Four Easy, Medium Length Hairstyles For Hats

For the past few years I'm barely ever seen without a hat in the fall and winter--when you have next to no hair it's essential for keeping your head warm! As my hair gets longer I'm realizing that I have more options to style my hair while wearing hats. So far I have four full proof hair styles that work with hats no matter the style of the hat--large with a floppy brim, small knit caps, chic berets, and even simple headbands. It doesn't matter what type of hat you want to wear there are multiple options on how you can style your hair, even if it isn't ridiculously long.

Wear it down: Bad hair day? Don't-feel-like-brushing-your-hair day? Throw a hat on it. The true beauty of hats (aside from keeping you nice and toasty as it cools off) is they take the attention away from your hair, so you really don't have to style it. I definitely spent a couple of days on my recent road trip with unbrushed hair and my red knit cap on top. Of course you can dress it up by curling or adding loose waves to your hair.

Pigtails: While on their own two little pigtails can seem a bit juvenile, when you style them low and messy and throw a hat on top you're serving up Bardot vibes. It's obviously a super easy hairstyle to do, but it's a lot more practical than just wearing your hair down and really changes the overall look.

Side braid: A side braid is my favorite hair style and I can just barely pull it off with my current hair length--throwing a hat on top helps keep the braid intact when you have shorter layers that don't want to stay in the braid. Step it up a notch by trying a fishtail braid (one of my goals to attempt once my hair is longer).

Double braids: If even with a hat on top you find pigtails too saccharine but your hair is too short for a single braid, then double braids are a good option. Decidedly less juvenile than pigtails they still let you keep your hair under control while wearing a hat.

Back To Red

Craving all the fall colors in my wardrobe and not wanting to bleach my hair again (I don't want to damage it too much as it grows) means I'm back to being a redhead! This color is brighter than I usually like, but I'm happy with it for now and I'm excited to get out all my mustard yellow, olive green, and rust-toned clothes that will complement it.

The process: I started with my hair a mix of blonde and pink, although most of the pink was very faded. I used L'Oreal's lightest auburn following the instructions on the box and applying all over. Initially my hair came out a mousey strawberry blonde (you'll see it in tomorrow's pics). It looked quite dull to me so I decided to dye it again the next day using L'Oreal's  Intense Red Copper. I don't know how L'Oreal's dyes stack up against other brands in the same market, I've just had success with them in the past and am sticking to what I know! A quick wash and air dry and a few hours later this is what my hair looked liked.

Curly Hair How-To

I'm really not that good at hair styling so I tend to have a few default settings: milkmaid braids, natural (which is straight) and curled. I'd love to figure out more vintage styles eventually like victory rolls or pin curls, but for now I'm just sticking to what I know. I've received a few requests for a tutorial on how I curl my hair so here you go.

I think my bangs/fringe work best with straight hair, so I start by hiding the bangs before I curl my hair. I take a small section of longer hair from the left pull it across my forehead and secure it in place with a bobby pin.

I use a 3/4" curling iron and turn the iron towards my face. Hold the curling iron perpendicular to the ground to get the best ringlets. Even if your hair isn't layered, work at your hair in sections to give it variety. I curl larger sections of hair on the bottom and separate small pieces of hair on top to give it more movement. Once you've done one side of your head repeat on the other. For this style it isn't important that the curls are consistent or neat, it looks best when there's variety.

That's it you're finished! Another trick is to turn your head upside down and shake out the curls a bit so they're less uniform and have more body while you apply some hairspray (I actually tried to photograph this but couldn't get the camera to focus so...). Anyway it's pretty simple, it just takes patience if your hair is thick.
*wearing this dress & this necklace 

Charmed, I'm Sure

*wearing this Modcloth dress (old, similar), this makeup, and pink star hair charmsies
My hair is doing this strange ombre affect as it fades--my tips are almost completely back to being blonde! I think the cause is the pink dye I mixed into my conditioner (a tip from a couple of people about preventing fading); it seems to be working on top but I guess my tips are too saturated in the shower to hold the color as well! Anyway, it's sort of fun and making me feel like a My Little Pony. Adding to that feeling is these Charmsies I've been wearing in my hair. They were another suggestion from someone on Facebook and I thought when else will sparkles look appropriate in my hair than when it is pink? They're surprisingly hard to photograph and I thought they were rather subtle in person, but I keep getting compliments on them whenever I go out so I suppose they aren't that subtle!

