Although my assessment wasn't my greatest achievement in the word, I can overall say I am really happy with the outcome of this project.
I feel like it's been a really good learning curve and has allowed me to see the hair industry in a different light, styling hair for a specific purpose an from a brief is entirely different to what I have been used to as a stylist. The commercial hairdressing world is a different ball game and I feel what we've been and will be doing at uni is more along the session styling route and it's been a breath of fresh air really.
I've learnt a lot of new skills and techniques along the way and I have also been able to improve on some existing skills. Hair-up is not my thing and I know that but I feel like I have achieved a lot in a small space of time and I feel a lot more confident when presented with an idea or a brief to work to.
Working with my partner, Lauren, was a really good experience for me as well and we had a really fun time doing this together. As a team we have been able to show each other new things and also add new ideas into our work, and if not that just being encouraging and a back up for one another.
We came to a few issues with each design but found a way to overcome it. With mine we used tongs to create rolls because it was too short, with Laurens we decided on rolling it rat due to the amount of hair I had to get up, so I think we did well to compromise and change our designs.
I would definitely make sure to practice with all the equipment first not to fall into the hole I encountered and not leave it last minute.
Period hair was a nice starting point for me because it's thrown everything you think you know out of the water. It's simply not an everyday look and it requires research, practice and new skills especially when creating something historically accurate.
This was important for me to broaden my perspectives and not just look at contemporary hair and modern techniques and it gave me the chance to branch out into something more creative and I really want to do more of it.
My self-confidence definitely got the better of me on assessment day but this is something for myself to work on and something I've discovered was due to the unknown.
It's not necessarily a bad thing though because I'm here to push myself further and getting knocked back a few times is part of learning and I've managed to embrace that and take less caution just because it may be something new or something I don't know or can't do well doesn't mean I can't do it.
December 01, 2015
Final Assessment, Evaluation
Assessment day.
[not a disclaimer]Without using it as any kind of excuse at all for the assessment on the day I was not in the right frame of mind at all. Unfortunately not something I could control, I was simply having a down day due to medical reasons, this aside I should still have been able to perform better than I did.
I was organised for the assessment, I had all the tools I needed to complete the look I was creating except the rats. I had previously used the rats supplied by the uni which were stuffed with tissue and I think due to miscommunication, neither of us had prepared any rats to use for the assessment. So before it was time, we both went out and bought a pair of tights and cotton wool.
Unfortunately because we didn't do a test run with the new rats we had made we didn't realise that cotton wool was a bad choice to stuff them with, it made them too firm inside and when it came to it the pins didn't go through. This was what ultimately nearly destroyed the entire finished product.
I can honestly only blame myself for now being totally prepared and I can hold my hands up.
Beginning the assessment I followed the instructions to a T even though we had practiced it numerous times, so I started with constructing the halo plait around the perimeter and that was all fine and neatly sectioned and I was happy with that so moving on to step two, I sectioned off the top and removed the piece I was curling for later, backcombed as usual and then the rat disaster struck.
The struggle I had was rolling the hair around the rats we had made, I don’t know whether these were bigger than the ones we had used before but I didn’t seem to be able to wrap the hair around them as I did in the practice sessions, and the rat was visible at either end.
I then got frustrated and tried this again and again which wasn’t a good idea because the more I did it the worse it got,
Even after following the instructions, which I didn’t need anyway after having practiced it enough already, I couldn’t get the shape right and it was uneven and just not working for me as it had done previously, then when it came to pinning the hair on the top the small pins wouldn’t go through and into the rat and this just caused chaos for me, the more I tried to force the pins in the more I was pulling out the shape I created.
I did manage to grip it into place but I wasn't happy with the shape after struggling with the pins. After three tries it would have to do, time was running out.
So I curled my left out section, tried to use that to disguise the parts of the rat that were on display and it sort of managed to look alright, then again when it came to pinning the curls round the top more struggle with the pins, so they have to go in a bit looser and more horizontally compromising the strength of the overall outcome.
