Text-based Hair Tutorials

[Katia_k]

MOD NOTE: This thread is now the central location for all Text-based Hair Tutorials. If you would like to improve an existing tutorial or add one that does not yet exist here, please report your post so that mods can add the link to the LHC Hairstyle Thesaurus stickied in the Mane Forum.

For improvements to existing tutorials, please coordinate with a mod to edit the existing post so existing linkages can be maintained.



Hi all,
So I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for sites/folks that have really good text-based hair tutorials? I'm blind, and so finding tutorials has been something of a challenge. I know many people type out descriptions along with their pics, but, for obvious reasons, it's usually easier to let the picture do the bulk of the explaining, since that's generally the most helpful. But I'm really trying to get more styles in my repetoir *eyes her currently collapsing bun*, and some good instruction would be super helpful.

It obviously doesn't have to be pictureless, or just text. Just any site or video that has really good/detailed description along with the images. I'm getting bored, and I'd like to experiment more.

Much obliged.

[Anje]

There are definitely descriptions of what people do, but yeah, a lot of people use videos. As I recall, though, Torrin Paige on youtube narrates what she's doing pretty thoroughly. Here's a URL to a playlist of her videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...508F6411A91FDE

If all else fails and you hear about a specific style you want to learn, feel free to ask. I'm sure any of a number of people here will happily describe how they do it, step by step.

[meteor]

I know LHC member Arctic has an excellent blog where she often describes how she does her styles verbally in great detail.

I would recommend checking out her 3-strand disc bun. If you follow this link http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/entry.php?b=125332 and then scroll down to "3-STRAND DISC BUN HOW TO", you'll get her text-based instructions.

Also, there are a few buns we can probably explain right here:

Lazy Wrap Bun:
- First gather all your hair in a ponytail held by one hand.
- Bring your hair on top over your index finger (and as many other fingers as you need - the thicker the hair, the more fingers you need for the loop) and then bring hair behind your hand to the other side.
- Now bring the hair over your thumb. (The more you stretch out your fingers, the bigger the hair loop will be.)
- Wrap your hair around the base of your ponytail (multiple times, if needed, until there is no more hair left).
- Take your hair stick/fork and push it through along your index finger in your bun, grab some scalp hair with a weaving motion, go with a stick through the bun and bring it out - on the other side, where the thumb is.
- If there are any ends sticking out, tuck them under the bun.
Please let me know if you want me to explain the steps in more detail.

Also, cinnabun is pretty easy. Just grab hair in a ponytail hold and start twisting it. As it twists, start wrapping it around the base in a circle shape. Pin loops down as you go with U-pins.

Also, can you braid, Katia_k? If so, it's going to get much easier with bunning too. For example, you can simply make a knot with your braid and pin it with a stick (tucking ends under) or you can do a folded braid (just fold it upwards and use claw-clips or U-pins to pin it down) or just coil up your braid around the base in circle like a cinnabun and pin it in place with a stick, claw-clips, U-pins, etc.
Please let us know if there are specific styles you are curious about and we'll try to explain!

[lillielil]

I found a few at Art For Hair. They have pictures, but are more text-based. The site has a number of dead links and the style instructions are interspersed with a blog, but I think I got them all here:

Cinnamon Bun
Flip
Chinese Bun
Half-up Bun

If I come across more I will try to make a point of coming back to this thread and posting them.

[Katia_k]

I know LHC member Arctic has an excellent blog where she often describes how she does her styles verbally in great detail.
[...]
Also, there are a few buns we can probably explain right here:

Lazy Wrap Bun:
- First gather all your hair in a ponytail held by one hand.
- Bring your hair on top over your index finger (and as many other fingers as you need - the thicker the hair, the more fingers you need for the loop) and then bring hair behind your hand to the other side.
- Now bring the hair over your thumb. (The more you stretch out your fingers, the bigger the hair loop will be.)
- Wrap your hair around the base of your ponytail (multiple times, if needed, until there is no more hair left).
- Take your hair stick/fork and push it through along your index finger in your bun, grab some scalp hair with a weaving motion, go with a stick through the bun and bring it out - on the other side, where the thumb is.
- If there are any ends sticking out, tuck them under the bun.
Please let me know if you want me to explain the steps in more detail.