Hair Color Journey

A look back at my previous hair styles, colors, and length: I kept my hair long and red for years, then after a brief period with a bob I took the biggest plunge by getting a pixie cut. I kept the color the same as when it was long and ended up keeping the pixie cut for a few years. I started to grow it out in 2012 and dyed it blue the summer of 2013 when it was quite shaggy/slightly shorter than a bob. I went back to red that fall and this summer I went blonde. The blonde was great but when I went to touch up my roots I accidentally tipped my hair into the grey/silver range and decided to cover it with pink dye.
Ultimately, I'm trying to get back to my long red hair but having fun in the transition process. Since I've gotten past my fear of bleaching/dyeing odd colors I'll probably keep experimenting with colors for years to come while returning to the red as my "typical" look. If you're curious about what dyes I used at each stage (once I started dyeing at home), you can find the answer in my previous hair posts.

Pink Hair, Don't Care

As you can see, my hair is now pink. I mostly went pink because things went wrong when touching up the blonde at home (fixing your roots seemed so simple...), but I'm pretty happy to be temporarily pink. It's a fun color and since I still consider my hair in the "growing out" stage it's nice to mix things up while I try to keep from cutting it.
The process: I started with a blonde base. I had just touched up the roots and toned it with Wella T18. I only had the Wella T18 in for around 10 minutes, but certain parts of my hair turned grey/silver. After I had rinsed that out and let it dry I applied Manic Panic cotton candy mixed with Head&Shoulders conditioner (from the tutorials I looked at online any white conditioner will do). I used approximately half dye, half conditioner, but no exact measurements; I just mixed it until the pink looked like a nice pastel shade. I left the dye in my hair for around 45 minutes, checked the color, and washed it out with cold water. Since my hair was more white (grey) in the front, the pink is brighter in the front and slightly more peach-toned in the back where the toner didn't turn my hair silver. Since pink and peach are better colors than grey, I'm ok with this.
*if you want to go pink bleaching is an important step--dye clings better to hair that has been bleached, so even if you are a blonde you will want to lighten your hair a little just to make the pink (or other color) dye stick

Milkmaid Braids Tutorial For Medium Length Hair

I've gotten a couple of requests for an updated milkmaid braids tutorial with my shorter hair, so here you go. I'll probably try to shoot a video of it sometime, but hopefully the photo format is also helpful.

First off: you don't need long hair for milkmaid braids. Approximately shoulder length and with a few shorter layers will work--like my hair. If your hair is slightly shorter or you have more layers then try styling your hair when it is damp.

Start by dividing your hair into two parts and then braid each section. You want to braid your hair tightly at an angle pulling it towards your face/the front of your head. My braids typically go over my ears and sort of stick out at a angle.

Once both sides are braided, use some bobby pins to pin them to the top of your head. I put bobby pins in from the back of the head towards the front. It usually takes me around five bobby pins to get everything to stay in place. If you hair is longer you can tuck the unbraided ends under the braids, but if it's slightly too short for that (like my hair) just bobby pin the ends together.

That's it--you're set! If it feels unsteady then you can use some hairspray to secure it all in place. But as you can see it's still pretty simple even if your hair isn't Rapunzel length. To me this a very functional hairstyle; I like wearing it on hot or windy days when I don't want to deal with my hair getting in my face or super tangly, so I think it works even if your braids aren't the smoothest or longest. It's about convenience rather than elegance.

Blonde Ambition

As you saw earlier today, I'm a blonde now. Between my pixie cut a few years ago and my blue hair last summer I've definitely become less attached to having "perfect hair" and more comfortable with trying things out just for fun. I'll have to put together a hair retrospective at some point to showcase the long, short, and oddly colored turns it has taken. This color and style is actually very similar to what I looked like when I was little, but of course my hair got darker as I got older. I still consider red the color that is most "me" but right now I don't really care if I don't look quite like "me." This summer I can be an icy blonde and invent a Hitchcockian-backstory to suit the look.
The process & upkeep: I had a professional bleach my hair, then a day later at home I toned it with Wella T18 to minimize the brassiness. I'm now trying to maintain my color with John Freida Sheer Blonde shampoo & conditioner.

Summer Of The Headband

In winter I wear hats out of necessity--thick knit caps that keep my body heat in and cover as much of my ears and neck as possible. It's summer when the weather warms up that I look forward to adding hair accessories from a style perspective--I love how the most minimalist summer outfit can be punctuated by a spiked headband or flower crown. This year I'm adding to my collection with some jersey turban headbands by Reif. In basic black and grey I think they'll go with a variety of outfits and bring a little something new to my typical style. All in all I'm merely excited for warmer days and more hairstyles.