The basis of Elizabethan hair styles was often long, frizzy
or tightly curled hair. The easiest way to achieve this today is through
crimping. In our lesson today, we learnt how to correctly crimp hair and how to
use it to our advantage.
We began by crimping the whole head, lifting it slightly at
the root to create extra volume. I loved the end result but it took SO long to
complete the whole head! This is something I will have to keep in mind for the
end assessment. After crimping, we took the front sections of the hair and
backcombed it. This creates even more volume and strength and makes it a lot
easier to shape the hair. We then took a hair prop and wrapped the backcombed
hair around It until it was hidden. This is a really good way of creating shape
and will be really handy for this project. The second method we used for the
hair prop was ‘anchoring’. For this, we did a French braid flat to the head and
then placed the prop on top. We secured the prop to the braid using bobby pins
and then wrapped the backcombed hair around it. I found that the second method
was very time consuming, but more reliable.
For the second part of the lesson, we learnt how to crimp
using pins. You wrap a small piece of hair around a pin in a figure of 8 shape
and then heat them using straighteners. Once you have removed the pin, you are
left with a very harsh and defined zigzag. This is a great technique as when layered
on top of the already crimped hair it adds more dimension and texture. Both of
these elements were very important in Elizabethan hair styles. Although it is a
great technique, it is very time consuming but you don’t have to do the whole
head for it to look amazing. 
Once we were taught this technique, we were left to play
around with it. I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my hair style, so I decided
to only do it on a small section. I separated
the hair into two sections and created a heart shape for the basis of the
hairstyle. I had left out a small section of hair along the hairline and I did
the ‘pin crimping’ on this section. I wanted to keep the zigzag quite defined,
so I gently pulled them out and attached them to the original heart shape that I
did. I was actually quite pleased with the outcome! If we had more time I would
have made it neater and more secure. 
Examples of Elizabethan crimping and padding:
After the 16th century, middle and upper class women would pad, frizz, dye and decorate their hair to replicate styles that were made popular by the queen. Elizabeth would often wear 'rats' in her hair to create height. These rats would have been made from real hair and were sewn into the wearers hair using either ribbon or some kind of thread. This was done and hair grips and clips didnt come in to use until the Victorian times. As sewing the rats into the hair required a lot of effort, women would wear these styles for days. This was not a problem for Elizabeth as she slept sat upright to protects her lungs!
After the 16th century, middle and upper class women would pad, frizz, dye and decorate their hair to replicate styles that were made popular by the queen. Elizabeth would often wear 'rats' in her hair to create height. These rats would have been made from real hair and were sewn into the wearers hair using either ribbon or some kind of thread. This was done and hair grips and clips didnt come in to use until the Victorian times. As sewing the rats into the hair required a lot of effort, women would wear these styles for days. This was not a problem for Elizabeth as she slept sat upright to protects her lungs!
Referencing: images- https://ladyelizabethbridges.wordpress.com/
http://www.llanellihistorical.co.uk/elizabeth-i/
research- http://www.extremecostuming.com/articles/twoelizabethanhairstyles.html
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