Also, cinnabun is pretty easy. Just grab hair in a ponytail hold and start twisting it. As it twists, start wrapping it around the base in a circle shape. Pin loops down as you go with U-pins.

Also, can you braid, Katia_k? If so, it's going to get much easier with bunning too. For example, you can simply make a knot with your braid and pin it with a stick (tucking ends under) or you can do a folded braid (just fold it upwards and use claw-clips or U-pins to pin it down) or just coil up your braid around the base in circle like a cinnabun and pin it in place with a stick, claw-clips, U-pins, etc.
Please let us know if there are specific styles you are curious about and we'll try to explain!

Thanks for this! After reading this, I'm realizing that half my problem is the inability to picture hair things spatially (not a blind problem, just a me-problem). So I guess I will ask for one clarification; the hand holding the ponytail/being wrapped around, are you holding from the side, from beneath?

I think cinnabun is the one I'm doing on a semi-regular basis now, which has...a modicum of success. I do know how to braid, and do braided cinnabuns fairly regularly. Though I should specify that the only braid I can do with semi-regular consistency is the English braid. Me and the French braid are still building a slow and cautious relationship--we've both been hurt before. But I will try the braid fold; that sounds like it has potential.

If someone does feel like it, I've been trying to find a good simple description of the nautilus bun, since people keep saying it's wonderfully secure etc. My hair is fluffy and curly and not *quite* long enough for a lot of styles, so secure is always a sought factor.

[MlleMC]

Thanks for this! After reading this, I'm realizing that half my problem is the inability to picture hair things spatially (not a blind problem, just a me-problem). So I guess I will ask for one clarification; the hand holding the ponytail/being wrapped around, are you holding from the side, from beneath?

I'd say you hold your hand from the side, so that that hair goes up when you bring it over your index finger.

[SparrowWings]

I'd say you hold your hand from the side, so that that hair goes up when you bring it over your index finger.

I'll also add that to some extent it's based on what works for you. I have found that for me, starting with my hand on the side, but tilting it so it's actually pointing at a slight downward diagonal once I've wrapped the length over my index finger helps me. This puts my wrist at a somewhat awkward overly-bent angle, but it helps me stick my index finger farther out (keeps the length from sliding off the tip of my finger), and makes it easier for me to spread my thumb far enough away for a proper opposite-side length loop without losing control of the ponytail base.

Though, thinking about it, coming from the bottom sounds like it might work even better. I'll have to try that next time!

[Anje]

To help you get an idea of how these things are shaped...

Lazy Wrap buns and Nautilus buns are both made by looping the hair first around the hand somehow to make a big loop, and then the remaining hair is wrapped around the base or stem of the ponytail closer to the head than that big loop. The big loop then goes more or less around the rest of the hair and is clipped in place somehow. I like to use a hairstick or two for this, but forks, pencils, spin pins, and clips like Ficcares (which have a decorative top and a bottom and sort of clamp the hair between the two like an alligator eating a truck tire) also work well.

For a Lazy Wrap, I grab the hair in a ponytail with my left hand, then use my right hand to wrap the hair over the 4 fingers of my left, going from the right side to the left. I release it then and reach under the left arm to grab the tail of the ponytail again. At this point I have a ponytail wrapped once counter-clockwise around the fingers of my left hand, and the remaining hair in my right. I then wrap that remaining hair around a few more times in the same counter-clockwise direction, so that it wraps underneath my left hand instead of around it. Once I run out of hair, I grab the loop of hair that's on my left hand with the fingers of the right, and with both hands I pull it toward my head, sort of stretching it so that it will lie around the outside of the wrapped up part. Finally, I'll use a smooth hairstick to hold it in place by passing it so that it's further out from my head than the outer loop on one side, goes under or through the middle part, and then further from my head than the other side of the big loop.

You will have to experiment with how many fingers to wrap around. My hair is a little thin and squishes down, but it's long and I've had to add a finger over time.

[lillielil]

I will try to describe the nautilus, but will rely on someone else fact-checking me on this. Instructions will be right-handed.

