My Favorite Hobby: How I Turn Hair Styling into an Art Form

Ever since I was a very young pipsqueak, I've loved playing with peoples' hair. I would experiment on my own hair and that of my mom and sisters. And on more than one occasion I wound up getting into some very sticky situations with a roller brush (just think bubble gum in your hair, only on a scale ten times that bad!). But no bad hair day ever set me back from loving to fix and play with hair whenever I got the chance.

When I was seven years old, my mom took me to a French braiding class. The way my mom braided my hair fascinated me, and I was just beginning to learn how to do French braids, but couldn't get a grip on making them tight enough or keeping all the strays from going their own sweet ways. And from that point on, I was officially hooked on styling hair.

During my high school years, I thought for sure I would attend a cosmetology school and learn the hair trade. Augmenting my hair knowledge and making a career out of my hobby seemed like a good idea at the time. But after talking it over with my parents, we decided perhaps hair school wasn't the best route to go; every salon in our area had high turnover rates, they were flooded with stylist wannabe's all the time, and being around a highly chemical environment all the time was sure to affect my health in the long run.

So instead, I settled on getting what is perhaps a more useful bachelor's degree. However, I still love doing hair, so now I simply perfect the hair styles I've been creating since I was little. From fancy Civil War updos to Bahamian corn rows, here's the top styles I've loved creating and a few tips on how to make them perfect for any occasion.

One: How to Scrunch Curly Hair

My hair has gone through a few texture changes during the past ten years, the biggest of which was the switch between relatively straight hair to more wavy, almost curly hair. This meant that no longer would I be able to simply let my hair dry and leave it; it looked stringy and unkempt. The morning I first figured out what was going on with my hair, I tried a little something different; I flipped my head upside-down, slathered a blob of mousse through my hair, and started scrunching.

It took me a few weeks and the purchase of a new blow dryer with a diffuser to perfect the style, but I eventually turned my unevenly wavy hair into fluffy, curly hair with a few new techniques a hair stylist taught me. If you have curly hair, you might want to consider the following:

One: When scrunching with mousse, make sure you buy an alcohol-free mousse, such as Suave, that won't dry out your curls and create a frizz disaster.

Two: Bangs aren't off-limits, even for wavy hair. You'll simply need to blow dry them in the direction you wish they go each morning, and consequently flatiron them at a relatively high setting. Make sure you purchase a flatiron that has ceramic plates, or is at the very least ceramic-coated.

Three: To get extra volume out of your hair and keep from blowing out your curls, blow dry your hair with a diffuser, which is simply a multi-fingered attachment for a blow dryer. Usually, the blow dryer needs to come equipped with one already or have a long enough snout to accommodate an attachment. I usually get mine at Target, since they have a pretty good selection of dryers with diffusers.

Two: My Infamous Civil War Updo

When I was sixteen years old, I sewed a very fancy Civil War ball gown for a school project. I modeled the dress in Civil War reenactment fashion shows and competitions, so I needed to create a hair style to fit the theme of the era. But instead of going to a salon for an up do, I spent the previous week creating a style that would complement the gown. Quite honestly, though, it can also be used for prom, dance, or any other special event where a girl wants to keep some of the hair down and some of it up, without paying through the nose at a salon.

Step One: Section off hair into three sections; top, middle, and bottom. The top section should be the smallest, and it should stay tied in the center with a neutral hair band. The middle section should stay tied or in a claw until you need to start curling it. You'll start working with the bottom.

Step Two: Run some styling mousse through the hair and apply a thermal protector, such as Redken's heat protector. Using a 1/2-inch curling iron on the hottest setting, take a small section of hair and curl it into a long, tight curl. But instead of fingering it into loose curls with your fingers, you'll be keeping it in tight curls and spraying them with a powerful hair spray. I always use spray starch.

Step Three: Do the same thing for each section, but when you get to the top, you'll need to arrange the curls around the hairpiece so it doesn't show. For this, you'll need several bobby pins. Start by taking one curl at a time, loop it into position around the hairpiece, and pin it on some hair near the scalp. I usually did this with six curls, three on each side. For the finishing touches, add a tiara or some flowers, and your look is complete.

Three:Bahamian Corn Rows

If you have long hair and have ever visited the islands, you know how annoying it can be to have the locals shout out to you "Sweetie, do you want your hair braided?" while you're minding your own business on the beach. Not only that, it's very expensive to get braids done, as they know tourists will pay extra for the ambience of the islands to have corn rows.

However, if you put in corn rows before you leave on vacation, nobody's going to bother you. And that's exactly what I play to do for my family members if we get the opportunity to go again. Here's some of the secrets I've learned to making great corn rows that stay snugly against the scalp, don't fray, and last for weeks, even through washings.

One: Before I do corn rows in anyone's hair, I first give their hair a good washing, usually in a deep sink. Using Head and Shoulders, I scrub the scalp until it's tingly and almost reddish-pink. I don't want anything growing in the scalp while the braids are in, not only because it's unsightly, it also drives the wearer crazy with itching.

Two: Always do the braids when they're damp, almost wet. They come together a lot better this way. Additionally, I either use volumizing mousse or diluted hair conditioner on each strand of hair before I put it in braids. This way, it stays together firmly and keeps the scalp from itching so much.

Three: I always use ouchless hair pieces. These are the type that don't have a metal piece attached to keep the two ends together. I also like to use orthodontic bands (clean ones, obviously) to tie up tiny braids.

Four: Always pop in a movie while you're doing the corn rows. It usually takes me two hours or more to do a set of corn rows, and it can get very tedious for both the giver and the receiver.

Five: Instead of applying the corn rows like a regular French braid, do them using under braids, which basically looks like an upside-down braid. Instead of weaving the strands one over top of another, you would weave them in an underneath direction. This keeps them close to the head as well.

Using these tips, you'll certainly have the best of success when styling hair. You might also save yourself some money going to the salon!