Easy Holiday Hairstyles – New Year’s Eve Half Updo Tutorial

As 2014 comes to close, it’s time to get ready for New Year’s Eve. Whether you are going out on the town, attending a party or enjoying an intimate celebration at home, having simple, easy holiday hairstyles at the ready is a must.

If you have to work on NYE, the last thing you need is to come home and try to construct some complicated look on a moment’s notice. Today, I’m sharing a style Faith from John Robert’s Spa created for a recent wedding I officiated. It would be perfect for any soiree and it’s so much easier than it looks!

My Wedding Day Look – Simple Half Updo

I was honored, thrilled and super nervous to officiate the wedding of my friends Jen and Ted last month. It’s funny, I was ordained online over a decade ago when Joey married Monica and Chandler on Friends. I wanted to see how easy it really is (it’s SO easy) but never expected I would have a reason to use it.

When I jokingly told Jen and Ted that I was ordained, we were a few beers in at trivia night and I didn’t expect them to take me up on that fact. But, I can’t tell you how touched I was that they truly wanted me to officiate their ceremony. It was such a beautiful day filled with laughter and heartfelt tears (though I saved mine for the very end of the ceremony).

Being such a special day, I wanted a hairstyle to go with it. I relied on the wizards at my salon, John Roberts, to give my hair the polish it needed. Faith at John Roberts Spa in Mayfield Heights, created this curly, twisted half updo and I was surprised at how easily she put it together. I asked her to help me create a tutorial for you so we shot the video below.

Easy Half Updo Tutorial

Get The Look

• Give hair a light dusting of hairspray and brush through.
• Section hair and curl with a clipless wand, beginning at the bottom, stopping at the crown
• Tease the crown, on all sides, to create an overall volume
• Smooth the teased hair with a boar bristle brush
• Curl the ends of the teased section
• Smooth the top middle section back and pin
• Pull back each side, one at a time, twist and pin in the middle
• Optional: Add a decorative clip to cover the pins or try the crossover method shown in the video above

Products Used

• Clipless Wand – Faith used the Verge by ONE Styling Curl Styx but they appear to be out of stock. I use, and love, the Enzo Milano 1″ Clipless Wand
• Hairspray – Aveda Air Control (light hold) or Aveda Control Force (strong hold)
• Bobby Pins
• Fine Tooth Comb
• Boar Bristle Brush – Faith uses a Denman Boar Bristle Brush

Faith’s Tips

• Use a dry shampoo at the root if you need some extra lift. Try Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion or Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo.
• Wrap the hair flat around the wand for a softer look. Twist the hair for a more defined curl or brushed out finger wave
• Curl in one direction, as your curls will always find a place to fall.
• Pulling back and pinning the top middle section first will ensure that you don’t end up with lumps as you pull back the sides
• Spray bobby pins with hairspray to help them stay in place
• Insert bobby pins with the wavy side facing the head, so it grips the hair better

You can purchase the Aveda products featured here at Aveda.com or your local Aveda salon. In Cleveland, John Roberts Spa has locations in Mayfield Heights, Chagrin Falls, Solon and Strongsville.

Where do you plan to ring in the new year? Will you give this look a try? What is your go-to special occasion hairstyle?

 

Disclosure: Services at John Roberts were received in exchange for this post. As a John Roberts customer for over 8 years, all opinions are my own. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.