Prom updo advice?

[Quixii]

Hello all! My senior prom is April 13th. :) I finally got my dress last week, and all that's left is accessories - including my hair. I want an updo because the back of my dress is gorgeous, but I'm clueless on what I can do with hair my length, without heat (not just because I don't want to use heat but I don't own any heat tools), that looks classy/elegant/makes me feel beautiful.
He (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3902&pictureid=99607)re's (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/album.php?albumid=3902&pictureid=99608) what I did last year for prom. It looked nice and ultimately I liked it, but it didn't stay very well and became a source of stress. I'd like something I don't have to mess with while I'm there, that I won't be afraid to dance in.
Not sure if you need any more details.. Thanks in advance!

[AnqeIicDemise]

Oh. Em. Gee.. I totally read that as 'porno advice'. -cough- Yeah, I totally live in the gutter.

Anyhow.. let us see..

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/emma-frank-engaged/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/pin-curl-bun-the-flower-bun/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/rope-braid-bun/


ETA: my main goal for GROWING out my hair. (I can do this now! :D I also don't tease. I just wind up the ends under the hair for volume and use two claw clips to hold iti n place. Instant pouf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpYZAdsqI1M&list=PL89538B9C4F60390A&index=14&feature=plpp_video

I like this one, but I really, REALLY don't like the front. I'm sure it can be altered.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR3hgd7AH7w&feature=related

[Johanna]

Oh. Em. Gee.. I totally read that as 'porno advice'. -cough- Yeah, I totally live in the gutter.
.......
Yes! I totally did that too! A Freud, you'd have a field day.

I love doing a high topsytail, braiding or rope braiding the hair in the pony and looping it back up, securing it with a barrette with the ends tucked un hidden away.
You've got some gorgeous curls, it would be awesome to do something that would compliment that instead of hiding them away. You could do a pony and pin the length up into a messy bun/curly bun do and add a realistic flower in your hair :)

I love doing my hair up for formal events :D

[Madora]

Perhaps a lace crown braid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPHEzUr5bWQ

[HairStickler]

I like what you did last year because you can still see your great curls. Maybe you could make a simple bun, leaving the last 6 or 8 inches untucked, secure it really well, then arrange the curly ends.

[Quixii]

Thanks so far for the suggestions.

I would love to encourage the curls some how.
I don't have bangs, so some of these "oh, pull this all back and let your bangs/fringe/short layers hang out to soften the look" won't work for me.
A lot of the things I've seen so far just won't work with hair as long as mine.
I want my hair to be higher/more off my back than last year, because this year's dress has details a little higher up.

[Dragon Faery]

If you want a short, cute, 'do where the curls are the focus, you could bun most of the length out of the way but leave the ends free to maybe shoulder-ish length (or shorter). A cinnamon bun or modified sock bun could be adapted to do that. You could let the curls fall below the bun, or explode out the top and drape over the back, or peek out from the top in a cute little nest of curliness.

You could also play around with multiple smaller buns, like 3 horizontally or diagonally across the back of your head, either all tucked away or with a few playful ends for spice. (Along with flowers or bling that accent your dress, of course.)

A crown braid or hair taping could work, too, depending on the look you're going for and the style of your dress.

Hope you find something!

[AnqeIicDemise]

Thanks so far for the suggestions.

I would love to encourage the curls some how.
I don't have bangs, so some of these "oh, pull this all back and let your bangs/fringe/short layers hang out to soften the look" won't work for me.
A lot of the things I've seen so far just won't work with hair as long as mine.
I want my hair to be higher/more off my back than last year, because this year's dress has details a little higher up.

You can still fake the lovely bangs. Its all about adaptability. ^-^

[Johanna]

For my wedding I had a lace braid at the front with a chignon at the back, the length of the lace braid was wrapped around the chignon. It wasn't very harsh on my face at all :) It was off my neck plus I could add a nice comb too :)
Looking forward to seeing what you do with your nails too :)

[kme81]

This is something that I did recently and I thought it gave a fairly elegant effect. It does not feature length...but it can accommodate length!

This one was the trial run/ everyday wear (as in "no hairspray") :
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j388/kme81/formal1-1.jpg

This was the one for the real deal! :) :
http://i1083.photobucket.com/albums/j388/kme81/formal2-1.jpg

It is two rope braids randomly pinned up/pinned in several vague figure-8 shapes...that was the biggest part of my technique. The front has a nice soft look because of the lace rope braid part. :)

I hope you find something that makes you feel happy and beautiful!

[AnqeIicDemise]

For my wedding I had a lace braid at the front with a chignon at the back, the length of the lace braid was wrapped around the chignon. It wasn't very harsh on my face at all :) It was off my neck plus I could add a nice comb too :)
Looking forward to seeing what you do with your nails too :)

Second this! And I ask for pictures too!

[kme81]

Here is another interesting one from Arc691...I think it would be quite elegant!
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=90461

...I'm not sure how sturdy it would be though...

[maborosi]

kme81- that is GORGEOUS! :agape:

I must do that when my hair gets long enough.

~maborosi~

[torrilin]

I like LaDollyVita33's Little Black Dress updo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNcEt-mTVKM&list=PLF328B7C305D1780C&index=4&feature=plpp_video) a lot. The basic tricks include some simple parting, rolled or twisted hair, and a bun. If the buns she used don't work for you, swapping in different ones is very easy... my hair is too thin to do it exactly the way she did, but it still comes out cute. Because you can swap the bun around, it is much less length dependent than it might look.