All in all this was an utter shambles and I was not happy with myself at all. I went in after G'ing myself up with a good frame of mind and half way through I felt utterly defeated.
I knew that I knew what I was doing, I knew every step of the design to a T and It just didn’t happen for me on the day,
I definitely didn’t need more practice for the look, But I should have prepared and tested the rats before the assessment. I do simply think it was the rats we used because they didn’t work with the pins and I couldn’t get a firm shape in the hair which mean't, and being a perfectionist, I was not happy.
I know I can work under pressure and this is something I was used to but when the rats weren’t co-operating I totally lost focus and didn’t know how to overcome the problem instead I got more and more angry at myself even though I had Lauren supporting me and telling me it was okay and to relax.
So as well as all that I felt bad because I shouldn’t have put this stress onto my client when they are in the chair, I could tell she was feeling my stress and this isn’t something I do to a client. I can usually stay very calm, collected and professional and on this occasion I just did not manage to compose myself and in the professional world I don't think it's acceptable.
I have really angered myself because I know this is something I can do, I can accept that some things simply don’t work or sometimes they just don’t go the way that they are planned but in this instance because I am a hairdresser, its my background and I do have a lot of skill in the area I was more annoyed that I didn’t get the outcome I wanted. I don't know if it was down to self- confidence as well because that's also something that can push me back a lot of the time.
All in all, the finished result did resemble what I had done before but I felt that I did it better in the practice sessions but it all turned out okay in the end, and the final photos I'm happy with, looking back on the session now, although I feel I could have performed better, I can still say I'm proud of my work and the skills I've used.
Blame it on the rat.
[not a disclaimer]Without using it as any kind of excuse at all for the assessment on the day I was not in the right frame of mind at all. Unfortunately not something I could control, I was simply having a down day due to medical reasons, this aside I should still have been able to perform better than I did.
I was organised for the assessment, I had all the tools I needed to complete the look I was creating except the rats. I had previously used the rats supplied by the uni which were stuffed with tissue and I think due to miscommunication, neither of us had prepared any rats to use for the assessment. So before it was time, we both went out and bought a pair of tights and cotton wool.
Unfortunately because we didn't do a test run with the new rats we had made we didn't realise that cotton wool was a bad choice to stuff them with, it made them too firm inside and when it came to it the pins didn't go through. This was what ultimately nearly destroyed the entire finished product.
I can honestly only blame myself for now being totally prepared and I can hold my hands up.
Beginning the assessment I followed the instructions to a T even though we had practiced it numerous times, so I started with constructing the halo plait around the perimeter and that was all fine and neatly sectioned and I was happy with that so moving on to step two, I sectioned off the top and removed the piece I was curling for later, backcombed as usual and then the rat disaster struck.
The struggle I had was rolling the hair around the rats we had made, I don’t know whether these were bigger than the ones we had used before but I didn’t seem to be able to wrap the hair around them as I did in the practice sessions, and the rat was visible at either end.
I then got frustrated and tried this again and again which wasn’t a good idea because the more I did it the worse it got,
Even after following the instructions, which I didn’t need anyway after having practiced it enough already, I couldn’t get the shape right and it was uneven and just not working for me as it had done previously, then when it came to pinning the hair on the top the small pins wouldn’t go through and into the rat and this just caused chaos for me, the more I tried to force the pins in the more I was pulling out the shape I created.
I did manage to grip it into place but I wasn't happy with the shape after struggling with the pins. After three tries it would have to do, time was running out.
So I curled my left out section, tried to use that to disguise the parts of the rat that were on display and it sort of managed to look alright, then again when it came to pinning the curls round the top more struggle with the pins, so they have to go in a bit looser and more horizontally compromising the strength of the overall outcome.
All in all this was an utter shambles and I was not happy with myself at all. I went in after G'ing myself up with a good frame of mind and half way through I felt utterly defeated.
I knew that I knew what I was doing, I knew every step of the design to a T and It just didn’t happen for me on the day,
I definitely didn’t need more practice for the look, But I should have prepared and tested the rats before the assessment. I do simply think it was the rats we used because they didn’t work with the pins and I couldn’t get a firm shape in the hair which mean't, and being a perfectionist, I was not happy.
