hair expectation versus hair reality

[gingylocks]

Do you ever have a hairdo in mind that looks so awesome, but when you attempt it, it looks super crappy? This happens to me almost every day. I feel like I am getting better, before I was on LHC I couldn't even do a french braid. Here is my latest attempt at something new, the expectation and the reality side by side. I don't really care how it looks because I'm definitely not going anywhere tonight, but I just thought it was hilariously different from what I expected. The picture of the "expectation" was taken from Tumblr.
http://pics.livejournal.com/ruth2theann/pic/0000r9b6/s640x480

[Piyo]

Story of my life pretty much. I really can't do my hair. :( Some people make it look so easy.

I'm sure with enough practice you'll get there, I guess maybe I should tell myself that.

[roxee]

I think your hair still looks really cute like that even if it wasn't exactly what you were aiming for (:

[HylianGirl]

I have done that quite a few times before xD The trick is to practice at home when you are not leaving you house, so that if it turns out crappy it's ok ^-^ keep on trying and you'll master those more complicated hairstyles =)

[FrozenBritannia]

i find it so much easier to get awesome results when I do other peoples hair. :) with the picture of the blond, I think someone else probably did that, unless there was a step by step tutorial or movie clip that showed her doing it herself. I think that it looks awfully straight for someone who can't see what she doing is all. :) I could be wrong, it doesn't really matter either way, but it is always good to base expectations on reality. :) your result is quite good for first attempts especially on your own hair!

[Ligeia_13]

I should post some of mine to give you a laugh :D they really are terrible.

[Madora]

Do you ever have a hairdo in mind that looks so awesome, but when you attempt it, it looks super crappy? This happens to me almost every day. I feel like I am getting better, before I was on LHC I couldn't even do a french braid. Here is my latest attempt at something new, the expectation and the reality side by side. I don't really care how it looks because I'm definitely not going anywhere tonight, but I just thought it was hilariously different from what I expected. The picture of the "expectation" was taken from Tumblr.
http://pics.livejournal.com/ruth2theann/pic/0000r9b6/s640x480

You tried to do it and that's what's important!

Also, remember that the blonde model's hair was most probably done by someone, not by her! Which is not to say you can't be proficient also (with practice). But some styles can only be achieved by having someone else do them in order for them to be precise and perfectly sectioned.

[Amber_Maiden]

Practice will make you better at it! Just keep practicing!

[CurlyCap]

I have done that quite a few times before xD The trick is to practice at home when you are not leaving you house, so that if it turns out crappy it's ok

Ha ha! The danger in this is that night you get it right, and when you try to replicate it later....no such luck. :D

[spidermom]

My hair reality versus my expectation is that I can't wear it down most of the time.

I don't expect new styles that I try to look good, not without multiple attempts/practice.

[jacqueline101]

I think the hair do is pretty and you did a good job. My reality hair is never what I wish for my expectation is a hair do that looks somewhat good.

[princessp]

Lol I feel you on this! For what it is worth your attempt is actually really cool. :)

[gingylocks]

I'd have to agree with a few of the previous posts in saying that it is MUCH easier to do these things on another person's hair. I used to have a long-haired room mate that would let me practice on her hair, but then she got a bob cut and my chance for practice was gone.

But then again, the first time I figured out a french braid, I was doing it on myself, not on another person. I still can't do one very well on another person. I guess it depends on the hair-do.

[embee]

Wow! I can't even imagine *trying* to do what you tried! ;)

Most successful "tries" for me are at night - before going to bed, when I'm just fooling around with my hair. Next day, success cannot be replicated, alas. (I think someone mentioned this syndrome in an earlier post...)

[StellaKatherine]

For me my first attempts are usually suprisingly good and then after that i'm sux and badly :D

OP: But yeah, i think your reality hairstyle looks very cute, so i wouldn't get too dissapointed!

[PixxieStix]

For a first attempt, I think it looks great! Sadly, nothing but practice and time will make hair dos look the way we want them to, and I am also pretty sure she had someone else do her hair. You got the braid done correctly, even if it doesn't look like the photo you found, and that is a great start! Keep on trying and you'll get it. I tried a two stranded twist faux crown braid the other night I found on Lilith Moon's YouTube channel. *cringe* Maybe we ought to have a thread for this, posting our realities versus what we were going for, it would be so much fun and a great place to go when you're frustrated with your abilities, it's nice to know it happens to everyone. :) You're gonna nail it in time though.

[QMacrocarpa]

For me my first attempts are usually suprisingly good and then after that i'm sux and badly :D

I've sometimes had that too, which can be really frustrating since you just KNOW it can be done ... somehow!

I had to learn the hard way to never try a new hairdo for the first time just before going out. Though it looked ok to start, my updo started failing partway through brunch and I had to flee to the ladies' room and switch to a quick and more-reliable style. :o

Another thing to keep in mind is different hairtypes work differently in the same style. My hair has a lot of grip, which is nice on the one hand, because my updos do not generally give up and slither down my back (something I witnessed happening to my slippery-haired niece this weekend when I was showing her how to do the lazy wrap bun). On the other hand, styles with a lot of sectioning are a hassle for me, and I generally avoid anything beyond a fairly chunky French braid.

[ktani]

I also agree that your attempt looks pretty good.

I agree as well with Madora, that the person most likely did not accomplish that style on her own.

You are to be commended for trying that style period, in my opinion. I would bet, that the first attempts of it were not as expected either, lol.

