Creating Frizzy Elizabethan Hair

Reflecting upon the practical class on frizzing I was not fully satisfied with the final result and as a result wanted to develop my ability with frizzing hair by completing some at home practise where I could spend more time polishing my ability to produce even waves.

To create this look I wrapped and heated half the head using the hair pin method which creates not only frizz but also effective waves. This technique despite its beautiful finish is a long winded process to create and it took me roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour just to complete half the head, therefore in the final assessment it would be unrealistic to attempt this style within the two hours alone as it would leave no time for styling. Once the whole head has been set with the hairpins the waves can be released, this leaves the hair resembling something of curly dreadlocks all over the head. The waves can also be separated slightly to create soft waves often featured at the bottom of Elizabethan hairstyles such as in the 'Rainbow Portrait' 1603, or brushed through to create voluptuous tight frizzing giving extreme body to the hair. This is effective for creating highly padded hair styles as used here, the style that I created for this practise featured no padding and was made solely by the volume of hair created from the frizzing. 
To create this hairstyle the hair was brushed out fully to release each frizzy curl, this left the hair in a large afro shape of hair that could then be easily formed and manipulated. I split the hair into three sections, one large at the front and two at the back, one beneath the other. The front section was rolled back over itself into a large standing pin curl, this created the effect that many portraits show of the front of the hair being a tall structure that stands up from the scalp. As you can see in the below images the section nearest the face remains flat and tall almost like a barrier around the hair, this section is traditionally very tall and for this reason I created as much height as possible before the shape at the front of the head was lost. The back two sections were then twisted around one another to create rounded buns, a conventional style to hold up the back of the hair.