I know I can work under pressure and this is something I was used to but when the rats weren’t co-operating I totally lost focus and didn’t know how to overcome the problem instead I got more and more angry at myself even though I had Lauren supporting me and telling me it was okay and to relax.
So as well as all that I felt bad because I shouldn’t have put this stress onto my client when they are in the chair, I could tell she was feeling my stress and this isn’t something I do to a client. I can usually stay very calm, collected and professional and on this occasion I just did not manage to compose myself and in the professional world I don't think it's acceptable.
I have really angered myself because I know this is something I can do, I can accept that some things simply don’t work or sometimes they just don’t go the way that they are planned but in this instance because I am a hairdresser, its my background and I do have a lot of skill in the area I was more annoyed that I didn’t get the outcome I wanted. I don't know if it was down to self- confidence as well because that's also something that can push me back a lot of the time.
All in all, the finished result did resemble what I had done before but I felt that I did it better in the practice sessions but it all turned out okay in the end, and the final photos I'm happy with, looking back on the session now, although I feel I could have performed better, I can still say I'm proud of my work and the skills I've used.
Blame it on the rat.
November 18, 2015
Final assessment plan - Partner
Lauren's Design
Intructions.
1 Begin by sectioning off two inches from around the hairline all the way around the head,
starting at the ear on one side, french plait the hair down to the nape and around to the other ear, the braid should be thicker here and across the front, plait looser to create a thicker effect, once at he starting position, plait the remaining hair and pin underneath the initial plait at the back of the head.
2 Take the top halo section of remaining hair and seperate into two even sections, leave one inch from the perimeter of both sides, then take the hair, backcomb at the roots for structure and then roll the rat from tips to roots and secure just underneath the parting, repeat on the other side, criss-crossing the pins to secure the rat and hair into place.
3 With the one inch sections, curl the ends using a large tong and leave to cool, then take the section and smooth over the top of the now padded hair, gripping it at the midlengths around the underside of the rat toward the parting where the rat is gripped into place. This hair provides a smooth section to place over the top and because of the length and leaves around 4 inches of curls.
Make sure to leave a section at the back for plaiting.
4. Place the curls at random, spreading them around over the padded hair. Use the small section at te back to plait and sit over the parting area to cover any visible grips, bring this to the front of the padding and bring it back in a 'u' shape to create a teardrop at the front above the halo plait.
5 Spray the hair to hold and add the pins with pearls attached around the halo plait and between the halo plait and padding at random, add them down the center of the hair as well to accentuate the parting between the padding.
Tools-
Pin tail comb
Backbrushing brush
Rats
Pins/grips
Tongs/curlers
Hairspray
Decorative pins.
Practice 2 - Partners design
I began again with the halo plait around the head and this time I made it fatter than previously by pulling some of the sections out a little bit which seperated it slightly. We both liked how this looked because it added a slightly modern twist into it which was the boho messy braiding look that's been popular recently.
The next task was to get two even structures on top of the hair, as we said before we were going to heighten the design by adding rats.
I began by initially putting all the hair into the rats and rolling them up but because we didn’t add any texture through crimping it looked a little bit boring and still needed the curls on top.
I then let the hair down again and curled it all, to then roll back up and planned to use the ends to place over the structure.
I tried to roll the hair into the rat, somehow, without the ends being inside because I wanted to use the curls on the ends and this just didn’t work.
Change of plan, I left out just one inch section from the outside, rolled the rest into the rat and secured by criss-crossing the pins into one another.
The hair left out was just the right length as well that I could take it over the padded hair and pin just on the underside, leaving around 4 inches in length of curled hair that I could then place over the top.
After thinking it through properly this was a better way to do it and make sure I had a secure shape on top. Although I had less curls to work with on top, this didn’t matter because the overall outcome was a lot neater.
I struggled at first with the volume of hair and managing to get it all neatly into the rat, as it wasn’t crimped as well it had to be really neat and smooth so this was a challenge for me as well as working out the simplest way to really secure all the hair and make sure it wasn’t going to move.
