Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Pinups with Pixies: The Baby Beehive

One of the things that I really struggled with when I was trying to decide how short to take my hair was the fear that if I went all the way to a pixie cut, I wouldn't have any options left for how to style my hair. In the month or so since I got my hair cut, I really haven't done much with it, but that's as much because I'm lazy as it is because it's hard to coax my hair into something resembling a style. And I have to be honest, it is a pain in the ass to get it to do what I want, especially since my hair is fine, abundant, and relatively healthy these days, but with a little bit of effort I managed to create this baby beehive.
As I mentioned yesterday, I went to see Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes, and they were absolutely amazing. I love their 1960s girl group sound, and in honor of that era, I decided to attempt this style. It's a bit of an exaggeration to call it a beehive - I just don't have enough hair to create the volume needed for the style - but I thought the little bumped up 'do was cute, and presents a nice option for other short haired girls out there who might want to switch it up a bit.
My hair is about two inches long right now, and I don't think you could do this with hair that's any shorter. I'd recommend doing this on pretty dirty hair (I was on day three here), just to give the strands a bit more grip.
First, section off a bit of the front to serve as your bangs. I went maybe half an inch back from my hairline, but you can do more or less depending on what works for you.
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Working back from where you sectioned off your "bangs," vigorously tease your hair to create maximum volume. It is difficult to tease hair this short, but it's easier if you use a fine tooth comb, like the cheap kind you can get at the gas station, or one made specifically for teasing. I managed it with a wide tooth comb, although I didn't get quite as much volume as I would have liked.
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Using a one inch curling iron, curl hair horizontally back from your face to your crown. Ideally, you want two rows of curls all going the same way. Spray with hairspray to hold.
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Grab the back row and roll it forward, pinning it so that it rests just behind the first row of curls. You want it to be secure, but not flat. It's what's going to anchor the "beehive," so you want a bit of height and texture to give volume to the bump.
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Roll the first row of curls back and slightly under, and pin it to the teased and curled hair you have pinned underneath. I recommend using professional quality pins; you'll be able to use fewer of them, so they be less visible and the weight will rob less volume from your style.
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Smooth down any hairs that are too short to pin using hairspray. You may end up having to bring some pieces of hair to your bangs, but some you may be able to coax into becoming part of the beehive.
Add your favorite hair accessory, like a scarf, headband, or flower. I added a scarf, partly to keep everything in place, and partly because I really need to touch up my roots and that does the best job of disguising them.
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I love having easy, wash-and-go hair, but I really enjoyed the challenge of doing something a little different with my hair. I might have to do more short hair tutorials in the future.

6 comments:

  1. That looks great! Ive never tried a beehive myself. I get lazy with my hair and my hair never turns out like hair tutorials also :( But theres some Id love to try.

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    1. Beehives are actually pretty easy. It's really just a bit of teasing and pinning and fussing until you get it in a shape that you like. You look like you've got beautiful, shiny, healthy hair, though, which weirdly makes it harder to do all of the retro styles.

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  2. I love this look! I can honestly say I don't think I would've thought you could do that with a pixie, but it looks so great. Almost makes me want to cut my hair!

    Cheers,
    Jenny

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    1. I think everyone should try short hair at least once, just to say they did it. Although if you don't like it, the growing out process might have you spending all your money on wigs and hats.

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  3. Ooh great job! I've had this haircut for about 7 years and I'm always a little envious of the pin curls that girls with longer hair can achieve! But I still really like having short hair and I don't plan on changing it (at least not in the near future!)

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    1. I hear you about the pincurl envy - every time I see a girl on instagram doing a wet set I start to think that maybe I should grow it out again. :P I might try to do them with my hair this length and see what happens.

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