[MonaLisa]

I am a complete newbie, when it comes to styling.
My attempts look hilarious! :o

[KahRistAhn]

LOL, yes, I feel this way all the time. I get all excited because a certain hairstyle on youtube looks so easy, but then I try it, and well....it's not very attractive.

Kudos to the OP for trying to tackle that hairstyle, though!

[Ocelan]

Oh yes I know this so well. This happened to me today also... except that I had done something similar already once and thought it looked good. This time when I was going out like that, it didn't.

I have to say though, that before evenr eading your post I looked at the pictures and thought that there was two really nice styles that you had a picture of. I didn't immediately see that they were the same style.
The first one looked to me like it was more complex and kind of thought that the hair was criss crossing around the ponytail so that you add to the loose french braid from the opposite side of it and it goes around the whole thing. Must try that :P

[heidi w.]

I used to dream up hairstyles, and because I didn't have appropriate tools, I couldn't create the idea in real life. I imagined a lot of updos with a lot of lift on top of the head, and for my hair type, to create that it helps to have a form or a "donut" -- I think they're sometimes called that. It's a tool that dressers use at live platform long hair shows.

On a related topic, there's a lot about hair that is different in "fantasy" or imagination, versus reality. Like having it wrap all around you. That's an eye opener to have strands of hair clinging to yourself. It sometimes feels as though a bug is crawling on me. LOL (switched person, .... oh well, we're not in English composition class!)

heidi w.

[pinupdancer]

hahah Oh man, my reality is never close to my expectations. I think you did a great job for a first attempt. Way better than the mess I'd create, that's for sure. lol

[HylianGirl]

Hey there guys! I just wanted to show my expetation x reality of today... first attempt at crown braid (my arms hurt ;-; ) :

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9864&pictureid=127312

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9864&pictureid=127313

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=9864&pictureid=127315

Sorry for the crappy photos, it's raining today so I can't take them under a natural light =P And oh, the frizzies x.x and my lack of hiding-the-ends skill =P When I was almost finishing I had to undo and redo half of the braid because I kept twisting it x.x Still I guess it was good first try, just need to practice more, I understand why torrinpaige had problems with this on her tutorial, it is really hard ^-^

[Covet]

I think your version still looks great, honestly! I think these things just take a bit of practice. I can't even do any elaborate hairstyles without them looking silly or messy because I have very curly hair and it cool hairstyles won't show up - the curls are too distracting.

[MermaidTresses]

I think it looks awesome~!

[Arctic]

Your version looks great! I agree that someone else propably did the models hair, and not only that, though this is irrelevant to this topic, I think the model has a hair piece, one like this (http://shop.hairextensions.com/images/_zoom/HDWPONY/index.html).

[Madora]

Your first attempt looks very good, HylianGirl.

[darklyndsea]

I've given up on trying to make my hair look great, because it's just not going to happen with Voldemort. Secure and comfortable is good enough for me.

[Alaia]

Most successful "tries" for me are at night - before going to bed, when I'm just fooling around with my hair. Next day, success cannot be replicated, alas. (I think someone mentioned this syndrome in an earlier post...)

Oh this definitely! Though recently I've been telling myself I have awesome hair and it seems to work :p

HylianGirl that's an excellent first attempt of a crown braid! I'm on my 10th or so attempt and it doesn't look that good.

OP, I also think someone else did that style on the model. It's difficult to get that degree of strand separation without being able to see what you are doing constantly (and managing interesting hand angles!).

[lostchyld]

I've learned that it doesn't matter if the model's hair is curly or not, my hair will never look like the model's.

And I've learned to modify hairstyles for straight hair to my hair that curls or to just not try them, depending on what's happening in the style. I wouldn't bother with that wrapped ponytail myself, it would look icky on me, as ponytails usually do.

And that pincurls are still my friends, even though I have curly hair, if I want my ends to curl after I've pulled the roots back. I lose a lot of curl at the ends when I pull the top back so it looks good to me.

And I've also learned that my hair tends to look great if I don't try to force it to do something. If I'm forcing it, it retaliates at inconvenient times.

Plus, with my hair, the best rule is to expect the unexpected.

I don't have photos of expectations vs reality. I rarely try new things and when I do, I usually expect that my hair is still too short, which it is.

[Diamond.Eyes]

Usually I can tell if someone had another person help with an updo I am trying to do when I realize half-way through the process that I need another hand or an arm that is three feet long :D. In the end, I have found that trying to do an updo that requires a lot of effort is pointless for me. I like things that take 5-10 minutes tops.

[annamoonfairy]

Looks like your doing good : )

[lostchyld]

In the end, I have found that trying to do an updo that requires a lot of effort is pointless for me. I like things that take 5-10 minutes tops.

This. I once had a stylist do this great bun that pulled like a french braid across the back but instead of braiding it wrapped into a flat bun. All the sections made the bun look like rose petals. I've never been able to sit still to have it done again and now the style is 14+ years into my memory, so I'm not sure how much is real and how much is added. At any rate, it's not something I can do, I like the set it and forget it of basic buns.

[Littlewing13]

Looks really cute to me! Its such a different style that it doesnt matter if there are a few strays, it will still impress :)

[HylianGirl]

Thank you Madora and Alaia ^-^ It took me a while and lots of position change (not only on the hands, but also the head =P) I guess next time I'll start the braid form behind my ear and go to the bottom of my head (that time I started behind my left ear and went up), that will probably make it easier for me to conceal the ends ^-^