure it out just from looking at the pictures. Granted, I've never been good at doing up-do's on myself anyway. This one is just absolutely amazing and I really want to try it!

It's really not that complicated once you figure out how to divide the hair :) Let me see if I can help you...

1.) Take the crown hair, like you are going to do a half up do and braid down the center in a plain english braid.. stopping at the nape of the neck (or just before if you want your bun a little higher).

2.) Take the remaining hair and divide that into thirds, one section on each side of the neck (or over each ear), and one down the center of the back with the remaining hair from the english braid.

3.) On each side, make a 2 strand rope braid.

4.) With remaining hair at the center of the neck make a 3 strand rope braid exasperating the remaining hair from the english braid.

5.) Braid the 3 rope braids together into 1 english braid.

6.) Twist the braid through the loop at the crown of your head that the first english braid made and continue to wrap until you have used most or all of your hair.

7.) If leaving the tail down, twist the remaining hair into rope braids and leave.

nowxisxforever
July 20th, 2009, 02:34 AM
I am so confused as to how people are doing this. What's with all the strands and dividing...and 2's and 4's and other numbers all up the alley? : ( I really would like to try this out but I can't find a tutorial anywhere, and I can't figure it out just from looking at the pictures. Granted, I've never been good at doing up-do's on myself anyway. This one is just absolutely amazing and I really want to try it!

My suggestion: ignore the 2's and 4's and do everything else. No one would notice the intricacies but you, honestly. I'd make something that looks like it but isn't exact.

From what I can gather: Do a half-up with a regular braid, then combine that braid with the rest of your hair at the nape of your neck, and finish off the braid. Band it.

Then (again just from what I'm seeing) form a standard braided bun with your braid tail *underneath* the braid, so when you're done, the braid goes from the top of your head (your half-up section) over the top of the top part of the bun and down into the center of the bun.

It's a really pretty style, but my hair is so gosh darn finicky about half-ups and anything that requires my part to be disrupted that I can't seem to do it, myself. It's pretty simple in theory though, if you cut out the "accuracy" steps.

Calista
July 20th, 2009, 02:58 AM
The instructions quoted in the OP don&#180;t actually mention rope braids at all. IMO this is the important part (taken from the OP):


At the hairline on the back of the neck you braid the rest of the hair into the braid which is then divided into seven parts. You braid these together two, two and three.
So, I think you do it like this:

1) Make a half-up braid with roughly one third of your hair (like CherrySprinkle said). Braid only until you are nearly at your nape.

2) Divide the rest of your hair into two equal parts. Thus the left part will be about one third of your hair, the middle part (which is the half-up braid) will also be one third of your hair, and the right part will also be one third of your hair.

3) Braid those three together - just a couple of turns. (This is what I think is meant by "At the hairline on the back of the neck you braid the rest of the hair into the braid...".)

4) Divide your ponytail hair into seven equal parts. Use hair salve of choice to keep them separated (kinda like dread locks), but do not rope braid them. They just lie there, side by side, heavily greased.

5) Take the leftmost two and use them as one strand, the rightmost two as one strand and the middle three as one strand. Make an English braid with those three strands. (This corresponds to the "You braid these together two, two and three..." part.)

6) Coil the braid into a braided bun, placing it under the half-up braid. Tuck in the end.

The picture in the OP also shows seven aligned strands, not rope braids. As others mentioned before, the meaning of those strands is probably some number magick.

Kristen_Marie
July 20th, 2009, 03:55 AM
Thank you guys for the excellent explanations! I think I'll actually be able to try it now :D I'll post a picture of it if I can get it decent looking!!

Kristen_Marie
July 20th, 2009, 10:03 PM
Okay...so I didn't get the hairdo even remotely good looking after several hours of trial and error. (Yes, my arms are extremely tired lol)

Still, I've posted the sloppy, falling out mess in my album if you're interested in having a look-see at what the hair-style *shouldn't* turn out like!