Practicing with longer hair and a rat is something that I need to do more as working on the Katie head there is a lot less hair to wrap.
From this I also realised I really needed to practice my French plaiting to make sure it was neat, in terms of sectioning and even throughout.
From this we can create a plan of action to follow for the assessment, which I will be able to use methodically to create the final design.
The overall look I was extremely happy with and it all worked out well considering there were some factors to chop and change.
I feel now I have a good idea of what to use and the steps I need to take to create the look.I think the design change was a good idea to save time on curling due to the amount of hair and I'm feeling confident for the final assessment.
The next task was to get two even structures on top of the hair, as we said before we were going to heighten the design by adding rats.
I began by initially putting all the hair into the rats and rolling them up but because we didn’t add any texture through crimping it looked a little bit boring and still needed the curls on top.
I then let the hair down again and curled it all, to then roll back up and planned to use the ends to place over the structure.
I tried to roll the hair into the rat, somehow, without the ends being inside because I wanted to use the curls on the ends and this just didn’t work.
Change of plan, I left out just one inch section from the outside, rolled the rest into the rat and secured by criss-crossing the pins into one another.
The hair left out was just the right length as well that I could take it over the padded hair and pin just on the underside, leaving around 4 inches in length of curled hair that I could then place over the top.
After thinking it through properly this was a better way to do it and make sure I had a secure shape on top. Although I had less curls to work with on top, this didn’t matter because the overall outcome was a lot neater.
I struggled at first with the volume of hair and managing to get it all neatly into the rat, as it wasn’t crimped as well it had to be really neat and smooth so this was a challenge for me as well as working out the simplest way to really secure all the hair and make sure it wasn’t going to move.
Practicing with longer hair and a rat is something that I need to do more as working on the Katie head there is a lot less hair to wrap.
From this I also realised I really needed to practice my French plaiting to make sure it was neat, in terms of sectioning and even throughout.
From this we can create a plan of action to follow for the assessment, which I will be able to use methodically to create the final design.
The overall look I was extremely happy with and it all worked out well considering there were some factors to chop and change.
I feel now I have a good idea of what to use and the steps I need to take to create the look.
November 16, 2015
Final Assessment Plan - Mine
Ross' Design
Tools -
Crimpers
Tongs
Hairspray
Tail comb
Clips
Grips/Pins
Aqua Palette
Instructions.
1 Begin by crimping the hair all over in small sections. Hairspraying the section beforehand.
2 Isolate 4 small sections on the crown and plait for later.
3 Use the large tongs and beginning at the front of the head from the parting to ears on both sides. Create 3 sausages each side and grip into place, this is the starting point for the rest of the hairstyle to follow.
4 Create sausages around the head and grip into place following your bottom two rolls, work from the front around the sides until you reach the other roll at the opposite side, blend the sections together to create a continuous roll. Repeat this for the second one that wraps round the head.
5. The top two should just go backward until you reach the crown.
6 Take the plaits created on top and cross them over each other and secure to create a 'crown' like structure and spray to finish, add gold Aqua colour to the plaits to add to the 'crown' effect.
Tools -
Crimpers
Tongs
Hairspray
Tail comb
Clips
Grips/Pins
Aqua Palette
Instructions.
1 Begin by crimping the hair all over in small sections. Hairspraying the section beforehand.
2 Isolate 4 small sections on the crown and plait for later.
3 Use the large tongs and beginning at the front of the head from the parting to ears on both sides. Create 3 sausages each side and grip into place, this is the starting point for the rest of the hairstyle to follow.
4 Create sausages around the head and grip into place following your bottom two rolls, work from the front around the sides until you reach the other roll at the opposite side, blend the sections together to create a continuous roll. Repeat this for the second one that wraps round the head.
5. The top two should just go backward until you reach the crown.
6 Take the plaits created on top and cross them over each other and secure to create a 'crown' like structure and spray to finish, add gold Aqua colour to the plaits to add to the 'crown' effect.
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