Elegant Updos

Audrey Hepburn made the elegant updo immortally famous when she appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. For this look the bangs were cut very short, and the rest of the hair was gathered into a ponytail to the back of the head. It was then braided and laid on the top of the head pinning it flat.

A popular and very elegant updo is the half up/half down modified updo. This style is like a low half ponytail, with long smooth bangs accenting around the face, and the rest of the hair is left down to cascade softly down the back and around the shoulders.

Here are the steps to create this elegant updo:

  1. First make your hair smooth by brushing completely through getting rid of all the knots and tangles. Then work with individual sections, about 1 to 2 inches thick, and smooth the hair with a flat iron to keep it smooth and sleek.
  2. With the point of a comb create a small side part that extends from the front of the hairline to two inches back to the crown of the head.
  3. Now brush the hair from the part, to the opposite side of the hairline, and put the rest of the hair behind the ear and temporarily clip it there so it will stay out of your way. Make sure to keep smoothing the hair as you go so you aren’t left with stray flyaway hairs.
  4. Take out the piece of bangs for this elegant updo so that you can accentuate your face with it by curling it or just leaving it straight.
  5. Brush the rest of the hair to keep it really smooth, then brush it behind the other ear. Unclip the hair behind your ear, and separate each of the sections into equal top and bottom sections.
  6. Each section will become two sections, now pull each bottom section into a loose ponytail to keep it out of your way, and take the first of the two top sections and brush towards the middle of the back of the head. Roll that section into a fairly flat horizontal type roll and pin it firmly into place.
  7. Apply styling gel to each section as you pin them so they wont stray away.
  8. Take the top section and roll it to the middle of the back of the head, making sure you overlap the first hair roll and then pin the second roll so that it hides the first one. Now spray with hairspray and let it go.
  9. Take out the last two ponytails and use a curling iron or hot rollers to give the hair some nice waves and/or curls.
  10. Last but not least hair spray your new elegant updo so that it stays in place.

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