:cheese:

Qamar
July 21st, 2009, 12:58 AM
Well, here is my messy version after a full day at work AND a very active bellydance class. I didn't di it quite right but I'll try again tomorrow and post the modified results.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=212325&id=790530610&saved#/photo.php?pid=8107626&id=790530610&ref=mf

Calista
July 21st, 2009, 01:06 AM
Qamar, that page you linked requires a login.

Cherry_Sprinkle
July 21st, 2009, 01:40 AM
Okay...so I didn't get the hairdo even remotely good looking after several hours of trial and error. (Yes, my arms are extremely tired lol)

Still, I've posted the sloppy, falling out mess in my album if you're interested in having a look-see at what the hair-style *shouldn't* turn out like!

:cheese:

It turned out quite well! Very pretty :flower:

Qamar
July 21st, 2009, 07:40 AM
OK, I uploaded one here...this is a fresher version done this morning, 2-3-2 in the back in as close to accurate style as possible with the exception of the three hairpins for anchoring security. (I run around like a chicken with my head cut off at work all day so I don't have time to fix falling hair) Me likey!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=1620&pictureid=45339

Calista
July 22nd, 2009, 12:32 AM
That is very pretty, Qamar! :thumbsup: Did you rope braid the strands, or how did you get them to stay separated?

I also like the elegant touch of the pins.

Qamar
July 22nd, 2009, 12:50 AM
I rope braided the two two-piece side sections, braided the centre section with a regular braid and then braided the two rope braids with the centre braid. It's a neat look with lots of texture. I just wish my hair were longer so that my bun would have more substance! I'm about two inches from tailbone and feel like I could use another foot. Ah well...an excuse to grow my hair yet longer. :cheese:

walterSCAN
January 16th, 2010, 10:02 AM
I feel like I just have to resurrect this thread! I had so much fun reading it...

So yeah, Wow... I really want to try this, but I'm thinking my hair is way too short just yet. Also don't think I'll have time before work today...

I'll probably try it anyway :laugh: but there's my disclaimer that it probably won't work! Pics if I'm successful.

lambhair
January 16th, 2010, 10:16 AM
I'm trying it today, but I think I might need to wait a day or two more so that my hair can get a little dirtier-right now its sooo slippery that my rope braids are sliding out (even more than they normally do)...but I was able to get the side ropes done, and the center braid and get all that braided together (that braid comes past my waist)...then make a full 2+ wrap bun so I think I'm ok on the length factor. No pics yet because it isn't very neat, but I think with some practice I'll be able to do this!
ps. after I explained it to DH, he thought it was "really neat" and liked the style very much!

verene
January 16th, 2010, 10:21 AM
After reading through this whole thread I just had to try it out. Minor variation in that I used english braids in place of rope braids, I was feeling lazy. No dangling tail because my hair is only at hip and there wasn't much hair left to dangle.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/ZwiffysGirl/0115101628a.jpg

DragonLady
January 16th, 2010, 12:20 PM
After reading through this whole thread I just had to try it out. Minor variation in that I used english braids in place of rope braids, I was feeling lazy. No dangling tail because my hair is only at hip and there wasn't much hair left to dangle.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/ZwiffysGirl/0115101628a.jpg

Oh, that's awesome! I think I'm going to have to try that one day. :)

walterSCAN
January 16th, 2010, 10:25 PM
I tried it today, and my hair's not really long enough for it... at any rate, I couldn't do a bun that would stay by itself for very long-- however, a single bobby pin did hold it up all day, which is pretty impressive for my slippy hair.

But it did sort of work, and if I was at my current goal, it would definitely work perfectly! I think this is my new favorite style...

Oh, I suppose i should post my method. I think it's pretty similar to what others did... First I english braided the top third of my hair the whole way down and secured it with an elastic, then rope braided the two halves of what's left and secured them. Then I english braided the three braids, removed the elastics at the ends and re-secured the ends together, (ending up with the 2-3-2 braid) and wrapped it around underneath the top braid. (if any of that makes sense ;) )

I'll post pics when I get more time... I just don't have the energy tonight.

khan
January 18th, 2010, 02:25 PM
walterSCAN - thanks for reviving this thread. It IS a hoot. Just wish I had access to the photos people are posting. I am going to try this. (I've copied about 4 pages of notes :o.) Incredible hair style.

ravenreed
January 18th, 2010, 04:43 PM
I have worn this style several times with a bone hair stick. I love it and it makes me feel a kinship with people long past.

talecon
January 18th, 2010, 07:33 PM
thats a nice looking braid

Angela_Rose
January 19th, 2010, 10:35 AM
I'm wearing this today- I think I finally did it right and with all the braids in the correct thickness- and it is SO comfortable. I love it. Will post photos when I can.

