Fast, Simple, Office-Appropriate Very Long Hairstyles

Sometimes, googling "long hair styles" and turning up pictures like this can be a little annoying for some of us. Other searches result in Victorian or Edwardian style pages that still don't quite account for past-classic length hair, or that link to old-style directions from Godey's Ladies Book that say, "Comb hair neatly. Place into illustrated style. Pin." Um, yeah. Thanks. Very helpful. (At least, that's the ones that don't instruct you to buy an enormous tubular rat or hairframe, or backcomb vigorously.)

Rectifying these issues is the aim of this page.

I've made a point of using only styles that do not require elastics, require at most one long hairstick and a clip, and more often only one of each, possibly a hairpin, and tend to begin with the relatively easy-on-the-hair and tangle-avoidant "gather hair at nape." I do not like elastics as they put wear and tear on the hair at the ends, where it's oldest and weakest. I also do not like bobby pins, hairspray, or basically anything that interferes with getting my hair up and off my face and neck in under a minute. Again, the attraction of long hair is in large part due to the near-total absence of fuss and/or bother.

Another advantage of these sorts of styles is that they work for hair of any extreme length, with the possible exception of extremely thick hair (thicker than mine, which is rare but does occur). When you wear your hair in any of the following updos, hip-length, classic-length, and knee-length hair are all equivalent and equally convenient. It's just a matter of the bun being a bit bigger or the braid being wrapped one more time.

They are also generally good for hair of any texture, with the caveat that sleeker or thinner hair may need smaller combs or "grippier" clips to keep them from slipping out. My own hair texture is not what you'd call the white-girl ideal at all, and as a result I'm very used to seeing styling ideas and tutorials that would not be possible for me without first flatironing and thinning my hair, which I refuse to do. I prefer styles that work with the hair as Mother Nature made it instead of those that require it be completely changed in character before the style can be achieved. There are such things as good, attractive, neat styles for all textures of hair, and I'm very much a believer that if a stylist has to turn your hair into something it's not before working with it, they aren't much of a stylist. After seeing so many different types of styles come and go in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s -- from flat or wavy to big and curly, long to short and back again -- I've grown convinced that all textures and lengths of hair can be styled well with a bit of creativity and some tenacity. Stylists nowdays insist that they can't deal with curly hair without flatironing it, and when I was in college, they threw up their hands in surrender at flat hair, insisting with equal certainty that it was "unmanageable" and they "couldn't deal with it" unless it was permed!

As a result, I have gone out of my way to create/link to only styles that maximize convenience, simplicity, and good looks. These styles can be done quickly, with large volumes of thick hair (or less thick hair), and keep the hair firmly and completely out of the way in an attractive and office-appropriate manner that does not damage it. Enjoy.

To the right you'll see a photo of the following: one wide comb of the type used for coronet braids, two metal hairpins (aluminum and steel), and one plastic hairpin of the sort that will match one's haircolor -- just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about when I mention these things. (The aluminum hairpin, BTW, is a size 1 double-pointed knitting needle bent into a U-shape, an excellent strong makeshift hairpin. These needles can be purchased at most craft stores.)

The Gibraltar Bun

Required: one hairstick, longer than your bun is wide. Not a cheap one, either. This hairstick has to be what I politely refer to as "load-bearing."

This is a very simple style, takes roughly nine seconds, and is my own default style most days.

To do this style, you will comb through your hair to remove tangles and gather it at the nape. Twist it gently into a ropelike tail, and begin curling it into a cinnamon bun shape at the nape of your neck. It will curve normally in a given direction depending on the direction of twist; let it.

The secret to this style's robustness and firmness is that you will use the innermost coil of hair as a sort of hairslide to hold the rest in place Use the following illustration as a guide:

Hold the hairstick with the tip pointing away from the center of the bun and pierce the innermost coil at one of the red dots. Then, reverse the hairstick and "scoop" under the outside margin of the bun. Slide it under the center of the bun, and then tug the innermost coil down at the other red dot, and push the hairstick until it comes out there. I've heard one user state that this held through an entire kickboxing workout. I can't make any claims about that myself, but I can say that I generally wear this style, and that I need not fiddle with it or do anything at all until I pull the stick out at night before going to bed.

[ View 1 ]

Ficcare Braid

Required: one Ficcare clip, Maximas, large.

This style renders these clips easily usable even by people with very thick or long hair. With this style, Ficcare clips have become as comfortable and stable for me as hairsticks. Give it a try and see if it works for you ...

What I do is make one low nape braid all the way down my back, and I braid as much of it as possible, no unbraided last few inches.

Then, I fold it in thirds, and make sure that the tail goes around the bottom of the braid. The end result is shown in the linked views. A diagram is as follows:

[ View 1 | View 2 ]

Coronet Braid (Timoshenko Braid)

Required: three fairly wide haircombs, or two fairly wide haircombs and one steel hairpin.

