by Aurianna

Created on: December 16, 2008

In the last century or so, hair styles of all kinds have changed, evolved, and modernized. One in particular that has come a long way is the up-do. We are no longer inhibited by the fashion trends that gave us the bee hive style, or the very basic but elegant French twist. Today's up-dos are more feminine and softer, or spiky and edgy. In fact, an up-do can be styled to fit nearly anyone's taste and personality.

What exactly is an up-do?

Simple: it is basically any hair style that pulls all of the hair up. It is held by hair-ties, rubber bands, clips, bobby-pins, or barrettes. Some are quick and simple, some intricate and fancy.

The next question: How can you do your own up-do?

The following are instructions for two different, but easy styles.

What you will need:

1. A couple of hair-ties

2. A brush or comb

3. Bobby-pins or small clips (preferably the butterfly clips; the ones with the teeth)

4. Hair spray (optional)

5. Small curling iron (if you have naturally curly hair this isn't really necessary)

6. A hand-held mirror (to see the back when you're finished; this will help you make necessary adjustments)

The Basic Up-do

You will want to start with clean, dry hair. If you normally use mousse or other product, apply that before you dry your hair.

1. Curl all of your hair into ringlets (if ringlets aren't your style, that's ok; just curl your hair as you would normally)

2. Let the curls set for a few minutes. If you mess with them while they're still warm, they're more likely to go flat.

3. GENTLY pull all of your hair up into a basic pony-tail. Place it where ever you would like it to be; high on the crown of your head, or right in the center/back.

4. Take one curl/section at a time, arranging it carefully around the pony-tail so as to cover the hair-tie (the goal is to make it look like there's not a pony-tail there at all). Secure pieces of hair with bobby-pins or clips. A good way to really hide the hair-tie and make the style look more detailed is to take strands/curls from the underside of the pony-tail, and pull them to the top and secure them, and curls/sections from one side and loosely wrap it to the opposite side. So remember- bottom-to-top, top-to-bottom, side-to-side.

5. If the style feels like it is sliding or too loose, simply slip a couple of bobby-pins into the center, right next to the hair-tie.

6. Spritz with hair spray (if you want), and check the end result in the mirror. Adjust as needed.

The Twisted Up-do

Again, start with clean, dry hair. However, this style

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