Burlesque Hair style Basics

Burlesque hair

Are you prepared to give yourself the ultimate hair-mare?
You will need:

• Hair pins

• Hairspray

• Patience (and lots of it)

I've separated the hair part to it's own post because it is the most complicated, fiddly task of all (blame those old-movie stars and their hairdressers). See, burlesque performers and old-movie stars used rollers to create curls and pile their hair up into elaborate styles that literally took hours to achieve. Women in the 20's and 30's wore very tight waves made using rollers and the World War II pin-ups wore ringlets at the front of their heads or created one big roll with all their hair.

If your hair is long like mine, you had better make sure you're alone before attempting to style your hair because this will have you swearing like nothing else will!

I'm going to go through one method of styling hair that is easy for everyone. Well, easy-ish!

First

Brush your hair so that it is tangle-free, then make a ponytail with the front part of your hair. (If you have curly hair, straighten this part before you secure it). Back comb it slightly so it stands up like a quiff and secure it with LOTS of pins and hairspray.

Burlesque haircare tip: if you have shoulder-length hair, you could pin the ponytail into one curl just above your forehead and spray it into place.

Then

You can use rollers to put the rest of your hair into ringlets, or make a sleek bun at the back of your head. Secure it well so it doesn't fall out in the middle of the street!

And

If you want to, you can add false (or real) flowers, gemstones, any accessory you want really to make it stand out. British burlesque performer Immodesty Blaize pins jeweled birds and butterflies into hers!

Good luck with the hair styling!

A final word to all burlesque girls:

Be unique. If you like blue, go for a blue theme. If you have a thing for stripes, find a stripy outfit (or make one if you're that way inclined). There are plenty of accessories around with strawberry or cherry designs- you could plan an outfit around that, or around your favourite piece of jewelery.

Adapt the look to your own style and you can't go that far wrong!

If you want to learn more about the world of Burlesque, Dita von Teese's book "Burlesque and the Art of The Teese" is great, with some truly gorgeous pictures and inspiration.

You can get Dita's book, Burlesque and the Art of the Teese here.

Good luck ladies!