Elspeth30
January 22nd, 2010, 07:54 PM
Thank you for updating this thread. I just read back through the whole thing and it is fascinating. I am going to have to try this style too.

SheaLynne
January 22nd, 2010, 09:52 PM
Ooh, I love finding new gorgeous updos! I just read the whole thread and roughly braided the style with my trying-to-dry-before-bed hair. When I take my time and do it right, this is going to be LOVELY!!

I'll try to get pics soon, too, but very busy for the next day or two...

btw, this made my hair really seem *long* for the first time because I didn't expect it to be long enough, and I even had a bit of decent tail...SOooo excited!! :cheese:

Elspeth30
January 23rd, 2010, 05:58 AM
This morning seemed like a good time to try because it is Saturday (and also because I had oiled my hair a little extra thinking I would be doing the weekly wash but when I came home our plumbing was busted. Blech.)

I did the version without the rope braids since my hair hates being twisted:

Gave up trying to add photo to post and put the photo as my avatar instead.

Dreamernz
January 23rd, 2010, 08:38 AM
This is sooo cool :D

girloctopus
January 23rd, 2010, 12:37 PM
I can not get my hair to cooperate with the 2-3-2 braid :( It shortens my end braid too much and makes it so stiff that I can't get it to wrap around and make a bun. Darn thick hair *shakes fist*

walterSCAN
January 23rd, 2010, 11:08 PM
I tried it today, and my hair's not really long enough for it... at any rate, I couldn't do a bun that would stay by itself for very long-- however, a single bobby pin did hold it up all day, which is pretty impressive for my slippy hair.

But it did sort of work, and if I was at my current goal, it would definitely work perfectly! I think this is my new favorite style...

Oh, I suppose i should post my method. I think it's pretty similar to what others did... First I english braided the top third of my hair the whole way down and secured it with an elastic, then rope braided the two halves of what's left and secured them. Then I english braided the three braids, removed the elastics at the ends and re-secured the ends together, (ending up with the 2-3-2 braid) and wrapped it around underneath the top braid. (if any of that makes sense ;) )

I'll post pics when I get more time... I just don't have the energy tonight. (Quoted to re-post method)

I finally uploaded my pictures! (Sorry if they're too big!)

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o87/shecriesatnight/oldbraid.jpg
the flash made my color look strange here...

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o87/shecriesatnight/oldbraidclose.jpg
close-up of the braid

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o87/shecriesatnight/halfoldbun.jpg
the half-bun (which I rather like)

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o87/shecriesatnight/closeoldbun.jpg
aaaand a slightly wonky close-up of the full bun.

I'm sooo in love with this style! I can't wait 'til my hair is long enough that I don't need the elastic.

Angela_Rose
January 25th, 2010, 05:50 AM
WalterSCAN, your colour is lovely. I wish I could get a shine on like that.
And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one whose braided braids came out a little bit lumpy, but I suppose that helps the bun stay in place. It looks great!

BritishBraider
January 25th, 2010, 05:55 AM
I modified it a bit before trying..............
http://pics.livejournal.com/britishbraider/pic/0001xzee

sorry about the dark pic!

BritishBraider
January 25th, 2010, 05:56 AM
eep! why did it come out so huge?

Angela_Rose
January 26th, 2010, 08:12 PM
Okay. I promised photos.
The bun and its braid. (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002a3x0)
The bun and its braid, alternately "holy crap I have a lot of hair." (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002b51h)
It's fuzzy but hooray for three-way-opening mirrors. (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002c3ce)

little_acorn
January 26th, 2010, 08:25 PM
:thud: - awesome :D

charley27
January 26th, 2010, 08:31 PM
I am so glad this thread was resurrected! I would have never found it on my own.