The other thing that strikes me as possibly workable is a Gibson Tuck the way Emichee does it. Her way really eats length, and it seems to me it'd be possible to pull out individual curls to show them off.

[Quixii]

Bumping this back up to see if I get any more suggestions. 9 more days and I still don't know what I'm doing...

[Freckled.Thing]

Oh. Em. Gee.. I totally read that as 'porno advice'. -cough- Yeah, I totally live in the gutter.

Anyhow.. let us see..

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/emma-frank-engaged/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/pin-curl-bun-the-flower-bun/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/rope-braid-bun/


Oh my goodness. These are soooo lovely.

Quixii, if your concern about a hairdo like one of these not looking "soft" enough without bangs you could always leave out about an inch worth of hair on either side of your face, make the updo, and then drape the hair in front past your ears and wrap the ends up into the bun. This has a similar effect to real bangs in my opinion and they're much less hassle.

[khrystyne572]

how about double twists on each side and then bun the rest?

This is a video showing a child having it done, but I bet you could pull it off for prom. Maybe get some of those hair jewels at Claires or some other accessory shop to put in your bun?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2ydKS4PQwU

[AlannaMaria]

Would something like this work?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3ln1dyitFA

I know yours is much longer than hers, but I feel like you could find ways to hide the rest of the braid maybe?

[jacqueline101]

I'd go with the braided up do. It looks pretty.

[Seeshami]

I need a picture to properly explain this and my hair doesn't curl to save it's cookies. Do a bun like a sock bun with out wrapping the extra hair. I get best results with my hairagami. Let me con one of my co workers into a hair picture and I will added to my albums for you.



Edit: I added a picture of really sloppy hairagami bun with flyaway. Then just curl the ends and it would be nice. Add some gemstone hair pins or something like that.

[annamoonfairy]

I would do a partial updo with curls : )

[Quixii]

Thanks for the effort, y'all.
I'm just not sure how to do a lot of these, with my added length and existing curls. I really want it to look really nice, which I don't think a regular braided bun will accomplish. :/

[Laylah]

How about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJ62kbXL0w) one? It's a lovely bun that would make the most of your curls. I think the looseness of the curls would make it "soft" enough, even with bangs. And it's from an LHC member with extra long hair too, although I'm not sure if it's the same as yours.

[Quixii]

How about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJ62kbXL0w) one? It's a lovely bun that would make the most of your curls. I think the looseness of the curls would make it "soft" enough, even with bangs. And it's from an LHC member with extra long hair too, although I'm not sure if it's the same as yours.
Thanks! This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I tried glancing through Torrin's videos, but didn't see that one for whatever reason. I'll definitely keep it in mind!

I mean no offence to everyone else, but I really struggle to come up what I would do with my "extra" hair from the other tutorials. :o I mean, this isn't just a couple extra inches, in most of the cases, it's literally a couple extra feet of hair. I really do thank you all for the effort.

[Seeshami]

How about the horrifying octopus bun?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/df19e64a.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/17fc6e81.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v190/BrokenCagedBird/f4a1d507.jpg


It's a bunch of small braids pinned up in loops. If you make them thinner/smaller and loop them through each other it makes a really cool effect too. We where shooting for the cool effect not the sea monster look but in the naughty mess's personal opinion he thinks this is so much better. :rolleyes:

If I wasn't trying to show you a nifty idea I would probably think the naughty mess is pretty funny impersonating an octopus. And yes I got lazy and annoyed and didn't finish the last two little bitty braids and that's why there is mess sticking out the bottom.:cheese:

[Kira94]

If you wanted to soften an updo (as you said you don't have bangs), could you fake side bangs or something?
Kind of like Catherine Zeta Jones here: http://updoguru.com/Elegant-Updos.html
And Taylor Swift in the last two pictures: http://updoguru.com/Taylor-Swift-Updo.html
At least, I thought those were faked, you could try anyway. Or maybe get some fake clip in ones?
Or just stay away from the whole bang thing completely. :)

What about a Gibson tuck type thing, and leave some curls hanging out?
And I assume you've seen this site, but here's the link just in case. :)

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/style-index/

and here are some pretty ones from that site I thought might work:

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/pin-roll-bun-2-curly-bun/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/1860-ball-style/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/folded-twist/ (for this one I thought maybe doing multiple twists would be nice)

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/gibson-roll/

http://rapunzelsresource.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/pin-curl-bun-the-flower-bun/

Good luck! I'm graduating this year too, and haven't yet figured out what I'm doing with my hair. :)

Can't wait to see what you decide on!

[Quixii]

Thanks everyone!
I did end up doing this TorrinPaige one:

How about this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toJ62kbXL0w) one?
It worked fairly well, though I had some difficulties pinning the curls in the back. I felt pretty, which is good enough for me. :)
I some how didn't get any pictures of my hair, and my dad hasn't gone through his pictures so I'm not sure if he did. Ooops. I was going to make a thread here right after prom, but without those pictures.. hm. Well, you can see a couple pictures in my latest nail blog entry, if you click the link my signature.
I do plan on making an LHC thread eventually, though. :)

[Kira94]

Oh, you and your hair looked really nice! Sorry, I forgot to look at the date on the thread. ;)

[SakuraGirl]

Kme81 @ Omgoodness, that is so simple yet beautiful. I love it :)
P.s you are almost my hair twin ;)