Gather your hair into a ponytail (do not secure with an elastic). Hold the ponytail with your left hand.
Take your right hand and extend 1, 2, 3, or 4 fingers. 1 if you have short hair, 4 if you have very long hair, and 2 or 3 if your hair is something inbetween.
Place the extended fingers of your right hand below the gathered ponytail. Your palm should face down.
With your left hand, guide your hair over the extended fingers and around them, so that it loops around your fingers and points back up (the tail should be to the left of the base of your ponytail).
Don't let go of the tail with your left hand, but hold it gently so that it can move.
Bend the fingers of your right hand so grasp the hair. Your fingers will be at your palm.
Turn your right hand so that the knuckles move along the base of the ponytail and your palm faces forward, and straighten your fingers. You have now made a loop, which you will keep on the fingers of your right hand.
With your left hand, begin wrapping the length of your hair. If you are looking at the back of your head, it will go clockwise. Continue wrapping until you get to the ends.
With your right hand, spread the loop a bit if needed, add your thumb (entering the loop from the same side as your fingers), and slide the loop over the length that you just wrapped. Do not twist it again at this step.
Adjust by pushing some of the wrapped length through the loop.
Some people find that this holds find without any sticks/forks/pins. To secure with a stick, start from the right side and insert the stick between the original loop and the wrapped portion. Grab some scalp hair (or not - figure out what works best for you) and work the stick through the base of the ponytail and the wrapped length, and then guide the stick to exit between the wrapped length and the loop on the left side of the bun.


With your length/thickness a nautilus may be a bit tricky, so I would recommend practicing with a half-up first.

[meteor]

Thanks for this! After reading this, I'm realizing that half my problem is the inability to picture hair things spatially (not a blind problem, just a me-problem). So I guess I will ask for one clarification; the hand holding the ponytail/being wrapped around, are you holding from the side, from beneath?

The ponytail hold is like this: all fingers are above the pony but the thumb is underneath the pony. So it's like you are cupping the hair in a "C" shape (fingers above, thumb underneath). This is important because the length with go over your fingers - then over to the other side. And then from there it will go over the thumb and onto the next side, thus creating a loop.
This is pretty difficult to explain without showing. If you have a friend or relative that can watch a LWB video for you - then maybe they can show it on your hair by guiding your hand maybe? But please let me know if I can give more details on how it's done - and I'll do my best. Also, I've found a helpful video tutorial of both LWB and disc bun that has lots of verbal explanations: I think it will help - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h37ORDkKm0E

By the way, if Arctic's explanation (in her blog) of the 3-strand disc bun were clear to you, then that is exactly what's going on with the Lazy Wrap Bun as well , but the LWB is easier - because you only make one loop.

I think cinnabun is the one I'm doing on a semi-regular basis now, which has...a modicum of success. I do know how to braid, and do braided cinnabuns fairly regularly. Though I should specify that the only braid I can do with semi-regular consistency is the English braid. Me and the French braid are still building a slow and cautious relationship--we've both been hurt before. But I will try the braid fold; that sounds like it has potential.

If someone does feel like it, I've been trying to find a good simple description of the nautilus bun, since people keep saying it's wonderfully secure etc. My hair is fluffy and curly and not *quite* long enough for a lot of styles, so secure is always a sought factor.

I hope somebody else can help you with the Nautilus, because I can't make it myself, for some reason, sorry.
But this video (by Lucy's Corsetry) uses lots of clear verbal instructions and it might work, I think (if your hair isn't too thick for this bun): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h37ORDkKm0E

Wow, it's awesome that you can make an English braid - it will really help expand the bun arsenal! Basically, almost any bun you can do with loose hair you can do starting with a braid as well!

For example, you can do an Ellingwoman Braided Bun (it holds like a rock and works on lots of lengths):
1) Make a small English braid (kind of like a half-up, from top canopy hair only);
2) Add this small braid to the rest of your hair and braid all of your hair, together with that braided section;
3) Start coiling this big braid around the base (like if you were making a cinnabun) but push your big braid through the pocket formed between your little English braid and the scalp hair - keep wrapping and coiling the big braid like this through the pocket until you run out of hair.
4) Pin it all with a stick/fork by weaving the stick/fork through the bun, grabbing some scalp hair as you go. The weaving motion is as if you were making a stitch in sewing.