I am a history buff, and it is interesting that women throughout history and across cultures had maintained long hair until the 20th century. I can't wait until my hair is long enough to try this!

Angela_Rose
January 26th, 2010, 08:41 PM
:thud: - awesome :D

Always happy to please!

Narya
January 29th, 2010, 05:06 PM
Woah... just found this thread (more or less), and it's so amazing to see such an old hairstyle. Thanks for sharing it, and for doing such a great job trying to really decipher how to do it!

After seeing all your wonderful versions of this bun, I had to try it myself:http://www.naryart.com/foraNA/ph_braidbun.JPG

I did the top french braid, 2 rope braids version, and even if the result is a bit sloppy (I was working without a mirror, and also was a bit lazy) I love it: it looks good, it feels secure, and it isn't as tight as to give me headaches as many other buns do.

:heartbeat

indigonight
January 29th, 2010, 05:06 PM
I want to bump this... as I dont understand the instructions.. 7 braid?
is this 7 braids, braided together???
It looks divine but I worry about wearing the hairstyle of a hanged woman!

Narya
January 29th, 2010, 05:07 PM
Whops! Sorry for the bic pic! I thought I had scaled it more, and now I can't edit it...

anneisanne
January 29th, 2010, 05:09 PM
I believe that it is 7 sections of hair, each twisted, and then braided such that the sections of the large braid are made of 2, 2, and 3 twisted parts.

Sissy
January 29th, 2010, 05:58 PM
that is too cool!

Angela_Rose
January 30th, 2010, 04:28 AM
I'm going to an SCA event today so I'm putting the Elling Braid in!

Tangerine
January 30th, 2010, 05:12 AM
I missed this before. Goodness Angela_Rose, I love your hair so much!! That looks just stunning :inlove: Especially the second pic is sensational! :)


Okay. I promised photos.
The bun and its braid. (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002a3x0)
The bun and its braid, alternately "holy crap I have a lot of hair." (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002b51h)
It's fuzzy but hooray for three-way-opening mirrors. (http://pics.livejournal.com/fionaniconnor/pic/0002c3ce)

indigonight
January 30th, 2010, 08:44 AM
hooray for bumping this, thanks for the instructions, I am wearing the elling bun today secured with hair sticks....
I'll try to take some pics later but perhaps would prefer to take the pics when I've gotten used to the style and can make it neater...some LHCers seems to be so neat with their bunning and braiding, well for me it takes a little practice with the bun until it looks neat and decent.

Fiferstone
January 30th, 2010, 07:08 PM
I finally managed to make this look good :cheese: DH took the picture, I couldn't get a clear shot myself. It's on Day 1 henna'd hair, first time I henna'd using Yemeni henna from HennaSooq, and it's held with a small Goody beak clip. It's amazingly comfortable, and I hope I can get it to look this good again :).
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/Fiferstone/Hair%20Stuff/004-1.jpg

Angela_Rose
January 31st, 2010, 06:37 AM
Thanks, Tangerine! It's so comfortable.

Fiferstone, I *love* your color and the style looks lovely on you!

Henna Sooq
February 1st, 2010, 08:00 PM
I finally managed to make this look good :cheese: DH took the picture, I couldn't get a clear shot myself. It's on Day 1 henna'd hair, first time I henna'd using Yemeni henna from HennaSooq, and it's held with a small Goody beak clip. It's amazingly comfortable, and I hope I can get it to look this good again :).
http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/Fiferstone/Hair%20Stuff/004-1.jpg (http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww146/Fiferstone/Hair&#37;20Stuff/004-1.jpg)

You know what?!! WOWIE! it's so gorgeous. Do you have a side by side, before and after shot...holy geezers. I knew yemeni was awesome, but that's freakin AMAZING!!!

Yemeni must be really in the air, it's all my fault for getting my hands dirt orangey-red when I did my hair last week. (yeah I didn't use gloves). I could never live without my yemeni. It's so red, and the thing is that it doesn't push that burgundy-ish/purple tone which is kinda yucky, well for some, like me. I don't like it pushing dark.