I'll admit it. I cheat. I'm unable to hold my arms above my heart for a long period of time (or for any period of time really), so a true crown braid (a French or Dutch braid that encircles the head) is not possible for me. Instead, I gather my hair at the nape, make one long braid as above. I then place combs to hold the braid around my head and use steel hairpins to tuck the end under the braid and hold it in place; see View 1 for comb placement.

If you're interested in how to do a true crown braid, you'll want to check out the instructions on Dreamweaver Braiding. It and many other styles are shown, although learning how to braid someone's hair and braiding one's own are still quite different.

If however, you're interested in the Julia Timoshenko look, then this is what you're after. I also admit that I tend not to wear this; the tugging of the combs is a sensation I find irksome, particularly since it's asymmetrical (I have a nasty braid taper, so the first foot or so of my braid is substantially heavier than the rest of it). Also, since my braid is so thick near my nape, the appearance isn't as symmetrical in general as I'd like. A true Dutch crown would be far better, but alas.

As a result, you'll note that this is a style that can only really be carried off by someone with exceptionally long hair that is also very, very thick -- with no noticeable braid taper. With all respect to the former prime minister, this is simply not a sufficient amount of hair to carry this off without help. If your hair is less than classic length and has a taper, this style will be a challenge.

It's not hard to fake it though, especially if you'd like to do it as a reenactor. Simply buy a quantity of false hair in your own natural color (eBay is a great place for this) and buy some wool roving in a color that will blend with your own natural hair. (Again, eBay is a good place to go, and it's not too expensive.) What you will want to do is felt long, thin pieces of the wool roving and attach the extensions to the long, thin bits of matted wool. These are quite easy to make; just take a long bit of the roving about the thickness of a cigar, and roll it vigorously between your palms under the hottest water you can stand with some dish detergent for sudsing. Soon, you'll have a long, thin bit of matted wool about the thickness of a thin pencil, with nicely tapered ends. It may also be possible to sew the extension hair into the end before the felting process is entirely finished so that the false hair is secured as neatly and inobtrusively as possible in the rat.

Then, when you braid your own hair, you can braid what are effectively long, thin rats in with it; use some mousse or gel to smooth down the inevitable ends that will stick out. By adding various such rats-with-hair-attached and staggering them so that the join doesn't look too obvious, you can end up with a thick braid as long as you desire that will look entirely realistic. Then, pin it up as a coronet braid, pull on your costume, and enjoy yourself.

[ View 1 | View 2 | View 3 ]

Log Roll

Required: one Ficcare clip, or one large hair slide.

This style is a cross between the Ficcare braid and the Gibraltar bun in that the hair is twisted similar to the start of the Gib bun, and wrapped like the Ficcare braid. Hiding the ends is a bit more involved, and I do recommend that you take care to do so neatly.

[ View 1 ]

Figure 8

Required: one robust, loadbearing hairstick. Can be shorter than the one you use for the Gib bun; a conical profile is a plus.

This one can be tricky, and it took me quite some time to understand how to do it properly. Begin as you would for a Gibraltar bun, twisting the hair gently into a long rope.

Begin wrapping it for the bun, but take care to place each successive coil underneath the bun. When you are finished, flip up the topmost coil and press it flat to your head. Take the hairstick and put it straight down through the "hole" of the top of the 8. Do not nip the edge and reverse the hairstick as you would for the Gibraltar bun. Plunge it straight down and skim it as close to your scalp as possible.

When the tip pokes out (marked with a red arrow on View 1), make sure the other coils are tucked behind it. This holds slightly less well than either the Gibraltar bun or the Ficcare braid, but holds well enough and is often a nice change of pace when you have worn a Gib bun for four days running. Since the hairstick need not span the entire width of the style and then some, you can also use slightly shorter hairsticks. Hairsticks (like the Graydog shown in View 2) with a slightly conical profile are also better for this style.

You can find very nice directions here, the second set of pictures down from the top.

[ View 1 | View 2 ]

Upbraided

Required: one comb-grip (see below for pictures and purchase) and one large hairpin in a color that matches your hair.

Okay, part of my motivation for this style was that I could call it a cool name. This one is another fairly simple, thirty-second style. Gather the hair at the nape and braid it all the way to the ends, no unbraided last few inches.

Following that, fold the braid up against the head, clip it in place against the head (I'm wearing a rather neat clip here; the underside is a comb) and twirl the rest of the braid into a bun on top. Pin it in place with a single, long hairpin. One of the Good Hair Days pins should work very well. An invisible one, or at least one that matches your hair color, would be best.

