I’ve had a fun “play around with my hair” week, and my apologies for not posting any new styles for our 30 Days (that’s spread out through a few months) hair challenge.  I’ve officially dug myself out of my pony tail rut and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve replaced it with simple easy looks that jazz up my typical wash and go style.

As a little girl, I can remember my mom doing some simple twist and bobby pin styles on my short, fine hair. I was always sad to have super short and thin hair, and this was a way to dress it up just a little. Most people associate the above look with long hair, but honestly, even if your hair only comes to your ears, this technique can be used on short hair as well.

When my daughter came home from grandma’s one day last year, her hair contained three vertical twist & pin buns down the middle of her hair, and memories flooded back to that style. I immediately went and did mine the same way, and loved it. I now see it on lots of adults.

I take this Twist and Bobby Pin technique and make all kinds of different styles out of it. I really recommend you play around with it as you learn to put the bobby pins in. Just have fun and don’t have the goal of perfection on your first try, because you might be disappointed. This is kind of a whimsical look that will be really fun and quick for summer.

As I played around one afternoon for these pictures, I literally was dressed to work out, and got side tracked from my planned 30 Day Shred. (It’s amazing the excuses I can find to do that.)

I played with high twists, low twists, large and loose twists and tiny, tight twists. I did everything from one huge twist to a head full of twists, in which I started at the top and worked my way around my head. Like I said, play with it for a bit.

When you first begin, it’s key that you purchase some good quality bobby pins. I had some from the Dollar Store that did not work well,  and once I bought some good ones, it made all the difference in the world. They grip and hold 100 times better. I wasn’t super concerned about covering the pins for this picture, but I’ve learned to use more bobby pins and try and grab less hair when pinning. That way you can sneak the pin in under the bun, rather than over like in this picture above.

I love this simple single twist. It literally take about one minute to do because I didn’t curl my hair at all. This look, with previously curled hair,  can be a very glamorous look, but it also takes more than my one minute. 🙂

The above  picture was taken BEFORE I got four inches cut off (yes, the reveal will come in the next post. I am still trying to get used to it.)

My niece read my mind one afternoon and sent me her four buns  – twist & pin look.

She divided her hair down the middle,and then cut two side sections in half, so you have four sections total.
Start on either side, grab the first section of hair and twist it all the way down, so it’s kind of rolled. Then take the end, and twist the hair around your finger to make the bun. Pin the ends underneath the bun with a bobby pin.
When you are done with all sections, you have the option to take a pin and “marry” the buns together so they look connected.
At this point you want to clean up any pieces that might be popping out. Take a comb and lightly graze over the top layer of hair so it looks smooth and polished. Spray your hair.

Add an ornament or clips above it if desired.

Here are more pictures of me trying different looks.  Again procrastinating before my 30 Day Shred workout. (Do you sense a theme?)

Instead of sectioning my hair off, you can see in the first picture that I just took hair from each side of my head and gathered it together at the top. I started with one single bun, and then did two additional buns at the bottom.

The above look I did in the bathroom at the church where our homeschool group meet in a minute. I put two large loose bun twists down low, and this is what it looked like after a full day of teaching and working with kids.

What I love about this style is that even though I could have put more bobby pins in to secure it tightly, which I didn’t, because they were at home,  as the hair fell out, it still gave kind of a fun, wispy look.

And just to prove, I finally did my workout. Yes, I did it with this hairstyle, and it barely fell out.  Envision the 30 Day Shred meets high heels tennis shoes and fancy up-do.

Now that you’ve seen more pictures than were necessary, go grab some bobby pins and go at it.

Once you get the hang of it, it’s such a simple technique that can result in so many different looks. I’m always in such a rush when I head out the door that I forget to take pictures of the final product. I will make sure I update this with “real pictures” when I am dressed in something more than work out clothes. 🙂

Feel free to ask any questions after you give it a try, or better yet, I’d love to see a picture (and I’ll add it to this post.)

Are you up for it? Do you think you will give this a try?