Side by side pics??? like before and after is what I mean. (just realized, I already said that, lol!)

practikalmagik
February 6th, 2010, 06:07 AM
Just tried this and managed to get it to stay!

I have VERY thick bsl hair so It'll take a long time before I can get a proper bun going on because I lose so much length when I plait. I did a third-up english braid which I plaited to the end and tied off. The rest of my hair was split in half and made two english braids (cos I suck at rope braiding) which I also tied off. Then I gathered them at the nape and plaited them together to the end, took off the previous three hairbands and replaced it with one at the end of all the plaits. Then I brough it up and tucked it through the space between the third-up braid and my head. It just about goes through with a little tail sticking out the left side (i brought it up from the right hand side). It needs nothing to hold it, feels really secure and is a pretty comfy asymetrical version for shorter hair :).

Can't wait until I can do a big proper bun though (grow hair grow!)

EDIT: Now with pics:

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq199/redheaddelight08/elling1.jpg

http://i447.photobucket.com/albums/qq199/redheaddelight08/elling2.jpg

Sorry for the fuzziness in the second one I need to clean my bathroom mirror :blush:

Angela_Rose
February 6th, 2010, 10:45 PM
Hey, PractikalMagik! Wow, your hair is thick. This looks really great on you! Well done, and thank you for posting photos.

SheaLynne
February 18th, 2010, 09:43 PM
I finally wore this updo, though I wasn't fully happy with my end result. I was in a bit of a hurry and then had trouble getting a decent picture. Every time I got a picture, I tried to "fix" something about it, and it just got worse...but I still really like it and I'm going to try it again and get a better pic.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=4802&pictureid=64340

I think I did the fairly "accepted" version...English braid with upper third of hair. Bottom 2/3s in two rope braids, and all three of those braids braided together and passed up and through the loop of the English braid. Bottom tail rope braided together (the *worst* rope braid ever! LOL).

It was *very* comfortable and balanced and definitely something I'll keep working on. :)

Angela_Rose
February 18th, 2010, 10:45 PM
How pretty, SheaLynn!! I love how the rope braid coils around the tail of the braid sticking out. Neat!

sarah061
February 18th, 2010, 11:44 PM
WOW!!!! This is SO amazing! Thank you so much for posting this - it encompasses two of my biggest passions: long hair and natural history, hehe. That is just so awesome that they found that - I always wonder about silly things like that, about little everyday things from waaaaaay back in history. How amazing! And the second part of that braid looks really complicated! When my hair gets long enough I wanna do that hairstyle. This totally made my (nerdy) night - thank you! :D

RedButterfly
February 19th, 2010, 12:11 AM
That is a lovely hair style! Everyone who attempted it did a great job! :)

I will have to try this style soon.

SheaLynne
February 19th, 2010, 01:03 PM
How pretty, SheaLynn!! I love how the rope braid coils around the tail of the braid sticking out. Neat!

Thank you! :)

I tried again today, and I'm wearing it for better or for worse! ;). I tried to move it up on my head, as the whole thing was rubbing on my neck and collar the first time.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=4802&pictureid=64447

:)

Angela_Rose
February 21st, 2010, 05:45 AM
[B]SheaLynn[B], I had the same problem with it sitting too low, so I made the bottom part of the braid start a little higher and braided it more tightly to my head. Add one big pin and it stayed like a rock.

jeno
February 21st, 2010, 06:29 AM
I had to try this too, though my hair is only almost BSL. I think it worked! My hair is heavily oiled today, I don't think it would stay that well otherwise.
http://i46.tinypic.com/htz1x2.jpg

naereid
February 21st, 2010, 06:34 AM
Now THAT'S what I call retro fashion. :grnbiggri

Seriously though, it blows my mind away. Here we are in the computer age, thousands of years between her and us, recreating in minute detail the hairstyle of a woman whose very existence was completely lost to memory up until a few decades ago. Powerful.