You can also do this style a bit differently by only braiding the first six or eight inches and twisting the rest of the tail to place a standard Gibraltar bun atop the clip; these are shown in Views 4 and 5. This style solves a long-standing problem for me in that I very much like the look of a high bun, but they hurt my scalp and involve far too much detangling when taken down. With these clips (and possibly large slides, which I still have to test), high buns also can start with "gather hair at nape" instead of requiring endless high brushing, not at possibility for hair of my thickness and texture unless I want it hopelessly tangled.

I feel hopelesly Victorian in this style, but I content myself with the knowledge that I would have been pieing politicians in the face for women's suffrage. :-)

The place that carries the largest selection of these Mona Lisa Comb Clamps (I'm using the largest size, but they also come in small and medium) is Lee's Beauty Supply in Burbank, CA. I have found two online stores -- here and here -- that sell a few, but not an extensive selection. Nevertheless, they are fantastic, and I can strongly recommend picking up whatever ones you can.

[ View 1 | View 2 | View 3 | View 4 | View 5 ]

[ Clip View 1 | Clip View 2 | Clip View 3 ]

Wrapped Bun

Required: one robust hairstick, and one steel hairpin.

Gather hair at nape as if you were going to braid it in a single long braid, but only braid the rightmost (or leftmost, whichever works best for you) third. Twist the rest into a Gibraltar bun, and be sure to get it well-centered. Since you are twisting an off-center section of your hair, this can be a challenge until you get used to it. Pin the bun in place with an unobtrusive single hairstick.

Then take the braid that you made and wrap it around the bun, starting at the bottom so that the beginning of the braid isn't lifted up. You should be able to pin the end of the braid in place with a single steel hairpin.

[ View 1 ]

Half-Bun (Odango Bun)

Required: one robust hairstick.

This one can be useful for those of you who are able to leave your hair down more often without damage -- people with a tight cuticle and relatively shiny hair, with little tendency to splits. It's also potentially useful for cosplayers who want to do the standard "anime hair" odango look. This style does require fairly long hair, though -- I'd say nearing or at waist, but it could be done with shorter hair as well, if you don't mind an odango with a smallish tail hanging from it. Might be cute if that's the look you're after, actually.

Anyhow, this is a no-brainer style. The general directions are a piece of cake for anyone who has made a hairstick bun. You will require a hairstick (or two, one each per odango) or enough steel hairpins to hold the things in place. I'd use an inobtrusive hairstick, but that's just my preference.

Basically, just make the bun only partway, and lay the tail behind the bun, then put the hairstick in place as in the Gibraltar Bun above. By make the bun partway, what I mean is only wrap the first coil and a half. That way, you have a bun with a long tail hanging out of it. If you have a lot of hair, you can put them fairly high up for the anime odango look, or you can just have a nice bun at the back of your neck as pictured, and hair that is "down" but not really down, and at least no longer long enough to sit on. You can also braid the tail and either leave it, or wrap it aro und the odango for a new look to a Wrapped Bun.

Other possibilities surface when you realize that you can make the tail stick out of the bun in any direction; if you like, you can have the tail exit the bun straight up, toward the crown of your head instead of the nape. Curl the ends, and if your hair isn't too long or fragile, you can have a nice little bun with a sploof of curly bits sticking out the top, which with a fancy-schmancy hairstick might be a nice formal sort of look that only requires one tool and no damned hairspray.

A warning about this and other similar styles: this style leaves the oldest and most fragile part of your hair out and unprotected, so it's not really conducive to growth if you are aiming for super lengths. Use it sparingly. If your hair is only at waist or lower back or so, and you're not aiming for your knees, then have fun. :-)

NOTE: I've also played with the levels on the second picture in an attempt to make it a bit clearer what's going on with the bun. It looks washed out as a result, but it helps illustrate the structure of the bun on dark hair.

[ View 1 | View 2 ]

Pinless Braided Bun

Required: one robust, very long hairstick.

This style is one that I learned from the LiveJournal community The Niamh Elite for waistlength or longer hair. A user of the name Eresh Cloudy invented it, and it's just wonderful.

Gather hair at nape and make one long, firm nape braid. Take a long hairstick and slide it horizontally through the hair above where the braid starts. (Not behind the braid, as it appears in the diagram, but actually through the hair.) Then, take the braid and begin winding it up and around, and behind, the hairstick. When you reach the end, tuck the ends underneath the spiralled braid firmly. Especially with damp hair, it should hold quite nicely.

I've been skeptical of such buns in the past because Chinese buns tend not to work for me, but I was very surprised when this one not only held but held easily and extremely comfortably. It's especially good on wet hair as (at least for me) my wet hair tends to be a bit "grabby," and as I typically braid my hair after washing, I anticipate this will work well as a habitual post-wash style.

It does require a very long, very robust stick; I imagine a pretty enamelled chopstick would work beautifully for it. Longish forks also look particularly nice (View 3).

[ View 1 | View 2 | View 3 ]