Two Quick and Easy Hairstyles for Women with Shoulder Length Hair

The Faux French Twist - A French Twist is beautiful, but time consuming to achieve. The faux version on the other hand takes only moments and is perfect for a day at the office or a fancy dress dinner. All you will need is one of the following hair devices: wide barrette, claw hair clip, or a large decorative hair comb. Just choose the device that is most appropriate for the occasion. A barrette will suffice for almost any situation, while the claw hair clip has a more casual feel and probably is not suited to a formal affair and is perhaps best for the office.

How to achieve it: Grasp your hair in your non-dominant hand, right at the base of your skull. Using your other hand, twist the hair clockwise, catching it with the first hand in between each rotation so the twisting hand can return to its start position. The hair will naturally "climb" toward the top of your head. Once you reach the top, depending on the length of your hair, you can either leave the ends sticking up in a fan and attach the hair device, or you can fold the ends downward and tuck them under the right side of the twist and secure everything with the clip, comb or barrette. If your hair tends to frizz, you may wish to use a little product to hold the sides and top down smoothly.

The Stick-y Bun - This is version of the more severe standard bun, which takes its cue from Asian influences. Rather than using a rubber band and many bobby pins, to create a regular bun in 20 minutes, you will need only 1 or 2 chopsticks and 2 or 3 minutes - less once you have gotten the hang of it. Instead of a chopstick, you can also use a fake flower with a thick, pointed stem for a more glamorous hairstyle.

How to achieve it: Start as described above, holding your hand slightly above the base of the skull this time. Instead of allowing the hair to climb, flip it over during one of the rotations so that it begins to wrap around in a circle. Once it is completely wrapped into the bun, slide a chopstick in by first placing the point of the stick under hair not on the bun, then into the bun then back out the other side and under hair not in the bun again. If necessary or just desired, add another chopstick in the opposite direction or just at a slight angle to the first.