Blandine
March 1st, 2010, 03:12 PM
It is amazing. Had that woman ever imagined she would become immortal because of her hairstyle?

Since my hair is only midback length and I am a beginner at such complicated hairstyles I have simplified the procedure a bit - thought I'd share. I don't bother with rope braids or seven strands, I do a plain English braid from the halfup braid (strand 1) and the two halves of the rest of the hair (strands 2 and 3). To hold the bun I need to use a scroo, otherwise it won't stay up.

gmdiaz
March 1st, 2010, 03:18 PM
I come back to this thread, time and time again. . .I love it.

You've all done such an amazing job recreating this style from the far distant past!

I bet the author's of those articles would LOVE to see what all you've come up with! Perhaps someone with some time today could email them a link to this thread?

I know they'd be oh so impressed with seeing the hairstyles on living people. lol

countryhopper
March 2nd, 2010, 01:48 AM
ok, I attempted this (unsuccessfully) with shoulder length hair :(

At least I have the tecnique down... I just need about another foot of hair! What's the shortest length needed to do this?

habioku
March 2nd, 2010, 11:28 AM
This is one of my favored buns :thumbsup: i alway make a simplified version of it, it looks like this:

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6153/elling.jpg (http://img694.imageshack.us/i/elling.jpg/)
I also made a video tutorial of this bun, if somebody want to watch: click :)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL2jGJvMBI4[/B)

nowxisxforever
March 2nd, 2010, 11:33 AM
ok, I attempted this (unsuccessfully) with shoulder length hair :(

At least I have the tecnique down... I just need about another foot of hair! What's the shortest length needed to do this?

You might be able to do it with APL or BSL- but in the meantime, perhaps try getting some human-hair or synthetic extensions to add in to your braid to form the bun?

zen_oven
March 2nd, 2010, 12:09 PM
I just now saw this thread. . . that is so cool. I used to do reenactments but never really delved into the early period. Would have been so cool to do an early period hairstyle with the appropriate clothing.

julliams
April 8th, 2010, 11:16 PM
Here is my shot at this style. I'm not sure if I got it right. My english braid seems to be very fat and when I tried to take less hair the style didn't work so well. I had to secure this one with a bobby pin as my hair is just shy of being long enough to keep itself without falling out all the time. I am also now painfully aware of all my grey wirey hairs - doh!!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4040/4504109551_161ec48b0a.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/4504109763_03e64769cc.jpg

Arriens
April 9th, 2010, 12:53 AM
Well done.
Looks very sturdy indeed.

IcarusBride
April 9th, 2010, 03:31 AM
That's really cool and I want to try this style when I have longer hair. The braid-looped-through-itself effect looks kind of stupid when my braid's only a few inches long, haha.

Blandine
April 9th, 2010, 04:16 AM
One trick is keeping the first braid (the one braided from the half up) shorter. Try with braiding only two rounds and then take the rest of the hair.

dropinthebucket
April 9th, 2010, 06:48 AM
So elaborate for back then! (but then, so was the jewellry - why not the hair? :) ) - and the use of "pigtail" for "braid"!

Angela_Rose
April 9th, 2010, 07:22 AM
It's always fun to see this thread come back up again.

Julliams, yours looks great!

IndigoAsh
April 13th, 2010, 11:46 AM
Decided to try this today. It worked out, and it is actually absolutely perfect for my lifestyle. This will be my new favorite for like... i don't know how long. All the braids work together to keep it in place. Ingenious!!!

Igraine
April 13th, 2010, 02:20 PM
Brilliant indeed, no more droopy braided bun! I may post a pic tomorrow :D

Doriangray
April 14th, 2010, 01:05 PM
I'm often wearing a mixture between an Ellingbun and the Amish Bun.
Its really very comfortable and looks complicated :eyebrows:

http://i310.photobucket.com/albums/kk406/csak1735/P10505711lhn8.jpghttp://i310.photobucket.com/albums/kk406/csak1735/P10505741lhn8.jpg

Just start like the Ellingbun, but make three sections instead of two.
So you've got to braid three braids, and then loop it around and secure it with some bobbypins.